[Swprograms] Goodbye to Bush House - Countdown continues]

[Daniel Say <say@xxxxxx>]

   So, I've made an [9]audio compilation of what I heard about Bush. I can
     [  9. http://jonathanmarks.libsyn.com/webpage/bbc-says-goodbye-to-bush-house  ]
   hear a characteristic 50 Hz hum in the background to the documentary
   from John Tusa. But only on the bits that he voiced. They weren't doing
   much to maintain the studios in the last couple of years.
   Two videographers have made a superb video compilation of the now empty
   Bush House. They've used bits of the John Tusa documentary as a
   background. Beautiful - a great tribute. Shame it is not shareable. It
   should be, just this once.
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Subject: Critical Distance Weblog: Goodbye to Bush House - Countdown continues
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[5]Critical Distance Weblog

   Playing Devil's Advocate in the Orchestra of Change!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Goodbye to Bush House - Countdown continues

   It's 1105 Greenwich Mean Time on July 12th 2012. A rather momentous
   moment for those of us in international broadcasting. For the last news
   bulletin has just been read from the studios of Bush House. It's the
   last human voice that will be heard from the building on the radio
   airwaves.
   The staff of the BBC World Service have been gradually leaving Bush
   House and move into its new home at BBC Broadcasting House at the
   Langham. There have been some tearful on-air farewells (Julian Marshall
   on Newshour on July 1st for instance). I can imagine why. Foreign
   language broadcasting builds strong families because of a common
   purpose. The walls of Bush House must have heard more stories than many
   hundreds of buildings in London put together. I saw an[7] interesting
   article yesterday about how the contents of the studios are being sold
   off at auction. Some of the studios were quite new - others more like
   museum pieces.

                                   [8][1-dheera-petemyers.jpg]
   Pete Myers, with Dheera Sujan and Maggie Ayre. Took the picture in the
                     garden of Radio Netherlands in 1993

   I was pleased that Newshour honoured the late Pete Myers by including
   his famous "Goooooood Morning Africa" call in their sign-off piece. I
   often thought he must have inspired Adrian Cronauer's famous call in
   Good Morning Vietnam, although, apparently, the film was
   largely fictitious. Pete later came to Radio Netherlands to start
   Afroscene and Mainstream Asia. I remember him showing me his scrapbook
   of newspaper cuttings compiled during his days in Ghana and at the BBC
   African Service.

How quickly will the memories fade?

   I do wish the BBC World Service would compile one page with all the
   tributes to Bush House. I note that some of the programmes are already
   getting disconnected, appearing on different pages. And I'm sure that
   some will disappear forever as they descend to the bottom of archive.
   So, I've made an [9]audio compilation of what I heard about Bush. I can
   hear a characteristic 50 Hz hum in the background to the documentary
   from John Tusa. But only on the bits that he voiced. They weren't doing
   much to maintain the studios in the last couple of years.
   Two videographers have made a superb video compilation of the now empty
   Bush House. They've used bits of the John Tusa documentary as a
   background. Beautiful - a great tribute. Shame it is not shareable. It
   should be, just this once.
   And that reminds me that Margaret Howard, a familiar voice on World
   Service in the 70's and 80's, also mentioned her work as a studio
   manager in Bush House.

   IFRAME: [10]http://player.vimeo.com/video/12542380

   [11]Margaret Howard from [12]Jonathan Marks on [13]Vimeo.
   Posted by Jonathan Marks at [14]Thursday, July 12, 2012

No comments:
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References

   Visible links
   5. http://www.criticaldistance.blogspot.ca/
   
   7. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/buy-a-bit-of-bbc-radio-history-or-an-entire-studio-7935734.html
   8. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-03bW_CGgtr0/T_oAzn1CZMI/AAAAAAAAD6g/OGxZJe-F6bE/s1600/1-dheera-petemyers.jpg
   9. http://jonathanmarks.libsyn.com/webpage/bbc-says-goodbye-to-bush-house
  10. http://player.vimeo.com/video/12542380
  11. http://vimeo.com/12542380
  12. http://vimeo.com/jonathanmarks
  13. http://vimeo.com/
  14. http://www.criticaldistance.blogspot.ca/2012/07/goodbye-to-bush-house-countdown.html
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