Pat Heigham
Speaking of nicknames, I think it was Johnny Holmes who christened Brian Hiles “Porridge Boots’ as he remarked that Brian always walked around as if his boots were filled with porridge! And so it stuck.I don’t think I was notorious enough to warrant a nickname at Television Centre, but was called ‘Potter’ at school, by the Gym instructor, an ex-military PTI, simply because my surname was spelt the same way as the Norfolk Broads town.
I shall always remember Johnny Holmes, as during an after show drink in the Club, it became my shout, and up at the bar was one of the make-up girls looking stunning in a green trouser suit. I complimented her and included her in the round of drinks. As I returned to our table, Johnny shook his head sadly, saying: “Much too expensive for you, Pat!”
Alec Bray
I can not for the life of me remember how this conversation came about, or who with …I think it must have been with one of the make up girls who stood around in the studio wafting face-towels soaked with Eau-de-cologne – particularly, I seem to recall, during recordings of "Dixon of Dock Green". The chat went something like this …"… the cameramen think they can invite us down to the pub, buy us a drink and get a packet of crisps, and then hope to get a leg over. The sparks, on the other hand, whisk us off to a fancy restaurant and buy us a really good fancy meal with nice wine …"
Never forgot that, but on the other hand, never got anywhere with any make-up girl …
Tony Grant
Ah yes, the eau-de-cologne chamois leather I think it was, waved around to keep it cool. I can’t remember which boiling hot production I was working on, but staggering home in the wee small hours (after an overrun) I got it in the neck,, ‘Who’ve you been out with ’til this time, smelling like a tart’s boudoir?’Nick Way
I believe Brian Hiles had a pair of sheep’s wool lined boots he wore on his motorcycle. The lining was turned over the top and looked like he’d stepped into porridge-filled boots and it was spilling over the top… well, that’s what Dick (Richard) Green told me!David Denness
Your description of Brian Hiles’ motorcycling apparel is completely trueDave Mundy
There was a TM, nicknamed ‘Hoss’, who gave lots of people nicknames, including Brian Hiles.Dave Newbitt
That was Frank Rose, of course, who christened himself “Horse” as he assessed his appearance as being equine. Loads of people’s memories of his nicknames for others have appeared here before – they were all brilliant (see http://tech-ops.co.uk/next/horse-names/). I was ‘The Short-Haired Puma’.I might also have mentioned … that Frank routinely used the plural of his own nickname as a catch-all term for the crew in general, as in “right, horses – tea now, back in ten”. Another of his idiosyncrasies was to run his hand in a trembling motion up the back of your neck, inducing shivers in the days when most sported relatively close haircuts.
The Brian Hiles recollections remind me he wasn’t at all keen on Porridge Boots. Also he was once, in my hearing, the victim of a classic Al Tuson gem. Like many folk, Brian had a spell of enthusiasm for tracing his family history which prompted Al to comment, “Your trouble, Hiles, is you’re suffering from Genereal Disease”.
Like the Eric and Ernie gems, these things never leave you!
Nick Way
…I had my own nickname for Al Tuson, but no one ever understood or used it: Arizona Al.Dave Newbitt
Arizona Al? I may be way off with this, but I can picture Al on horseback in Wild West country sporting a Stetson!I’ve mentioned … what a great bloke I always found Al to be. He was in fact (genereal jibe apart) pretty clued up about family research and piloted me on my first foray into the General Register tomes in the days before they left Somerset House. When you look at the sophistication of online records research as now available it seems a miracle that anyone got anything like the results from ploughing laboriously through those ancient hand-written registers.
Nick Way
I was working on Tucson, Arizona!Dave Newbitt
Ouch! Talk about missing the bleedin’ obvious!Nick Way
One of my pet phrases is: "it depends how you pronounce the pronunciation"! I’ve always considered that Graphics should be spelt/spelled Graphphics, otherwise it should be Gray-fix. Discuss….Dave Mundy
Al also got me into family history research! Having ‘crewed down’ (as you did!) we would go up to Kingsway and wade through all those tomes. Al was quite proud of the fact that he was descended from the ‘ugenots, as he said, missing off the leading ‘H’.As for PBX paging calls, the favourite one in Kendal Avenue was to ask them to page Rigger Mortice.
Graeme Wall
At Southern we had a PA, looking for a certain film editor, walk into the canteen and ask “Has anyone seen Mike Hunt?"Geoff Fletcher
At Anglia TV our weather man on the daily news program “About Anglia” was a Mike Hunt. When the female newsreader handed over to him she used to say "And now here is the weather from Mike Hunt". A kindly director put her right – after a week or two.Alan Taylor
When my son was in the 6th form, one of his teachers was Mrs Bennet, but she had the nickname "Tess" and he didn’t know why. I wondered if it might be a sophisticated literary reference, somehow likening aspects of her personality with Jane Austen’s Mrs Bennet and Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Unsurprisingly it turned out to be rather less intellectual than that. She had married a couple of years before and her previous nickname remained in use. Her maiden name had been Tickle.Nick Ware
I’m afraid to say, I prefer the Kenny Everett telling of that play on names: “Mr And Mrs Tickle and their daughter Tess”, as if announcing guests at some posh event. One of numerous ones he did. What a tragic loss he was.I wonder if anyone remembers an incident in the Television Centre canteen one lunchtime, when a young sounding female voice came on the Tannoy and announced: “PBX calling Mr Tickle”, followed by a cute little giggle before releasing the button. Had the whole canteen in fits. I always wondered what cad put her up to that!
