Give a man a lobster and he’ll probably make quite a mess of the table cloth. Get a man to work with his fellow fisherman, lumber merchants, carpenters, builders, canners and truck drivers and then fish the critters from the sea and you will ruin loads more table cloths to be sure, but you’ll also feed a great deal more of the area’s 1 million-odd people both spiritually and physically in Canada’s neglected Maritime areas of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Barely a century ago, the fishermen were lucky to earn 1 cent for every pound of fresh cod they could land - not even enough to pay for the petrol needed to run their small, open, craft. With their livelihoods in tatters, many abandon these traditional jobs and head to the industrial heartlands where mining and steel making make life more viable; else they head to other parts of Canada or the USA to find opportunities. Just in the nick of time for many, the government sets up a Royal Commission which reports that urgent action is required. This advocates not just financial investment in these communities but also a programme of adult education so that these innately hard working people can start to understand more of what is driving the demand for their products, and of the benefits to them of working in larger scale co-operatives who cut out the profiteering middle-men and enable them to get their goods direct to market efficiently and cost-effectively. What this doesn’t mention is the effect on these communities of WWII, but the story is clearly one that starts in the economic doldrums with houses and factories slowly rotting away and concludes with something altogether more optimistic. It’s quite a breezily produced film with a few contributions from these very locals who, despite years of despair, were readily prepared to get back to work, and what is also quite interesting is that their common goals are not politicised in any way. There are no “isms” here, just communities who’s see the sense in mutual co-operation and are prepared to put in the graft. There is some lovely, at times quite bleak, photography and it’s narration is sufficient to let the guide but leave the imagery to do the work. Worth a watch, I’d say.

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