Another “Snake” at Radio Teesdale

One of the best parts of being a Radio Station Manager that you get to meet and talk to some lovely people. Being interviewed this week was Snake Davis, the world famous saxophonist who is appearing at Darlington Arts Centre on the 24th May. He was very unassuming and was very generous with his time as he spoke at length with Alan Bradley. A lovely bloke. And what a revelation it was listening to the tracks he’s plays on and picking out the sax bits…stunning work. Talk of Snake reminded me that I’ve recently heard that the Python that Radio Teesdale help find a home for has settled in brilliantly well. Apparently he’s living with a few other snakes and loves the company.

It was great to hear Prelude performing live in the studio on Friday night on the Teesdale Live programme. If you missed it, than make sure you tune in this coming Friday for the repeat.

Radio Teesdale had a visit from a representative of Tynedale Community Radio who hope to set up a station and obtain a community license. We wish them the best of luck. They certainly have all the enthusiasm needed to make it work.

Mr Andy has been a great help this week and has done wonders with our computer system. We now have all our broadcast systems properly backing up and we’ve increased the size of our music playout computer drives….so we can store more programmes without constantly having to move things around.

We are currently thinking about how best we can participate in the Barnard Castle Meet. Our What’s On programme last Friday covered all information on the activities. Good luck to Mark Knight and his team with all the organisation. Tune throughout this next week for more information and details of events. If you would like to get involved in Radio Teesdale's input in the procession or supporting broadcasts over the weekend then please let me know.

From the US to Teesdale

Another great week at Radio Teesdale. The phones and computer cables were transferred to our new office next door to the two studios. So we began our move. It’s a case of, “If we need it we’ll move it….if not it goes into storage!” It’s also nice to see Linda and Prink Media moving into Enterprise House this week. A very warm welcome to you.

Last Friday was an exceptionally busy day…..and with the glorious sunshine outside what more could we ask for than a “Beach Boy.” Stevie Heger had just flown in from LA for a short tour of UK venues. Stevie is a performer and record producer working on the west coast of America with lots of famous US acts including the Beach Boys. He called into the studio to speak to Wayne Mann and record an exclusive version of a track from his new album in our studio 2. Many thanks to promoter Dave McClean for setting it all up. Stevie was a delight to have in the studio. He certainly brightened the place up with his LA charm. And this was just a few minutes after Mick Brennan had had a lovely chat with another star from the US, Kid Creole. The previous evening Andrew Harrison had spoken to Helena Blackman (of “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” fame) who is appearing in South Pacific at Darlington Civic Theatre. Watch out for repeats of all of these interviews.

This week also saw the several funding bid applications and reports submitted. If you would like to get involved in fundraising then we need help in all aspects of this important area. Just contact me at the office.

Radio Teesdale first with the Teesdale Ward’s County Council News

Local elections with a difference took place in Teesdale on May 1st 2008, as part of the move to create a single unitary council for the county. Teesdale has 3 of the 63 electoral divisions on Durham County Council - and ultimately, a place on the county's new unitary authority. Normally, the county council elections return just one member for each electoral division, but at this election there were two for each existing electoral division. This is because the successful candidates will serve a dual role for their first eleven months of office. As well as running the existing county council they will also develop and finalise plans for the new-style unitary council. From April 1st, 2009, Teesdale District Council will cease to exist. There will be one new unitary council, providing both district and county functions. The six councilors representing the areas of Teesdale will become the first fully-fledged members of the new unitary council.
Radio Teesdale was delighted to be present at the count, at Teesdale Sports Centre, along with other media colleagues from the Teesdale Mercury and the Northern Echo. We were very well looked after by Fiona Hall from Teesdale Council. Radio Teesdale’s Linda Britton and I were there talking to candidates and officers responsible for the smooth running of the election. A recount in all three Teesdale areas, due to the closeness of the 2nd and 3rd places added to the drama. It was great to see that everyone we asked was willing to talk to Radio Teesdale. Some swift editing meant that we had comments from a whole range of candidates as well as the result announcements themselves.
Radio Teesdale's Breakfast show from 7.30am on the 2nd May became an election special featuring all the news from the election. Adrian Braddy, editor of the Teesdale Mercury, was our special guest for the whole of the show adding his own insight into the results and the outcomes. We are in the process of inviting all the elected Councillors onto our Drive Time show to explore their thoughts in more depth. You can see photos from the count in the photo gallery and extracts from the interviews on the Listen Again feature of the web site.

It has been great to see that we’ve had a number of performers in the studios in the last few weeks recording exclusive live recordings for Radio Teesdale. This includes “The Former Age” recording a track from a forthcoming show entitled “Shewings” based on a 14th Century text about Julian of Norwich, Luke Jordan supported by father Bob and the up and coming Indie Band Hungover Stutman. The later are managed by the originator of Viz Magazine, Simon Donald, who joined them in the studio.

Spring is here!

