February 2016 – Page 2 – What Was Pebble Mill?

The Entertainment Game

Thanks to Ian Collins for sharing this titles’ grab from The Entertainment Game.
This BBC1 Daytime daily quiz starred impressionist Jon Culshaw, comedian Rainer Hersch and comedy duo ‘Kit and the Widow’. It went out in April/May 1998 at 12.05.

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

Kate Hillman: “I loved this show, we had Jon Culshaw just before he hit the big time! Ronnie Butt worked on it with me and I think Bev Wildman (as was!) and Nick Harris too. We recorded some episodes on the Easter Sunday and the reason I can remember it so well, is because that was the day my other half proposed to me!! It was a happy show to make. Yes, studio A.”

Arthur Binnie – Roger Casstles

Arthur Binnie’s leaving do. Photo from Jane Mclean, no reproduction without permission.

“I first met Arthur in 1977 when I was on attachment to BBC Glasgow to direct a series called ‘The Energy File’ with Raymond Baxter and Michael Buerk. Arthur was the producer drafted in from the oil capital of Britain, Aberdeen. He and I got on very well, we shared a sense of humour and a lack of admiration for the series producer we were working for. It was Arthur who weaned me back onto whisky – as a young man I’d had an unfortunate encounter with Uiscea Beatha – one New Year’s Eve in Kidderminster. The host was a Scot. I had arrived late – ‘you’ll be having a dram’ note the absence of the word ‘wee’ – I demolished the best part of a bottle of Johnnie Walker RED Label. ‘God, you weren’t drinking that toxic shite’ said Arthur. ‘What you need is a wee dram of the finest – The Glenlivet.’ One sip and I was cured… I have been a whisky drinker ever since.

I returned to Brum, left the BBC for a short time motivated by a lack of admiration for the Executive Producer running the department. In 1982 I got a job as producer/director Pebble Mill at One. There was a new Assistant Editor. Arthur and I were re-united!

In 1984 Arthur was approaching retirement and came up with the idea that PM@1 should do a series on Singapore – where he’d served his National Service. I got the plum job as director and off we set, for five weeks, based in Raffles Hotel – with Nicky Barfoot, Dick Bentley, Don Cooper, Norman McLeod, Ian Dewar, Nigel Evans, Andy Frizzell and Bill Youell and an effing sack truck carting a monitor (flat screen hadn’t been invented) an oscilloscope, an Ampex VPR20, and a load of car batteries… This was at the time that Sony had just launched the BetaCam. Crews from around the world congregated on Singapore for the annual Dragon Boat Race. They all came equipped with their shiny new Onesies. i.e.Betacams. We dragged our sack truck through the sand… got it a bit wet and the VPR20 crashed.

Throughout all the challenges in the humid Far East, Arthur remained calm, supportive and was full of his memories of life in Singapore as a squaddie. We were there with another great, late, Scotsman Donny McLeod and a wee laddie called Paul Coia. Oh yes, and there was a contribution from Essex boy Peter Seabrook, who refused to eat anything ‘foreign’ and lived on Dunkin’ Donuts…

We returned to the UK with a great deal of satisfaction, having produced a wealth of material for the 84/85 season of PM@1. Arthur retired later that summer. His retirement party was a wonderfully moving occasion which I remember most for the way he delivered his farewell speech – leaning nonchalantly against a pillar in the boardroom on the 5^th floor of ‘t Mill, telling it like it was, or had been, without a wee dram of bitterness or regret. A lovely man, and although we lost contact, I shall miss him, yet treasure the memories.

Sadly, Arthur’s happy and positive retirement was overshadowed by the untimely death of Donny in September at the very young age of 52.

I was shocked to learn this week of Arthur’s death on Radio 4’s PM programme. It not just announced the loss to the world of journalism by one of Scotland’s finest but also told a story which, in all the time I knew him, Arthur never mentioned… dear reader you can find out more here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-35493518

Roger Casstles,
The Ancient Civil Parish of Stowe,
Shropshire”

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

Johannah Dyer: ‘Is that Ellie Lacey (Baldwin) on the left? And Fran in the window at the back?’

