Monthly Archives: May 2012

Planning Office

Photo from Sue Robinson, no reproduction without permission.

This photo of the Planning Office was taken in 1980.  The Planning Office used to schedule VT and other technical staff to programmes.

Included in the photo are, left to right, back row: Bev Dartnall (who went on to be a drama series producer), David Robinson, Barbara Hynes, Margaret Barton, front row: Maria Hurley?, Lyn Rae (went on to be PA/PM), Janet Collins, Sue Robinson (became multi-camera director).

Thanks to Ian Rae for adding additional information.

The following comments were added on the Pebble Mill Facebook group:

Beverley Dartnall: ‘I worked in the planning office before joining Drama in 1982, As well as allocating cameramen and soundmen to programmes, they allocated what programmes went into Studio A. Janet allocated VT and TK staff. Comms were also allocated fom that office.’

Peter Poole: ‘I remember Kath Woolstan and Mandy Peissel from the Audio Unit office. They always did an excellent job and treated audio staff as people and not machines!’

Come to Mecca – Janice Rider

Photos by Janice Rider, no reproduction without permission.

‘Come to Mecca’ was transmitted on 2 Dec 1983.  It was produced by Peter Ansorge at Pebble Mill, and directed by John McGrath.  It was written by  the Anglo-Indian writer, Farrukh Dhondy.

The story involves Shahid, who is delighted when Betty asks him to go to a meeting at her house.  It is about the crossover and misunderstandings between different cultures.

The play stars, Sharman Macdonald (Betty), Dinesh Shukla, Nick Stringer, Moti Makan, Paul Anil, along with Zia Mohyeddin and Phil Daniels.

Janice Rider worked in the costume department, and took these polaroids for continuity reasons, so that the actors’ costumes matched from scene to scene and shoot to shoot.

 

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Pebble Mill at One trip to Houston – Derek Price

Photo from Derek Price, no reproduction without permission.

Nigel Evans, Ian Dewar and myself (Derek Price) on the way to Houston, Texas in July 81 in a DC10, to meet Vic Damone, the American singer and entertainer, and bring him back for ‘Pebble Mill At One’.

Derek Price

Jane Mclean adds that John Smith and/or Jim Dumighan may also have been involved in the trip.

Memories of Wood Norton

The following memories of BBC technical training at Wood Norton were posted on the Pebble Mill Facebook Group:

Pete Simpkin: ‘I was at Wood Norton in the mid 60s and our engineerng course TA16 was the first engineer group to be allowed to produce a show in the famous Gym studio.  It was relayed to the club in Evesham. I was Floor manager……we evn had to design our own captions!’

Take a look at the following 360 degree photo of Wood Norton, by Tom Poole: http://www.tompoole.co.uk/360/woodnorton2.swf

Stuart Gandy: ‘As an engineer my first 3 months in the BBC were at Wood Norton on my A course in 1979. Part of the A course for us TV engineers was to make a programme in the studio at Wood Norton trying out the different roles. In those days there were always a lot of trainees there and for our course we could not use the studio there as it was fully booked, so we had to come up to Birmingham University studio for 3 days. Whilst there we had the chance to visit ‘a proper TV studio’, that was Pebble Mill of course, one of the BBC’s most iconic buildings. It was an interesting visit especially for those of us like me that would be starting there later on. Who would have ever thought back then that 25 years later it would be gone!’

Gordon Astley: ‘Wood Norton was my rite of passage.’

Pebble Mill Club – final days

Photos by Tim Savage, no reproduction without permission.

Tim took these photos on 23 Nov, 2004, one of the final days at Pebble Mill.

The photos include post production staff including: John Burkill, Jim Gregory, Amrik Manku, Brian Watkiss, Ivor Williams, John Duckmanton, Tony Rayner, Martin Dowell, Mike Bloore, Pete Shannon, John Macavoy, Dave Pick, Frank Stevens.

Please add a comment if you can identify others.

The following comments were added on the Pebble Mill Facebook Group:

Stuart Gandy: ‘In image 1016 the guy in the blue shirt holding a pint is John Macavoy, Engineer, and in image 1017 I see Dave Pick in the check shirt and next to him is Frank Stevens, former engineering services manager.’

Keith Brook: ‘If I may take friendly issue with Stuart Gandy about John Macavoy. He wasn’t just an engineer, he was a god. He was able to invent magical cures for any crazy idea that production could conjure up. Even worse, he would undertand their mumblings and give them more than they ever dreamed of. I hate him. The best days were, of course, when the bar was on the second floor. Very few managers realised all the post recording toxic, adrenaline, hyper-excitement that could corrode a great day’s work was diffused with a few beers upstairs. Incidentally, a truly ‘involving’, ‘participating’ and ‘egalitarian’ system, as we had at The Mill, works in any organisation. British industry, banking and the NHS would be major successes if they applied the same rules.’