In the absence of the scheduled Speaker two members of Probus spoke about life experiences Morrison Sutherland spoke about his life in broadcasting which began in 1944.
BBC Children’s Radio
When Morrison was a pupil at Hutchinson School he and a friend were invited to participate in Aunty Catherine and Uncle Joe’s Children’s Hour. He recalled that the room was carpeted in segments and and you moved between segments depending on whether you were speaking or not. He participated in this programme until 1946.
Scottish Motor Trade Association
He spoke on the opening of the Motor Show in 1969 and on interviews he did as a member of the SMTA, promoting the interests of the motor trade. He advised that he attended the Robin Day School of Broadcasting where he was taught that you must be presentable, answer questions cooly and calmly, and control an interview. It was also important to know who the broadcaster was and that you research him, because he would certainly be researching you. He stressed that the last 5 seconds of an interview was particularly important as that is what stayed with the listener.
Early Days of the MOT Test
Morrison also spoke about his time broadcasting on a consumer programme regarding a report on the car MOT Test Certificate which showed that 70% of MOTs were failures. He hadn’t seen the report in advance whilst others being interviewed had, so had to contribute by thinking on his feet. He noted that many of the failures were due to petty issues such as cooling water not being filled up above a line and smears on the windscreen. His role as an official of the SMTA meant he had an input into changes to the MOT, but it took over 3 years before they became law.
President Roddy Eunson thanked both speakers for their contributions which had been very interesting and informative considering both had very limited time in which to prepare. The next meeting will be held in the Willowbank Hotel on Wednesday 5th June at 10:00am when Morrison Sutherland will speak on D-Day and Hugh Thomson will also speak.