TODAY when we think of television we might imagine something with a large screen, high definition, multi channelled and miraculously attached to the internet.

But what was is like back in the early days of black and white analogue? Then we spent winter evenings watching grainy images on small screens.

There were very few channels and high lights might have included the Man from UNCLE, Saturday Night at the London Palladium or perhaps Top of the Pops complete with Pan’s People.

At our recent WI meeting in Alveston Bill Oxenham took us back to those days.

Bill has enjoyed a long and successful career working behind the scenes in television. His job involved editing and he always enjoyed the adrenalin rush that came with trying to get the programme out on time.

Bill gained his knowledge and expertise by hands on experience while working on the job. Today anyone wanting to do Bill’s job would need specific academic qualifications and Bill regretted that this would inevitably involve the burden of a large student debt.

Bill confessed that many of his team’s best ideas were worked out in the bar but one Christmas after some overly enthusiastic liquid celebrations the crew managed to send out the TV adverts upside down.

He was surprised that no one phoned in to complain- perhaps they were all out making a cup of tea and didn’t notice.

As a child he loved films and his first experience of television was watching the Coronation of Elizabeth II at the home of the local Squire.

The screen was very small but the Squire had generously fitted it with a magnifier. The effect was not totally successful as it distorted the Queen’s carriage every time it took a bend.

Bill showed us his first film camera; it was an intriguing little device and was operated by a winding mechanism on the side.

Bill was prepared to travel for his work going as far as New Zealand. Later back in Britain he lived in a dormobile; it had a very dodgy gear box but he valiantly travelled around in it and found work at several different Independent TV stations.

As his career took off Bill was part of many well-known productions such as the documentary Life on Earth. In the 80’s he was supervising editor for the Robin Hood series. More recently he worked at the BBC and ITV in Bristol.

What began as a childhood interest developed into a lifelong career which Bill said not only paid him well but which he also enjoyed immensely.