Busy weekends but not with SOS

As southern regional rep of the Hospital Broadcasting Association, I have to organise regular meetings of the stations in the region.  These take place at a different station every 3 months and this weekend it’s the turn of Mid Downs Radio in Haywards Heath.

I find it interesting going around to see how other stations work and meeting members of other stations.  Sometimes it’s easy to think we’re on aour own as a station but it’s nice to be reassured that there are numerous other stations out there many of whom have the same issues.

So HRB’s David Bristow will once again be sitting in this Sunday while I’m away, but I will be doing The Friday Feeling as usual, my other regular show that goes out every Friday afternoon at 4.

1 show on, 2 off…

I can’t believe it’s a year ago this week that we got our new building at HRB and begun fitting it out with our new studios.  The process wasn’;t entirely smooth, which is probably why the last 12 months have gone by without noticing, but even so I can’t believe it was really a year ago since the excitement of the day the building arrived, the problems with the cranes, the frantic activity as the carpet was laid, alarm installed, furniture built and the studios installed. 

It all took much longer than we anticipated and it wasn’t until April this year that we were able to put the majority of it behind us and get back to running the station!  Even now there are a few things that need doing to finish it off.

Last summer of course we were all forced to take nearly two and a half months off air, this year, I am trying to do a few things I didn’t get a chance to do a year ago which means a few shows off.

Last Sunday, I went off for the day to London to see the London Triathlon.  It was a god day out with some excellent weather.  Next weekend, I have my Hospital Broadcasting Association hat on with a regional meeting in Haywards Heath and the week after, back to London for a tour around BBC Broadcasting House.

So this weekend will be the first show for 2 weeks and the last for 3 before returning to near normal during August Bank Holiday weekend.

And the scary thing about that is, it will be the last weekend before Christmas.

Ropley, Alton and Wimbledon

What a fantastic day it was at Ropley station last weekend.  We were there with our mobile studio, a microphone and loads of steam engines and the very warm welcome of all the volunteers that keep the line running. 

The dedication and enthusiasm of everyone there is amazing and it’s sometimes hard to remember that everyone is a volunteer.

We’re back in Alton this weekend at the Alton show, an event for which HRB gets paid for sitting at the gate and taking the money from the visitors.  This will be the third time I have done this, and I am hoping that the weather will be much better than the previous two occasions where it was cold, wet and windy.  Mind you, I bet the organisers have let out a quiet sigh of relief that Andy Murray is not in the Wimbledon final as I would not mind betting that had he been playing on Sunday, visitor numbers would have been much lower than normal!

The show is back at 2.30 on Sunday, delayed by an hour to allow me to get back from Alton in good time and get on with various other jobs around the station.  We’ll have live reports from Wimbledon during the afternoon along with all the normal fun and features.  It will be nice to be back to near normal in what is afterall, only the second normal show of the season!

Breaking News

I suppose last weekend was a strange weekend to start the new series as this week is a shorter than normal show (OK it’s recorded) on the day that HRB does it’s Watercress Line Day at Ropley Station.

This is a repeat of the day we tried to do last October but which was rained off.  This time round it looks like the umbrellas willbe protecting us from the sun rather than the rain!

Recording shows is grest – it allows all radio stations to prepare and produce shows in advance and although almost anyone will tell you that live radio is the best, recording a show can give you that extra bit of control and more time to focus on what you’re doing rather than looking at all the other things going on.

Of course when a news story breaks such as it has done this week, previously recorded shows might need to be re-recorded in part, or as happened this afternoon, been done partly live.  I listened to Radio 2 all day today (Friday) and looked at how other stations were reacting to the story of Michael Jackson’s death. 

It was most frustrating sat at work and not being able to even alter the HRB music to play some Michael Jackson songs whilst other radio stations were doing all sorts as a tribute.  Unfortunately, being all volunteers, that’s the way it’s got to be sometimes and maybe there’s an arguement for people wanting something to listen to where it’s not wall to wall talking about the same thing all the time.  Even so, I did alter my Friday afternoon show The Friday Feeling to include a feature and tonight (Friday) and throughout Saturday will have plenty of music from Michael Jackson in tribute.

