BBC News 24 reports on the privatisation of the Royal Mail
The government's plans to privatise the Royal Mail have been finalised as shares go on sale. The sale has been heavily oversubscribed, meaning that members of the public are unlikely to get all the shares they have applied for. This has sparked a row over whether this means the service is being sold off too cheaply.
Much has changed since 1933 when the General Post Office established its own film unit tasked with producing documentary films promoting the activities of the Post Office. Their most well known film Night Mail, follows the night service as the Royal Mail train travels from Londn to Scotland. W.H. Auden was comissioned to write a poem for the film, used in the closing sequence along with music from Benjamin Britten. In the 1983 film The GPO Story, Arena interviewed the Director, Harry Watt and Cameraman Chick Fowle about working for the formidable documentary maker John Grierson and the difficulties of filming on a working train.
Arena interviews Director and Cameraman of iconic GPO film 'Night Mail'
Arena: The GPO Story, first broadcast 14th December 1983, Directed by Nigel Williams, Series Editor - Anthony Wall
