Category: Student life

Student TV Alumni Network: 2025

 

There are no actual videos in this blog post, but rather a link to a lovely web article from the Student Television Alumni Network. Dom Kullander wrote this article with input from me, and with photos from my collection. Of course, because it’s the student TV network the piece is specifically about the archive of STOIC and the efforts to preserve and digitise it. That’s me (here at home) seen over on the right, doing just that! Dom had been in contact with me last July (so nearly a year ago) and to be honest, I’d forgotten all about this article.

For how much longer I’ll be able to continue the restoration and digitisation of these tapes all depends on the videotape machines (U-matic machine with its cover off for cleaning, over on the left). These were made in the 70-90’s, and genuine spares are now unavailable. In most cases, service engineers (if you can find one) obtain parts by using older machines as a source of spares. Video heads are another matter—once they’re gone, it would be almost impossible to source replacements. As I’ve mentioned before, the Ampex One Inch A format video recorders are no longer available, so tapes made on that format are simply stuck in boxes in the archives. Time (and especially money) are not on our side…

The link to Dom’s article and website is below:

https://www.studenttvalumni.co.uk/post/from-the-archive-stoic-memories

Colin Grimshaw June 2025

Magnetic Induction: 1980

Here’s yet another video that I had completely forgotten about. It was when we were recently packing up the TV Studio videotape archive (not STOIC’s) for relocation, that I came across this video again. Bryan Steele was in fact a member of STOIC and had presented many items on their weekly news programme, hence his on-camera confidence. I do wish I could remember all of the details as to why we made this video in February 1980, but that’s over 45 years ago now!

Irrespective of why it was made, I’m glad we did. It features many of the demonstrations that were famously linked to Professor Eric Laithwaite. In the TV Studio we had a large number of his demonstrations, like the ‘jumping ring’ and down in his Electrical Engineering lab Bryan runs the ‘Magnetic River’ with the model train on it. However, I have never seen it in this strange brown colour. It’s usually painted something like blue or even white which shows up well on TV or film. If you search this blog you’ll find a few examples of these different colours. Guess who appears from behind the camera to return the model train to Bryan after each run!

I’m assuming that Bryan was linked in some way to the “Pimlico Connection” that did undergrad outreach visits to schools and hence this video. I’d marked the videotape with “a video made for schools’, but that’s not in the actual title sequence. The video was made within the first 6 months or so of having moved into colour and we’d not even created a TV Studio logo in colour by that time.

Colin Grimshaw June 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

Freshers’ Fair: 1982

Two years before today’s video was made, STOIC was still operating in black and white. So, it’s a pleasure to release this 1982 video in colour. Lawrence Windley went around Freshers’ Fair and spoke to a few people taking part. And we once again meet Tim Bell from City and Guilds, who appeared in a previous video all about Pedal Cars. Some of the freshers do look a little dazed, I must say. Maybe the afternoon was a little too early for them, or perhaps the cheap beer was kicking in?

Colin Grimshaw April 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

 

Sailing Club: 1986

Another gem from the archives of STOIC’s News-Break programme. This time we go back to Spring 1986 when they went on location to report on the Imperial College Sailing Club. This is the only time that the Sailing Club was featured in the archive. I am pleased to see that the club is still going strong (unlike STOIC) and can be found on the Union website and also on their own Facebook page.

I’ve done my usual troll through the archive issues of Felix and the earliest item about the club can be found in issue number 62 from May 1954. The report tells us that the Sailing Club won the University of London Championship for the fourth year in a run! It also tells us an intriguing story about having to buy a lorry to transport the boats when they went to Ireland. You can read that Felix report in full if you go to the issue which is linked up above.

Colin Grimshaw January 2025

Silwood Park unseen footage: 1981

Back in 2010 I posted a blog about Silwood Park and I included the small joint documentary that we made between STOIC and the TV Studio. In a recent batch of tapes being digitised I found a short promotional clip for the documentary that Tracy Dudley (Poole) had made; the clip was in an edition of News-Break on 29 April 1981 . The interesting thing about this clip is that there are shots that were not used in the final edited version that’s linked up above.

So, let’s go back some 43 years to see that short footage, unseen until now.

 

Colin Grimshaw December 2024

STOIC on BBC Radio London: 1974

From my personal archive I’ve dug up yet another piece of college history. Way back in 1974 the then Chairman of STOIC Mark Caldwell (photo right) and myself, were interviewed on BBC Radio London. You may wonder what the connection is between STOIC and BBC Radio London. Well, the very first Chairman of STOIC was Andy Finney who just happened to also be heavily involved in radio. From student TV to local (and also national) radio, Andy had a very full career in many areas of broadcasting. But on this occasion, he remembered his connection with Imperial and getting STOIC off of the ground in 1970 and wanted more people to hear about it.

On 4 November 1974 Mark and I went up to the then HQ of BBC Radio London in Hanover Square. Although we did video record the interview it’s still stuck on one of the Ampex One Inch videotapes that we’re still hoping will be funded to be transferred into digital. However, I do still have the audio recording as it was broadcast live and that’s what you can hear today. Andy mentions “TOPIC” which was the very first regular news programme made by STOIC. Its name changed to Lunchbreak and finally to News-Break.

So, going back 50 years, here is Andy Finney speaking with us both, live on BBC Radio London.

Colin Grimshaw 4 November 2024

Inter-CCU Swimming Gala: 1986


In February 1986 STOIC reporter Mark Salisbury left the warmth of the TV Studio to venture over to the Sports Centre in Prince’s Gardens North Side. The advert in Felix (up above) shows what the event was all about. Sadly there are no interviews with anyone taking part.

What you’re seeing is of course the old original sports centre which was pulled down and replaced by Ethos which was opened in April 2006. For an indication of the changes to the pool have a look at Varsity Day 2008 which we recorded at Ethos on 27 February 2008.

Colin Grimshaw October 2024

Jez report & update: 1982

Amazingly, Jez (more correctly Jezebel) was only featured on STOIC eight times between November 1979 and May 1984. Today’s item from November 1982 is different because it includes part of the time that Jez appeared on the BBC’s Blue Peter programme earlier that year in February. You can read all about that appearance on page 3 of Felix from February 1982. Duncan Batty from RCS Motor Club was outside in the cold talking to STOIC’s Mark Simms (see Felix bottom page 3) about what had been happening to Jez since that time.

The picture at the top is of me with camera, with my colleague Martin Sayers with microphone on 26 June 2008. This was outside the college main entrance during the retirement party for Rector Sir Richard Sykes. Jez was on duty to greet Sir Richard and Lady Sykes and to take them on an unforgettable evening ride.

Colin Grimshaw September 2024