Bygones

Bygones started in 1967 and was a series of programmes that looked at life as it once was. It featured crafts and craftsmen, and endless collections of gadgets and implements. Some items were very odd, while others were extremely beautiful. Many items had to have their purpose explained, as it wasn’t obvious simply by looking at them.

The programme was the brainchild of Dick Joice, a Norfolk farmer who became involved with the local television company, Anglia Television, almost by chance. He was recruited to present Anglia’s new farming programme, Farming Diary, and also the nightly news programme, About Anglia. On the latter, there would often be production problems, and to stop himself looking foolish whilst waiting for the next film clip to be salvaged, Dick would produce some small mystery object, and ask viewers what it was. From that humble beginning, the Bygones programme was born, as the public loved the fascinating old objects he produced as much as the scheduled news reports.

As Bygones was a stand-alone programme, the content could be more ambitious. Dick Joice and his film crew travelled around the countryside to record priceless interviews with many old, traditional craftsmen and women, before such crafts were lost forever.

The series also spawned a series of books on various subjects, followed by videos and DVDs.

Following Dick Joice’s retirement in 1987, John Huntley took over the reins until the show was discontinued in 1989. However, having been asked by Anglia TV which programme they’d like to see revived, the viewers voted overwhelmingly for Bygones. As a result of this, a new version started in 2007, hosted by Eddie Anderson (Dick Joice’s former assistant) and Wendy Hurrell, and is on-going as we enter 2009.