Just One Kid (1974) | BFI National Archive

[@dutcie]

Wow I am astounded to see this why? Because I knew Alf Maron. I was just a boy and I lived for the first 7 years of my life in the basement at 34 Hanbury street. My parents rented the two rooms One was the living room the other was the bedroom. I had a make shift bed adjoining my mum and dad's bed and my sister slept in the cot. Did you see the two indents in the pavement outside the house ? yep that was the windows of the living room where i remember watching the legs of persons walking by. It seemed like only yesterday and yet now I am 58 years old. The building is still preserved and I got the pleasure of touring inside about 9 years ago during one of my trips back to the UK. Thank you BFI National for this memory. Dear Alfred Maron may you continue to rest in eternal peace and for setting the path for my parents life in the UK, we have no regrets. I will show this to my mother in the morning. I know she is going to be tearful.

[@mikeinnes6420]

Interesting post. Does anyone know what happened to any of the kids?

[@bieni78]

A few doors away from one of Jack The Rippers victims at no. 29

[@patriciacollier128]

How wonderful- thankyou for sharing these memories with us x

[@mesolithicman164]

It's funny how people can still feel nostalgic for very tough times.

[@twinblitzen356scroll]

Where do you live now?

[@williamcameron1971]

Hard to believe that ITV were once capable of producing great stuff like this.

[@nigelcarren]

Indeed Mr Cameron! I raise my cup to you Sir. ☕️🇬🇧

[@adrianclinch9553]

@@nigelcarren Me too British TV was entertaining and inspiring back in the day I think television has had its day

[@annother3350]

Uh, guys....Dramarama !!!

[@muk8804]

Though let's say it as it is : itv was an umbrella term used to describe 13 independent separate companies with their extensive in-house production facilities and journalisits who worked under very strict regulation and were contractually obliged to produce a certain amount of a certain genre of programming unlike the current corporate company "ITv PLC" where none of this regulation exists.

[@popstars4444]

Yes now we have The Masked Singer - I didn't know until now how far ITV have fallen

[@dermotkelly6946]

What a wonderful story , I hope it is true , I myself am getting very old , and the older I get The more I am drawn draw back to m childhood I think constantly about my mum and dad who are long gone now, and of all my brothers and the trouble and fun we got up to , sometimes I walk around the streets where we grew on my own like some weird person and I remember everything and everyone, I fill up inside and the tears often tumble down my cheeks, life was so special then as now but we didn’t know it then 👍

[@gratitude1061]

Agree beautiful memories 🙏❤

[@sarahgt1533]

One thing i've learnt is that life is bitter sweet. Our memories are precious. Im glad you visit your past and remember the people and places that are special to you and still hold them close. Stay strong 💕

[@San_Teel]

I read somewhere today " The price for love is grief ". Like you I too have a lovely family but nothing can replace the memories of your first home , your first friends, your childhood and school days and most of all your parents and grandparents . I get pulled back to all of this when I'm unwell or stressed. I guess I'm looking for those loving arms embracing me once again ❤

[@TheGreatest1974]

That is true. The times we knew when I was growing up in the 1980’s are unrecognisable now. And I’m only 52. This country is ruined by multiculturalism AND the deliberate decline of British industry in favour of buying every single thing we need from foreign countries- mostly China. Very, very bad country management, and Tony Blair started it all in 1997. He has a lot to answer for.

[@belledecaucase]

Hugs 🤗❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@richardbeatty2032]

Ironically it’s film like this that’s made You Tube what it is. You can’t see quality like this on TV anymore.

[@colinluckens9591]

Hey, never thought of it like that!!...

[@joeferguson2606]

True

[@Fritha71]

That's why I watch KZbin 95% of the time - the remaining 5% I spend watching old movies and TV series on streaming channels.

[@awilderireland]

​@@RamblesBrambles Aren't you just great!

[@awilderireland]

@@RamblesBrambles You're most welcome.

[@Agathanagatha]

Omg the children’s country holiday fund I remember going away to Devon with my sister,we went to an old lady who terrified us we told ourselves that she was a witch and we refused to eat anything in case it was poisoned,after two days we were both gathering eggs from the lady next door and by the end of the week we both were in love with our witch and she loved us...when it came to the day to go home all 3 of us cried our hearts out and clinging on to her at the station.I can still see her pulling her lovely white handkerchief from her sleeve and wiping her eyes and her glasses.Thank you so much for bringing her lovely memory back to me after all these years ❤️

[@mothratemporalradio517]

What an amazing story. Aww! I bet she never forgot you. ♥

[@annother3350]

How did she win you round?!

