Lesley Weaver – Page 3 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Howards’ Way 30 years anniversary

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission. Thanks to Les Podraza for making the cast and crew photo available.

(This iPlayer link is to an item by South Today about the making of Howards’ Way)

The end of 1st September 2015 marked the 30 years anniversary of Howards’ Way, the sailing drama series, which was likened to a British version of the US drama Dallas.

The series was hosted at Pebble Mill, and recorded on location in Southampton, with some of the interiors being recorded in Studio A.

Here is the Radio Times synopsis for the first episode, courtesy of the BBC Genome project:

“A serial in 13 parts devised by GERARD GLAISTER and ALLAN PRIOR
Episode 1 written by JILL HYEM
‘I’m sorry, Jan … It may be selfish, but I intend to spend the rest of my working life doing something I want to do.’
Title music
SIMON MAY and LESLIE OSBORNE Film cameraman JOHN KENWAY Designer MYLES LANG
Script editor JOHN BRASON Director PENNANT ROBERTS Producer GERARD GLAISTER”

http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/14bd8b49c7524441b9e9a278e19e74d7

Thanks to Paul Burton for pointing out the anniversary, and the South Today piece.

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

Dawn Trotman: ‘I think it is John Kenway yet it was John Willey who shot the first and second series.. I edited the first series with Nigel Pardoe-Matthews and the second on location with Sharon Pemberton and Lynne Hawkins..great fun.. We always knew it would be successful..It was our Dallas..’

Maggie Humphries: ‘Not John Kenway,, it’s Jimmy Monks, Grips who worked on the series.’

Lesley Weaver: ‘Maggie Humphries is right, it is the lovely freelance grip Jimmy Monks near left of camera and far right is David Evans a lovely freelance Camera operator. Can’t really work out who’s behind camera. I worked on the second series so I ought to remember. In the clip I remember Tony ‘O’ sparks from Lee North and Susie Peck is the designer talking about the costumes, lots of others I remember too.’

Chris Weaver

Photo from Gail Herbert, copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

Director of Photography, Chris Weaver has died recently. He is operating the camera in the photo above, which was on a Regional series, called Day Out, this episode was in Derby, 1983. Production Assistant, Gail Herbert, is next to him, with David Nelson, right of Chris. Chris worked at Magpie, with Jim Knights, and was married to Pebble Mill Make-up Designer, Lesley Weaver. Producer John Clarke is on the far left.

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

Elliot Weaver: ‘Action shot – “you must always point at something”‘

Johannah Dyer: ‘That is sad news – he was a lovely bloke who always went above and beyond what was expected on every shoot.’

Terry Powell: ‘So sad to hear, I knew and worked with his wife Lesley on so many shows and Chris as well sending love to his family.’

Lynn Cullimore: ‘Chris was the nicest guy ever and so lovely to work with I agree Jane. So sad to hear of this and I do send my condolences to Lesley and all the family. I remember Day Out well as I also worked on it with John Clarke. In fact, John is in this picture extreme left.’

Siobhan Maher Kennedy: ‘Very sad news . I loved the Magpie guys! Chris was great and I have happy memories from when I was in the regional opt out with Pamela Relton Liz Cox Rosalind Gower.’

Samantha Watkins: ‘Sorry to hear about the loss of Chris. Many happy memories . Here’s a photo I found in attic from the early 80’s. Also a photo of me and Lesley in 81 was in same album , on Nanny.

Nanny

Nanny, was a BBC drama series, starring Wendy Craig. It was set in 1930s England. There were three series of ten episodes each, transmitted in 1981, ’82 and ’83. Pebble Mill hosted the third series, although I don’t know if the first two series were made in Birmingham or London.

These photos are from the third series.

Thanks to costume designer, Janice Rider for sharing the photos.

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

Eurwyn Jones: “I worked on most of the series and if I remember rightly they started in the 30s through to WW2 into the forties. I believe it was all done at Pebble Mill. Joy Pugh was Wendy Craig’s dresser. It was hosted by Pebble Mill for Drama, Series and Serials London. I have some pics somewhere myself.”

Susie Astle (Bankers): “I was the make up designer on one of the series done from Pebble mill. Samantha was Wendy’s assistant. Carole Brady, Linda, Lesley Weaver and more worked on the show when we had lots of extras. It was a nice series to work on with a lovely cast and crew.”

Lynda Kettle: “Margaret Peacock was the designer, I was her art director on some of them and I designed one of the episodes.”

Arthur Heywood – photo from Jane McLean

The photo is of a 1980 Pebble Mill at One shoot in Hong Kong. In the photo are L-R: two unknowns; Jane McLean; John Gilbert; Nigel Davey; John Smith; John Williams; Arthur Heywood.

Thanks to Jane McLean for making this photo available.

Arthur Heywood was a Gaffer at BBC Birmingham from the early/mid 1960s until the 1980s.

Arthur died on Feb 7, 2012.

Colleagues who remember him fondly left the following comments on the Pebble Mill Facebook page:

Jane McLean: ‘One of my very favourite people. Had an amazing trip to Hong Kong and China with him in the 80s. He bought enough furniture out there to furnish a house .. then had to pay at least twice as much to get it shipped back here.’

Carol Churchill: ‘How sad worked with Arthur on lots of dramas and spent many jolly evenings in pubs with him and crew.’

Lesley Weaver: ‘We were only talking about Arthur the other day. That’s very sad he was such a lovely man & adorably cheeky ! I agree Carol lots of jolly times were shared with him. God bless you Arthur! X’

Janice Rider: ‘Simply a lovely man . Very sad’

A Master of the Marionettes – photo from John Greening

‘A Master of the Marionettes’ was a 1989 ‘Play on One’ produced at Pebble Mill by Michael Wearing, with Pedr James directing. The drama was written by Guy Hibbert, with Hilary Salmon the script editor.

L to R: Pedr James, behind Pedr is Guy Hibbert (writer), ?, Helen Smith, Rod Litherland (lighting. By the van (right) – Gareth Williams (AFM), Bobby Chapman (script supervisor). Eric Crouch (electrician) with the cloth cap at the back, Peter Wood-Fisher (Technical Manager) on the right.

The play starred Ken Cronham, John Duttine, Fiona Victory, Carol Drinkwater, David Bradley and Kenneth Colley.

The drama was about a group of salesmen, and their complicated and intertwined private lives. The Radio Times billing read: “Teddy Rose’s passion is security – selling alarm systems to prosperous yet fearful suburban homes, one of which he and his family inhabit with conspicuous success. Then one Saturday morning a violent street encounter starts a chain of events which calls into question his every assumption and changes his life for good.”

Thanks to John Greening for making the photo available.

Lesley Weaver adds the following memories about working on the drama:

“I was the make up designer on this drama. It was shot around Oct/Nov 1988. It was the first production I worked on when I return to work after the birth of my eldest son.

I was really down about leaving my 5month old baby but there were mutiple great stab wounds ( by a chisel) for me to distract me. My assistant Helen Smith helped me keep them looking fresh on location. The exteriors were very cold so the injuries became hard & kept falling off the actors skin, then started to melt in once in the hospital scene because it was too hot! Filmed on locations around Solihull I think, in the studio at Pebblemill and the hospital scenes were shot at the Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry if I remember correctly. It had a great production crew with a nice cast, who were lovely to work with especially David Bradley & Kenneth Colley. My 1st assistant was (Bafta award winning) Paul Gooch & the costume designer was called John Lynlard ( someone will prob correct his surname for me).”