Category: Daily Life

Studying for the Future: 1985

For the 1985 “Technology 2000” exhibition held at Imperial College, two videos were produced: Studying for the Future and Discovering the Future. Both made use of the same visual stock-footage material, such as teaching, research, and campus footage. Studying for the Future was a promotional video for potential undergraduates. I’ve managed to colour-correct and enhance the 40-year-old videotape.

A lot of what you’ll see in this video has long gone—for example, the old main entrance, the college shop, the Reactor Centre, and the TV Studio. However, as I’ve said, it wonderfully captures what Imperial looked and felt like all those years ago. My memories are of a nicer, much happier and friendlier place back then, when people knew each other.

How much do you remember of the old place? Indeed, are you featured in the video, let me know?

Colin Grimshaw – December 2025

VP Overseas Student Committee: 1979

I chose this interview because it’s the earliest STOIC recording that discusses overseas students. David Ghani was the presenter of this particular item, and he was talking to Kumar Singarji, who was then the Vice-President of the Overseas Students Committee. This interview is from the Lunchbreak series and is also one of the first in colour, recorded on 6 June 1979. We had to be creative when recording this because we still only had one colour camera, so we shot it in a single-camera style, similar to how films are shot.

Colin Grimshaw May 2025

Imperial Concert Band: 1986

A regular feature on the Imperial calendar was the appearance of the Imperial Wind Band, but as in this video, it had just been renamed as the Imperial Concert Band. Strangely though, back some 10 years (Felix advert above) in 1976 they were called the Imperial College Wind Ensemble. Maybe changing some instruments required a name change?

Andy Mitchell spoke with Don Monro about all of this just after a performance had been given in the original Mech Eng main entrance. Right at the end we get to see the 1985 performance of the 1812 overture on the steps of the Queens Tower recorded in colour.

Colin Grimshaw February 2025

 

Archive on the move: 2024

I started the Imperial College Videotape Archive (not this Blog) way back in August 1979. This was when we had just moved over into colour, and also recording on the U-Matic videotape format. Since that time many hundreds of recordings, and therefore videotapes, have been collected into what is now the archive. This archive is not to be confused with the videotape archive of STOIC, these archives are not the same thing. Some early recordings can be seen in the photo over on the right, these are from early 1985 and includes the City & Guilds Centenary Week on 1089A.

When it all started it was the archive of the Imperial College TV Studio, that changed into Media Services and finally Communications, which was the custodian of the collection until this month. In the first week of 2024 the entire videotape archive was boxed-up and is now ready to be shipped off, and into the hands of the college’s main Archive. This is also where STOIC’s archive is also maintained having been saved from (unbelievably) being put into a skip.

It was not a quick job either; along with Martin Sayers, it took over 6 hours to carefully pack the tapes, make a note of which tapes are now in each box and also mark production numbers on the front of the boxes. This way we will know where to find any particular tape in the future. In the photo over on the right, we had only just started to sort out and then pack the videotapes which we had removed from the shelves. In box number 2 for example you can see production numbers 1027 (September 1981) to 1045. These are all in the U-Matic format but we moved, over time, to Betacam and then DVCam, but there are a few other formats mixed in.

So it’s finally goodbye to a large part of my life which is wrapped up in many different videotapes. Also, it’s a very large part of the life of Imperial College and its history. Captured on those videotapes are many things that I’ve featured in this blog: Linear Motors, Electrochromic Displays, the World’s First Calculator on a computer, the Centenary year of City & Guilds in 1985, the Imperial College Centenary in 2007, Rectors of Imperial College from Lord Penney onwards and many views of the campuses and departments that have changed forever. I also instigated the first ever recording of a Commemoration Day at the Royal Albert Hall. Following that, Martin and I recorded every Commemoration Day and Post Graduate Awards ceremony. These started to be made available on VHS tape, then DVD and finally put onto YouTube. Martin now carries this on with live YouTube steaming of the events.

Farewell, it’s been (and still is) nice rewinding you…

Colin Grimshaw January 2024

RCS Spanner & Bolt Raid 1976

Today we have an extract from one of the oldest recordings from STOIC’s news programme. On the 15th December 1976 Clive Lewis and James Sinclair were both presenting the Christmas edition of Lunchbreak. Who could want a better news story for Christmas than a mascotry raid. There was a front page splash about it in FELIX the following day, so STOIC seemed to have got the news, and also the interviews, pretty fast. Now, this was shot a few days before Christmas and I think the various constituent college union members should have been kept away from the balloons…as you’ll see! James Sinclair is attempting to hold things together though.

This is very much a deteriorating archive recording so please bear with it because it’s 47 years old and I had a major problem getting the tape to play back.

