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Seasonal stories like this one were the bread and butter of newsreels at a
time when catching the news 'as it happens' was usually a logistical
impossibility. Like its rivals, Topical Budget marked its calendar with royal weddings,
pageants, beauty contests, sporting events and other reliable fixtures, allowing
it to plan ahead and give its cameras plenty of time to be in position.
The annual start of Kent's hop-picking season fit the criteria perfectly.
Topical had already covered the story in September 1922 in the item 'Oppin by
Motaw! (Topical Budget 576-1, 1922), which like this film focuses on the influx of working-class Londoners
combining a rare trip to the countryside with the opportunity to earn some
welcome extra cash. There are other obvious similarities between the two items,
not least the use of what we'd now call 'Mockney' in the intertitles, and the charmingly framed
images of young innocence at play.
Sue Woods
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Complete item (0:45)