Ellie Lacey: ‘Well spotted Joh! Yes, that’s me back in the very early eighties and Fran too. Arthur was a lovely and very dear man, popular with everyone – especially the girls! I was so sad to hear of his death but happy to know he had such a long life. RIP Arthur.’

Countryfile – Ken Pollock

Countryfile team. Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission

Regarding Countryfile, it is fun to look at the photograph and recognise old friends/colleagues.
My involvement was to be a producer on Farming, with Martin Small, and Exec John Kenyon. We wanted to acknowledge the large “over the shoulder” audience we had on Farming, and hence wrote the brief for Countryfile. I remember it well, sitting in John Kenyon’s office sketching in the idea, and kicking around names. I came up with the Countryfile name, although we may have thought it should be two words…
Michael Grade, Controller BBC1 accepted the idea, the team went from 4 to 24, and the Countryfile bandwagon started rolling.
After poor Brain Strachan died, there was a vacancy on Top Gear, and John Kenyon told me to get some broader experience, before applying to run Countryfile. So I did, but they did not want me to run Countryfile, as I was supposedly too biased to the farming community and Mike Fitzgerald got the gig.
I stuck with Top Gear and the rest is history…

Ken Pollock

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

Patrick Flavelle: ‘I started on a rolling weekly contract working with Fitz surfacing potential stories at the fag end of Farming…led to working on the show for its first 11 years. Happy days and incredibly boozy Xmas do’s…the one after this photo was very messy!’

Mick Murphy: ‘3rd from right, 2nd row – Sue Lloyd, Director. 1st on the left, front row – Barry Paine, former BBC producer / wildlife narrator, who used to voice over some of our films. Girl behind Fitz is called Sarah…? Great picture. ‘

Jane McLean: ‘John Clarke on the left .. who I went to Russia and Siberia with for Countryfile in 1989. Should try & find the Russian pix. Talk about an eye opener. The director was Dick Colthurst (what happened to him?) and the crew was Nigel Davey, Barrie Foster, Keith Rodgerson and Andy Frizzell. We were force-fed vodka shots 24/7 – honestly! ‘

Pam Relton: ‘Dick is very successful Jane – he went to BBC Bristol after CountryFile and is now MD at Tigress Productions.’

Jane McLean: ‘Good on him. Never heard of Tigress Prods – am SO out of the loop these days re anything telly!’

Viv Ellis: ‘I recognise Yasmine O’Grady looking glam – as ever. I worked on Farming for a few months’

Roy Thompson: ‘Spent a very happy attachment to Countryfile from Wood Norton even getting to direct a piece on arts in rural communities. Very supportive and friendly team.’

Andrea Buffery: ‘This picture would look amazing next to the Countryfile team today. It consists of 30 plus people.’

Steve Johnson: ‘I worked on Countryside for a short time in mid nineties, arranged the filming of the brand new RSPB reserve at Conwy.’

Pam Relton: ‘As a real City girl, CountryFile opened my eyes to so many things. I remember my first shoot – in a battery hen farm, a barn the size of a hanger filled with chickens in cages no bigger than themselves, floor to ceiling, the noise!! I’ve not knowingly eaten anything other than free range, outdoor-reared produce since. I learned so much about the pressures on farmers and producers to comply with the big supermarkets. This was the great thing about working on programmes like this – that open up the issues to do with farming and the countryside to everyone.’

Jane McLean: ‘I was country born & bred Pam – my brother was a pig farmer – and I know exactly what you’re talking about from the other side! ‘

Radio Birmingham at the Ideal Home Show

Pete Simpkin at the Ideal Home Show 1976. Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

The Ideal Home Show, currently at the NEC, is the 40th anniversary show and this picture shows the old BBC Radio Birmingham was there at the very start in 1976. Here I am at the BBC Local Radio stand. Every hour I had to read the latest national and local news bulletin (telexed from Pebble Mill) ‘live’ in the hall and then answer listeners’ questions and meet people, leading to interviews done ‘up the line’, live or recorded into our various programmes as required. Unfortunately I have no idea who my assistant also in the picture was…I do know that she was a very hard working agency secretary who worked very hard!

