Clay Pipes (1955)

Greenford, Middlesex. M/S of a middle aged woman pegging out her washing. She is described by the narrator as a woman whose work is never done. It is Jean Critchfield who has an unusual hobby. L/Ss of Jean walking towards her garden shed which is made of pieces of corrugated iron. She goes inside. Jean is probably the only woman in Britain who can claim to make clay pipes. She sits at a work bench. Narrator states that she makes around 1000 a week. Over the shoulder shot of her moulding Devon clay She has lots of different moulds. She uses a bicycle spoke to pierce a hole in the pipe. Over various shots of the pipes being moulded narrator informs us that this is a tradition in the Critchfield family - Jean’s husband Ralph taught her how to make them before she was married. C/U of lots of pipes lying in a bed of straw. Jean picks up two handfuls and plunges them into a bucket of water. Jean lays out some brightly coloured blue bubble pipes - designed for children. The only pipe Jean can