[@Agathanagatha]

@@annother3350 she let us play with the next door neighbor granddaughter and bought us new clothes and swimming costumes and took us to an open air swimming pool.made lots delicious home cooked food and baked lots of cakes a hot bath every night...plus we probably got hungry 😂

[@Agathanagatha]

@@annother3350 she grew her own vegetables and I had never seen anyone grow and cook from their garden and every morning we got the eggs from next doors chickens,,it was a different world and it amazed me that she never really went to the corner shops.in London there was a corner shop on every street but there was none there...or so it seemed

[@annother3350]

@@Agathanagatha Sounds lovely. I have a friend who gives battery hens a retirement home (garden). She buys them for 50p each. After a couple of months of good food those eggs are way better than anything you can buy in the supermarket

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

Absolutely valuable piece of British social history and culture.

[@mickeycrilly1839]

This was me when a kid,my mum had five of us on her own, only now she has gone do I realise how much I owe her and miss her terribly ,she must of struggled so much I feel ashamed I did not do more for her xxx miss you mam see you when I get there xx

[@sionevans947]

And she will be there waiting with open arms

[@mickeycrilly1839]

I do believe so, she is flirting and dancing with my forces mates up there in dancers heaven

[@angelicupstart1977]

Have.

[@pleidiolwyfimwlad2104]

Same here bud...my mam left alone with 3 boys after my dad passed away when we were young back in the 80s...money was tight,she must have scrimped n scraped 4 us 2 have..didnt appreciate it at the time...she was gone by the time i was 23..the big c...life dealt her a shit hand,but 27years on,shes thought about and missed every single day..when ur young u take things 4 granted...just a part of growing up..we were blessed with great mams

[@maccagrabme]

@@angelicupstart1977 stop it.

[@stellayates4227]

Towards the end of this film Alfred really sums up the feeling of Londoners revisiting their past streets. He explains the feeling of loss when the community you knew has completely disappeared and been replaced by others. It is nothing to do with prejudice of other nationalities but rather a sadness for what once was in previous decades. I live in a market town now where my friends here are surrounded by people they have known all their lives. That is something I do not have when returning to London and I do wonder what became of everyone from my time there.

[@dirkbogarde44]

40 year ago my council estate in Colchester was nearly all white........now everyone that moves here is from Eastern Europe, Africa, foreign students or blacks that have moved out of London.

[@garybrockwell2031]

@@dirkbogarde44 🥺💯🎬🆘😭🤫😱☠️🧐🤔🇬🇧🗣️😇

[@brianmunich553]

@@dirkbogarde44 same in the town I was born Doncaster that was nearly all British now most areas I knew as child in the 80s 90s are now unrecognisable all roma gypsies and kurdish and turks and people from all over the world pretty much, I'm not racist I get on with anyone and everyone just about so long as they are respectful towards me but the roma people in hexthorpe and Hyde Park in Doncaster hardly any of them work and don't respect the area they live in they throw away household waste and refuse in the street and back alleyways, I once seen one caught stealing an African gentleman's phone in the market and it's stuff like that only makes me questions how can all this mass uncontrolled immigration be a good thing for the country as a whole.

[@thruknobulaxii2020]

I lived around W.London from the early 80’s, on and off. Even as I began living there, I could see the signs of the previous 50 years being steadily erased. By now, even the pubs and cafes, shops and restaurants which I got to know through to the end of the millennium, are gone or renamed. My point is, for those who leave home and move to London, the city they _get to know_ may seem to them as something eternal. Realistically, it has a longevity of around 15 years.

[@stephenroney2366]

It has nothing to do with prejudice. The small town I come from is almost 100 % white The old neighbours were white my new neighbours are white. What am I getting at? The ones I grew up with, that I was on first term names with, friends with their same age children, these folk are all gone. Replaced by folk, who generally won't even acknowledge you. I grew up with neighbours, now I'm surrounded by strangers. I am the last original inhabitant of the part of my street I live on. They are all strangers.

