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

Pebble Mill at One: A Song for Xmas – Mark Kershaw

Song for Xmas team

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

A Song for Christmas was an annual event in the Pebble Mill at One calendar.  It was a carol competition for different children’s choirs.

The photo was taken just after recording in the Courtyard probably in 1986.  The photo features (ones I recognise, L to R) Peter Knowles (sound) & Dave Brazier (floor manager) kneeling, Norman Steemson in the green at the back, Ewan Keil (demin jacket), Beverley Wildman (AP) under all the snow!, John Wescott behind, me (Mark Kershaw – director) leaning on snowman, Aled Jones behind, a young Phillip Schofield, Caroline Marshall right at the back, next to Phillip is Geoff Nawn (designer), Derek Hallworth behind, Dave Farline, James French (cameraman) behind him.

Mark Kershaw