September 2015 – Page 3 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Tony Inchley, Pat de Whalley, David Robey, Cathy Peloe

Photo from Pat de Whalley, no reproduction without permission.

From left to right: Tony Inchley, Managing Editor Radio WM; Pat de Whalley, presenter; David Robey, Managing Editor BBC London, Cathy Peloe.

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

Vicky King: ‘don’t know what this event is but remember interviewing candidates with Tony Inchley and David Robey – I was the HR Manager – in those days 3 or 4 of us sat in front of the poor candidates – and we had tea, coffee and biscuits delivered at intervals – how times have changed . . . . .’

Paul Woolston in Lichfield Cathedral

Photo by Richard Stevenson, no reproduction without permission.

This 1990 photo is of cameraman Paul Woolston on a crane in Lichfield Cathedral, on a Songs of Praise outside broadcast. Kevin Gill (floor manager) on the left, and John Trew (grip) on the right.

Apparently, moments later the wheel of the crane disappeared into a heating grate and the crane nearly toppled over, with Paul still on the front of it.

Paul sadly died some years ago.

Thanks to Richard Stevenson for sharing the photo.

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

Diane Reid: ‘Paul was lovely to work with and a great cameramen – it was one of my OBs – a Songs of Praise.’

Alex Johnston: ‘Paul was a truly lovely man always friendly and had a wonderful smile.’

Ian Barber: ‘He was a true gentleman, loved working with Paul and Dave Bushell.’

Tracy Cahill: ‘Very first OB I ever went on was at Lichfield cathedral, John Abbot sent me to ‘observe’ how it’s done. I only went cos Fred was the rigger.’

Sarah Beedle: ‘I remember that Songs of Praise – the grating did get broken.’

Helen Betts: ‘Christopher Betts, my son whom I am visiting in Virginia, clearly remembers playing the organ for Songs of Praise in 1990. He was the Cathedral’s organ scholar that year before going to Oxford University. He also says he cannot think of any of TV OBs that year.’

Ed Billington: ‘He was a very nice person and a professional at his job he always spoke to me when I was cleaning the studio.’

Paul Mcdonald: ‘Ah the joys of entrusting your life to the crane operator.’

Dave Ballantyne: ‘The camera is a Phillips/Pye LDK 5, Paul was a colleague and friend over many years, I still miss him, a special man.’

John Hoare: ‘I knew Paul well back in the sixties and seventies – a good friend and a true gentleman’

OB truck audio equipment

Photo taken in 2003 by Martin Fenton in the radio area at Pebble Mill, no reproduction without permission

This jumble of decommissioned equipment is probably the inside of one of the radio stereo control vehicles.

East titles

Thanks to Ian Collins for making this titles grab available.

East was the Asian current affairs series, which went out in the spring/summer during the 1990s on BBC2, whilst Network East, was transmitted in the winter.

Here is the Radio Times copy from the first episode of the 1996 series, transmitted on 3rd April, courtesy of the BBC Genome project:

“Return of the series viewing current events from an Asian perspective. Last among Equals Veteran broadcaster Mark Tully reports on the exploitation, violence and even murder to have struck the second-class Christians of India. As the Christian world prepares to celebrate Easter, the Indian caste system – contravening the Christian teaching that discrimination constitutes sin – condemns millions of Christ’s followers to worship, live and even be buried separately from their high-caste brethren.
Producers Yugesh and Sunandan Wallia; Series producer Mike Finlason” http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/4d382bf111844264bf42f8f3d0019731

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

Ann Haywood: ‘Pity Arthur Haywood is in the great editing suite in the sky, I used to hear so much about the programme.’

Sarah Dunning: ‘Was it Gary Vollans who did the re-design?’

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Behind the scenes of a Pebble Mill rehearsal

FM Steve Pierson mimes Curtis Steiger

AFM Debbie Hood in the audience seating area

Peter Poole and Andy Morton adjust sound

Peter Poole and Andy Morton sorting out sound

Wilf Welch, cameraman, walks through shot

These grabs are taken from a rehearsal of the lunchtime studio entertainment show, Pebble Mill, which went out from Studio A from 1991-6. The rehearsal was recorded by Paul Vanezis.

Thanks to Laura McNeill for taking the grabs and sharing them.