June 2011 – Page 4 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Gyn Freeman, Radio WM photocard

Thanks to Stuart Gandy for making this photocard available.

Gyn Freeman was a presenter on Radio WM at BBC Pebble Mill; she was part of the 206 team with the late Stuart Roper.

Here are some comments from people who worked with Gyn:

Pete Simpkin: “Gyn and I had at first a ‘love-hate’ relationship…she worked in London supplying tapes of items to all the local stations and we both regarded this as a chore …….when she arrived in Birmingham to work with the late Stuart Roper we got on very well and I still treasure a recording of a live show from a Birmingahm canal where I was being instructed how to operate a canoe and was scared witless on air with only her cooling words from the bank to keep me going!”

Marie Phillips: “Gyn is my very best friend. We met when I was Children in Need Co-ordinator and she was co-producing it. We came to realise that her job was to report the projects we funded and mine was to protect the “good stories” from being exploited. We came to a very happy compromise and worked so well together.There are so many stories from the various CIN programmes – when we got stuck in the lift, “Dicky Heart and the Pacemakers” and so on … We forged a close friendship which continues and long may it. She has a formidable intellect and such a wealth of stories and we are never short of a laugh. Gyn is simply unique.”

Viv Ellis: “I loved working with her – she made me get sawn in half (by a magician) on Children In Need one year!”

Radio Birmingham, Pete Simpkin – photo from Annie Gumbley

Photo from Annie Gumbley, no reproduction without permission.

This photo shows producer and presenter, Pete Simpkin ready for action in the Radio Birmingham radio studio!

Pete adds the following information about the photo:

“This was in the late 70s and the studio was built to meet the demands for more production space as Radio birmingham continued to grow. I presented the Mid morning Show from here.

The studio was constructed in what was the Education producer’s Office…… It was equipped with some ex-Midland Region equipment due to the cunning of the then Engineer in Charge the late Stuart Miller and had the latest……for the time…..TV studio style C29 microphones. Famous people who squeezed into the studio with me included Roy Hudd, Cliff Richard, Johnny Nash and Minister of Droughts and Floods Birmingham MP Dennis Howell. Pat Mellor did the first Yoga by radio in here and I actually fell asleep during a live Yoga relaxation broadcast being awoken by a kick from Pat. Many journalists put together their ‘packages’ here in the days before the news operation moved totally to the Local Newsroom.”

The Clothes Show, Thailand – photos by Andy Frizzell

Photos by Andy Frizzell, no reproduction without permission.

The photos are of a ‘Clothes Show’ shoot in Thailand.

Crew were Clare Stride Producer/Director, Cameraman was Eric Wise, Sound was John Gilbert and myself (Andy), Lighting. Jeff Banks was the presenter but I can’t remember for the life of me who the PA was (there must have been one surely). We travelled mostly in the north of Thailand to Chang Mai, Chang Rai, the Burmese border region and of course Bangkok. The girls in costume were from the hill tribes and were dressed to attract prospective husbands I seem to recall. Can’t find any more pictures at the moment, still sifting but there must be more of that trip. Part of the trip involved the work of Oxfam trading where fair trade for goods was being setup in small communities. A young Caroline Lucas joined us in her role as press officer for Oxfam. (She is now the only Green party MP in the house of Commons)

Andy Frizzell

Dubbing Theatre – photos by Peter Poole

Photos by Peter Poole, no reproduction without permission.

The Dubbing Theatre Gets Computer Automation.

The Neve mixing desk replaced the original BBC Type D mixer. This was a major upgrade in technology and enabled more complex mixes to be done. The Neve desk featured “Flying Faders”. When the fader was moved its position was stored in the computer. This data was then used to control the servo motor and move the fader. The other photos show the Perfectone Rapimag Sepmag bays and the “Grams” sub mixer area. The assistant dubbing mixer operates the grams sub mixer and plays discs, tapes and CDs to add to the final mix.

Rose for Winter – photos by Gail Herbert

Photos copyright Gail Herbert, no reproduction without permission.

‘Rose for Winter’ was a two part adaptation by Laurie Lee of his book of the same name, of his return to Andalusia in 1951 with his bride Cathy years after the Spanish Civil War. It was produced at Pebble Mill by John King with narration by Laurie Lee. It was transmitted on BBC 2, on 23 and 24 December 1989.

The two parter starred John Wild as Laurie Lee and Cordelia Roche as Cathy.

John Williams was the cameraman, assisted by Dave Evans, Richard Reynolds was the recordist, with Gail Herbert the PA.