1. Hannah Butters
Thinking Of You
Setting (Time & Place): Winchelsea Beach, Rye, December 1928
Based on a true story…on 15th November 1928, 17 Lifeguards received a call for help off the coast of
Rye. Launching the boat from the Mary Stanford Lifeboat house, they took into the rough seas. The
boat never returned. Over the following days the bodies of the brave men washed up on shore. The
lifeboat house was never used again.
Genre: Social Realism/ Period Drama
Synopsis:
A young woman stirs in her sleep. The sun is streaming in through the netting draped windows. The
sound of the ocean can be heard in the distance. Sudden flashes of rough seas and men crying derive
her out of her dreams, startled. She reaches over to where the other half of the bed is empty and
scrunches the vacant sheet in her palm. The wall clock ticks mundanely.
Wrapping a silk gown around her she drags herself out of the bed and sits down at a dressing table
where a crucifix necklace hangs. She gently removes it from the mirror and places it around her
neck. She gazes at the photo of a man which lies on the wooden surface. Flustered, she begins to
apply her makeup and wrap up her hair.
She walks into the kitchen dressed and ready to find her 6 year old daughter, Ruth, busy making
what appears to be cake. The kitchen is a mess, flour and pans cover the surfaces. The child is also a
mess. Annoyed, Mary sends Ruth away. It is clear that she is stressed. She then starts to pack away
the utensils and begins to tidy up the mess. Her frustration is evident from the heavy clunking of
plates and agitated scrubbing. Ruth reappears with her box of crayons and sits down at the table.
She’s drawing, sharpening pencils, rubbing out and innocently creating more mess. Glancing up at
the clock Mary strides over to her happily content daughter and as she’s writing the message “Happy
Birthday”, stops her again. She uncontrollably shouts at her “He’s dead!” Ruth sadly picks up her
crayons and runs off crying. Guilt washes over her as she returns to the dishes. She appears
emotionally unstable.
The doorbell rings and a social worker sits down on the sofa opposite the mother and daughter.
Fresh tea steams from the mugs on the little table in the middle. She asks Mary a range of questions,
“How are you managing?” “How much have you saved?” “Is little Ruth coping okay?” etc, to which
she responds with monosyllabic answers. However, as the session progresses she is quick to break
down.
Later on in the day, Mary appears to have grown in self-assurance as she walks Ruth down to the
Lifeboat house on the shore. Ruth clutches the birthday card she made, now with a drawing of her
holding hands with Dad on the front. She places it into a bottle and drops into the waves. Together
they watch it drift out to sea. Mary kisses the top of her head and they walk back up toward the
wooden structure. There, she places her flowers and a note “thinking of you”.