Eurwyn Jones – Page 2 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Saturday Night at the Mill – running order

This is the running order for a dummy run recording of Saturday Night at the Mill in December 1976.

Saturday Night at the Mill was an entertainment show which used the Pebble Mill Foyer studio and the courtyard area, for performances. The show was presented by Donny MacLeod and Bob Langley, amongst others, and Kenny Ball and his Jazzman were the resident band.

For live studio shows there were often dummy recordings to make sure that the crew were all up to speed, and that technically the show was going to work.

Thanks to Roger Guest for sharing this running order.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Jane Mclean: ‘Roy Norton was the director, Roy Ronnie the producer, Margaret Walne was PA and I was on autocue. The Kenny Ball band was the house band on all the programmes. The hospitality back at the Strathallen was legendary…!’

Annie Gumbley Williams: ‘I did autocue too. Roy Norton used to shout down the head phones! Liz Silver was PA then and she trained me as PA on Sat Night at the Mill. Roy Norton producer and Keith Ackrill was Researcher or Assistant Producer? Patricia Mifflin too. Great fun.’

Susan Astle: ‘Goodness ..those were the days. Trying to get artists back for makeup checks when they would rather be in hospitality. I think we had our own, obvs! Susie Bankers’

Keith Brook (Scouse): I think I vision mixed that show. I know I did the series. After we complained that there was no hospitality food left, Roy Norton used to shoot down to the Strathallan after the show to stop the office people from scoffing the lot. They didn’t work on the show which allowed them to get there early and hoover it all up!! The gallery talkback was distributed around Telly Centre to entertain the bored troops in London.

Michael Fisher: ‘Kenny Ball was a frequent guest on the show. Am I right in thinking that the recently deceased Alvin Stardust appeared in some Pebble Mill Saturday evening shows and a special stage with a catwalk-like extension so he could strut up & down!’ http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/36299c085523447eaa4bf3fac59b4563

Raymond Lee: ‘I remember working on many of these shows. The pilot programme actually went by the title “Pebble Mill at Night”. Kenny Ball was actually the “resident” musician for the show.’

Eurwyn Jones: ‘I remember working on the series with Ron Sowton. Ginger Rogers was the guest on a show, she arrived in a massive car live in front of the foyer.’

Tim Dann: ‘I remember it as though it were yesterday!!…fantastic fun!…then all back to the ‘Strathallan Hotel’ for hospitality. I was the Designer for the first series. Those were the ‘daze!!”

Keith Ackrill: ‘Patricia Mifflin and I were the two researchers on “SNATM.” Roy Ronnie was the Executive Producer and Roy Norton the Director. We had a great crew working with us, which made the programmes so enjoyable to work on.’

Royal Navy Rescue Helicopter, Pebble Mill at One

Photos by Bhasker Solanki, no reproduction without permission.

These photos are of a Royal Navy rescue helicopter appearing on Pebble Mill at One, and landing on the back lawn.

Thanks to Bhasker Solanki for sharing the photos.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Stuart Gandy: ‘Yes, I remember this, but this was not the only time we had aircraft at the mill. We also had a helicopter land on the font lawn, and the harrier on the club field, twice. These were the kind of big event things that put Pebble Mill and BBC Birmingham well and truly on the map.’

Jean Palmer: ‘It was all very exciting. The best was the harrier.’

David Gregory-Kumar: ‘The legend I was always told was it blew the garden shed clean over!’

Nick Owen: ‘My brother started playing Terry Barford in The Archers about 1979 – I think he did some publicity photos for his character being in the army arriving in a helicopter on the pebble mill lawn?’

Eurwyn Jones: ‘I remember them so well, the programmes were usually directed by John Smith.’

Stephen Adams: ‘I was a GPO apprentice based at Pebble Mill whilst all this was going on. I thought wow so this is what broadcasting is all about! Needless to say I changed careers into TV as soon as I could. Never looked back. Thank you PM!’

Richard Stevenson: ‘Before my time sadly, but I very much doubt it would be allowed these days. Believe Noel used to land at the club too?’

Gail Herbert: ‘Pebble Mill must have been the only office block where we would constantly have to say to people on the phone to hang on a minute ’cause there was a helicopter/plane/etc outside the window. Utter magic!’

