from Mike Jordan

When there was due to be a party conference (I think) in Margate, we had to install the microwave back to London via CP. The well known route was Margate to a high point on Isle of Sheppey at Kingsborough Water Tower thence via Bluebell Hill (over Maidstone) then to CP. Since the first hop was all over the sea and was likely to fade, we had to spend a whole day testing the effect of tides coming and going. Links on van roof, 20ft up and 60ft up.

Also when we covered the Dunkirk transmission for End of War, the main site was at Arromanches, they wanted a cue vision so on the survey, we took a TV across, went up hill over the town and MAGIC there was UK TV and production happy. However on Tx day, the tides were different and so signal – curses!

Even a big scaffold tower was no use.

At that show, there was a requirement for a cable bridge across a road in Caen (and a scaffold tower) and a team from Paris was brought in to build the bridge. However they had never done anything like this and didn’t “stay” the support towers. After almost the first cable slung, collapse was possible so had to be hurriedly sorted before the show!

My last oldies story is of when that bloke sailed all way round world and back into Plymouth, we wanted TV coverage from a helicopter. My boss sent it WAY WAY out to get first pics and no signal. Shouted to sort out the problem until pointed out to him that believe it or not, the earth was round and the helicopter had gone low over the edge (of the globe not the edge of the flat earth!)

from Mike Giles

I believe that Sir Francis Chichester is “the old (seafaring) bloke”, Mike!