Jonathan Dick

Jonathan Dick (centre) at the 2016 Midlands Today reunion. Thanks to Jane Green for sharing the photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Dick, who was an RSA on Midlands Today, died very suddenly overnight on 17/18th April. David Croxson worked with him at BBC World News. He writes that Jonathan was always calm, collected, very witty and thoroughly professional, and that we are all in complete shock at this desperately sad news.

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

Jane Green: ‘Jonathan and I were RSAs together in the 80s on Midlands Today. He was the intellectual on the team, a brilliant vision mixer (the master of E-Flex and Charisma too), was unflappable in a tense gallery, and had a fantastic sense of humour.

Together, he and I took responsibility for saving all the regional TX and rushes bloopers onto a compilation tape, and when we saw each other the past few years, we recalled things like David Stevens’ forecasting the weather as ‘matchy pists’ and the BBC logo falling off the wall during Brian Conway’s breakfast bulletin. Jonathan’s hands were once seen dancing in shot in the pres studio as he tried to help the poor presenter who was failing on the self opt desk whilst reading the news. Most mishaps seemed to happen in the self-opt pres studio. Neither of us knew where that tape ended up after we left Midlands Today.

We had some fun times out in Brum in the 80s too, and last time I spent the day with Jonathan at BBC Parliament, I gave him some of the photos of him that I’d found, from a very boozy lunch a group of us had at ‘Jonathan’s’ restaurant about 1988. I never heard Jonathan say a bad word about anyone. He was a gentleman and so very kind. I’m still in shock from the awful news that we’ve lost him.”

Lynda Maher: ‘Such sad and shocking news. I worked with Jonathan as an RSA and when I moved onto studio directing he was by my side as VM, always helpful and encouraging and also great fun. He always stayed calm when things went wrong and I learned a lot from him.’

Gary Hudson: ‘I worked with Jonathan in the late 80s on Midlands Today, and I’d been in touch again on Facebook for the last three or four years. A very funny chap, who’ll be greatly missed. This is a photo he posted from Ariel when we won the RTS award.’

Darren New: ‘Very sad to hear this. I worked with Jonathan as a RSA in the Pebble Mill newsroom. I’m in the photo that Gary posted. The one thing I remember his his dry sense of humour and he would say it as it is. And he was a very good vision mixer.’

Maria Needle: ‘I worked with Jonathan and he was one of the nicest guys in telly. If ever I went into a show after him, I used to steal his DVE moves and copy them on to my disk! He was such a technical genius.’

Mary Sanchez: ‘I worked with Jonathan at Pebble Mill . He was a whizz kid on our vision mixing desk on Midlands Today and a lovely colleague too.More recently caught up with him at a reunion where we swapped funny memories and pottery tips on F/B…’

Jonathan Dick in N8 TVC. Photo from David Croxson

Feasts for a Fiver

Alan Duxbury recording Feasts for a Fiver, Andy Morton sound recordist to the left of Alan, Sue Watson on the left

Alan Duxbury recording

Sophie Grigson location shoot

Micci Bamford with Sophie Grigson

Sophie Grigson and Micci Bamford, Alan Duxbury in back of shot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These photos were taken in a shoot for Feasts for a Fiver, a cookery series starring Sophie Grigson.

The series was transmitted in 1999 on BBC2. This episode may be the one shot in Kent. Here is the entry from the Radio Times:

“Sophie Grigson prepares battered plaice and herb sandwich with griddled potato, tomato and red-onion salad, plus a vegetarian supper that includes beetroot curry and cucumber sambal, and a cut-price picnic for five. Directors Micci Billinger. Lynda Maher ; Producer Sara Kozak.”

During one episode the crew stayed in the coastal Devon village of Appledore. The location inspired producer Sue Watson, who is now a novelist. Appledore is the setting for Sue’s latest novel, Ella’s Ice Cream Summer.

Here is the link to Ella’s Ice Cream Summer: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ellas-Ice-Cream-Summer-romantic-sprinkles-ebook/dp/B06XK5PLYF%3FSubscriptionId%3D0V4JT1H35KWYMF0SKQR2%26tag%3Dnovelrank-21%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB06XK5PLYF

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

Andy Frizzell: ‘Bumped into Sophie Grigson a couple of times over the last couple of years. Ran a café in the Story museum, Oxford then a frozen food shop in Summertown, Oxford’

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Midlands Today 25th Anniversary – Peter Poole

Photo from Peter Poole, copyright resides with the original photographer, no reproduction without permission.

This photo was taken after the 25th Anniversary edition of Midlands Today.  Included in the photo are Darren New, Brian Conway, Jane Patterson in red, Peter Poole, Ann Banks, David Davies, Sue beardsmore, Alan Towers, Howard dartnall, Lynda Maher, Nick Johnson (soundman) a very young Chris Nelson, and Jonathan Dick.  

Thanks to those who helped with identifying people!