Say It With Flowers

A holiday in Holland.

Film recording details of a trip made by Laurie and Stuart Day to Amsterdam, with an excursion to Volendam, the Alkmaar cheese market, and Delft, comprising shots of canals, waterways and visitor attractions. The holiday film is prefaced by shots of flowers that have been planted by towns in the Midlands on roundabouts. The bulbs remind the Laurie and Stuart Day of Holland. They wonder if they might pick up other ideas. The film taken during the trip focuses on the waterways in Holland. Laurie and Stuart Day conclude their film with shots of the neglected state and industrial look of British waterways, suggesting that this might be an area for improvement. Sequences in the holiday footage include shots of: the activity on and near Amsterdam’s canals; a boat trip on the canals and around the port of Amsterdam; an indoor flower market in Amsterdam; the local population of Volendam in traditional clothing; activities found on the streets and around the harbour in Volendam; the cheese market in Alkmaar; the canals of Delft. The Amsterdam boat trip notably draws attention to spaces on the waterfront arising from the demolition of houses owned by Amsterdam’s Jewish population during the occupation of the Netherlands by Germany.

Featured Buildings

Amsterdam Centraal railway station Artemis, Bergen [ship] Sir James Clark Ross, Sandefjord [whaling ship]

Featured Events

Alkmaar Friday Cheese Market

Keywords

Continental tourism in the late 1940s; Amsterdam; Canals; Flowers; German Occupation; Alkmaar Cheese Market; Traditional clothing

Intertitles

Many Midland towns have had the idea of brightening their roundabouts with flowers. Of course, in the battle of sweet scented flowers versus industrial smells the smells have it. Still it’s a nice idea. A really worthwhile effort don’t you think? Those bulbs suggest Holland – why not have a holiday there? The Dutch might give us other ideas. Amsterdam [Amstel hotel street map] Perhaps the best way to see Amsterdam is from the water. The Ghetto shows eloquent gaps where Nazis destroyed Jewish homes and sent their occupants into oblivion. A Norwegian whaler from the Antarctic. Flower growing is a flourishing industry. This is an indoor flower market. In Amsterdam they take delivery of everything through the windows, by means of permanent hoists. On the shores of the Zuider Zee, now fast being reclaimed, are delightful fishing villages. This is Volendam. Gaily pennanted masts appearing oddly above the house tops show how much below sea level the village lies. The market square of Alkmaar is very busy on Cheese Market Fridays. As charming as its pottery is the country town of Delft. Amsterdam [Amstel hotel street map] Well, if there is one thing Holland can teach us it is how colourful canals can be. Let’s take a look at our own. Town Councils have “said it with flowers”. How about it British Railways? The End.

Other Places

Stoke on Trent; Amsterdam; Monnikendam; Volendam; Alkmaar; Delft