Colin Grimshaw December 2023

 

College Security: 1980

I’ve already released previous posts about the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980, the first post from 2019 is linked here. Those earlier reports were covered by STOIC reporters: Graeme Shaw, Tracy Poole and Paul Johnson.

One aspect that was forgotten was that of security for the college, parts of which overlooked the rear of the embassy building. These were the buildings along the north side of Prince’s Gardens (photo left) especially Weeks Hall of residence, which I gather has since closed as one of the student halls of residence.

In May 1980, in an edition of STOIC’s News-Break, David Ghani spoke with the college’s Chief Security Officer, Arthur Dawson about the cooperation with the police and how it affected staff and students.

How sad though that only two weeks after this interview Arthur Dawson died suddenly. A report in Felix covered that news (seen over on the right clipping), STOIC paid tribute the following week. After all these years I had completely forgotten that this had happened.

Colin Grimshaw May 2023

International Fair: 1980

One of the many events covered by STOIC in its weekly news programme News-Break was the International Fair. This was held in the Junior Common Room (JCR) in February 1980. Mike Prosser who was also a Chairman of STOIC reported on the fair. I’ve looked in the tape index and there was another International Fair report the following year, however the report by Grant Richmond showed that is was very poorly attended.

Colin Grimshaw February 2022

IC Newsreel Number 2: 1970

The second and final IC Newsreel was recorded on 2 March 1970. It was shown, like the first programme, at lunchtime the following day in the Junior Common Room in College Block (Sherfield). This final programme was a bit different and had a scoop too. Prior to the main recording, the Yugoslavian Prime Minister was visiting Imperial College and we were able to get the departure of him, his Police escort and his entourage.  Andy Finney and Vivienne Taylor stood outside the mechanical engineering building to cover the event, even though this was not originally their intention for being there. Andy was on a very long-range radio microphone and we used the longest lens possible on the camera, which (along with a second camera) was located on the third floor of the electrical engineering building. Because we had no way of inserting the item into the actual forthcoming news programme, Andy had to pre-record the item as it was happening, and we ran the item before the main program started. Not the conventional way to make a news program, but at least it was new and it was unique for that time. The news item by Andy is then followed by what was called a ‘crash’ edit (stop recording then restart again) so there are a few wobbles on the screen before the main programme starts.

Included in the programme were interviews with the three main candidates for the election of IC Union President. The first ever recording of this type.  Judith Walker won the election and became the first female in the role. She talks to Vivienne Taylor, also seen in IC Newsreel Number 1.
Just as we had ended the main recording and faded to black, the current Union President Piers Corbyn asked to be able to say a few words. So, following yet another crash edit, we faded back up and sort-of started again. The reason for these types of stops and start edits was because we only had one Ampex Videorecorder and that could not actually edit anyway.

Sadly no photos were taken at the time of these two news programme recordings, only the videotape survives, which is rare. The upper photo is of the TV studio in the late 1960’s and the lower, is just before the Philips Videorecorder, seen in the photo, was replaced by the Ampex, which was used to record the two IC Newsreels. The opening coverage of the Yugoslavian Prime Minister’s visit also gives the original view across Dolby Court, all the way from Electrical Engineering to Mechanical Engineering, a view now lost forever with the creation of the Faculty Building.

IC Newsreel paved the way for STOIC’s; TOPIC, Lunchbreak and then News-Break.

Colin Grimshaw March 2021

Review of the Year: 1979-1980

One of the extremely useful things about STOIC’s Review of the Year programmes is that they showcased some of the most important things happening in college. In this edition from 40 years ago in June 1980, David Ghani and Paul Johnson give us a glimpse of events as seen through the lens of STOIC’s camera crew. As you will see, a large amount was still in black and white. In fact, this edition of the Review of the Year is the first to be shot in colour and that was simply because it was recorded within the confines of the College TV Studio. And if you look carefully you might spot that even the studio sequences have been shot and edited together in film style, using our single colour camera.

Look out for Rag Week events, STOIC’s 10th Anniversary and one department potentially about to go broke!

Colin Grimshaw 6 June 2020

Imperial College Health Centre report: 1980

It’s pure coincidence that back in November I selected this particular video for the April blog. I guess it seems appropriate for today’s current pandemic situation and although being April 1st, sadly, it really is no joke.

Health and Welfare were items that featured on STOIC’s News programmes on a regular basis, starting way back in the early 1970’s in fact. In 1980 the college health centre in Princes Gardens had just been updated and improved. Mike Prosser went along to see the latest developments and to chat with Pat Kilshaw about the services and facilities available to students. We also get to see the sickbay with 5 beds. I also seem to recall that I actually shot this video for them.

This is a lovely record of what college facilities looked like 40 years ago.

Colin Grimshaw April 2020