September 2017 – What Was Pebble Mill?

Comms reunion Sept 2017

Some of the Pebble Mill Comms team met up for a reunion 28th Sept 2017.

Included in the photo are: Stewart Kelly, Chris Elliot, Graham Hewitt, Arif Mohammed, and Cliff Harvey.

Thanks to Jane Wolf Elledge for sharing the photo.

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

Andy Marriott: …and none of them look a day older than when I first set foot in the Comms Centre back in August 2000. Happy days and fond memories.

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Editing News

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This photo shows the editing of regional news in 1990. It looks like a rather makeshift edit suite.

This photograph was originally posted on the Pebble Mill Engineers’ Facebook page.

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

Brian Charles: ‘Makeshift?!? That was state of the art kit at the time – Edit Suite 2 I think.
That’s Inge Samuels managing to get a smile out of Gary Hudson. Can’t have been a last minute lead story edit then!!’

Richard Uridge: ‘Notice the heavy tape boxes ready for Gary to throw at unsuspecting passersby.’

Diane Kemp: ‘Blimey it does look very last century. Definitely Gary though at PM’

Simon Calkin: ‘Three-machine Betacam suite with an Audio Designs mixer.’

Gary Hudson: ‘It’s not me. I sent my stunt double and the bastard smiled, ruining my public image (see comments above about the legendary bad temper). He was a little fey, as you can tell from the girly haircut, and I made sure we were never seen in the same room together, partly to maintain the mystique but also because his immaculate dress sense and devastating good looks were an embarrassing distraction from my position as the only competent journalist in the newsroom at the time. He usually did the posy stuff – PTCs, cutaway questions and the like -while I got on with the proper job. This picture appeared in the book that was given free to staff when Pebble Mill closed – obviously as a tribute to those who were soon to embrace obscurity. Inge was brilliant though, as was Brian Charles, despite his cheeky comment above.’

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She Stoops to Conquer 1961

This was Derek Jacobi’s first television production, She Stoops to Conquer TX, 26th Nov 1961, starring alongside Daphne Slater.

It was recorded at BBC Birmingham’s Gosta Green studio.

Here is the Radio Times entry for the drama:

“Starring Daphne Slater, Marjorie Rhodes, Arthur Brough and Dinsdale Landen
Introducing Derek Jacobi
From the Midlands
Derek Jacobi appears by arrangement with Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

Shy with ladies of fashion but bold with girls of lower station, Marlow goes to visit Kate Hardcastle, as their parents have proposed a match.

Contributors

Writer: Oliver Goldsmith
Designer: Margaret Peacock
Producer: John Harrison
Marlow: Derek Jacobi
Hastings: Murray Hayne
Kate Hardcastle: Daphne Slater
Mr Hardcastle: Arthur Brouch
Constance Neville: Hilary Liddell
Mrs Hardcastle: Marjorie Rhodes
Tony Lumpkin: Dinsdale Landen
Landlord: Joe Greig
Diggory: Harry Hutchinson
Maid: Pat Heywood
Sir Charles Marlow: John Kidd”

http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/98dccb4e504e4e73b3cd2dbc34a311c4

Thanks to Joyce Hawkins, who worked in costume on the drama, for sharing the photo.

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Paul Wheeldon

Photos from Steve Dellow, no reproduction without permission

Paul Wheeldon, and Bob Allison, posing in the OB line up area, 1983

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These photos show Comms engineer, Paul Wheeldon, who worked at Pebble Mill during the 1970s and 80s, before moving to BBC Manchester. The first photo shows Paul with Nigel Harris at Meir Heath water tower for the darts OB at Jollies nightclub. Access to the top involved climbing through the tank in a concrete ‘tube’! The second photo was taken in Nov 1983 in the OB line up area, at Steve Dellow’s leaving do. The deal was that if anyone wanted a drink off Steve, they had to wear a silly hat!

Paul sadly died a number of years ago.

Thanks to Steve Dellow for sharing these photos.

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Rod Fawcett for Radio WM at Brum Superprix

This photo shows Radio WM engineer, Rod Fawcett, during coverage of the Birmingham Superprix. Notice the backpack for transmitting the radio signal.

The Superprix was a motor race meeting, held on the streets of Birmingham, between 1986-1990.

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

Andy Shepherd: ‘I was working at Central Television then, although not on the Superprix itself, and would go to the top of Alpha Tower (26 storeys) and watch the race with the guy who manually maneuvered the microwave receiver throughout the race to pick up the signal from the one (and only one) car with an on-board camera.’

Andy Walters: ‘We’ve still got a backpack like that. Usually gets used for the Birmingham Marathon and things like that.’

Emma Taynton-Young: ‘I remember going to this with Dad (John Taynton) but I can’t remember if he was at the Beeb then or still at BRMB.’

Mike Taynton: ‘Pretty much everything I got to experience with, my late father, John Taynton was a joy but getting to go along with him to these races is up there in my all time highlights’

Richard Uridge: ‘Great snap. I remember that day well as a reporter at WM. Nice to see Rod. He was always always smiling.’

Anthony Guy Willcock: ‘Racing up the ring road towards the Mosque, so slow!’

Jim Knights: ‘ It rained!‘

Andy Frizzell: ‘I was involved with the Top Gear coverage (pre Clarkson) Chris Goffey was our presenter.’

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