It was back in the early days of Channel 4, and I was about sixteen years old. I was suffering from some sort of social phobia, some kind of dread. I still haven't worked out whether it was an ordinary adolescent experience or a brush with something more sinister. The real McCoy- madness, call it what you will.
Anyway, aside from the trembling discomfort of ordinary days one of the things I remember most vividly from that era was seeing this film one Sunday afternoon.
Phillip Trevelyan's compelling film features the Page family, eccentric recluses living in the south of England, building steam engines, drinking tea and smoking endless roll ups.Mr Page has seen sea monsters and believes that man could reach the moon by means of a long ladder.
His adult children live with him in an old cottage in the woods, the grounds a ramshackle overgrown scrapyard in which the sons restore traction engines whilst Mr Page builds a boat.
There are clips of the film on You Tube, but it really is worth the seventeen quid that you can pay for it here:http://www.themoonandthesledgehammer.com/