[@sandralandsman1434]

My grandparents lived n Lolsworth buildings and Stafford House close to Toynbee Hall and of course the market. Sundays I would visit and we. Would buy Bigels, pickles from the barrels and smoked salmon pieces from a barrel. My grandmother would put. newspaper on the table and what a feast we would have! I so miss those days…they were tough…but joy was found in the simplest things!!I am 81 and I really believe I have lived in the best of times. Thank you for these wonderful memories.

[@therespectedlex9794]

Bigels? I can't even type that without the automatic spell checker putting bagels. What you mean?

[@hara3435]

sounds so lovely ❤

[@helenmcdonnell2585]

Bagel schmagels 😅 Bagels and Lox my favourite

[@BarkandRide]

I really connected with this film. My Dad was born in the Jewish East End in Stepney in 1916. I was a toddler in the 1960's and I still recall visiting my grandma in the east end every Sunday back . I remember many Jewish shops still open, baker's, butchers, our family Doctor was in New road and my Dad had a fashion showroom in Commercial Rd. Now I'm a grandfather and I reminisce about days gone by just as Alfred does in this delightful but haunting film. It really resonated with me. Circle of life :)

[@philoza1000]

So poignant.. my parents also grew up in Stepney and Whitechapel. Dad was born in 1913, mum in 1924.. this touching little film gave me a glimpse into my parents' worlds.

[@doggdogg6019]

Same for me. My parents started married life in Rothschild buildings, where my father lived as a child

[@ianmangham4570]

@Brooklyn M & Leona London What's difference please?, I'm guessing less sugar /butter /ingredients right?

[@patkearney9320]

We have much in common I lived in Stepney in 60s .

[@frankharris4694]

Grew up in Tauranga (nz),in the '60s. So much there that reminds me of my childhood. 🇳🇿

[@skdinterceptor2828]

This film is so good. I have seen the changes growing up as a boy during the 70s. Its sad to see London changed to something that upsets us now.

[@stj971]

The biggest, saddest part, as far as I'm concerned is that Great Britain no longer belongs to the British people. They are being displaced along w their culture. Same as US. And most western countries. Deliberately.

[@Automedon2]

Funny, just yesterday my sister sent me some clips from an 8 mm film that she had converted to digital. The reel was salvaged from a fire that burned down my father's house. It was short segments of family picnics, us kids rowing my dad's little boat. We were all smiles. My parents never had money, but they did their best to have many family times. I'm close to 70 now and the memories flooded back. I have often thought about all the things (I thought) my parents did wrong, but they were doing their best considering their own troubled pasts. I have been in a state of nostalgia all day. The old days weren't as bad as you would imagine for those of us who grew up in those circumstances. God bless my parents for everything they managed to do for us.

[@frankharris4694]

Same as, we look backwards through a 'prisom ',of our memories. Sometimes that prisom gets distorted over time.They best probably did the best they could at the time with what they had.

[@robertjames6640]

I know how Alf feels. I go back to the village I grew up in and today I hardly recognize it. The majority of the kids I grew up with are now dead. Aging can be painful at times but joyful at others. Much like life, I guess.

[@purplepoppyz]

I loved this wee film. Homesick for the dead. I understand and feel that myself.

[@loonylinda]

im not jewish and i dont come from the east end but never the less i found this little gem very poignant..we all reach a time in our lives when we have lost touch, all we knew is gone and out dated and we have lost many people we loved...it comes to us all and it is very sad.

[@7KRTN]

I was really moved by this movie. The poverty, the health issues of the time and the innocence.

[@pauloliver6813]

Really affecting. Yet another rarely seen gem from treasure that is British broadcasting (not just BBC-this was ATV). Why is it that I can have 1000 channels on my TV but never find anything like this?

[@hanktheblesseddeejay]

@Simon Simon I think drama has been reasonably good over the last decade but they’re all pretty based on the cliff hanger series arc methodology, nothing really like a beautiful little piece like this

[@colinluckens9591]

@Simon Simon Wow never heard it better put than that😔😔....but hit the nail on the head mate...

[@shauncarney8504]

IT'S MORE INTERESTING TO WATCH AND BETTER THAN A SOAP DRAMA

[@rainiegreen5684]

So true Paul🖐️

[@dennisbaker5984]

Beautifully made, and what a difference people were compared to today.

[@AgentsofRush]

That's what every generation says.

