Tag Archives: Trinidad

I was sitting at my desk at Grampian Television in Aberdeen, Scotland, when the telephone rang. It was James Coltart, Deputy Chairman of the Thompson Organization. I had met him about six months previously when I had arrived in London and left my resume with his office. He told me that the Thompson Org. was getting involved in setting up TV stations in developing countries and that they wanted a Canadian style look to the operations. They didn’t want a CBC model but one that was similar to the independent commercial stations in Canada. He felt that my background in Canadian TV (Hamilton – Producer/ Director, Edmonton – Commercial Production Manager, Calgary – Production Manager, Winnipeg – Executive Producer) would meet the requirements for their operations.
Coltart asked if I would be willing to go to Kenya and set up a TV station there. At that time the Mau Mau’s were very active and were cutting off the heads of white folks. I said thanks but no thanks. But I gave him the name of a Brit who worked with me in Calgary and who was now back in England. As it turned out he contacted this person who eventually went to Kenya and did a great job. Continue reading →