Kes

School

When I was at school I really didn’t like English, but this was not because of the books we read. One of the books that we studied was A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines.

Once we had finished reading the book we were shown the film Kes based on the book and directed by Ken Loach. It remains to this day one of my favourite films and was also voted number 7 in the greatest British films of the 20th Century.

It resonated with me so much because Billy Casper’s experience at school was kind of similar to mine. I was bullied, I was caned, I hated PE (especially the showers) and during my careers interview I was asked what job I wanted to do at the Steelworks.

T-Shirt

In 1993 Chumbawumba released a single Timebomb which featured David Bradley, who portrayed Billy Casper in the film, flicking a "V" sign (aggressively holding up two fingers) on the cover.

I bought the Timebomb t-shirt when I saw Chumbawumba at Heineken free music festival in Leeds Roundhay Park

Teaching

From September 1999 to January 2001 I worked as a supply teacher in Sheffield and Barnsley. One of the schools that I worked at was Edward Sheerien School, the school that was used for the filming of Kes. A number of the teachers that I worked with had attended the school and were extras in the film.

Film with live music score

Today Susan and I went to the Southbank Centre where as part of their 75th anniversary and Rough Trade’s 50th anniversary they were showing Kes with a live orchestra playing the film score.

Before they showed the film there was a Q&A with Miranda Sawyer questioning David Bradley, John Cameron (composer of the film score) and Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp and Sheffield fame).

This was the first time I have seen the film on a huge screen and it was as emotional as I expected.