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Parnell & the Englishwoman – photos from Les Podraza

Photos from Les Podraza.  The photos feature Les, who was a scene hand at Pebble Mill, with director John Bruce, and actors Trevor Eve, and T.P. McKenna.

The screenplay for Parnell and the Englishwoman was written by Hugh Leonard and tells the story of a 19th-century Irish nationalist politician who has an affair with the wife of an English MP.  The drama went out in 1991.  Trevor Eve played Charles Stewart Parnell, with Francesca Annis playing Katharine O’Shea;  T.P. McKenna played Justin McCarthy.  It was produced by Terry Coles out of BBC London, hosted by Pebble Mill.

Paul Balmer on Pebble Mill at One

‘Paul Balmer on the ‘Pebble Mill at One’ Set – with cameraman Howard Dartnall and Link 125 camera, taken around 1983′

Note all the joins in the set! The daily design budget was probably a couple of hundred quid! The floor was also full of joins so the Vinten pedestals would jolt as they crossed these giving the familiar ‘Pebble Mill Bump!’ to any tracking shots.

(Paul Balmer http://www.musiconearth.co.uk/ http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Balmer)

Alan Plater on Land of Green Ginger

Untitled from pebblemill on Vimeo.

This clip of writer Alan Plater talking about ‘Land of Green Ginger’ is taken from David Rose’s ‘My Journey Together’ lecture.  The copyright remains David Rose’s.

The Play for Today ‘Land of Green Ginger’ was transmitted in 1973. It follows a young woman, Sally, played by Gwen Taylor, as she returns to her home town of Hull for the weekend. She and Mike, her trawlerman boyfriend, played by John Flanagan, have to make decisions about their future. However he is reluctant to give up the dangerous life of a fisherman, and she wants to pursue her career in London.  The drama also featured Jean Heywood as Mrs Brown, Michael Elwyn as Reynolds and Ivy Cawood as Mrs Thurlow.

The drama was produced by David Rose and directed by Brian Parker.  Mike Williams was the DOP, and the film was edited by Henry Fowler.

Communications Centre – Brian Johnson

Photos copyright of Brian Johnson, taken in 1973.  Most of the photos are of the Comms Centre, with two probably being of Studio B Vision and Studio B Sound.

The Communications Centre was situated immediately above the Foyer with large windows facing on to Pebble Mill Road.

In brief it was the technical hub of the building and the liaison point with British Telecom, responsible for routing all the internal vision and sound circuits between the Studios, VTR, Telecine and the various external TV and Radio Networks.  BBC 1 and BBC 2 passed through the Communications Centre from London and were routed to our own regional transmitters and one to Manchester for further distribution northwards.

It was also a reception point for Radio and Television Outside Broadcasts via our own Radio Links or B.T. and for incoming contribution circuits from the North and East that were either required in Birmingham or routed through to Bristol or London.