For the McDowell family, 1965 began with a trip to the River Lagan to watch the first section of the new Queen Elizabeth bridge being lowered into place. The children play in the back garden, getting as much out of the box that their new TV came in as the TV itself. The eldest child catches his first trout on the Straid lake in County Antrim, just before his 8th birthday, celebrated by a picnic at Tollymore, with another party in May, with the second child’s 6th birthday in June. The intrepid family explores caves at Cushendun, visits Slemish, the Spelga river and Down Cathedral, and goes on camping trips.

Everyday life is lovingly recorded from egg and spoon and sack races to all the joys of dressing up, whether for cups or for the sheer fun of it.