Memories of the VPR20 – Norman McLeod

(Norman McLeod remembers the following incident involving the VPR20, a portable 1″ recorder)

Nigel Evans and Ian Dewar spent 3 days and nights trying to repair the beast in Raffles Hotel Singapore – a ‘Pebble Mill at One’ Summer shoot in 1984 with Donny MacLeod, Paul Coia, Peter Seabrook. Eventually, an Ampex engineer was diverted from Malaysia with chips. The then Video Manager refused to let us take one of the new-fangled Beta portables as back up, so we had to borrow a Singapore TV VHS for the first part of the month. Don Cooper was camera, Roger Casstles directed, Arthur Binnie producer, Nicky Barfoot prodn. asst. Dick Bentley E.M. All our credit cards (especially Dick’s) were hammered to pay for facilities not covered by production – especially the Tiger beer.

Also used on Loch Ness on a Scottish adventure with John Smith – Whisky distillery at dawn: and the “Sealink Cycle Race” with Norman Steemson sitting in the boot of a Rover hatchback from the Isle of Wight to Sheffield.

Norman McLeod

The Last Pebble Mill at One – photo from Mark Kershaw

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

This photo was taken just after the last ever ‘Pebble Mill at One’ on 23 May 1986.  In fact you can just see the last few members of the audience leaving on the left hand side of the photo.

Included in the photo are:

Back row: Michael Smith (celebrity chef), David Lancaster (glasses), Caroline Marshall, Steve Weddle.

Next to back: Julian Hitchcock (with pink balloon), Chris Wright, Roger Sutton (just behind the others), possibly Barrie Edgar peeking out behind, Tony Rayner, Peter Urie, Peter Hercombe, Claire Chambers, Norma Scott, Mary Clyne, Mark Kershaw, Trudy Stanton, Steph Silk, Richard ?.

Third row from back:  Girl in red dress below Tony Rayner is Jacqui Goodwin, Fran Groves, Ann Varley, Di Reid (red dress), Margaret Allen (with belt), John Westcott (FM), Annie Gumbley Williams (standing purple dress)

Back seated row: Sue Ashcroft, Debbie Hood, Caroline Matthews, Denny Hodge , Paul Coia

Middle seated row: Gareth Williams, Jo Buchan, Magnus Magnusson, Marian Foster, Bob Langley, Bev Wildman (Thompson), David Weir

Fron row: Tom Ross (standing), Eileen Bayliss just behind Tom, Maggy Whitehouse, Jane Clement, Viv Ellis, Peta Newbold, Colette Foster (central short brown dress), Nicky Barfoot, Claire Stride, Jane McLean, Jo Dewar

Please add a comment if you can fill in any of the people not identified.

Thanks to Mark Kershaw for making the photograph available.