[@peacewalker7675]

That was awesome. My grandad and brother escaped from the pogroms in Russia and came to England as teenage boys. They settled in the east end of London ..so I guess this was how life was for them. Lovely to see this x

[@bushwhackeddos.2703]

The pogroms were vastly exaggerated.

[@RubyMarkLindMilly]

Wonderful wistful and also sad the magic of nostalgia never fails

[@juliemarshall7913]

I have that ache in my heart for family that are no longer with us. Where we lived was demolished years ago. It was a completely different life then. As someone said above its a circle of life.

[@Hoxton66]

Born in old bethnal green hospital 1966 brought up in hoxton I remember walking all day in the brick lane to petticoat market. Great days in the 70s

[@Lyndengeo]

My nan called us 'oxton 'orrors. Haha

[@franciscodacosta1477]

As an East London kid in the 1960s & 70s, I can relate to this story so well. This was a brilliant documentary. Thank you.

[@lunastargoddess1632]

Bernard Kops wrote the script for this

[@NotesOfBoredom]

@@lunastargoddess1632 And your point? I've read both biographies. My childhood was that of someone from the 40s/50s, perhaps early 60s - outside toilet, no indoor bathroom, potty under the bed, washing clothes by hand and then putting them through the mangle, went brambling in the hedgerows in early autumn, bake day every Friday, a new outfit at Easter if there was enough money and I was born well after then..even elements of this story resonate with my upbringing...and I wasn't born anywhere near London either..

[@TrinaNixon-u4p]

@@NotesOfBoredombit rude to that lady no need for that 🤬

[@paulcowell7588]

The 70s was the best decade known to man...as teenagers then we were so lucky...

[@KimSenior]

The sixties were even better! Fuel rationing cards issued in the 70’s and the 3 day week!

[@Janeliker]

Although this is largely a boy remembering much earlier times, I think the 40s or 50s?

[@rickwhite3757]

It say's the interwar years, so 1920's to 1930's@@Janeliker

[@cornstar1253]

50s to early 60s

[@EIKLURAM]

If the guy's 60 in 74 he would be 10 in 1920.

[@JohnSmith-yw3jr]

This is why I subscribe to KZbin. You can't find old films like this on most streaming channels.

[@OrganisedPauper]

Great bit of television, thank you for posting this. "It's not the cough that carries you off, it's the coffin that carries you off in". A popular saying in our family. We didn't live in a city, we were rural poor, but the struggles they had are familiar.

[@topspark7688]

I walked passed that shop for years and always thought what a wonderful name and guessed what line of business was there.My dad’s auntie had a pub on the Bethnal Green road opposite brick lane which is now long gone. I love that part of the east end even though I lived in Willesden. All are gone now💔. “You’d give anything just to see them once again” Aunty Nony from Valance Road ,😢my wonderful nan’s sister too. What a wonderful yet heartbreaking film.

[@rabscots910]

This is what happened in Glasgow in the 70s and 80s. As a 10 year old - it was very disturbing to see everything you knew and loved be deconstructed. Now - even the underground subway (that glasgow has); has stations that go to places that really don't exist anymore. They were places once full of beautiful buildings and a sense of belonging. That was the beginning of the end of mental health or at least keeping one's head above water with people and places that seemed to welcome you. Far from perfect yes. I really hate the modern world and it's fabricated "connectivity" and "smart" phones. Well - I can conclude this; people are no longer getting smarter. Many of them don't even know how to have a conversation. Never have people been so connected in an artificial way - yet they have never been so lonely.

[@deadsouls72]

@BradleyUK58 What about _contemporary vandalism_......? Politicians are trying to genocide the native population: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXe5qa2weK2jbtU

[@hara3435]

Well said. It is a disease called 'modernity ', where common sense & Reason no longer seem to exist. Progress they call it yet & it leads only to Regression.

[@suzycat2026]

As a child born in the 60's , this tore at my heartstrings. 💞 Glad it was recommended.😥🙂 Life in the early 70s was so much simpler , us kids ran right through other peoples houses , everyone trusted their neighbours & doors were always open. Now, with all these restrictions going on for a year , I feel so blessed to have grown up then. To have known a simpler time, when kids didn't have to worry about being taken away by strangers , walked to school on our own. Still remember the half pint of warm milk in a glass bottle at break. 🙂 The little boy who played the part of Alfie was so thin & sweet. R.I.P. Alfred Maron 💜🙏🏻 Thank you for sharing your young memories. 🙂♏🌲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@Sawrattan]

People today have too much, that's why we started becoming greedier and more envious, and then more desperate to keep up. People back then left their doors open not because it was necessarily 'safer' but because they had nothing worth nicking and everyone else was the same.