Linda Webster – make-up

Photo by Eurwyn Jones, no reproduction without permission.

Photo of Linda Webster from make-up, with actor, Anthony Sher. The photo was probably taken before a Pebble Mill at One show, where Anthony Sher was probably publicising a forthcoming drama. Anthony Sher did appear in several Pebble Mill dramas, including The History Man, and The Sheik of Pickersgill.

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

Susie Astle: ‘From Susie(ex Bancroft ) I worked on the Sheik [of Pickersgill] and the photo was not from then. He wore a false moustache for that, it fell off during a tea break and I found it on the bottom of my shoe! I never told him so hope he’s not reading this, as if!!’

Lesley Weaver: ‘Yep Bankers true to form … Mind you I remember Shelley Weber doing that too …. She walked around all lunch time with the moustache stuck in the snow on the bottom of her moon boot… We searched everywhere, it was only when she sat down and crossed her leg that someone spotted it half hanging off!!! …once it was cleaned and re tongued no one was the wiser… Oh funny old times weren’t they!!!

I can’t be definitely sure it’s The Sheik ..but I am sure that this photo was taken in the Pebble Mill at One make up area next to where Barbara the BBC hairdresser worked. So it may have been for an appearance on the lunch time programme. Can’t think why the lead actor on The History Man would have been made up in that small area which was really a make shift area we used specifically for Pebble Mill at One. I worked on The History with Gill Hughes who was the hair & make-up designer… To my knowledge I don’t think Linda worked on that with us… In any case Tony was very particular about his hair & moustache on that show and being the lead I’m sure only Gill herself look after him, even I didn’t go near him and I was Gill’s senior assistant on that series. Tony looks much younger here than on History Man where he grew his own moustache for the character. Linda herself also looks quite young here too, we started at the same time and I think The Sheik was produced while I was in London on the make-up school during the autumn of ’78.. Linda didn’t attend that school she stayed at base and she went on a later one so she would possible been working on Pebble Mill at One during that time.’

Glynn Christian Recipe from Pebble Mill at One

These recipes from TV chef, Glynn Christian, were featured on Pebble Mill at One in January 1982. The combination of celeriac and mint flan, carrot and ginger flan, shoulder of lamb with red pepper, accompanied by a puree of parsnips and basil sound like a good wholesome winter meal. Notice how all the measurements are imperial, rather than metric. The recipe sheets could be ordered by viewers, and sent out to them.

Thanks to floor manager, Eurwyn Jones, for sharing these recipes.

The following comments were left on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Jane Mclean: ‘Those wanting recipes had to send in an SAE. We typed them out as above, photocopied them and rammed the envelopes. Not even PM headed paper! A tad removed from today and logging on to slash/recipe. Oh the glamour.’

Jane Clement: ‘The joys of life pre-computers, when it was all typewriters and carbon paper. So much fun, especially on a daily, live to air show that changed all the time. Bits of screwed-up paper everywhere and much swearing.’

Steve Weddle: ‘Absolutely. Incidentally I first stumbled upon Glynn Christian when I was researching an item on the Mutiny On The Bounty – he was actually a direct descendant of Fletcher Christian and had written a book on it. So I also tracked down a direct descendant of William Bligh too, Captain of the Bounty, and then let them slug it out in the foyer. On the way back to hospitality Glynn mentioned to me that he was something of a cook, and because he’d performed well I managed to persuade the powers that be to allow him back for a cookery demo. That was followed by a series of six – I’d never researched or produced cookery items before – very much the preserve of Steph Silk and Mary Clyne – and it was a bit of nightmare for me. Not my thing at all. So I was almost relieved when the newly launched Breakfast Time moved in and whisked Glynn away for him to become their regular on screen cook. How he must have loved those early mornings!’

Pebble Mill at One cameraman

Photo by Eurwyn Jones, no reproduction without permission.

This photo was taken during a Pebble Mill at One rehearsal, in the Foyer studio, circa 1980. Presenter Donny Macleod can just be seen in front of the camera.

The cameraman has been identified as Pete Edwards, with Bas Solanki visible above Pete’s arms. Pete left Pebble Mill to go to Granada circa 1980.

Thanks to Toby Horwood, Robin Sunderland and Annie Gumbley Williams for the identification.