Stories.

I recently found 12 old Kodak film reels from my late fathers camcorder. All were labelled except one. The addresses on them told me that the other 11 were holidays during my Dads second marriage. The unlabelled one was addressed to somewhere that I did not recognise. I took a gamble that it might be during my Mum and Dads marriage. My mum lost custody of my brother and I when I was 4 and sadly we never saw her again. The memory stick from Digital Converters arrived a couple of days ago and there was 3 minutes of footage of my brother and I and yes - just for a few seconds - our mum. This is so precious to us. It is the only video of her we have ever seen and we will treasure it always.

High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) skydive, a technique originally developed for military operations where jumpers exit at high altitudes (typically 15,000-40,000 feet) and open their parachutes at low altitudes (e.g., 3,000-4,000 feet for civilians) to maximize freefall time and minimize detection. In civilian skydiving, HALO jumps are sought after for the extended freefall (up to 2.5 minutes) and thrill, often requiring supplemental oxygen due to high-altitude conditions.

Here we have a cine reel celebration 150 years of steam trains, in 2025, we mark 200 years since the dawn of steam trains, when George Stephenson's Locomotion No. 1 traversed the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, heralding a new era of transport. This milestone transformed societies, shrinking distances and fueling industrial growth. Early steam locomotives, reaching speeds of 30 mph, sparked awe and fear, with skeptics warning such velocities defied human endurance. Today, these iron pioneers remain a testament to ingenuity.

The Ffestiniog Railway is a historic narrow gauge steam railway located in Wales, UK. It runs from the harbor town of Porthmadog to the slate-quarrying town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. Established in the 1830s to transport slate from the quarries to the coast, it is the world's oldest narrow gauge railway with passenger services. After a period of decline, it was revitalized in the mid-20th century and now serves as a heritage railway, offering scenic rides through the Snowdonia National Park. The railway is famed for its picturesque routes, vintage steam locomotives, and unique gravity-operated slate trains, making it a significant part of Welsh heritage and a popular attraction for railway enthusiasts and tourists alike.

Here is part one of a beautiful wedding from the 1980s, we're still blown away by the quality of cine film when scanned properly.