Tag: Pebble Mill

Heart of the Country – Bob Jacobs


In this video 1st A.D. Bob Jacobs talks about working on the 1987 four part drama – ‘Heart of the Country’, produced at Pebble Mill.  Written by Fay Weldon and directed by Brian Farnham, the series follows the social decline of a single mother and her children.   The climax of the action takes place in Glastonbury, during the carnival.  The series was produced by Roger Gregory and starred Jacqueline Tong as Sonia, as well as Christian Bale, Rosalind Bennett and Susan Penhaligon.

Filming at the Glastonbury Carnival

Brass Band Competition – Pete Simpkin

Dunchurch Silver Band

This shows Barry Lankester and I producing the annual Local Radio Knockout Contest organised by the West Midlands Brass Band Association. This was typical of the programming of the early days of BBC local radio….and the way in which the building itself was used to communicate with the public.  A community organisation would get the programmes organised and we would get them on air.

Barry Lankester was the driving force behind all sorts of artistic productions involving over the years literally thousands of local music makers from bands of all types, classical and pop , choirs and many others trooping into Pebble Mill, usually at weekends to record a multitude of broadcasts encouraging and entertaining the listeners.  The band shown in the picture is the Dunchurch Silver.

Pete Simpkin

Trinity Tales – Bob Jacobs

Bob Jacobs was the 1st Assistant Director on Trinity Tales.  The Pebble Mill series, which went out in 1975, was written by Alan Plater as a contemporary take on Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’.  It follows the stories of a group of fans on their way to the Rugby Cup Final at Wembley.  As in the ‘Canterbury Tales’ they swap stories along the way.

David Rose was the Producer and Michael Simpson and Tristan de Vere Cole the Directors.  It starred: Bill Maynard (Stan the fryer); Francis Matthews (Eric the prologue); Colin Farrell (Nick the driver); Gaye Brown (the wife of Batley Alice); John Stratton (the man of Law Smith); Susan Littler (Judy the Judy); Paul Copley (Dave the joiner); Peter Benson (Reuben)

Trinity Tales cast

‘Vote for Them’ – Bob Jacobs

In this video Bob Jacobs talks about working as 1st Assistant Director on the 3 part drama series – ‘Vote for Them’, written by David Edgar.  The photos were taken by Bob Jacobs and Bev Dartnall.

The series was set in Egypt as the Second World War was coming to a close.  It was a political drama set amongst Allied troops as they consider what sort of world they want after the war and form “parties”, holding debates and elections.

The series went out in June 1989.  It was shot on location in Cairo, with a sand quarry in Dorset also doubling as Egypt.  The interiors were recorded in Pebble Mill Studio A.

Carol Parks was the producer, James Ormerod the director, with Michael Wearing as Executive Producer.

On location in Egypt