Pete Simpkin

Dan Oliver, 30th July 1973 – 23rd January 2016

Dan Oliver. Copyright remains with the original holder

Style Challenge end of series team photo. Copyright remains with the original holder, no reproduction without permission.

Dan Oliver, who worked on Style Challenge at Pebble Mill in the 1990s and is included in the photo above, sadly died last month. Below is the message he posted on Facebook on Christmas Eve to his friends, telling them of his illness. Dan’s friends suggested that this was the most suitable message to post up about his death. Dan’s funeral was held last week, and was attended by Nick Harris and Simon Lupton.

December 24th, 2015

Dear Friends,

Weird but important email to write. I sincerely hope that all of you are about to have a wonderful Christmas with the people who matter to you Some of you I haven’t spoken to in weeks, some in many, many years -I’m a Facebook lurker, more prone to seeing what others are doing, than posting myself- but I need to get this said……

In September 2014 I was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer. I had hoped to tell everyone in early 2015, when I wanted to announce that I was doing a marathon fuck-cancer charity swim down the river Dart. But then some drug-induced hepatitis got in the way. Then it was the summer, and two lots of surgery to deal with the collapse of my spine, and the autumn, and emergency radio therapy to deal with what had grown back. Blah-de-fucking blah, and on it goes……. Turns out it’s in my spine, my lungs, throughout my lymph system. Originally , we were told I could expect around three years. maybe more, because most people who present with my symptoms tend to be much less fit, and much older.

Unfortunately, things have moved much faster than that, and I was told in mid November to think about living a few more weeks. It seems that I’ll be lucky enough to be around for Christmas, but have little idea beyond that. So, what do you do in a situation like this? Well, it turns out that I seem to want people to know. Not just you, but the friends we had who I kind of lost track of along the way. So that’s the lovely GFL people, with whom I had some of my most joyous working experiences ever. It’s the Scene One crowd. It’s the people I got sober with. Or it’s people from BBC Birmingham.. I want people to know for two reasons. The first is a desire for a packed, rafter raising funeral (details to be followed, posted by a loved one on Facebook). The second is because…well I just do. I’m self-centred and egotistical enough for this not to pass without telling people.

And now the really important stuff. I need to say that amongst all this shit I regard myself as extraordinarily lucky. In marrying Clementina I became the most happily married man I’ve ever met. If that’s boastful, sue me; I’m dying. I also have four mad, extraordinary wonderful children We do something fun every day. I have a fantastic extended family and a circle of friends that are utterly indistinguishable from family. I was told by a mate not long ago that he thought we were put here to love and be loved. I believe that, and I believe it’s pretty much mission accomplished. I regard myself as lucky, privileged So…if you could spread the word….. visits are a bit of a no-no, because I sleep an awful lot of the day, and get tired very quickly. Since I spend hours looking at my bedroom ceiling, letters and messages are very gratefully received, though , (forgive the fact that I’ll porbably be rubbish at responding.) Here endeth my missive. Not the greatest festive message, I appreciate, but one I rather needed to send. I wish you all the happiest, warmest Christmas with your loved ones, and hope to hear from you soon.

With love from Dan x

DAN OLIVER 30th July 1973 – 23rd January 2016

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

Becky Rogers: ‘We worked together on Telly Addicts and Telly Years and sat opposite each other. I remember laughing every day and him telling me my winter clothes were much better than what I wore in summer. Always the man from Style Challenge!!’

Melissa Feather: ‘Such a lovely person xx always jolly, so happy and would do anything xx very very happy memories of working with him on Style challenge’

Lesley Weaver: ‘I don’t think I had the privilege of knowing Dan personally as I didn’t work on those programmes, but I do recognise his face. My heart goes out to Clementina and their children. Having lost my own husband Chris Weaver to kidney cancer 6 months ago it’s painful to hear of another terrible loss to kidney cancer, Dan’s words echo in my heart and bring tears to my eyes!’

Annabel Walker: ‘I had the pleasure of working with Dan on two productions, 10yrs apart… He hadn’t changed at all. When the shit was hitting the fan Dan’s mantra was “Kill ’em, fuck ’em, eat ’em… In that order…” He was a fighter, and a lovely man full of fun.’