[@suzycat2026]

@@Sawrattan Yes, totally agree , people got too greedy. 👍🏻 .I felt the difference on leaving our ' carefree freedom days ' of the council estate, when we moved to the city centre. It was a bit like culture shock. Only 11years old then, but I realised this "neighbourhood" was not nearly as friendly as the one I just moved from. Never occurred to me it was as you say " because they had more to steal " ?! I believe that & a sense of the unknown, people were much more guarded & less free. I felt it at that young age, but didn't realise it then.😥 Thanks for your comment. 💞🙂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@stellayates4227]

I also experienced this as a Londoner, yet when I describe it to people now I feel they look at me with disbelief but it was how things were at the time. We really did know our neighbours and had a great deal of freedom.

[@suzycat2026]

Greetings 🙋🏼‍♀️@@stellayates4227 Yes, I've had that reaction too. Always good to meet someone who went through similar experiences. I try not spend too much time reminiscing , we were both lucky to have this experience & still be here to witness whats become of our society. So much has changed now ; so many just don't want to have responsibility for their actions. Collective shock at the last 2years , still greatful for every day. 🙏🏻 Best wishes Stella 🙂

[@hoopster68]

Amen

[@noramartin96]

Wonderful,Wonderful film especially for today's times.I remember these places so well

[@thecrazyenglishman1066]

I grew up from 1959 till 1970 in the same block as Alfie it was great growing there. We had very little but our parents loved us and kept us happy. It was a great place to grow up. It was a slum but it was our slum and in that slum lived some of the best human beings that I would ever come across. I will be 66 years old next year 2025 and I feel privileged to have grown up amongst True Eastenders. Thank you some much for making this documentary available, God bless you. RIP Alfie

[@markchampagnie9401]

Back In the day when I was young...Iam not a kid anymore...but somedays..I sit and wish I was a kid AGAIN 🇯🇲🇬🇧

[@desbuckley7703]

Wow, a charming, beguiling & touching little film. Times have changed but human nature is constant.

[@Nine-Signs]

4.5 million kids in poverty and 1 family evicted every 12 minutes combined with wages for the bottom 55% that haven't moved for 40yrs once you account for inflation and 17 million people not having £100 in the bank primarily due to piss poor wages while they are simultaneously being asset stripped by landlords and private corporations for ever increasing bills and we see rampant upticks over the last decade especially, of diseases of poverty such as Rickets and scurvy. Yea the times are very different now because people have iphones I presume. -.-

[@Zoe-dr5ps]

@@Nine-Signs 1 family evicted every 12 minutes? Is this nowadays?

[@Nine-Signs]

@@Zoe-dr5ps prior to covid, currently I believe we still have a pause on evictions in place. Figure was from the homeless charity "Shelter" by the way, just so you know I did not pluck it out of thin air.

[@matildamartin2811]

I so enjoyed watching this film. I am 90 years old and was raised in the old tenements in Edinburgh. Life was pretty much the same for us. I had an Irish background and therefore lived in a Catholic community. The old buildings of my childhood weren’t pulled down but were renovated after we had all been moved to Council Estates. First professional people moved in and now, they go to the highest bidder. Streets that once were alive with people are now empty all day, until the nightlife and sleazy bars open and then it is a no go area. I have no wish to see it again.

[@ObsoleteOddity]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I also never thought that an area that I was so fond of once, would be one that I would not be interested in visiting again. It’s very sad how quickly things change.

[@readysteadyretro]

My family also grew up in the Edinburgh tenements 😢 My Nan hated it & moved back to England after 9-10 years. Tough & grim 🫶

[@brendano5440]

Wow, I must say that this is the most touching and emotionally charged movie I have ever seen. To bring a man's entire life together like this. I felt the emotions so deeply along with the character it actually scared me... I sure because this never happened to me before. Thanks for the upload.

[@spinny2010]

That was a mini masterpiece.

[@JTTW1455]

My family left east London in the 50’s so I love to see glimpses of what life was like back when. Thanks for posting.

