A wedding video (delayed).

Last night Cathleen and I watch our wedding video for the first time , more than 42 years after it had been filmed .

That strange statement won't be a total surprise to those who follow this journal and remember  my post in October 2021 about the re-discovery of the Cinema Sgire Archive  .  

What I didn't say at that time is that there were 3 tapes in the collection entitled "Wedding" and they were taken at our wedding on 31st March 1980 in Lochmaddy by Flora Ann MacNeil (as she then was) who worked in the project.   

All the tapes in the collection have now been digitised, prior to work getting underway in 2023 to use them in the community .   I was lucky enough to see one of them at the Moving Image Archive showing of the new film about Berneray , Duthchas a few weeks ago , and to have the chance to talk about it to the audience that evening.

A few days later I received from the Archive  a download link to the three wedding reels.   The format we used in the project was half inch black of white open reel tape, which is of course completely obselete now.   Some of the material has also been damaged by damp and inevitable tape decay over the years but  they are still viewable and at some stage I am going to try and edit them together into a watchable whole.

Last night however we spooled through them and marvelled at how young we all were,  at the vitality of those who are no longer with us (like our respective parents and David Graham , our best man whom I also blipped about recently) and even at the content of the speeches ,the sound track having fared better than some of the pictures. 

This is a still from the tape made in Lochmaddy Church and it features the two of us and David.    I have included as two extra photos my father and Cathleen's father, the latter at the wedding dance and appearing to remonstrate with me !

Somehow  it  seems a suitable blip for the start of my 13th year of daily blipping, at least to me. 

Anyway thanks to all who commented yesterday on the end of the 12th year and all the best for 2023  to everyone who dips in to this journal from time to time.  I appreciate all the comments and all the contact.