Back On The Horse - Alrewas Radio and other things

So I have started University and the first thing that I do is forget to blog for 2 months. I know, great isn't it? The point really is that I haven't had much to blog about. I can't tell you about village stuff or radio stuff or farm stuff because I am not there at all, and I can't tell you about Uni stuff like work because to be honest there has not been an awful lot to tell. So the thing that has inspired me to jump back on the blogging horse (funny image isn't it?) is a trip back to cold and miserable Alrewas.

The reason for my return was to see my sister play in the pit orchestra for a production of Wizard of Oz put on by the school she goes to. Now let me give you a little bit of background. Normally it is me sat in that sweaty and cramped seat in the pit, and my sister sat in the audience trying to make my laugh by pulling funny faces at me, but this time it was the other way round! Now apart from it being incredibly weird to go to a school production and not have anything to do apart from sit there a watch, it was great fun to pull funny faces at my sister while she tried to play clarinet!

So on my return home I thought I would make the most of being home. The typical cliche of bringing your washing home from uni for your mum to do does not go unfulfilled of course, and neither does the obligatory trip to town with the family to look round T K Max and get a Greggs, as well as the obligatory "help with heavy lifting job" that also needs to happen. This time it was for a washing machine, which heaven only knows what my Mum and Dad have got planned for it in Yorkshire, but I will tell you one thing: apparently washing machines have a great big concrete slab in them. Who knew?

Anyway the point that I am trying to arrive at involves a meeting around this very MacBook regarding Alrewas Radio. Yeah do you remember that thing in the summer that I spammed you with until your finger bled from clicking No... no... no... no... Well it is back! Woo!

I joke really because I am really looking forward to opportunity to do it again, and I am also really excited to be able to pass the radio baton (that is 2 times I have used a metaphor in this blog... things really are going downhill) to Ellie Smeeton and Alisha Herriot, who have featured on the radio before but are now hopefully going to take on more of the management and organisations and stuff, so I can enjoy drinking tea and eating mince pies!

So watch this space for more news about the Radio to come including some official details to be released very soon. And in the meantime, type the url tinyurl.com/alrewaradio into the bar at the top and sit next to your computer. Don't move until I tell you to click go!

Thanks for reading!

And I nearly forgot, happy opening the first box on your advent calendars... for tomorrow!

Follow me on twitter: @peachy146

Follow Alrewas Radio on twitter: @AlrewasRadio

BIG NEWS! Alrewas Radio August Bank Hliday!

Alrewas Radio is literally spiralling out of control at a rate that we can't keep up with! So many famous people are booking us for events with so many famous DJs and presenters appearing too!

Our next scheduled broadcast is on Monday 26th and we are all very very excited! We are doing alongside a pop-up fun day type thing at the Alrewas Village Hall. He is an extract from the public announcement:

It’s a chilled out ‘pop in to the pop-up day', and will feature:

 

• Radio Alrewas broadcasting live from the Hall – there is talk of a breakfast show….! Wander along and say hi, put in a radio request and hear it played on the day.
• Two, yes TWO Flea Pit film screenings in Flea Pit. Early afternoon: School of Rock, Evening: The Boat That Rocked. No tickets needed, just turn up! Times to be announced very soon.
• Arts Café. There WILL be cake, there may be soup and sarnies – yes, BE excited!
• Alrewas Archives folk to chat to and an Archive display to peruse.
• Music A lovely bit of mellow acoustic stuff in between screenings  - more detail soon.

It is going to be a really great day and we also have some fantastic Radio to accompany it, including me, James Richardson, Jamie Ward, Ellie and Alisha, as well as some new faces inculding Zoe Peach, Chloe Gerrard, Caitlin Wright and Sam Wilkinson.

On the day you will be able to listen to us via the interwebs, by logging on to the alrewas Arts Fest website: www.alrewas-artsfest.co.uk and clicking on the link which will take you through to you default media browser, and play our beautiful voices on your computers! Please also make sure your sound is not on mute...

