Western Morning News (Saturday)
Reunited to remember those dazzling days
HEN you get to a certain age, the word “Reunion” can strike panic or delight in people. For some, the prospect of baring your wrinkles and spare tyres to those who knew you when you were a sylph-like fashion icon is just too much to bear. For others, there’s a chance to be grateful we can catch up on years past and share memories and experiences.
I’m involved with a work reunion for TVTimes staff who worked on the magazine before it lost its franchise in 1991. It was a very different publication to the one today.
Up until 1991 TVTimes was the only source of listings for ITV and, later, Channel 4. Radio Times, a more serious magazine, covered the BBC . TVTimes was more glamorous, linking travel, fashion, home makeovers and interviews to celebrities. It covered cookery, agony aunt, kids and exotic competitions too. Despite its lighter touch, it had an impressive standard of journalism, as I was reminded when looking through some old copies.
In-depth profiles of American presidents would have done the Sunday Times proud. A conservation story on Polar bears would have been relevant today, though the advertising spreads for cigarettes would not. A well-documented piece on the forgotten heroes of the Suez linked with an ITV documentary. Broadcaster Sandy Gall wrote a 1000 word piece on war zones. Serious, thought-provoking pieces that today wouldn’t be published in a tv listings magazine.
We all worked one-to-one with the personalities of the day, rarely going through agents. “Stars” would ring up and beg to have their faces in the magazine – without it their programmes wouldn’t get a profile. Our address books were fat and priceless.
Unlike today’s publications, TVTimes had the luxury of letting features have their head, creating an in-depth read which isn’t seen in today’s title. Advertisers clamoured for space, creating more editorial pages. The readership for the magazine in those days was 12 million a week, soaring to 16 million at Christmas. Editors today could only dream of such success.
Things changed. When BBC and ITV lost their franchise, tv listings were open for all to publish. TVTimes was taken over but the camaraderie built up amongst the staff remained and an annual reunion of the pre-1991 staff was born. Now, years on, I organise what has become a bi-annual event.
It’s herding cats, but herd I do and it’s worth all the work. Last week 28 of us met up in London. Some hadn’t been before and you could see the cogs going round trying to recognise the bloke with the big white beard like one of Snow White’s elves. “That can’t be Jack?” hissed one to me. Others body language said it all, the picture desk girl who had had a notvery-subtle fling with one of the editors blushing coyly as he walked in, memories from 25 years ago flooding back. Then there was the tall, strongly built woman who strode up to me and said “Hello I’m Gail”. Racking my brains, I smiled. She put me out of my misery and said “I used to be Graham in advertising”.
Our tales round the table last week were uproarious, recounting disasters, indiscretions and adventures. We toasted those no longer with us. Jeremy Potter, a chairman decades back bequeathed a claret decanter filled to give every member of the “Triple XXX” gathering as it is known, a drink. And to this day we still do.
Unlike the old days, we paid for our reunion lunch. In the past, our expense accounts were unchallenged. When I travelled for work, I turned left on the plane, not right. A painful habit to lose. And, Philip Bowern take note! I even hired a plane for a US feature. I travelled the world, met amazing people, ate at the top restaurants in the name of “work” and was surrounded by a fabulous team. A great job.
TVT was a unique magazine, and the fact that we still turn out twice a year is a testimony to that. I know of no other publication that has the same camaraderie that has lasted so long. The magazine, before it lost its franchise, was a one-off and though I’ve worked on other national magazines and newspapers both here and abroad, there’s never been one that came close to the TVTimes of those days.
So yes, I love that reunion. I love seeing old faces, having my leg pulled and giving as good as I get. The bonding that we all went through years ago has lasted. I like the fact that people remember me, not as a Mum, or a wife, but as an individual in my own right, in my working capacity. Slipping into my old identity brings back memories of times past, of achievements and experiences that are fun to reminisce over. We all leave with aching sides, sharing funny stories known to a select few. We’ve all vowed that the only way our gatherings will stop is when none of us can raise a glass. I hope that’s a long way off.
Our tales around the table were uproarious, recounting indiscretions, disasters, and adventures