“ I was terrified sitting in the Directors seat, thinking I was making a complete mess of things. But someone had videoed the training exercise and when I watched the recording, I seem to be as cool as a cucumber, which was a great relief”.
Many of us remember early experiences in the BBC and probably felt a similar way but we all learned to overcome initial anxiety and eventually things came out alright.
Getting at the feelings and experiences of our ex-colleagues for the 100 voices project has been a great joy to me, David Allen, in retirement, I’ve learned of jobs for the BBC I never knew existed such as being a court artist drawing the images of the accused in the dock for the 9 o’clock news. I’ve had great conversations with engineers from humble backgrounds as well as high flyers from Oxbridge, all with a story to tell and all proud to have worked for the Corporation. From reporting in the war zones of the world to operating a boom in a studio while Morecambe and Wise perfected their act or opening up a local radio station in the early morning, all of these jobs have been interesting to hear about.
If you’d like to take part in the 100 Voices project and have a story to tell, do get in touch and we can find a way to record your reminiscences. We can do face-to-face, or record over the Internet if you have the right equipment or we can even send you a recorder through the post, capturing what we say at high-quality each end but using the telephone for the conversation. The project is open to anyone who has worked for the BBC in any capacity. So please take part! Contact us @ https://100voices.bbcpa.org.uk/participate/
Why not have a look at the 100 Voices website and search for ex-colleagues who may have participated.