We can't wait!

Thanks for reading!

Follow Alrewas Radio on twitter: @AlrewasRadio

Follow me on twitter: @AlrewasRadioTom

Like our facebook page: www.facebook.com/alrewasradio

Alrewas Radio... Yesturday: 24/7/13

This post is basically to reflect on the events of yesterday and to fill you in on all the latest behind the scenes action. I mean, for a start everything went without a technical hitch, so that was the first thing that amazed us all and really started the day in the very best possible way. Not only that, but it was lovely to be able to be on the boat. I mean what a brilliant way of getting around. It is slow and effortless, and nothing happens at any pac on the canals, it is all so relaxed.

One of the things that was really nice about actually being on the boat is the fact that we had a space we could call ours. Not someone else's cupboard or garage, but a proper Alrewas Radio HQ.

What was also nice about yesterday was the way that people instantly fell back into being on the radio and were able to pick where they left off last time and move back into DJing with ease. 

The 3rd and final thing that I would like to comment on about yesterday was the participation from you guys, the listeners. There were so many tweets and requests and things coming in that we didn't have enough time to read them and play them all, but it was just so nice as the presenters to have that level of participation from our listenership. 

There was also things which we can improve on and will improve on today. For example, little teething troubles with the new mics, and also the operators who are using them as to where they speak from, whether it be too close or too far away, and also actually remembering to turn his co-presenters microphone actually on!

Thanks for listening yesterday if you did, and if you didn't then make sure you do today, by simply clicking on this link below: 

tinyurl.com/alrewasradio

Thanks for reading, 

Follow Alrewas Radio on twitter: @AlrewasRadio

Like us on facebook: www.facebook.com/alrewasradio

Bye!

Alrewas Radio Update: 19/7/13

As the eve of the week of Alrewas Radio On A Boat 2013 approached, I want to reflect a little on the progress that has been made so far.

So we started off behind a bookcase in the lobby at the village hall just less than a year ago, not knowing what to do, how to talk on radio, and how the whole thing would pan out, sat at a mic nervously reading out the names of songs and the programme for the Arts Festival. By the end of the week we were living our lives on radio, pretending we were constantly commentating on the events around us.

So much so that when it came to re-opening Alrewas radio for christmas, it was like we had never been away! At least this time we had our own room, albeit the garage in the middle of winter...

Still we had a really good few days and the response to the radio was amazing. It was at christmas that people really started to know about the radio and support it. While the highest listener count was lower than in the summer, there was a larger amount of people who listened in total, and I think on the whole we did much better radio.

It was shortly after that that Will Chapman got in touch with us about the radio for Alrewas Canal and Music Festival, and since then the time has flown. Not only did he offer us a little bit of cash for the funds, but he also told us that beer was only £2 a pint! We were on board from the word go and here we are now.

I have been making posters to put up at Alrewas Show all day, and I have been involved with radio things in the primary school ever since I finished my exams, runnning little workshops and things. All of this experience in organising, producing and presenting I am hoping will make us a much better team when it comes to the actual thing in 5 days time.

Until then though there is many things to do: Today I sorted out some extra microphones and was in conversation with Jim Ralley about the hosting, and T-Shirts have been allocated to presenters!

The job list is still long though, I have to sort out our internet connection, getting all the kit to work together as well as making sure everything is checked and double checked, not to mention the music and playlists and interviews and such like!

I hope you are all very much looking forward to it, and don't forget to follow Alrewas Radio on twitter: @AlrewasRadio and also make sure you like our facebook page for many photos and updates while we are on air: www.facebook.com/alrewasradio. Alongside this, if you actually want to listen to us (which you definitely do by the way) the link to the station is tinyurl.com/alrewasradio.

Don't worry though, you will be seeing that link plenty of times on twitter and facebook before we go live for the first time in 2013!

Thanks for reading, remember to follow this blog to stay up to date!