[@EtonieE25]

I’ve now gone from the boy in the film to the old man reflecting on a past age that doesn’t exist anymore 😟

[@pumpkin1901]

Don't be sad

[@eddieconnolly7772]

Great film. mothers again were the backbone of the family

[@therespectedlex9794]

Were you an only child, egotistical sex change case, like them?

[@friendlier]

Thank you, BFI. Having these films on youtube is a great service provided.

[@joycecelmins3672]

What a wonderful in.formative film. Wish there more likeit

[@colinluckens9591]

@@joycecelmins3672 Don't we all!!👍👍

[@rebelrelicguitars]

A hefty serving of nostalgia please, thank you very much.

[@roberthorwat6747]

I remember watching this! Maybe not on it's first transmission as I'm not sure if we had colour TV in 1974. Some of the scenes are so vivid that they have remained with me til today. The girl whose sandwiches he pretended were his, the line about "more like making a dying than making a living". One thing the film impressed upon me then, as a teenager and part of a family of nine, was how fortunate and comfortable our lives were compared to Alfie's family. Even though Dad spent much of my childhood years out of work struggling with what we now call PTSD, Mum got a job at Garrards on the pick up assembly line, Dad was given librium which helped him cope enough to get a job as a vehicle fitter at a transport depot for Great Universal, the catalogue firm. We had a 3 bed terraced council house in Swindon, on the edge of the countryside. I was as close to utopia then as I'll ever be. Watching this again, nearly 50 years later, those days are long gone, the fields we played in are all gone, replaced by houses, but I don't think I can match that haunted look in the older Alfie's eyes as he watches what was once held so dear being reduced to rubble in front of his very eyes, all those he once knew gone. Very sad. I genuinely thought I woukd never see this again. I didn't even recognise what it was until after about a minute into it. Very happy to have rediscovered it!

[@donnajk4423]

I too was born in Swindon and lived there till I was 30. My family lived there all their lives, my grandmother. Some uncles and aunties also worked in Garrads. Lived in Old Town for a while.

[@sargee97]

Amazing to see the true history of life. I love social history and this film goes to show just how things truly were back in those days. Thank you for the opportunity of seeing life how it was x

[@dogpound7162]

Beautifully done, a sign of a really good film making, when it finished I went quiet, I wanted more, felt sad.

[@robharding4028]

I was born in 57. so I can relate to much of this, great little archive !

[@dinglebay100]

Absolutely loved this, heart warming yet sad. A real gem of a film, thanks for posting.

[@nevillerobert318]

I am 71 years old and this film with the children singing transported me back to my childhood days and reminded me of so much of a past life rarely thought about in these modern times. Very poignant with a great sense of loss of a vibrant community gone forever....moved me greatly.

[@tog2842]

Outstanding production, really transported me to an era I have never known. Thanks to all involved in making this available to me.

[@davidallen7977]

Best thing I've watched on KZbin for ages.

[@farmyardflavours]

me too.

[@patsyb63]

Wonderful. I feel sorry for Alfie yearning for the past.

[@somethingbright4268]

How extremely emotional and heart touching. Life is a strange thing. This was absolutely wonderful.!!

[@daveconyard8946]

What a powerful film Thank you for posting

[@joannamcinnes916]

I had a Jewish lodger a few years ago, who grew up in the East end in the '50s and 60's. His dad was a taxi driver. His mother died when he was very young and he remembered her coffin being loaded into a hearse just as he and his brother were taken to an isolation hospital with a serious infectious illness. They were terrified of the staff who wore protective clothing and masks. Their dad then put them in an old-fashioned Jewish orphanage for a year. It was so interesting to get a glimpse of the East End as its was when he was young.

[@swampophelia2098]

I’ve watched this before and it’s just as wonderful this time as it was the first time

[@maxinemckenzie5765]

Beautiful and sad. Thanks for Posting.

[@angiemacslilmitesanmore5090]

You can see how hard life was.. But....the appreciation for the smallest things, people coming together an getting through it all.... Yes life has gained so much today but lost so much more...

[@raymondturner1478]

White privilege..

[@ichbin4122]

Still is for most. That s what hurts

[@angiemacslilmitesanmore5090]

@@ichbin4122 I understand Wat ur saying ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@aysestone7890]

Great film! I grew up in east London..great memories ❤

[@sandrab2589]

When we are children, we can't wait to grow up. Then, as adults, with all our worries and responsibilities, we look fondly back at childhood.

