Afternoon in the Clouds

Silent-film actress Sybil de Bray and pals take to the skies over Battersea

Celebrity antics are nothing new. The camera here captures a lovely close-up of fashionably-clad stage and film actress Sybil de Bray before she is gallantly lifted into the basket of a hot-air balloon and takes to the skies above Battersea. Glamorous leisure pursuits were a Topical Budget favourite, and the whimsical tone of this item is typical of the newsreel's 'light-entertainment' approach.

De Bray would later star in British director Bert Haldane's Five Nights (1915), a risqué romantic melodrama which was banned by many local authorities.