I was listening to this on BBC radio 4 recently. A ghastly narrative on the perversion of slavery and the suffering that many people suffered – over a prolonged period of time. This is a short dramatisation (1 hour) – hard to cover 12 years in one hour….but if it makes you read the book – then it is worthy.
Reader: Rhashan Stone
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron
Abridger: Robin Brooks
Author: Solomon Northup
Former Big L and Capital Radio presenter Ian Davidson attended the opening at Maidstone Radio where volunteers and supporters were able to see the new studio for the first time. Ian (pictured) was joined by fellow Maidstone Lion club associate Anita Crayford to present a cheque for £3,000 at the station based in The Maidstone Community Support Centre on Marsham Street.
Maidstone Radio will provide opportunities for local people to get involved with running a radio station, everything from presenting the programmes to managing the office. It will also provide training, learning and work experience programmes to people and community interest groups of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.
Speaking at the event, one of the Maidstone Radio Directors Jason McCrossan said “Thanks to early funding from the Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’ scheme and the Cobtree Charity Trust, we have been able to build and partly equip our new studio to a point where we can invite our volunteers and supporters in to look around, try out the equipment and hopefully get excited and motivated about our project and remind them we still need further funding and donations to help us get on air this summer”.
The radio station is seeking to raise a further £17,00 to help it get on air to buy equipment and pay for licensing costs. Stuart Baker, another Director of the station said “We want to bring back local radio to Maidstone, and The Maidstone Lions donation helps towards hitting our £17,000 target, which enables us to buy everything we need to have a fully functioning radio station and get us broadcasting”.
Well – it has been ages since I last ventured to write something on here.
2 years in fact…or there abouts I could find out exactly, but that would seem to show that I’m more interested in the gap – than I am in what has brought me back to writing here today and in the future.
Last year – myself and two friends embarked on the idea of starting a community radio station in Maidstone in Kent. We are still developing that idea and I plan to use this blog to continue to document our progress and share interesting stories about running a volunteering business.
Like most challenges in life – it is not easy. But then, it shouldn’t be. And we are not even at the end. Nor the end of the beginning….what is it old Churchill said….we maybe at the beginning of the end!!
Jason McCrossan 