On Fri, 10 Feb 2023 13:02:51 +0000, Roger Wilmut <email@domain.com> wrote:

> One Saturday morning, during the height of 'Producer Choice' I sat in a
> Bush House studio waiting to do a Russian Pop programme, which was
> delayed while the producer went across the road to W.H.Smith to buy a
> copy of one of the records he wanted, because it was cheaper than
> getting it from the BBC Gramophone Library.

Yes, around about the same time someone was despatched from our place
to the same well known chain to buy a VHS of a programme, which we
then had to transfer to Beta so it could be edited in to a news
package. I made my feelings known to the producer of the day, but he
just bleated that it was cheaper than getting a line booking from
Windmill Road to do it properly. He didn't care about the picture
quality.
This of course involved real money going outside, rather than just
changing numbers on a bean-counters' 'spreadsheet'.

In message <slrnu5sep7.2tgk.abuse@news.pr.network> at Fri, 12 May 2023
13:12:07, Paul Ratcliffe <abuse@orac12.clara34.co56.uk78> writes
>On Fri, 10 Feb 2023 13:02:51 +0000, Roger Wilmut <email@domain.com> wrote:
>
>> One Saturday morning, during the height of 'Producer Choice' I sat in a
>> Bush House studio waiting to do a Russian Pop programme, which was
>> delayed while the producer went across the road to W.H.Smith to buy a
>> copy of one of the records he wanted, because it was cheaper than
>> getting it from the BBC Gramophone Library.
>
>Yes, around about the same time someone was despatched from our place
>to the same well known chain to buy a VHS of a programme, which we
>then had to transfer to Beta so it could be edited in to a news
>package. I made my feelings known to the producer of the day, but he
>just bleated that it was cheaper than getting a line booking from
>Windmill Road to do it properly. He didn't care about the picture
>quality.
>This of course involved real money going outside, rather than just
>changing numbers on a bean-counters' 'spreadsheet'.

I remember reading that, on the original "All creatures great and
small", they needed to make up a brass plaque (might have been when
Siegfried made James a partner), so put in to props department to have
one faked up - and it came back as a quote noticeably higher than to
have a real one made up locally. I forget whether they actually did the
latter, though; I could easily imagine there might have been reasons to
still use props.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

But remember, in a permissive society, it is also permissible to stay at home
and have a nice cup of tea instead. Andrew Collins, RT 2015/2/14-20

Probably not exclusive to the BBC but I used to hear some ridiculously
high costs of processing a Local Purchase Order or even Petty Cash
Voucher. I did my bit to keep costs down when buying something costing
just a few pounds by just taking that amount in stamps out of the stamp
box.