BGS 1951 Starters Photo

Youth Wants to know!
In 1957/58 a group of pupils from BGA and the Collegiate was selected to take part in two Granada television prgrammes called "Youth Wants to Know". In the first of these the team interviewed Bernard Levin, who was then the television critic of the Guardian. (Isn't Bernard Levin now a Life Peer? Living in Canada I am out of touch but I seem to recall reading about his ennoblement). The team was from L to R standing : Peter Barton, Valerie Fallon, Carl Berryman and John Myerscough. Seated at the left is Joan Bowyer and at the right, Ken Randall. Joan Bowyer was tragically killed the following summer in a road accident in the USA. She was Deputy Head Girl at the Collegiate, I believe, and like me and Carl came from Norbreck Primary School. Carl, too, is no longer with us. He was a C of E minister in the Fylde and died about 10 years ago. At the time of this photograph he was Head Boy at BGS. Carl and Ken were 1950 starters, Joan and I were 1951 and John Myerscough was a '52 starter. I am not sure which year Valerie would have started. Carl, Joan and I took part in both programmes. John joined us for the second programme along with Barbara Ashworth and Janet Henderson. The subject that time was Sir Compton Mackenzie. Here is Bernard Levin's review of his and our performance from his weekly TV criticism column in The Guardian.
A CRITIC FACES THE CAMERA

Lucky Escape from a Brainwashing

Week One of the reign of Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick opened as far as this particular necromancer and soothsayer is concerned inauspiciously. Granada's weekly programme "Youth Wants to Know" generally consists of a number of eager young people of both sexes interrogating some figure in the public eye on questions germane to his work. .....This week, however, in a spirit of levity apparently provoked by the fact that the programme was taking place on Guy Fawkes Night, they invited Mr. Bernard Levin to put himself in the hot seat.

When the programme began it was evident that Mr. Levin did not know the cameras were looking at him. This had an extremely amusing effect, since he spent something like two minutes peering shiftily about him lke a man selling black market nylons on the pavement while keeping a weather eye open for a blue helmet.

Ridiculous as Mr. Levin's appearance was (and his voice did not exactly help matters) it was not the principal point of the programme. This was the questioning of Mr. Levin on the things he has written and the attitudes he holds. The youg people (four boys and two girls) came mainly from schools in Blackpool, wih one boy from Manchester Grammar School, (Sir Eric James, who has said that independent television will enter his school only over his dead body is reported to be in the best of health).

The questioners were models of what school children ought to be and so rarely, today, are: polite, interested, intelligent, alert. The only fault they had - and it was one which merely confirmed my suspicion, expressed frequently when writing about this programme in the past, that most of the people subjected to this examination have been ninnies - was that they were far too diffident in pressing theur questions; one sharp answer and they surrendered. Their quarry in consequence got away with murder several times (you should have seen him suffling (sic) around around the one about how much television he actually watches) and manslaughter on even more numerous occasions.

.......On the whole then, Mr. Levin came out of his ordeal with little credit but more effect; the children vice versa. As anexperience it was useful; nihil humanum a me alienum pulo. But I do not think I shall do it again in a hurry.

Photo and comments forwarded by Peter Barton - photo cleansed by Charles Barrand

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