Living in the past - Iron Age TV programme

[sionhughes]

I'm sure I'm not alone in remembering this programme from the 1970's about a group of people who lived in an iron age village for a year. I'll never forget that when asked what they thought the greatest invention since the iron age was, they replied "Wellies".

Does anyone know if it is available on DVD?

 

[Twoflower]

Not sure if it's available on DVD but on bbc a few weeks back they revisited the people that were involved to see what they were up to now, I think the program was called "What Happened Next".
Also, if you can check out the first episode in the series, it was about a band who lived in a commune in norfolk, "Global Village Trucking Co." .. I wasn't born when they were doing the festival circuit but I'd love to see them now as they have reformed and are doing gigs!

 

[sionhughes]

Bugger, I missed it. And I was keeping an eye out too! iplayer time, methinks.

 

[Twoflower]

Unfortunately I think Iplayer only shows them for a week before they get deleted
Maybe they will repeat it on one of their many other channels soon.

 

[sionhughes]

You're right. Useless sky+ box

 

[sandsnakes]

I actually went to the village when they had finished. A chap there said the worst thing about the round house was the wind along the floor at night. The door was very ill fitting which ment the fire would draw in a cold breeze across the untire floor area. The upside was that it kept the floor dry. So they could not work out if it was a design fault or a very clever bit of engineering.

Sandsnakes

 

[xylaria]

Sandsnakes is the village in west wales?

I been to a roundhouse village there, very comfy houses, but i don't know if it is the one from the series. Serious bit of thatching, i would so so love to live like that.

 

[ANDYRAF]

The village from the TV documentary was burnt down by the farmer not long after the show to stop unwanted visitors tramping across his fields, they said so in the follow up What Happened Next. It would be a lovely way to live like you say, but could you stop yourself from introducing modern innovation into a very basic lifestyle.

 

[xylaria]

With the exception of modren health care what modren innovation would you add to iron age life?

Most modern people that go simple delevlop tredle technology for wood turning and spinning fibre. Something I find when out for a period is that you have time for stuff, so more labour intensive crafts are easier. The only bit of modern life I miss is a washing machine, it is a backbreaking chore without it. But there is ways of making even that job easier with iron age type technology like spin drying by putting the clothes in wicca basket and swinging around, oil on wool supposedly sheds dirt in the rain for example. I don't think i would go for bleaching in pee though.

 

[John Fenna]

The place in West Wales is Castell Henllys (not far from where I live) and another fairly feable "reality" show was filmed there.#
Re-enactors used to "live" there in the season(until H&S/insurance worries stopped it) costumed guides take groups around and period crafts are displayed.
A great place to visit with on going digs, herb garden charcoal burning etcand there is good walking in the woods nearby.

 

[Jodie]

If you have internet access at a UK school, college, uni or library you can register
at the BFI's 'screen online' and watch snippets and a full episode at:
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/583427/

If not, bit stuffed, unless YouTube etc. has footage. I fall into the stuffed category
alas - I loved this programme as a child. Completely missed the reruns.

 

[Jodie]

YouTube has the latest 'catch up' programme broken into sub-10 minute clips...

Here's #1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e7ZLWz3UMw

 

[Twoflower]

I knew we could rely on you Jodie
Good to see you back too

 

[Wayland]

The place in West Wales is (not far from where I live) and another fairly feable "reality" show was filmed there.#
Re-enactors used to "live" there in the season(until H&S/insurance worries stopped it) costumed guides take groups around and period crafts are displayed.
A great place to visit with on going digs, herb garden charcoal burning etcand there is good walking in the woods nearby.

I'm afraid I'll disagree on the use of the word feasible in that statement John.

The whole project was set up to fail.

A friend and I got wind of this program and applied to get on it. As soon as they found out we knew a bit about living in such conditions they dropped us like hot rocks.

The Castell Henllys staff recommended another group that we work with that used the site from time to time and again they were ruled out, even for the bit where they brought in the group of re-enactors.

