A series of films about our lives - now
Who Needs a Machine Gunner? Colin Talbot has been out of work since 1980. It's not for want of trying. He trudges regularly to the nearest phone box, a mile away - but the message seems to be that, at 42, he's past it. He served in the army for 14 years, but his wife Leslie couldn't stand the life. Now they are in an isolated council house in rural Herefordshire, five miles from the nearest town. They have three children, with another on the way. Their total weekly income is E75.75. They don't want to be kept by the State.
There are glimpses of a life free from the shadow of long-term unemployment - a voluntary evening with the Territorials, even the rare treat of a picnic at the seaside. Then, for the Talbots, there's a happy surprise....
Sound recordist DEREK WILLIAMS Film editor GREG HARRIS
Directed and photographed by NICK GIFFORD
Editor EDWARD MIRZOEFF
A LANDSEER film for BBCtv
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