September 2014 – Page 4 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Mahabharat

Mahabharat was a drama series which went out in 1988-90. It told the epic story of a family feud between the noble Pandava princes and their scheming cousins.

Thanks to Ian Collins for making this titles grab available.

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

Adam Trotman: ‘I tech reviewed hundreds of these …Often the quality was so bad It was impossible to pass them. I really got into it though I must say.’

Russell Parker: ‘I used to love this for its awfulness Adam, back when I first saw it as a student, knowing now what I do, I can only imagine (fairly and appropriately badly) what it must’ve been like to tech rev.’

Adam Cooke: ‘I hadn’t joined the BBC at that time but I do remember watching this on TV… I think it was on a Sunday morning. I just remember thinking how brilliantly weird the whole series was. As a young 16 year old at the time I enjoyed the whole ‘fantasy’ aspect of the show.’

Dharmesh Rajput: ‘It was a B R Chopra production that APU showed – I wasn’t working there then though. It’s one of two ancient Sanskrit epics in Hinduism. There’s lots of philosophy contained in it – though I’ve yet to read / watch it properly. However, I do remember I had just started working at BBC Asian Network and had my uher training when the cast of the series did a live show at the NEC and were hosted at a tea by The Lord Mayor. I interviewed the cast – including in Hindi which I didn’t speak fluently – and my first pieces were broadcast on radio.’

Friday Night at the Mill – end of an era party

On the 3rd September 2004 the closure of Pebble Mill was celebrated with a party for current and former staff, to mark the end of an era.

The party was a lavish affair, on the back lawn, with differently themed areas, including games and a very impressive chocolate fountain!

Thanks for Veronica Butt for sharing the end of Pebble Mill party invite.

Brian Vaughton demonstrates the EMI L2

Brian Vaughton demos the EMI L2 from pebblemill on Vimeo.

This specially recorded video with retired freelance radio editor and producer, Brian Vaughton, shows how the EMI L2 tape recorder worked. Brian bought the tape recorder in the late 1950s, and it is still in good working order today.

A radio colleague from Birmingham City University, Sam Coley, and I, travelled down to Devon in late July, to interview Brian Vaughton about his radio work for BBC Birmingham, in the pre-Pebble Mill days.

Vanessa Jackson

Tom O’Connor Roadshow – John Cole soundcheck

Photograph by Jane Mclean, no reproduction without permission.

Soundman, John Cole checks the mics for the Tom O’Connor Roadshow
in Newcastle.

The Tom O’Connor Roadshow was an outside broadcast series transmitted in 1987. The lunchtime live entertainment show toured the country, being based in a particular city for a week at a time.