[@GeoffGful]

We need more of these films -Bring it on !

[@aprilblossom9268]

Amazing wee film! Simple but sweet as well as sad x

[@eunicestone838]

So much love from his family. It's sweet.

[@grahambarrett5569]

What a beautiful film

[@adzdahlman9724]

I've a feeling I Don't Know Why I'm Happy has lodged in my psyche forever .

[@Arfabiscuit]

North and east London were my stomping ground in the 70s as a kid . Funny that so many years later and living in the south of France i look back at those times with such fondness . People lived in a time where possessions didn't matter unless it had some memory attached to it unlike today where possession of useless things are so valued .

[@stj971]

Lucky you! I'd love to live in S. of France.

[@chelsealoyal5633]

My dad born 1940 lived in a small kitchen house in East Belfast beside the shipyard.He was the oldest off 9 kids and when he was 6 he had to go live with his granny across the street where he lived till he got married at 21.Him and my mum worked hard and bought their own house in a nicer area.He knew what it was like not to have much when growing up but he knew his kids would have what he didn have.R.IP Dad.Love and miss you.

[@shauncarney8504]

REMEMBER SEEING THIS YEARS LATER I WAS 4 WHEN THIS CAME ON TV IT'S STILL HEARTBREAKING TO WATCH NOW IT'S NICE TO SEE THINGS ABOUT OLD DAYS PART OF HISTORY AND I FEEL LUCKY TO WATCH THIS AMAZING MOVIE

[@thundercatsaga6136]

Love how this brought a tear to my eye at the end

[@barbaracoultas221]

A wonderful film. My parents grew up in Whitechapel but not in such poverty. They spoke about Flower and Dean Street and Peabody Trust "Buildings". A fitting tribute to Bernard Kops whose obituary is in today's Times.

[@eekamoose]

I just looked up Flower and Dean Street (which is long gone) on Wikipedia, which gives an interesting account. In the late 1800s it was "one of the most notorious slums" in the whole of London. Two of Jack the Ripper's victims lived down this street.

[@keithrichardson3942]

I moved into the East End in 1976, to a block of flats built by East End Dwellings company. I had a mezuzah on the door left behind by previous tenants. I think the Ostereichers, there was the Jewish hospital in Stepney Green and two synagogues. I always felt that I had missed something. The two beigel shops in Brick Lane are still there and Rinkoff the baker in Jubilee Street. Brother and sister Maurice and Dinah Shapiro were my friends. All changed now. A part of my life remembered bitter/sweet, and a few little teardrops at the passing of time 😥

[@deborahwatson2432]

Delightful and Charming film Thank you for posting

[@heathcliffearnshaw1403]

What a lovely touching film! Brings a tear to one's eye.

[@Me-ll4ig]

Brilliant film. I loved the kids and them singing the old songs lol and the way they played on the beach. Also, the bus driver didn’t need a satnav like we do now.

[@summerteeeth]

This popped up on my KZbin recommendations list, and I saw it yesterday. I really enjoyed it. I have links with the area (late 90s) and although not Jewish myself, I enjoyed seeing the area through the eyes of the man in the doc.

[@sedoniadragotta8323]

This bring back so many memories for me it was almost like he was telling my story .

[@Steve20333]

I have been whatching lots of old documentaries and tv shows from when i was a child ! If this is the 1930s, britain ? Well ! Things weren't any better in the 60s, and poverty and nostalgic memories seem to be best friends ! Even if one spends its time lying to the other . My earliest deepest memory is being cold . I don't suppose I knew I lived in a slum , I'd never seen anything else ! This is a very good film .

[@marinashan4]

Aw that was lovely but sad also..reminds me of my childhood in the Gorbals Glasgow in the 70s..i was only young but remember it all being demolished..one day a particular tenement was there..next day gone..had a profound effect on me that i feel to this very day ..over 50 years later im still sad.

[@paulone805]

Same in East london

[@posypoodle6034]

Plenty of stuff on the Gorbals on utube! A great way to while away a few hours, looking at the old tenements, so many churches! kids playing in the street.

[@edwardvogel9094]

Intensely moving.

[@RubyMarkLindMilly]

Very touching an England that simply dose'nt exist anymore a simpler, innocent and happier time

[@paigeleigh2554]

Absolutely wonderful. Thank you very much!

