Jane Green – Page 4 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Timesheet – Reaching for the Skies

Charles White’s timesheet

This timesheet is from Charles White, who was involved in the post-production of the documentary series: Reaching for the Skies, a history of flight. The twelve part series was transmitted in Sept-Nov 1988. It was a co-production with John Gau Productions, the series producer was Ivan Rendall, with different episodes being produced and directed by different people, including Tony Salmon and Dennis Adams. The editors included Greg Miller and Mike Duxbury.

The timesheet shows an over 80 hour week for Charles, meaning that he would have accrued an awful lot of overtime payments, or time off in lieu!

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

Jane Green: ‘I have my Clothes Show and Howards’ Way timesheets. 20 hours days filming – no joke!’

Ruth Barretto: ‘I can remember the days when I used to process all of productions timesheets and Expenses. 4 consecutive days in excess of 12 hours and on the 5th day 4 hours then you earn a day off in lieu…. Oh so sad that i still remember that!!!’

Lynn Cullimore: ‘I can imagine the hours as it was a big production. I worked on it for a few days filming at RAF Coningsby on tornadoes. It was fantastic.’

Victoria Trow: ‘Long hours? Over 100 one week on the dreaded Witchcraft. But nobody ever minded over time – time and a half + less than 10hr break….. Those were the days. My first job at Pebble Mill – in a portakabin with Fiona Haigh syncing up the rushes.’

Mark Heslop: ‘108 hrs on same series, unfortunately no proof, but everybody worked stupid hours on that programme.’

Rosalind Gower: ‘I’m still rather horrified he was scheduled a 60 hour week! I know we all worked crazy hours when we had to but it does seem very wrong that he was officially down to work for five consecutive days of 12 hours per day, big production or not.’

Studio B Gallery

Photo by John Doidge, no reproduction without permission.

I think that this photo is of the production gallery of Studio B circa late 1980s.

Studio B was the where Midlands Today was produced, but it was also used by many other programmes, e.g. Network East. The gallery was set up to take up to four studio cameras, and up to six outside sources.

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

Jane Green: ‘I vision mixed that desk, did some ‘sound duties’ too, and directed Midlands Today from there. OMG – it looks ancient now. I do remember though – the Technical Manager who sat to the left of the picture, who always had the last say on whether an item could be broadcast or not due to its technical quality – and I had stories dropped because the pictures were not 100% ok. How times have changed!’

Richard Murrell: ‘Yes Jane, I have been imagining how some of the old TM’s would have reacted to Skype video or mobile telephone interviews!’

Peter Poole, added the following photo of Studio B in the 1990s – notice the advent of computers, and updated phones!

Photo by Peter Poole, no reproduction without permission

Rosalind Gower: ‘I remember this gallery pre computers. Directing Midlands Today was a but of a hairy experience as we had to do our own vision mixing as well!’

Lynn Cullimore: ‘I remember being in there , especially doing Midlands Today and lots of regional TV as the production assistant. Memories.’

Stuart Gandy: ‘This is after the 1985 major refurb, but before Basis arrived, I think around 1990. This was also before the era of computer control. The control panels above the vision mixer controlled the sources on the Probel Matrix which fed the monitors, viewfinders etc, Later on in the early 90s computers took over this function, and one of the first instances of this was the control system built by John Macavoy, for the graphics sources, using Windows 3.11. What a shame we can’t quite read the screen of the presfax monitor bottom left, this would show the exact date.’

Tom O’Connor Roadshow – Mark Kershaw & Jane Mclean

The Directors: Chris Wright, David Weir, Mark Kershaw

Nicky Savage, Jane Mclean, Tom O’Connor, Jo Dewar

Photos from Jane Mclean, no reproduction without permission.

(The following blog was written after a conversation with director, Mark Kershaw in Feb 2014)

The Tom O’Connor Roadshow was a live entertainment show transmitted from around the country early 1987, it went out daily around 12pm on BBC1. The show was based in a different town or city each week, including: Derby, Falkirk, Port Talbot, Blackpool (twice!), Portsmouth, Newcastle, Cambridge, Exeter, Bradford, Londonderry with Liverpool being the final week’s location.

The show was commissioned to plug a gap in entertainment programming after Pebble Mill (the lunchtime magazine show) was decommissioned in May 1986. There was a move to use underutilised resources, and it was felt that outside broadcast scanners were busy at weekends during the winter, with football and other sport, but were available during the week. Therefore a live entertainment show, like the Tom O’Connor Roadshow, ticked all the boxes.

It was important that all areas of the country were covered, hence shows coming from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as England. Two versions of the set had to be made, travelling round the country in different directions, with one set being erected as the other one was in use.

There were three multi-camera directors assigned to the show. Mark Kershaw did all the advance planning. There was a main director of the week, which was either Mark, David Weir or Chris Wright. One of the others was the support director for the week, whilst the third, planned ahead for the following week.

The series encountered a few issues along the way. A week in Aviemore was planned, but because of an electricians’ strike had to be relocated as a return visit to Blackpool. Inserts from Aviemore were included instead. The Londonderry week was eventful. ‘The Troubles’ were still very active. The final show on the Friday in Derry had to be stopped part way through because of a bomb scare at the venue. The show went to an filmed insert, and never came back on air, with Pres taking over the transmission! UHF mics had to be hired in for the Cambridge shows, as the University complained that the Roadshow mics were using the same frequencies as the lecturers, meaning that instead of some erudite academic lecture,the sound of the Tom O’Connor Roadshow was coming through instead!

The series was expensive to make, although it was popular with the viewers. It was its high budget that meant that it wasn’t recommissioned.

The following comment was left on the Pebble Mill Facebook Page:

Jane Green: I worked on this series. It was great fun. I thought being sent to the Port Talbot TOCRS was drawing the short straw, until the Fine Young Cannibals came out of their dressing room dressed as Welsh Dolls and Miners to sing She Drives Me crazy!

Children in Need – Simon Bates

Photos from Jane Green, no reproduction without permission.

These photos are from a Children in Need evening, with Radio 1 D.J., Simon Bates presenting. He is next to Jane Green on the bridge outside the Foyer in the first photo. The second photo is of the floor managing team: Marco Di Giorgio, Jane Green, Mary Sanchez, Dave Brazier.

Eddy Grant at Pebble Mill

The photo includes Mary Sanchez (AFM), Eddy Grant and Jane Green (AFM). Eddy Grant came in to Pebble Mill to sing his hit ‘Gimme Hope Jo’anna’ circa 1988.

Apparently, Eddy had just told them a very rude and funny joke!