The Crystal Radio

It all began with crystal radio sets in the early 1900's, so it's appropriate that this tiny (literally) crystal radio was given to me some years ago by my longest-standing BBC friend, also called Jane.  She and I first met in July 1977 on our very first day working for the then BBC External Services, now the World Service.  We had been instructed to report to the Personnel Officer at Queen's House in Kingsway, just a few hundred yards from the famous BBC Bush House in the Strand.  We couldn't find it, and spent a good half an hour tramping up and down Kingsway in an increasingly perplexed and panicky state before we finally stumbled upon an almost imperceptible entrance halfway along the street with a small "BBC External Services" brass plaque on the wall.  The entrance hall, which was lined with ornate green and white tiles reminiscent of a Victorian public toilet, was very long and fairly narrow, and it curved round to the right in a most peculiar fashion to an antiquated lift.  Jane started off in Audience Research on the top floor, and I spent my first couple of weeks working for a television producer who made programmes teaching English as a foreign language.  I was then moved to the radio end of the corridor to work for no less than three producers, also making programmes to teach English.  On my first day in radio, I was given a stopwatch, a script and a bunch of coloured felt-tip pens to mark up the different takes with, and walked down the road with my producer to our studio at Bush House to record a programme.  I was totally thrown in at the deep end, as at that point I'd had absolutely no training at all.  A week later, I met my first celebrity - the actor Kenneth Williams, best known for his many roles in the "Carry On" films.  I remember him quoting a Shakespeare speech from memory on the recording we did that day, and also noticing how much thinner he was in real life than he seemed on screen.  

The first time I walked into a radio studio and saw the mixing desk and tape machines, I was determined to become a studio manager (sound engineer) myself.  Happily, I did eventually achieve my goal 30 years ago, in 1985.  It's been quite a rollercoaster ride, with many ups and downs.  38 years on from the start of my BBC career as a wide-eyed 17 year-old school leaver, I'm now very nearly at the end of it.  And still in touch with the other Jane, who shared that very first day with me.