Back this Weekend

I can’t believe that it’s a month since the last show, but the last show of the last series was on 17 May.

We always take an extended break around this time of year.  Last year it was very extended , almost 3 months while HRB moved studios.  This year, a month was enough to go away, have a break and come up with loads of new iudeas for the show.

We have two new competitions, several new features and the return of the regulars as well. 

The trick is always getting the mix just right, getting the features in the right order and at the right pioint in the show.  Sometimes it takes a while of moving things around before things flow properly again, but hopefully the 2009-10 season will be the best yet!

One thing I am looking forward to is being able to sit in an airconditioned studio.  For the first time in 18 years, HRB studio 1 has air conditioning, and it looks like this weekend the weather will be just right to test it out!

New series starting soon

The idea of being off the air for a few weeks was to plan some new ideas and work out how to do them on air.  How quickly times flies.  The show is back next Sunday and I seem to have not got very far with those plans!

I’m sure we’ll be ready.  There are lots of ideas floating around.  Maybe we’ll have to have another break later in the year to sort them out properly.

One thing we will be doing in the new series is reflecting what is on TV more.  The best new show of the last couple of weeks has to be Totaly Saturday with Graham Norton.  It’s live Saturday night TV at its livliest although it attracted a fair bit of negative comment after show number one though. 

These were probably the same people to complain about the large number of talent shows on Saturday nights, in fact these are probably the same people who complain about just about anything on TV, because, that’s what TV critics do!

End of The Series

The current series of the show has come to an end and we’re off on the summer break. 

The Sound of Sunday has just about always taken a break around this time of year – I go off on my holidays and come up with new ideas and others take over Sunday afternoons on HRB for a few weeks. 

It’s not quite all from me on a Sunday afternoon though.  The annual football intensive afternoon that is the last day of the Premier League is coming up next weekend – all 10 games kicking off at 4pm and previews, updates and goal flashes from all of them mean it’s pretty much non-stop throughout at least 2 of the 4 hours.  We take just about all the reports live and depending on the amount of goals, we could reach over 100 during the show.

I will need a holiday after that lot!

Back for Easter

After being off the air for 2 weekends, we get back to business this Sunday from 1.30.  During the break, I have been busy tracking down more classic Superman episodes and seem to have succeeded in finding another 150 or so episodes!  That means we have enough episodes to keep going for about 3 years!

Even though they were made in the 1940s, these classic episodes have aged remarkably well.  A good story is a good story after all and over the last 18 years we have often featured radio drama on the show. 

We have 5 shows left until the end of the current series, and 6 episodes in the first story, so as there has been a long break between the last two episodes, we’re going to start all over again and have a double episode on the last show of the series on 10 May.  Then, continue with the next story on the first show of the new season in June.

Back in April

After the excitement of the 18th anniversary show last week, we’re off for two weeks.  This week, HRB is undergoing some essential engineering work to finish off our new studios.  This means that this weekend’s shows will almost certainly not get broadcast.  The following week is 5 April, the day of the official opening of our bran new studios. 

So, we’re back on 12 April with the final episode of Superman 1940s style.  That will be on Easter Sunday, and on Easter Monday, I’ll be presenting a special show with all five episodes from the series during the 3 hour show. 

Hopefully we’ll find some more classic radio drama for future shows.

18 Years on Sunday

When The Sound of Sunday started, John Major was UK Prime Minister, George Bush Senior was US President and we were just about to enter the last recession. 

18 years on and we mark the occasion this weekend with a mystery guest, someone who has worked with “Keith” on the Swaparama and has been in show biz for more than 40 years.  All will be revealed on Sunday.  We will also be repeating one of the celebrity interviews from the last 18 years as voted for by SOS listeners – Andy Crane, Katrina from Katrina and the Waves, Keith Chegwin or Trev and Simon will be heard again on Sunday’s show.

We’re on from 2.30 until5.  It shouldbe a top show!