Last weekend there were events at Alexander Palace to celebrate 75 years of television.
Back in 1948, when I was 12 years old, a neighbour who was a BBC driver took me there on a visit. We stumbled over masses of cables in Studio A. At one end was a mock up of a church porch, with Jessie Matthews rehearsing a song at a piano, and at the opposite end there was a tiny circular tank of ice, with two figure skaters gingerly circling round. All this was preparing for the evening's entertainment, and I was very impressed !
I did work there for a couple of days back in the early seventies, when the premises housed BBC News, but last weekend's visit was rather different. We were met by a very young man wearing a BBC badge and carrying a clipboard for his notes. He was to be our guide. In the first hall, which was used once by the Baird company,a group of fashion students were busy face painting visitors in what was alleged to be 1930s TV make-up. There were a few non functioning historic TV sets scattered around the room, and several rough and ready display boards plastered with old photos and Radio Times covers.
Our guide had obviously been asked to volunteer for the job, and had to rely almost entirely on his notes. He escorted us up to the studio, which is now just a large empty space. Here there were some early cameras on a small set with dummy performers, a model of a Baird Televisor in a dark corner with nothing to identify it, and a few more random bits and pieces. We were shown a short film compilation of clips from old programmes, before being escorted out of the building to the other end of Alexandra Palace. This section was manned by a group of television enthusiasts from a local society. It was reminiscent of a model railway fair. The only really interesting demonstration featured a new type of 3D camera, and the live high definition results were explained by an expert from the manufacturing company, there were no BBC engineers on hand.
These premises were the home of the very first public television service in the World, but the layout resembled a village sale. All credit to the enthusiasts who turned up to talk about it, but it seemed tragic to me that the BBC input was negligible. I'm afraid this depressing little effort reflects only too well the current attitude of the Corporation
Incidentally the weekend events were flagged up online and on Ceefax. Admission was free, but you needed to book a timed visit, only on the phone though!
Back in 1948, when I was 12 years old, a neighbour who was a BBC driver took me there on a visit. We stumbled over masses of cables in Studio A. At one end was a mock up of a church porch, with Jessie Matthews rehearsing a song at a piano, and at the opposite end there was a tiny circular tank of ice, with two figure skaters gingerly circling round. All this was preparing for the evening's entertainment, and I was very impressed !
I did work there for a couple of days back in the early seventies, when the premises housed BBC News, but last weekend's visit was rather different. We were met by a very young man wearing a BBC badge and carrying a clipboard for his notes. He was to be our guide. In the first hall, which was used once by the Baird company,a group of fashion students were busy face painting visitors in what was alleged to be 1930s TV make-up. There were a few non functioning historic TV sets scattered around the room, and several rough and ready display boards plastered with old photos and Radio Times covers.
Our guide had obviously been asked to volunteer for the job, and had to rely almost entirely on his notes. He escorted us up to the studio, which is now just a large empty space. Here there were some early cameras on a small set with dummy performers, a model of a Baird Televisor in a dark corner with nothing to identify it, and a few more random bits and pieces. We were shown a short film compilation of clips from old programmes, before being escorted out of the building to the other end of Alexandra Palace. This section was manned by a group of television enthusiasts from a local society. It was reminiscent of a model railway fair. The only really interesting demonstration featured a new type of 3D camera, and the live high definition results were explained by an expert from the manufacturing company, there were no BBC engineers on hand.
These premises were the home of the very first public television service in the World, but the layout resembled a village sale. All credit to the enthusiasts who turned up to talk about it, but it seemed tragic to me that the BBC input was negligible. I'm afraid this depressing little effort reflects only too well the current attitude of the Corporation
Incidentally the weekend events were flagged up online and on Ceefax. Admission was free, but you needed to book a timed visit, only on the phone though!
i went to the momi too 
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