Timothy John Byford
Encyclopedia
Timothy John Byford (born 25 July 1941) is an author, actor, TV film-director, translator, and educator in Serbia
.
Born in Salisbury
, England
, Timothy John Byford started his TV career directing films for the BBC
TV Blue Peter
programme. His first TV documentary I Want to Be a Showjumper won a BAFTA Harlequin Award (for Children's Programmes) - Rediffusion Star Awards award in 1969.
In 1971 he moved to Yugoslavia, where he continued to write and direct children's television programmes during the 1970s and 1980s. He is best known for his children's TV series: Neven ('Marigold'), Babino unuče ('Granny's Boy') and Poletarac ('Fledgling') (all for TV Belgrade) as well as Nedeljni zabavnik ('Sunday Magazine'), 'Musical Notebook' and Tragom ptice Dodo ('On the Trail of the Dodo') (all for TV Sarajevo). 'Fledgling' won a Grand Prix at the Prix Jeunesse International Festival in Munich
in 1980. For the past fifteen years he has taught English
, writing and translating. In 2006, after 40 years of working with children, he joined the Children's Cultural Centre Belgrade, where he writes and directs programmes, teaches English and translates. He has written and published a self-portrait trilogy, "Pigs Do Not Eat Banana Skins," completed a collection of seven short stories under the title, "The Golden Candlestick," and is currently completing his official autobiography, "Warts and All."
In 2005 he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of cancer formed by malignant plasma cells, but under the care of doctors and his wife Zorica, continues to live a relatively normal life..
One who speaks Serbian
with a strong English accent is said to have a bajfordovski (sic) or Byfordian accent. His name is also associated with a park in the northern suburbs of Belgrade
, Banjica Forest
, as during the late 1980s he campaigned for it to have special protection because of the large number of nightingale
s and other species of birds that nest in it. The wood is now an officially protected natural habitat and has been dubbed by some (unofficially) as Byford's Forest.
In April 01, 2010, Timothy Byford celebrated the 50th year of his artistic career with the opening of his photograph exhibition, Joy in 100 Pictures, consisting of photographs he took at the 'Joy of Europe' festivals in 2008 and 2009.
Also in 2010, Byford appeared on screen as a cricket umpire in a television advert for Mivela water during the FIFA World Cup. The ad also featured players from the Serbia national cricket team
and Serbian footballer Radosav Petrović
.
During the 70's and 80's, Mr Byford developed the educational service of Radio Television Belgrade (RTS today), which serves an audience of children and teenagers.
, Serbia
, former Yugoslavia in 1971. and as a foreigner he was not allowed to be a participant in a pension fund system. Since his wife was from former Yugoslavia (now Serbia), he should inherit the citizenship right after certain amount of years spent in marriage. He received Serbian citizenship only at the age of 65 after intervention of Serbia's president Boris Tadic
. It was too late to become a pension fund participant, since he would be at the age of 80 before he gains the right for a minimal pension.
On January 01. 2011, serbian newspaper agency Blic
wrote an article about Mr. Byford's rejection for a national recognition award for his contribution and previous work (which effectively enables the right for a national pension), despite several years nominations from his fellow colleagues as described in an interview. Rejecting Mr. Byford's requests for the pension caused significant discontent among people who remember his work from their childhood. Two weeks later after the original article was published, Mr. Byford received aknowledgment for pension. In the later article Byford thanked many supporters who offered their help and started petition on Facebook
social network. As a result, Mr. Byford received several job offers, but many of them he had to turn down due his specific health issues. Mr. Byford eventually returned to RTS.
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
Born in Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Timothy John Byford started his TV career directing films for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
programme. His first TV documentary I Want to Be a Showjumper won a BAFTA Harlequin Award (for Children's Programmes) - Rediffusion Star Awards award in 1969.
