{"id":11193,"date":"2020-11-16T16:46:07","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T16:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/?page_id=11193"},"modified":"2024-02-25T19:55:41","modified_gmt":"2024-02-25T19:55:41","slug":"colin-reid-an-appreciation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/colin-reid-an-appreciation\/","title":{"rendered":"Colin Reid \u2013 An Appreciation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3><strong>Tony Grant<\/strong><\/h3>\nI was on Colin&#8217;s crew, and can vouch for those recollections of his quiet, calm demeanour, and how he kept a close watch on us &#8216;youngsters&#8217; with a quiet word to us after a programme if he thought we could improve our performance, always gently put, but hitting the nail on the head. I remember swinging him on the mole, with Bryn Edwards tracking, and being told by the director at the end of the series that it was the best crane work he&#8217;d seen in his 25 years in the business (film and TV). Somehow, no matter what Bryn and I did on the back of the mole, Colin made it look super smooth and polished, in my opinion (who said humble?) he was the best crane cameraman of his generation.\n<br><br>\nA trawl of the loft for diaries revealed that I joined crew 18 in February 1966 as DO1, and worked with Colin on such programmes as:\n<br><br>\n<ul class=\"L1_1\">\n<li><div class=\"Bullet\" style=\"margin-top:auto;\">\u201cDr. Who\u201d (it was in R1, so probably Patrick Troughton)<\/div><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"Bullet\" style=\"margin-top:auto;\">\u201cThe Trouble Shooters\u201d<\/div><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"Bullet\" style=\"margin-top:auto;\">\u201cSuivez La Piste\u201d<\/div><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"Bullet\" style=\"margin-top:auto;\">\u201cMarriage Lines\u201d<\/div><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"Bullet\" style=\"margin-top:auto;\">\u201cThree Rousing Tinkles\u201d<\/div><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"Bullet\" style=\"margin-top:auto;\">\u201cDick Emery\u201d<\/div><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"Bullet\" style=\"margin-top:auto;\">\u201cBat Out of Hell\u201d<\/div><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"Bullet\" style=\"margin-top:auto;\">\u201cAll Gas and Gaiters\u201d<\/div><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"Bullet\" style=\"margin-top:auto;\">\u201cJuke Box Jury\u201d<\/div><\/li><\/ul>\n\nPlus all the usual in between; \u201c24 Hours\u201d, \u201cGrandstand\u201d, \u201cPlay School\u201d, \u201cJackanory\u201d, etc.\n<br><br>\nAnd boy, did those diaries bring back memories, lots of programmes and people I&#8217;d totally forgotten all about. \n<h3>&nbsp;<\/h3><h3><strong>Barry Bonner<\/strong><\/h3>\nI joined Crew 18 when it was formed. Colin was a pleasure to work with.\n<br><br>\n\u201cDr. Who and the Smugglers\u201d was indeed in R1. Sadly no tapes of this series survive.\n<br><br>\nOne day on \u201cDr. Who\u201d there was a shortage of cameramen so Colin came with cap in hand to ask me to do a camera as he knew I\u2019d been intending to follow that career until I discovered sound!&nbsp;\n<br><br>\nI did quite a good job of it methinks and I was the only camera with a zoom lens! However I was refused acting pay because I wasn\u2019t qualified!\n<br><br>\n\u201cSuivez La Piste\u201d, with the delightful Monique Messine! Shouts of \u201cMerde\u201d just before the recording!\n<br><br>\n\u201cBat out of Hell\u201d also done in Riverside is available on a DVD (Luxin DAN0306), starred John Thaw, Dudley Foster and Sylvia Syms.\n<h3>&nbsp;<\/h3><h3><strong>Tony Grant<\/strong><\/h3>\nIndeed, \u201cSuivez la Piste\u201d was a French language learning programme. I notice when mentioning Monique, you omitted the famous black leather bikini (oo-er missus, merde &#8211; vraiment). It was followed a few months later by \u201cVamos a Ver\u201d, a Spanish language learning programme, probably with the same production team, but without the cast wishing each other &#8216;Merde&#8217; before the recording. \n<br><br>\nAnd, of course, Colin and crew were part of the overall crew on \u201cOur World\u201d which was in studios TC1 and TC2, although I see I must have been huddled on one of TC2s cameras in a corner of TC1, so perhaps that is me in that photo of the whole crew (how the memory plays tricks on you after such a long time) rehearsal Thursday 22<sup>nd<\/sup> June to Saturday 24<sup>th<\/sup> June , TX Sunday 25<sup>th<\/sup> June 1997 at 20:00.\n<h3>&nbsp;<\/h3><h3><strong>Geoff Hawkes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-left:28pt;margin-top:auto;font-weight:bold;font-size:12pt;font-family:'Arial';\">Colin Reid \u2013 A Tribute\n<br><br>\nColin joined the BBC in 1955 when the foundations of Television Centre were only just being laid ahead of what was to become, \u201cThe Golden Age of Television.\u201d\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=100% height=auto  src=\"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/col_reid_1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11194\" width=\"587\" height=\"485\" srcset=\"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/col_reid_1.png 494w, http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/col_reid_1-300x248.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 587px) 100vw, 587px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\nI was on Colin&#8217;s crew in the 1980s and came to respect him greatly for his leadership style, quiet humour and the gentle man that he was.