NEVER mind Brexit. For those of us of a certain age Halloween Night means memories of sitting round a tiny screen inside a big wooden box, probably with a coat hanger sticking out the back and waiting for the tinkly Mountains of Mourne theme tune, seven spots joined by zig zaggy lines and the legend appearing below – ULSTER TELEVISION.
That opening night was 60 years ago this Thursday and there are plenty of memories to share. Down through the years this new ITV company became an important part of Northern Ireland families and the early days were the most exciting – I know because I was there. What a time it was. Imagine a 10-day holiday in Italy for £25.6s 6d – more than £570 60 years later.
Havelock house that Saturday morning of Halloween was a hive of activity. I remember vans drawing up at the newly painted front door and delivery men carrying in bouquets of sweet-smelling flowers. Hoovers were busy on the carpets, carpenters finishing last-minute jobs and front-of-camera personalities nervously fussing over their wardrobes – girls in rollers and men with razors sharpened.
Ivor Mills and Anne Gregg, Adrienne McGuill, Brian Durkin, James Green and Ernie Strathdee. Only Jimmy Green, who lives in London and Adrienne, living in Co Down and awarded an MBE for her charity work, are still alive and well.
Outside the doors our neighbours from Posnett Street and Outram Street had gathered laughing and joking with photographers from far and wide. There was the aroma of fireworks and apple pie in the autumn air. The great and the good began to arrive, stars from the arts, politicians, captains of industry and the Church were all represented.
I was in my element.
Still a teenager, I was a clerk typist earning £200 a year and I was so happy that my Jaeger elastic belt, the fashion of the time, was almost bursting with joy. And then to meet Laurence Olivier, later Sir, in the corridor between the film library and the boardroom was something of a thrill.
He was charming, just as he was when he appeared on screen to welcome viewers to the new studios, having tasted the hospitality of managing director Brum Henderson for most of the day!
Undoubtedly he was relaxed as he did his party piece, smiling at viewers who’d tuned in at 4.45pm and remained tuned in through the years of Romper Room, Roundabout, Good Evening Ulster, Counterpoint, UTV Live and I’m pleased to say, Ask Anne.
In Ballymurphy Da Taylor had a bicycle with a basket on front holding boxes of ice cream tubs which he sold for a ha’penny each but he was special – he had the first TV set in the area. It’s said that he’d the bright idea of placing the set in the front room, lining up rows of apple boxes and inviting local children in to watch Romper Room – at a penny a time.
Then, during the ads he would sell his ice creams to the young audience, great entertainment but also great entrepreneurial thinking.
With the likes of Charlie Witherspoon and James Boyce, whatever was happening in Northern Ireland was reflected on the screen of this phenomenally successful local commercial company envied by stations the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland and throughout The Troubles reporters and camera crews excelled in a way unimagined in 1959.
We’ve had anniversary celebrations over the years but Thursday will be the last one. Time marches on and we’ve lost many friends but down through the years, like any happy family, we’ve all kept in touch, many of us meeting in a downtown pub every first Thursday in the month and Christmas dinner can number as many as 30.
Friendships were made that day and remain firm, both within Havelock House before it closed its doors last year and in the surrounding streets, viewers still faithful, now number millions.
A time to celebrate something that began in an old hemstitching handkerchief warehouse and gave such entertainment and information through the years now stretches into the 21st century from a glass cube on the side of the Lagan, more technical than creative but still serving the public in an exceptional way.
More Inspiring Memories
I REMEMBER inviting Mary Peters to appear on Ask Anne to talk about packing her suitcase. Rather than placing clothes flat, she rolled them up and we had a competition to see which method meant the case would hold more. Mary won.
But then she’s used to that and last week she added another first to her repertoire – Passing The Torch, a chronicle of sportswomen who have inspired both Mary and thousands of others through sport.
The book is fascinating as there are names and stories completely new to me: Maira Costello MBE, motorcyclist with a clutch of firsts and the fastest woman round the Isle of Man TT course; Georgina Bullen, Paralympic goalball champion; Shelley Jory-Leigh who in her youth found horse riding too slow so eventually took up Powerboat Racing, travelling at speeds of 90 miles per hour.
And of course our own water skiing champion Janet Gray MBE who was robbed of her sight when she was 17 and had a horrific accident in 2004 when she died four times on the operating table. Despite all this Janet competed successfully and holds the world record in slalom, tricks and jumps.
And the woman who supports and inspires so many of those who also inspire, Mary P, always time for others, always smiling just as she was at the launch of her book at the athletics track in south Belfast which holds her name with pride.
What a lady, literally a lady – Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter installed in London’s St George’s Chapel of the Order, on Garter Day in June this year. A woman we are proud of for her achievements and who we love for herself.
