Roving reporter Charlie Witherspoon was off on his bicycle to Co Donegal and the town of Buncrana for this report on an unusual cottage industry. It was here that it was claimed that the smallest independent snuff and tobacco factory in the world was in operation. John Grant showed Charlie around the small premises and outlined the various processes involved in manufacturing the niche products of snuff and chewing tobacco in ways which hadn’t changed since his father set up the company. Some of the elderly locals who swear by the products after decades of use were also interviewed.
This report was shot for a series called 7 Degrees West, a kind of early forerunner of Lesser Spotted Ulster, which saw features on old traditions and off-the-beaten-track places. Although the complete programmes, which included studio material, have gone from the archives, a number of these filmed location shoots featuring Charlie on his bike have survived. Look out for others in the Digital Film Archive.