In 1971 he moved to Yugoslavia, where he continued to write and direct children's television programmes during the 1970s and 1980s. He is best known for his children's TV series: Neven ('Marigold'), Babino unuče ('Granny's Boy') and Poletarac ('Fledgling') (all for TV Belgrade) as well as Nedeljni zabavnik ('Sunday Magazine'), 'Musical Notebook' and Tragom ptice Dodo ('On the Trail of the Dodo') (all for TV Sarajevo). 'Fledgling' won a Grand Prix at the Prix Jeunesse International Festival in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in 1980. For the past fifteen years he has taught English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, writing and translating. In 2006, after 40 years of working with children, he joined the Children's Cultural Centre Belgrade, where he writes and directs programmes, teaches English and translates. He has written and published a self-portrait trilogy, "Pigs Do Not Eat Banana Skins," completed a collection of seven short stories under the title, "The Golden Candlestick," and is currently completing his official autobiography, "Warts and All."
In 2005 he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of cancer formed by malignant plasma cells, but under the care of doctors and his wife Zorica, continues to live a relatively normal life..
One who speaks Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
with a strong English accent is said to have a bajfordovski (sic) or Byfordian accent. His name is also associated with a park in the northern suburbs of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Banjica Forest
Banjica Forest
Banjička šuma or Banjica forest is a forest in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade's municipality of Voždovac.- Location :...
, as during the late 1980s he campaigned for it to have special protection because of the large number of nightingale
Nightingale
The Nightingale , also known as Rufous and Common Nightingale, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
s and other species of birds that nest in it. The wood is now an officially protected natural habitat and has been dubbed by some (unofficially) as Byford's Forest.
In April 01, 2010, Timothy Byford celebrated the 50th year of his artistic career with the opening of his photograph exhibition, Joy in 100 Pictures, consisting of photographs he took at the 'Joy of Europe' festivals in 2008 and 2009.
Also in 2010, Byford appeared on screen as a cricket umpire in a television advert for Mivela water during the FIFA World Cup. The ad also featured players from the Serbia national cricket team
Serbia national cricket team
The Serbian Cricket Team is a fledgling team which represents the nation of Serbia in International Cricket competitions. In recent years the game has begun to grow again, a recent article on Cricinfo highlighted the progress made by the team. Serbia are not officially endorsed by the International...
and Serbian footballer Radosav Petrović
Radosav Petrovic
Radosav "Raća" Petrović is a Serbian footballer who plays for English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers as a midfielder.-Early career:...
.
During the 70's and 80's, Mr Byford developed the educational service of Radio Television Belgrade (RTS today), which serves an audience of children and teenagers.
Pension Issue
Mr. Byford moved to BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, former Yugoslavia in 1971. and as a foreigner he was not allowed to be a participant in a pension fund system. Since his wife was from former Yugoslavia (now Serbia), he should inherit the citizenship right after certain amount of years spent in marriage. He received Serbian citizenship only at the age of 65 after intervention of Serbia's president Boris Tadic
Boris Tadic
Boris Tadić is the President of Serbia and leader of the Democratic Party. He was elected to a five-year term on 27 June 2004, and was sworn into office on 11 July. He was re-elected for a de facto second five-year term on 3 February 2008 and was sworn in on 15 February...
. It was too late to become a pension fund participant, since he would be at the age of 80 before he gains the right for a minimal pension.
On January 01. 2011, serbian newspaper agency Blic
Blic
Blic is a tabloid daily newspaper in Serbia owned by Ringier AG group from Switzerland.Started in 1996, it has gone through a slight format change during the mid 2000s to include more in-depth coverage, but it is still, as its name aptly suggest, a paper devoted to quick, concise,...
wrote an article about Mr. Byford's rejection for a national recognition award for his contribution and previous work (which effectively enables the right for a national pension), despite several years nominations from his fellow colleagues as described in an interview. Rejecting Mr. Byford's requests for the pension caused significant discontent among people who remember his work from their childhood. Two weeks later after the original article was published, Mr. Byford received aknowledgment for pension. In the later article Byford thanked many supporters who offered their help and started petition on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
social network. As a result, Mr. Byford received several job offers, but many of them he had to turn down due his specific health issues. Mr. Byford eventually returned to RTS.