Colin Pierpoint blog – part 14 Working at Pebble Mill, Comms

This is part 14 of Colin Pierpoint’s blog about his BBC career:

I transferred into Communications in Birmingham in 1971 after completing the Grade C Engineering Course, and a year’s attachment to the Engineering Training Department at Wood Norton. In 1975 I got another secondment as a Lecturer for a year, and then after returning to Comms, a vacancy arose in 1977 for Communications Supervisor and I applied and got it. This was the job I really wanted in Manchester. I also had my sights on ETD, but at the time they wanted memberhip of an Engineering Institution on applications for Lecturers. I had been studying for an Open University degree with this in mind, but the OU at that time did not give the required qualification of “CEng” (Chartered engineer) at the time.

So from 1977 until 1980 I continued working as Communications Supervisor in the Comms Centre at Pebble Mill. An exciting evening was when the “Song for Europe” programme was broadcast live, with voting around the British Isles to choose the entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. Vision circuits from Manchester, Glasgow and Norwich were passing through the Birmingham Comms Centre. There was tie for first place so the regions had to vote again at short notice. Just as this was announced , I saw the Norwich picture lose sync (start breaking up on the screen). I said to one of my staff, put an extra equaliser in the circuit, and just twiddle the knobs until the sync pulse look square. He did this quickly and seconds later they cut to Norwich for their vote.

It was nice to be trusted by TAR staff (Television Apparatus Room, who adjusted the camera channels for studios A, B and C). Comms were often the only engineers in Pebble Mill in the evening and David Stevens would sometimes ask me to clear a fault. Usually I could do a tweak of the camera control unit, which I always reported to TAR staff the next day. One fault I failed to rectify: there was shading across the Midland Symbol C (the rotating world). No matter what I adjusted; iris or target volts, I could not get the image over the whole field, [for the technical readers, the monocrome output went into an inlay switcher, and parts of the image would disappear as I adjusted]. So next day the TAR staff told me what the problem was. The bulb lighting the bottom of the symbol had blown! Too technical for me I am afraid.

Colin Pierpoint

TV Apparatus Room (TAR) ST B Line Up Desk with John Macavoy & Maurice Darkin

TV Apparatus Room (TAR) ST B Line Up Desk with John Macavoy & Maurice Darkin. Photo by Ivor Williams, no reproduction without permission.

Midlands Yesterday – photos Maureen Carter

Here is a selection of photos from the Midlands Today reunion – entitled Midlands Yesterday, held on Saturday 3rd September 2016 at the Midlands Arts Centre. Thanks to Maureen Carter for sharing the photos.

Anita Bhalla, Sue Beardsmore MC

Anita Bhalla, Sue Beardsmore

Ann Gumbley Williams, Jim Knights MC

Ann Gumbley Williams, Jim Knights

Ann Banks MC

Sally Morris and Ann Banks

Jane Ward, Mary Sanchez, Kay Alexander MC

Jane Ward, Mary Sanchez, Kay Alexander

Maurice Blisson MC

Maurice Blisson

Pete Shannon, Gary Hudson MC

Pete Shannon, Gary Hudson

Pete Shannon, Maureen Carter, MC

Pete Shannon, Maureen Carter

Richard Uridge MC

Richard Uridge

Rick Thompson MC

Rick Thompson and Gill Thompson

Rick Thompson, Pete Shannon, Jim Knights, Maureen Carter, Cathy Houghton, MC

Rick Thompson, Pete Shannon, Jim Knights, Maureen Carter, Cathy Houghton,

Roz Gower MC

Roz Gower and Mike Wilkie

Roy Saatchi MC

Tony Francis and Roy Saatchi

Sue Beardsmore, Maureen Carter MC

Sue Beardsmore, Maureen Carter

Midlands Yesterday 2 MC

? and Keith Ackrill

Midlands Yesterday 1 MC

Brian Conway, Kathy  Rochford, Sally Morris

Midlands Yesterday 3 MC

Bob Sinkinson, Frances Coverdale, Mike Wilkie, Jim Knights

Gary Hudson MC

Gary Hudson and Mark Readman

Midlands Yesterday MC

Maureen Carter MC

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All Over The Shop

All Over the Shop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Thanks to Ian Collins for making this titles grab of the series, All Over The Shop available.

All Over The Shop was a shopping and consumer panel game show, presented by Paul Ross, in 1997-9. Panelists included actors and celebrities. It went out on BBC1 Daytime at 12.25pm. The producer was Caroline Jones, and the exec, Steve Weddle.

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

Steve Weddle: ‘It was a London creation – the second series was shipped in to Pebble Mill for reasons I can’t recall. So we inherited the format – flimsy, to say the least – and tried to make a half decent telly show out of it. I think we just about succeeded, but there was so much politics behind the scenes,given the half London/ half Birmingham set up. It did however open up channels for some PM production people to work in Events in London, especially Veronica Butt.’

Veronica Butt: ‘Linda Flavell Michelle Furey Ellena Stojanovic Yvonne Stevenson Julia Versluis Merrick Simmonds, Andrea Miller, Caroline Jones and Steve Weddle worked on it’

Julia Versluis: ‘I had fun trying to get Paul’s script onto all those lovely cards. Hours of fun! as well as trying to dodge the rest of the office printing on my labels before I could shout “no-one print” I do believe I have a photo of Veronica Butt, Paul Ross and myself at the end of show BBQ. I’ll see if I can find it.’

Caroline Jones: ‘Wow now that’s a blast from the past clearing all those logos was a copyright nightmare and all the guest who suddenly developed allergies to the items slated for the taste tests! Weird commission shipped up from London to stop us from closing the first time!’

 

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