Midlands Today newsroom

Photo from Jonathan Dick, no reproduction without permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Midlands Today newsroom at Pebble Mill from the early nineties.

Cathy Houghton in the foreground and David Davies in the background, at BBC Pebble Mill, Birmingham. The computer system was BASYS, which Cathy apparently excelled at!

Thanks to Jonathan Dick for sharing the photo.

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

Malcolm Hickman: ‘As a Comms engineer, we sometimes had to see Gwen Smith when there had been a problem with the Saturday results feed. Her bark was always greater than her bite. When you got it wrong, she gave you a tongue lashing, when it went right, she sent out a hero gram. A lovely lady.’

Jane Partridge: ‘I remember when Phil was doing a Saturday Comms shift and I was away (possibly at Guide Camp in those days) he took our eldest daughter into work with him, she was 5 at the time (so 1989-90) and he was heavilly involved in setting up the BAYSIS system. She was used to using the BBC Model B computer we had at home, so going into the newsroom with him, she perched on a stool and was happily occupied tapping away on a keyboard…. the report I got was that there was a newsroom of open-mouthed journalists nervously attempting what this 5 year old didn’t bat an eyelid at.’

Diane Kemp: ‘I remember when BASYS came in. There were some ‘super users’ who taught the rest of us. Jane Green was one, I think??’

Midlands Today Reunion – Midlands Yesterday

1977 regional news presenters Guy Thomas, Kay Alexander,Peter Windows, David Stevens B.Row Michael Hancock,Tom Coyne AG

1977 regional news presenters Guy Thomas, Kay Alexander,Peter Windows, David Stevens B.Row Michael Hancock,Tom Coyne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A reminder of Midlands Today Reunion – MIDLANDS YESTERDAY.

The reunion is for anyone who worked on Midlands Today, as Presenters, Journalists, Production, Engineers, Cameras, Sound, VT, Film, Lights, etc.

The date, time and venue: Saturday, 3rd September 2016, 1pm – 6pm, Deloitte room at the Midlands Arts Centre.

Everyone who worked on the programme is invited.

Buffet tickets will cost £10 which covers finger food and room hire.

If you would like a ticket please email Roy Saatchi: roy.saatchi@iwishicouldmakethiswork.com  and he will let you know how to get a ticket and pay for it.

Any more details email Maureen Carter (maureencarter@gmail.com) or Cathy Houghton (cathy@houghton.net).

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William Smethurst

William Smethurst, photo by Simon Farquhar, no reproduction without permission

William Smethurst, photo by Simon Farquhar, no reproduction without permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WILLIAM SMETHURST : TRIBUTE AND FUNERAL DETAILS

You may have heard on the news that William Smethurst, one time Editor of The Archers, passed away, on 22nd July.


William was at the helm when I was first trusted to mix the drama.  I have always remembered trying to compassionately manage a particularly lethargic spot operator during an episode that William was directing.  William, kindly but authoritatively, encouraged me to deal with the issue.  With knots in my stomach, fearing the immense hurt I was going to cause my colleague, I went into the studio, only to discover that he couldn’t have cared less!   I learned valuable lessons: that not everyone has the same sense of duty and obligation, and that difficult issues are best tackled sooner than later. This has stood me in good stead ever since.   Thank you, William.  Needless to say, said spot operator went on to become a very successful Radio 1 producer, later to forge a successful career in both broadcasting and feature films!

Writer, Jo Toye, was learning her craft at the same time that I was learning mine, and has sent this tribute:

“William arrived on the writing team of The Archers in the mid-Seventies and started his shake-up of the programme in his typically imaginative way then. By the time I joined the production team as a PA in 1980, he’d been Editor for a year and delighted in the team of ‘left-wing, feminist’ writers he’d engaged. His storylines eschewed social comment for what he called ‘social comedy’ – a typical Bridge Farm family story involved not the dawning realisation of domestic abuse but the saga of CND-supporting Pat changing their daily paper from the ‘Express’ to the ‘Guardian’, to Tony’s mystification.  As I typed the scripts his bold crossings-out and rewritings taught me everything I know – no chance of the writers doing their own rewrites then as everything was sent in hard copy, by post…

With his clear-sightedness about what The Archers should be – ‘the voice of the shires’  – and the support of then Network Editor Radio, Jock Gallagher, who’d rescued the programme from the doldrums after the retirement of the legendary Godfrey Baseley – William’s energy and ever-whirring marketing brain raised the programme’s profile and listenership.


So many of the characters he created are still there today – Caroline Sterling, Susan Carter, and the inimitable Grundys, while others (Nelson, Nigel) have passed into Archers mythology. So many of the writers he took on – me included – are still writing today.  His willingness to back untried young hopefuls didn’t stop at The Archers: when he later created and ran the sci-fi soap Jupiter Moon for BSkyB he gave their first big break to Anna Chancellor and Jason Durr.


He could be tough when he wanted to be – when he moved to Crossroads in 1986 he revelled in the title of ‘Butcher Bill’ – but he was also ingenious, inventive, intelligent, witty, warm, massively well-read, and a genuine lover of the countryside, its seasonal rhythms and its history.


He shepherded The Archers through what many now see as a golden age – in simpler times and in the very special atmosphere of Pebble Mill itself.   He brought great pleasure to millions of people but for me it was personal. I owe him everything and shall always be grateful.”

William’s funeral will be at 2pm, on Tuesday 2nd August, at Halford Village Church, Queen Street, Halford, Near Shipston on Stour.

Louise Willcox

(Here is an obituary for William Smethurst on the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36905761 )

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

Julian Hitchcock: ‘Sad indeed. Fine, much deserved tributes. I loved his sense of mischief and gossip, wry chuckle and that dangerous glint in his eye that warned that you or your name might just find their way into Ambridge.’

Cathy Houghton: ‘I worked with him on Midlands Today, a really lovely man.’

Linda Flavell: ‘Loved working with Bill so many years ago, a truly lovely guy.’

 

 

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‘Midlands Yesterday’ Reunion Party

Photo by Ivor Williams, no reproduction without permission

Photo by Ivor Williams, no reproduction without permission

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(The message below is from Diane Kemp)

A ‘Midlands Yesterday’ reunion party is being arranged to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Midlands Today. All those who worked in, or for, the Pebble Mill newsroom are invited. The party is happening on 3rd September 2016, 1pm, Deloitte Room at the mac. It is £10 a ticket, to cover room hire, finger food and there is a paying bar.

If you would like to come along, please email Maureen Carter: Maureencarter@gmail.com, or Cathy Houghton: cathy128@icloud.com.

If you are coming, then please bring any video or photos, to share!

 

Pebble Mill at One presenter – David Freeman

PebbleMillXmas1981a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

This screen grab is from the Pebble Mill at One show transmitted on 23rd December 1981. It shows presenter David Freeman, from Radio Oxford, interviewing Dr Who’s robotic dog, K9, about his spin-off show.

Thanks to Paul Smith for making the grab available, and to Pete Simpkin, Cathy Houghton and Julian Hitchcock for identifying David Freeman.