I know another person that was asked to make the shoes, he makes roman a nd iron age shoes for a living. They gave him a pattern and immediately he said "These won't work" and he offered to make them properly. Their reply was "We know, but that's how we want you to make them." Surprise surprise the shoes were a major issue.

They bused in a bunch of re-enactors from the South East of England and provided them with a huge crate of beer for the journey. they then dropped them straight off on site, very drunk, to demonstrate "How to do it properly". None of these re-enactors had ever seen the site before, let alone lived on one like it.

As a direct result of this fiasco some of the participants got serious food poisoning and Environmental Health were called in. That is why the site is no longer allowed to have experienced groups like us staying overnight in the houses. A great shame because they are great buildings.

I'm sorry to say that this program like so many others made by TV executives looking for "Good television" was deliberately booby trapped from the outset and we all felt really sorry for the poor souls that were there when the trap sprung.

 

[John Fenna]

No Wayland - the word is feable not feasable!
I was not going to say "rigged" as I did not have evidence (like you do) but they were obviously set up to fail (do you recall the fishing trip?).
I did a big article on the site and the original set of Re-enactors who used it, for a couple of mags.
It looks like grasping cheating fakers from TV have screwed us again!

 

[Oggie]

I have the book to the '70's series Living in the Past by John Percival.I picked it up in a Library clearance for 50p. Its available on Amazon dirt cheap.
Oggie.

 

[Tadpole]

I'm afraid I'll disagree on the use of the word feasible in that statement John.

The whole project was set up to fail.

A friend and I got wind of this program and applied to get on it. As soon as they found out we knew a bit about living in such conditions they dropped us like hot rocks.

The Castell Henllys staff recommended another group that we work with that used the site from time to time and again they were ruled out, even for the bit where they brought in the group of re-enactors.

I know another person that was asked to make the shoes, he makes roman a nd iron age shoes for a living. They gave him a pattern and immediately he said "These won't work" and he offered to make them properly. Their reply was "We know, but that's how we want you to make them." Surprise surprise the shoes were a major issue.

They bused in a bunch of re-enactors from the South East of England and provided them with a huge crate of beer for the journey. they then dropped them straight off on site, very drunk, to demonstrate "How to do it properly". None of these re-enactors had ever seen the site before, let alone lived on one like it.

As a direct result of this fiasco some of the participants got serious food poisoning and Environmental Health were called in. That is why the site is no longer allowed to have experienced groups like us staying overnight in the houses. A great shame because they are great buildings.

I'm sorry to say that this program like so many others made by TV executives looking for "Good television" was deliberately booby trapped from the outset and we all felt really sorry for the poor souls that were there when the trap sprung.

One of my friends was a camera person/researcher on that show, and you should see the emails that were flying back and forth between the crew, everyone on the crew knew it was a set up; in fact, the only people who did not were the participants. The crew protested to a man, to the director and the producer. They even threatened to walk out, if a doctor was not brought in to treat the sick, whom it has to be said didn’t help themselves with their sloppy hygiene and general laziness. Ok some of the food poison came into the camp with the dead chickens supplied, as some of the staff there got sick. The fall out from this programme didn’t end when the programme aired, heads rolled all the way up the chain. (Apart from where it needed for heads to roll)

 

[Wayland]

No Wayland - the word is feable not feasable!
I was not going to say "rigged" as I did not have evidence (like you do) but they were obviously set up to fail (do you recall the fishing trip?).
I did a big article on the site and the original set of Re-enactors who used it, for a couple of mags.
It looks like grasping cheating fakers from TV have screwed us again!

Ahhh..... you mean "Feeble"....

Yu no Jon, four a riter, yu reely shood get a spel cheker mait..

 

[John Fenna]

Darn write I should!
For my pro work I have the one I married - I am not exactly dyslexic but having been brought up when schools decided it was content that mattered , not spelling or grammer, then living in Belgium and attending an American school so my spelling is all over the shop and I know it! - for recreational stuff I just give irt my best shot!

 

[Wayland]

Mozilla Firefox has a plug in spell checker that I find very useful.

Just remember to get the UK English one because the yanks can't spell....