Stories

“Musings of a Novice Committee Member”
‘I have enough commitments in my life’, I said. ‘I’m a busy professional, a mother and I love my hobby broadcasting. If I go to the AGM, I must make sure not to put my hand up when they are asking for people for the committee’, I promised myself.

Having determinedly evaded all committees previously, I look back on the last year on MDR’s committee with a kind of surprised fondness. It wasn’t so bad after all. Less ‘The Vicar of Dibley’, more friendship and frustration. I forget now quite how I was persuaded to change the habits of a lifetime, but I’m fairly sure that it had something to do with a simple statistic. There are usually only 30-50 members of MDR, and it takes 8-10 people on the committee to keep it going, ie on average each member needs to serve 1 year in 3, or the whole pack of cards collapses.

I genuinely love the feeling I get from helping people who tune in. In a small way, I hope to ease their loneliness and suffering, by providing soothing music and stimulating chat. I don’t want that to stop. So it felt like my turn.

What a great decision! I get to say I was on Committee when MDR was awarded ‘Charity of the Year’ status; celebrated our 30th anniversary in some style; conducted a Marathon Broadcast; rewrote our Constitution; and
replaced an OBU by raising thousands more in one year than we ever thought possible. There probably won’t be another year like it for MDR.

I have made some lifelong friends, and learnt a great deal. We have covered topics from parking permits to passive speakers, from fire safety to the new Charities Law. I am still a busy person, but I will be volunteering again for committee, because it was fun, and rewarding. I hope that some who read this, will, like me, even if they have never done it before, put their hands up too.
Julia Mewes. TOP

RADIO, RADIO
My earliest memories are of radio so maybe that is why it‘s always been important to me. From Listen With Mother through listening to pirate radio stations and Radio Luxembourg under the bed covers at night to Capital and Virgin during my years in London, radio carried the signature tunes to my life. Always alongside all the commercial station ran good old Radio 4. And before all you really young colleagues groan and cast your eyes to heaven let me tell you that I’ve learned one helluva lot from Radio 4 over the years and don’t forget that most of the radical comedy on television started on Radio 4!
After drama school whilst traveling all over the UK and other countries whilst touring in theatre or filming I’d groan myself over local radio stations and always thought that I could do better. Apart from the odd radio advertisement or drama I never seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
I put my acting career somewhat on the back burner to bring up my daughter Georgia whilst my husband brought in the money and before long a dozen years had passed by and it was time to reassess what I was going to do with the future. Suddenly acting didn’t seem to be the answer – too many months without work each year – but radio was. Time spent in the US and exposure to a myriad of different programming plus the brilliant digital output at the BBC confirmed it.
So here I am with MDR – the greatest training you could get for the business. The opportunity to give something back in that you’re lifting the boredom of a hospital stay and easing then out into the world again. No doubt the odd (and ‘odd’ being the suitable word in my case!) track I play pulls some patients up short and makes them think or giggle but that’s good broadcasting isn’t it? I think so and as long as we keep growing in outlook as well as numbers we’ll keep attracting an audience.
KAIREN KEMP TOP

Ann’s memories.
I can’t believe I have been with hospital radio for over 25 years. At first it was as a request collector with a group of friends. As there were very few female presenters it was suggested that 4 of us were given a slot for a program. So with just enough room for the 4 of us in the cupboard under the stairs as we called the studio, we went and got on with the job. No training in those days may I add. The studio had just 2 turntables and 2 tape machines but at the time we thought it quite grand. The records were on one wall of the studio and there was a card index for recording the records in the post room outside. We called our program‘Girl Talk’ and Jack Jones sang the theme song. I can’t recall exactly what the program consisted of but I do remember that we included a recipe, poem, stage & screen music with a little chat about the film or musical and a serial. Patients weren’t sent home quite as rapidly in those days but even so I am sure they never heard the beginning and end of the story.
After a while the four of us split into two’s. Sheila and Dorothy had a slot on a Saturday and Mavis & I stayed at 8-10pm on a Wednesday evening, changed the title to ‘All Kinds of Everything’ (Dana) and have been there ever since.
Fund raising at the time was setting up a stall at one of the local fetes and Haywards Heath market and selling £1 tickets to win a teddy. It usually turned into quite a social affair though it was hard work getting it set up and taken down and sometimes the weather was not very kind to us.
We then moved to the PRH. A much bigger and better equipped studio and changed the name from Cuckfield Hospital Radio to Mid Downs Radio but the message stays the same. We are there for the benefit of the patients and not our own egos.
After some years Adrian joined us and added a new dimension to our program with his wit & personality and we agree that it would not be the same without him. We have always collected our own requests and therefore know exactly who we are playing them for, so it seems more personal. We take new would-be presenters round the wards to show them the correct way to collect requests. We also teach newcomers and find this very rewarding. Presenters have come and gone but I could count on my fingers the number of times we have not been there to present our program, in fact I don’t know what I would do on a Wednesday evening without my trip up to the hospital for MDR.
Ann Bird. February 2004 TOP