Tag: Stuart Gandy

Ken Dudeney RIP

Ken DudeneyKen Dudeney reverse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission)

Radio WM presenter Ken Dudeney sadly died on 5th January 2015. He used to present Town and Country, a country music show on a Saturday lunchtime. Ken was the presenter who “closed” BBC Radio Birmingham and launched the new Radio WM.

Thanks to Stuart Gandy for sharing the photocard.

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

Pete Simpkin: ‘This is sad news indeed. Ken was a talented and terrific colleague. He also had an extraordinary collection of
Radio Birmingham/WM history and memorabilia. We shared several ‘on air’ near disasters and Ken was there to rescue broadcasts and keep the transmissions flowing smoothly. I remember having to get him to overrun his wonderful Country music show one evening because the news team had not turned up in my studio in time for the next programme and he just seamlessly carried us through till things were sorted.’

Richard Uridge: ‘A good bloke. I’d echo Pete Simpkin’s comments about his coolness in a crisis. RIP.’

Lorraine Randell: ‘This is very sad news…I worked in the production office with Ken for many years…he was a lovely man.’

Tim Beech: ‘Very sorry to hear this news. Ken gave many, many years of service to Radio Birmingham/WM and really loved his music. I seem to recall the last track he played on his Sunday show was “Happiness.” RIP Ken.’

Keith Upton: ‘I knew Ken from the very earliest days of his broadcasting when he joined us at the Brighton Tape Recording Club. He grew up in Brighton and because of his parents efforts attended the University of Cambridge. When he joined the club he took part in many activities using his skills as as a confident presenter in many club activities and recording. He presented our Journey into Sound for the Brighton Festival. Eventually he presented our weekly hi-fi programme on BBC Radio Brighton which was produced by the club free of charge by club volunteers. It was the longest running programme on that station. Then Ken left for London and worked for the BBC World Service. He always kept in contact. I went to his wedding in Birmingham and continued to keep in touch with him. he was a great guy very knowledgeable and a confident and professional presenter.’

Friday Night at the Mill ticket

Friday night at the mill pass Adam Cooke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday night at the mill pass reverse Adam Cooke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

This ticket is from the staff party held on 3rd September 2004, to mark the closure of the Pebble Mill building, when production moved to the Mailbox in the centre of Birmingham, and to the Drama Village in Selly Oak. The pass was designed by Chris Hession.

The party was a very good night, with different activities taking place in the various marquees shown on the reverse of the ticket.

Thanks to Adam Cooke for sharing the ticket, and keeping it safe for the last decade.

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

Jean Palmer: ‘This was a great night but I never got into any of the tents ended up talking to loads of people. What happened to the Mill message book?’

Stuart Gandy: ‘It was indeed great night, with many mixed emotions.’

Jane Ward: ‘Great night….but bitter-sweet….’

Lynn Cullimore: ‘It was a fantastic night and I so enjoyed it. Happy memories.’

Philip Donnellan retires

IMG_0014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

This article from the Pebble Mill News from 1984, lists some ‘comings and goings’ at BBC Pebble Mill.

Included in the ‘goings’ is radio and television producer, Philip Donnellan. Philip joined BBC Birmingham in 1948, and his retirement was beginning with a filming trip in the USA, and the promise of being able ‘to make all the films I wasn’t allowed to in the BBC!’

Other notable ‘goings’ include Stan Smith from Comms, Technical Manager Barry Hill, cleaners Maud Joyce and Gwen Carr.

Amongst the new faces were trainee cameramen, Simon Bennett and John Moorcroft,  engineer Steve May, Top Gear researcher Jon Bentley (now of the Gadget Show), and dresser Terry Powell.

Liz Darby, Bob Jacobs are also congratulated on their attachments.

Thanks to Robin Sunderland for sharing the Pebble Mill News.

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

Laura McNeill: ‘That is brilliant! I trained with David Page at Wood Norton, the audio trainee.’

Stuart Gandy: ‘Many names I remember here and some I have worked with over the years.
Dave Bushell seeing your name there reminded me that it’s 35 years last month since I joined the BBC and you were my course lecturer!’

Dave Bushell: ‘Yes, Stuart, you were one of my early victims! Luckily you survived!’

Steve Dellow: ‘Lurking at the extreme bottom right (Anniversaries)…Clive Kendall (Comms) reaching 40 years service!’

Richard Stevenson: ‘Jon Bentley, Researcher Top Gear. Didn’t he do well?!’

 

 

 

Artemis 81

Jenny Brewer on Artemis 81 from pebblemill on Vimeo.

 
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

In this specially recorded video, Jenny Brewer, who worked as a production assistant in the 1970s and early 1980s, talks about some of the challenges of making the three hour, epic drama, by David Rudkin: Artemis 81.

The film was transmitted on 29th December 1981. The BBC genome project (digitised historic Radio Times entries), provides the following information about Rudkin’s drama:

A film by DAVID RUDKIN with Hywel Bennett
Dinah Stabb , Dan O’Herlihy featuring Sting and Anthony Steel, Margaret Whiting Roland Curram , Ingrid Pitt
A Danish museum case shattered, the pieces of a pagan statue hidden in cars on a North Sea ferry, the subsequent deaths of ferry passengers, an old musician terrified that a curse upon him will cause the devastation of the Earth.
Gideon Harlax, a successful young novelist of ‘ the paranormal and unexplained ‘, thinks he has found the material for a new book. But as Gideon coldly exploits human tragedies, angry powers from Man’s ancient past are gathering. Alien Planet Danish ferry Oxford library
Original music by DAVE GREENSLADE Passacaglia by GORDON CROSSE
Film cameraman DAVID JACKSON Film editor MIKE HALL Designer GAVIN DAVIES
Script editor ROGER GREGORY Producer DAVID ROSE
Director ALASTAIR REID

http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/e4712cf3ce794d8d9c47c637bf8dbadd

Jenny Brewer

 

 

 

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

Stuart Gandy: ‘I remember working on this in the dubbing theatre. Dave Baumber did a wonderful mix. It needed a lot of post-sync recording. A very interesting film, would love to see it again. I don’t think it was ever repeated.’

 

Little Red Book – Safety Regulations

BBC Little Red Book PP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Peter Poole, no reproduction without permission.

This little red book contained the BBC Safety Regulations for Engineering staff.

Thanks to Peter Poole for sharing his copy of the book.

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

Pete Simpkin: ‘Somewhere I have the big green folder containing among other things the correct balance and control settings for audio levels…. Obviously no longer issued!!’

Stuart Gandy: ‘I still have one of these too somewhere. Funnily enough I am at Wood Norton this week almost 35 years to the day that I started my BBC career there, where I was presented with the little red book!’

Alan Jessop: ‘Still got mine in the loft, you used to get a pack of new pages now and again with updated regs, you we’re suppose to replace updated pages and chuck the old ones!’

Malcolm Hickman: ‘Mine went west years ago, but I do have my Comms Data Sheets’

Ray Lee: ‘I think I’ve still got mine somewhere!’