The reunion to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the regional news programme, Look East, was a huge success with nearly one hundred people attending from all parts of the country and Europe.

Amongst them was former News Editor, Dick Robinson, who started his broadcasting career as a newsroom journalist/reporter with BBC East (Norwich) when the station opened in 1959. Dick, along with attendees John Lewis (film editor) and Cynthia Saull (production secretary)  worked on the first edition of Look East (28th Sept. 1964) plus several thousand which followed.

Highlights of the evening included humorous memories from ninety-four year-old Peter Battle, who was gardener at the All Saints Green studios for thirty-six years, and a specially made video by Andrew Holland (picture editor) and Paul Cort-Wright (director/producer) covering several decades of BBC East which included a few ‘Auntie’s Bloomers.’

There were many favourable comments about the quality of the food and facilities at our venue, the Sprowston Manor Hotel, Norwich, and also for the superb floral arrangements on the tables created by Liz Schein who used to work in technical bookings.

As the guests were leaving around midnight several said, “When’s the next one?” or “We must do this again.”  It looks unlikely that there will be any other BBC East ‘landmark’ to celebrate for at least ten years, but do we really need one? Meeting long lost friends plus having a jolly good meal and a natter is reason enough. So we’ll certainly be doing it again.