Julie Summers

The story of a group of inspirational women in a rural Cheshire community with the shadow of World War II casting a dark cloud over their lives. As the conflict takes hold and separates the women from their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, the characters find themselves under increasing and extraordinary pressures in a rapidly fragmenting world. By banding together as the Great Paxford Women’s Institute, they help maintain the nation’s fabric in its darkest hour, and discover inner resources that will change their lives forever.

More than 100 years on from the tragic events of the 1924 Mount Everest Expedition, Julie Summers, the great niece of Sandy Irvine, and mountaineer and narrator Matt Sharman seek insights into the 1920s Everest expeditions. Along with extensive historical footage, photographs and documents, as well as interviews with Everest scholars and mountaineers, the pair don't just re-tell the story of the three Everest expeditions of the 1920s, but re-examine them, asking what the mountain means for climbers and the people of Nepal 100 years on from the infamous disappearance of Mallory and Irvine.

The story of a group of inspirational women in a rural Cheshire community with the shadow of World War II casting a dark cloud over their lives. As the conflict takes hold and separates the women from their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, the characters find themselves under increasing and extraordinary pressures in a rapidly fragmenting world. By banding together as the Great Paxford Women’s Institute, they help maintain the nation’s fabric in its darkest hour, and discover inner resources that will change their lives forever.