Andy Meikle – Page 2 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Harry Greene (1923-2013)

Pattie Coldwell, Harry Greene, Gilly Love, Rick Ball

Steph Silk & Andy Meikle – On The House

The On The House publicity shot includes Harry Greene on the left, Pattie Coldwell above with the wallpaper, Rick Ball with the tape measure and Gilly Love with the drill.

Harry Greene died in March 2013 after collapsing at home. He was in his ninetieth year.

Harry Greene is best known as one of the presenters of On The House, the popular late 1980s DIY television series. Harry made DIY popular and accessible. He began with a career in theatre and television as an actor, and was married to actress, Marjie, with whom he had three children. He wasn’t in fact called ‘Harry Greene’, until he changed his name by deed poll in 1950, from Henry Howard Greenhouse.

Harry was always keen on DIY, but became the first TV DIY presenter in the 1980s when he made a series for Greg Dyke at TV-AM, about the renovation of a neglected house. TV-AM bought the house for the series, and filmed the whole conversion. The completed house was given away in a competition.

Presenting on Pebble Mill’s On The House, was a natural extension for Harry. On The House was the brainchild of Andy Meikle, with Stephanie Silk the programme editor given the task of turning the idea into a successful returning series on BBC 2. The On The House, house was a timber framed building situated in the back garden of BBC Pebble Mill. The house operated as a TV studio, and demonstration area for the series, and you had to remember that there was no plumbing in the house!

For more information about Harry Greene see his son in law, Mike Smith’s blog: http://mikesmithinlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/harry-greene.html?spref=tw. Mike is married to Harry’s daughter, TV presenter Sarah Greene, who presented Pebble Mill’s Good Morning Summer, although she’s probably best known as a Blue Peter presenter.

I worked as a researcher on the last series of On The House in 1989, and enjoyed working with Harry. I remember he kept changing his mind about the size of screws he wanted, and as I’d bought what he’d originally asked for, we didn’t have the right size on location!

Vanessa

The following comment was posted on the Pebble Mill Facebook group:

Julian Hitchcock: ‘What a nice man. The screw size anecdote rings true.
I worked on the first series in, I think, 1986. I’d proposed a DIY series to David Waine, on the basis of the then explosion in DIY shares following the Thatcher reforms and boom in home ownership. David told me that Andy Meikle wanted to do the same thing and that a budget had been scraped together. Stephanie Silk joined to keep order and give the programme glossy lifestyle values etc. Andy was, however, very much the engine of invention. I just gave it its name (prize: one bottle of champagne) and directed gripping items on the installation of damp courses, latest trend in door mats and hammers (leading to the slogan, “On the House, the only programme with hammer glamour).

My recollection is that Andy revered Harry Greene because of an ancient connection with the previous icon of television DIY, Barry Bucknell. Incredibly, Bucknell’s heyday was in the 1950s. There had been nothing in between at all, so we had the satisfaction of breaking new ground, but I think Andy wanted to show the baton being passed on. Our first programme, as I recollect, looked back to Barry Bucknell. We found old footage of Barry boxing in a beautiful spindle staircase (planing off the rounded edges the better to support his streamlined hardboard) and various others acts of vandalism. I’m not sure that Harry quite got the joke (surely Barry had done a good, professional job?) but he was a lovely chap. I also credit Andy, Steph and BBC Birmingham in giving the job to someone of Harry’s age and, frankly, inexperience. He had great warmth, which viewers plainly appreciated.’

PAs Leaving Party – more photos

Photos from Jane Mclean, no reproduction without permission.

The photos were taken on 17 Dec 1998 at the PAs leaving party. The Production Assistants at BBC Pebble Mill took redundancy, although many came back as freelancers with the BBC.

After You, Hugo – photos from John Greening

‘After You, Hugo’, was basically a silent play – starring Nola Rae a mime artist. It was a comedy, set backstage at a seedy ‘30’s Music Hall. The Music Hall company develops a new mime act because of members’ difficulty in communicating with each other. It was directed by Bob Jacobs, and produced at Pebble Mill by Roger Gregory. The ‘Summer Season’ drama was transmitted in 1985. The script was written by John David, Chris Harris and Nola Rae.

The drama featured Chris Harris, Nola Rae, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hale, Derek Tansley, Pip Hinton, Nick Cursi, Lyn Farrell, Tina Grundy, Donna Kellie and Barbi Levard.

First photo, features Chris Harris (in bag) and Nola Rae, Australian mime artist

Second photo, includes Andy Meikle (FM/PM), John Greening (AFM), tying up Chris Harris, and props guy, Dave Bushell (known as Gonzo) on the right.

Thanks to John Greening for making the photos available.

That’s a Wrap! – Andy Meikle’s farewell

Order of Service - Andy's funeral

Andy Meikle’s funeral today was a bitter sweet occasion. It was sad to be saying goodbye to a man who was loved and appreciated by so many people – for his humour, his positive attitude on life and his ability to get stuck in and complete the task in hand, whether that task was a television programme, a DIY job, or some other project.

A lone piper led the cortege into the Crematorium and to the Chapel. There was standing room only inside, and the service is one he would have approved of – a celebration of Andy’s life, rather than all sadness and tears. The coffin was banded with tape – the lower layer advised ‘handle with care’, whilst the upper one said ‘this way up’. Andy would certainly have appreciated the thought – and that health and safety was important to the end!

The service consisted of some well chosen readings, including a verse read by Jon Meikle (Andy’s eldest son), and a beautifully written poem by one of Andy’s grandchildren, Holly, as well as moving memories about Andy’s life at the BBC and beyond by John Williams, and about his childhood and youth by his brother, David. David Hogg (Nicola Silk’s partner) spoke eloquently about his memories of Andy. There were smiles as well as tears – and the service was a certainly a celebration of life rather than a commemoration of death.

It was fitting to see so many former BBC colleagues, and old friends, at Andy’s send off – and lovely to share thoughts of him with them.

There was also a silver lining for me, in meeting up with some of the people who’ve contributed to this website – but that I hadn’t known before!

Our thoughts are with Steph and family, and with Andy’s sons and family at this sad time.

Vanessa

Andy Meikle’s Golden Oldie Picture Show video

This photo is of Pebble Mill producer Andy Meikle. The tricycle was used for the film he directed on the Golden Oldie Picture Show. The Golden Oldie Picture Show was presented by DJ Dave Lee Travis, the exec producer was John King. Guest directors were asked to create music videos for popular hits which had never had videos made. The song he was creating a video for was “Down, Down” by Status Quo and it was shot at Tatton Park in Cheshire. The story was about a load of rockers fighting over a girl in a hay rick!

Andy actually drove the bike up and down the M6.

(Thanks to Annie Gumbley for making the photo available, and to Gail Herbert for the information).

Andy Meikle test drives the props!