(Copyright resides with the original holder, no reproduction without permission)
‘That photo! How NOT to dress appropriately for a Quarry Bank chain shop. The man behind me is Sam Bloomer, one of the last hand chain makers -and I still have that interview, along with many others recorded over the 7 years I compiled and presented “Wulfrun Echo” in the Black Country for BBC Radio Birmingham. Many of these interviews have been hailed by Professor Carl Chinn as being as important as the BBC RADIO BALLADS for their verbal depiction of working class life and times – it makes me very proud to have this legacy for my 40 years in broadcasting. I had spent nearly a decade capturing memories of individuals who had never been in front of a microphone -I then spent 5 years on Channel 4 ‘s “The Tube” capturing people who couldn’t wait to get in front of the camera [when they had something to sell, of course] .
The photo was used in a Radio Times article following me out and and about in the patch, likening me to a human whippet. It was written by Booker Prize contender, Jim Crace. The powder blue jacket? Destroyed by oil spray and soot when I recorded a ride on a traction engine in Wolverhampton – the price of vanity. When it comes to clothes I have never learnt my lesson.’
Chris Phipps
‘Chris was the first full time Wolverhampton reporter based in his own studio in the town and among his regular productions was the ‘Wulfrun Echo’, weekly news magazine on Radio Birmingham. He was followed by Mike Henfield and then the late Barry Lankester. I took over for the year of 1984.’
Pete Simpkin