\n<br><br>\nI bring you the warm tributes of former colleagues along with my own, beginning with cameraman <font face=\"Arial\"><b>Tony Grant<\/b><\/font>, who wrote:\n<br><br>\n\u201c\u2026 I joined Colin\u2019s crew in February 1966 and worked with him on shows like \u201cDr. Who\u201d, \u201cGrandstand\u201d, \u201cPlay School\u201d, &nbsp;\u201cJackanory\u201d and \u201cBlue Peter\u201d.\nI can vouch for his quiet, calm demeanour and how he kept a close watch on us &#8216;youngsters&#8217;, with a word after the show if he thought we could improve our performance &#8211; always gently put but hitting the nail on the head\u2026.\u201d\n<br><br>\n<font face=\"Arial\"><b>Ian Ridley <\/b><\/font>\u201c\u2026My first day in a TV studio was in August 1961 on \u201cThis is your Life\u201d with Eamon Andrews and Colin was a cameraman on the crew. He was the most kind and calm person you could ever wish to meet &#8211; and meticulous in his camera work\u2026.\u201d\n<br><br>\n<font face=\"Arial\"><b>Howard Michaels<\/b><\/font> worked with Colin on cameras both at the BBC and later at Sky and says: \u201c\u2026 I\u2019ve had lots of replies from friends and colleagues to my recent post about Colin on Facebook. All agree, \u201cHe was such a lovely man and a great cameraman.\u201d\u2026\u201d\n<br><br>\n<font face=\"Arial\"><b>Tony Newman<\/b><\/font> wrote: \u201c\u2026As a young Floor Assistant, I first met Colin in 1971 on a children\u2019s show called \u201cAli Bongo\u201d. What struck me was his calmness and authority together with his professionalism. Later when I was a Director on the live chat shows with Terry Wogan, I knew that Colin could be relied on to achieve first class results with a minimum of fuss. A true master of his craft, as well as a humble, polite and charming colleague. He will be greatly missed\u2026.\u201d\n<br><br>\nAnd from <font face=\"Arial\"><b>Sir Peter Bazalgette<\/b><\/font>: \u201c\u2026Let\u2019s celebrate the life and work of Colin Reid&#8230;a consummate professional and a thoroughly decent man. Colin had the challenging task of leading the studio camera crew for our hit show, \u201cFood &amp; Drink\u201d. At its peak it was winning five million viewers a week with all manner of lively, not to say eccentric items. Colin was never phased by our bizarre demands, always leading colleagues to deliver the high-quality images that were an essential part of the show\u2019s success. \u201cBless you Colin, and big thanks from all the team who had the privilege of working with you\u2026\u201d \n<br><br>\nI myself had the honour of acting as Colin\u2019s deputy for a while and tried to maintain his standard. He was a reserved person, highly skilled but never sought centre-stage and dressed for comfort rather than style. He was keen on photography and cycling and loved to talk about food and wine and his many trips to France with his folding caravan.\n<br><br>\nI remember when he went to the Philippines and came back with Nelly as his wife. How glad he was to have found her. His pleasure was multiplied when a couple of years later, Nelly presented him with a daughter, Carol &#8211; and it was clear that for him, his life was now complete.\n<br><br>\nHe\u2019d sometimes tell us what Nelly was cooking at home and wished he was there to share it. He benefited greatly from her companionship and care both in sickness and in health right to the end.\n<br><br>\nGo gently into that Long Good Night old friend, with our thanks for your life and being. &nbsp;Our memories of you, will long remain. \n<h3>&nbsp;<\/h3><h3><strong>Vernon Dyer<\/strong><\/h3>\nThanks, Geoff, for a fine account of Colin&#8217;s life and work. You have hit just the right note in describing him and his seemingly easy manner which nevertheless inspired and encouraged so many of us.\n\n\n\n<!-- Footer -->\n  <h3>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n  <h1>&nbsp;<\/h1>\n  <p class=\"western\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1061\" src=\"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ianfootersmall-300x104.jpg\" alt=\"ianfootersmall\" width=\"300\" height=\"104\" srcset=\"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ianfootersmall-300x104.jpg 300w, http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/ianfootersmall.jpg 348w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n  <!-- END Footer -->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tony Grant I was on Colin&#8217;s crew, and can vouch for those recollections of his quiet, calm demeanour, and how he kept a close watch on us &#8216;youngsters&#8217; with a quiet word to us after a programme if he thought &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/colin-reid-an-appreciation\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11193","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-appreciation"],"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/author\/alec\/","display_name":"Alec Bray"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 6 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on November 16, 2020","modified":"Updated on February 25, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on November 16, 2020 4:46 pm","modified":"Updated on February 25, 2024 7:55 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_img":false,"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11193"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11585,"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11193\/revisions\/11585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tech-ops.co.uk\/next\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}