We are coming the end of the first week of our Spring 2008 schedule and what a great week it has been. As mentioned in last week’s blog we have a variety of new programmes and all available to listen to online. We will be using our new web site as the key source of information to members and listeners. E-Circulars to members and notes form members’ meeting will be placed on our other blog – members updates. You can see the one from the 18/3/8 meeting here.

http://radioteesdalemembersupdate.blogspot.com/

The next Members’ Meeting is at 6.30pm on Tuesday 22/4/8.

The programme schedule is also linked to other pages, such as presenter profiles and featured programmes.

I had planned to have some time off during the school holidays but I ended up in and around the office for some time each day. I had the pleasure of working on this week’s What’s On programme. I’d always taken an interest in local events but since working at Radio Teesdale I’ve been staggered by the breadth and quality of events going on in and around the area. The two hour programme (4pm to 6pm on Friday) was jam packed full of material and we even had to drop some items until next week. We’ve also created a regular hour from 1pm to 2pm on Saturday afternoons when you can listen to many of the interviews and features from the What’s On programming. We are also creating our own “Event” each week with our Teesdale Live programme (Fridays 7pm to 9pm)….listen to local bands live on Radio Teesdale. Brilliant.

Listen to Radio Teesdale on line

You can listen to Radio Teesdale at any location through our web site on the Internet or using a wireless radio. Our new look web site gives easy access to your station at any place at any time.

We are also launching our “Listen Again” facility where interviews, performances and programme features from our archive will be placed so you can listen at a time that suits you. We will be adding a whole variety of archive material over the next few weeks. If there are any sound recordings that you would like included in this feature let us know and we’ll do our best to include them. Well done Andy Greener and Chris Ord who have both worked hard on the necessary computer systems and the web site.

Tomorrow sees the start of our new Spring Schedule. I’d like to wish everyone the best of luck with their new programmes. In particular I’d like to welcome Robin Wallington (“Morning Magazine” on 1st Thursday in the month), Scott Patrick (“Retroclectic” Monday at 8pm), Walt Young (“Mess A Blues” Saturday 5pm and Wednesday 9pm) and Joss Harwood (“Business” alternate Thursdays at 1pm) who are involved in new programmes. I’m also delighted to welcome Ben Sadler, Dave Robinson, Andy Leitch and Ian Kirkbride who have been supporting programmes and standing in for various programmes over the last season. They are all now “regulars” on the schedule. We now also have the return (from the pilots during the RSL) of a regular two hour programme featuring live musicians - Teesdale Live. Bandstand (Sunday 8pm) also makes a welcome return. Richard and Ian have moved from the world of punk to the more mainstream “It was all in the charts.”

The studio booking schedule is currently with the Enterprise House Reception Team. It is important that you make a booking if you want to try to ensure you have access to the studio and the time you want.

The next members meeting is on Tuesday 22nd April at 6.30pm.

Teesdale District Council funding award

I am delighted to let you know that Teesdale District Council is supporting Radio Teesdale with a District Council Grant. In making the announcement they said, "Councillors recognised the importance of Radio Teesdale’s expansion plans, with a grant of £15k…… It demonstrates that the Council recognises the importance of working in partnership with a range of organisations to provide sustainable services for people in Teesdale." This is great news for Radio Teesdale. Each year we need to raise at least £80k in order to maintain our present level of operation. It is very encouraging that Teesdale District Council has seen the value of Radio Teesdale’s contribution to communication throughout Teesdale.

The next Members’ Meeting will be at 6.30pm on 22nd April at Enterprise House. Anyone is welcome to attend. In the meantime we will be launching our new look web site, which will enable you to listen “on line.” We are also developing our “Listen Again” facility and will be making available past interviews and performances from our archives. I am most grateful for the hard work of Andy Greener in sorting out the computer infrastructure and Chris Ord for his work on the web site. Watch this space for more information.

First Birthday Party a great success

The Radio Teesdale Birthday Bash at the Jersey Farm on Friday the 28th of March was a huge success. It was great to see so many children, members, supporters, performers, listeners and colleagues from the press all there and having a good time. Photographs of the night will be appearing on our gallery pages over the next week.

Throughout the evening presenter Mr Andy introduced the acts who freely gave up their time including, Eileen and Joe, Teesdale Folk, The Jazz Quartet, Dave Kidd, a local Dance Troupe and the up and coming Indie group, The Conspirators.

Helen Goodman, the local MP also kindly popped in and said some very kind words before cutting the beautiful birthday cake.

Of course, a great many people contributed to making such a fine evening and it’s difficult to list everyone. However, we should say a special thank you to Cat Chapman who coordinated the whole activity. Very well done everyone.

To coincide with the birthday we now a new range of merchandise – T Shirts, mugs and pens. Call into the office or catch us at one of the events we will be at over the coming months to buy one.

The next few weeks sees more exciting developments – Streaming on the Internet and a Listen Again facility, a redesigned web site and our new Spring Schedule starts on the 14th April. Watch this space for more details.