[@aidanamson8568]

Absolutely fantastic. Thanks for posting.

[@sidm3300]

Great film. Being an old car nut I love watching old films. Would you believe that the old Chevrolet bus that he went to Kent in sold in 2014 for £40,250 !

[@Mickyboss454]

Haha, great comment. I love that you managed to find that. I'm not a 'car nut' but I can totally identify with you

[@patrickcrowther9195]

So, so wonderful. Poetic, moving and charming. I miss the days when television like this was produced.

[@StellaAsh]

'I'm homesick for the dead..' sums up how I feel in April 2021

[@purplesunflower8242]

Me too as l grow with age time takes my people 🙄

[@Roughnready8]

Wow that sent me down memory lane. I remember Dad singing that song, I don't know why I'm happy. He was born in the depression, in a coal mining town, Denniston, NZ. He told me he was sent to live with his Grandmother for 2 years as a toddler because the times were so tough 😢

[@temujinadonijah6365]

Looking down memory lane for anybody is always so sad x

[@lilireaps]

I'm only 41 and I grew in the late 80s and 90s but I miss how free I was as a child and how life just seemed brighter and calmer than it is now. My daughter is 20 and when she was growing up the world was such a scary place I didn't want her to go anywhere. I'd go back to being that free child tomorrow for free.

[@lindasavage1042]

Wonderful Quality film. I can remember so much that is covered. Being born 1956 living in Royal Mint Street E1, Wapping and Bethnal Green

[@stevenmccart5455]

It brings back so many memories of when I was a lady. I would leave home in the morning and come home before the street lights came on. A whole group of 5 or 6 year Olds running all over town like the little rascals. Such a different time.

[@rob20452]

Right up to the end with the lad on the top with his pick axe I remember all my dad's stories of those days, my dad was born 1931 so a few years after and sent to the country when the war started he and his brother and sister, fantastic video

[@dsantamaria713]

Extraordinary.... Just one of many stories to be told...

[@baatsheva]

I grew up in the east end during those days. People seemed happier then, always a laugh with most. Today everyone is either angry or miserable. One demonstration after another.

[@enigmabletchley6936]

Fantastic. What a great period piece. A real evocation of the east end. Well done BFi for making this publicly available.

[@Sawrattan]

Fascinating to see the perspective of an old immigrant among new immigrants. I wonder if the last Huguenots felt the same in East London.

[@Jimmiburn]

Wonderful film ❤

[@Ihfmpw8]

Oh I absolutely loved this, it has touched my heart xx

[@Expressionisto1]

A rich and moving film... Michael Gove makes an appearance at 35:25. A namesake of course. Living standards are better now, though it's criminal how Engalnd's power elite are now so disengaged from the realities of 21st century poverty.

[@Sawrattan]

We may not be as poor as before, but we've never been so unequal. An age where a 'socialist' Labour politician has two London homes and a footballer gets paid millions a year.

[@sutapasbhattacharya9471]

@@Sawrattan 'Socialist' Labour politicians have always been the same, if not worse. My best friend in school in the year 1979-80 was a son of Michael Meacher - who condemned second home owners and (I think) wrote that property should be for social need and not for profit). It turned out later that 'Green' Environment Secretary Meacher had a portfolio of 9 properties. He was also exposed by the Observer for lying about his roots to get on in the Labour Party - pretending to be a lowly farmhand's son - when in fact his father was an accountant who later retired to his family farm - he himslef went to Hailebury and Oxford. Although inequality has certainly increased, it was still very clear back in the day. My family lived in a single basement room in a derelict old house next to Belsize Park Station from 1967-72 after we came to Britain. My best friend in my second year at primary school (1970-71) was an American from Boston whose father was posted to London for a year and I used to visit his home - a detached mansion in Keat's Grove. However, the thing I noticed was that, not only did he have his own bedroom - he had a wash basin in it as well!

[@leighsavage3073]

Very moving

[@Plumbermark]

I liked all the health and safety with the guy at the end standing on top of the crumbling building swinging a pick axe ! lol

[@majicmandaconnor7738]

very evocotive trip to the east end, taking you back to a time of tradition and poverty, thoroughly enjoyable but very thought provoking

[@ghostman7768]

I know how he feels...shockingly devastated of what progress today does for memories of yesterday...it wipes off memories of our past for brand new ideas if the present and future!😢