Our New Office

Well we needed a new office! We (well, that is, Christopher and John did all the heavy work) ripped out what used to be a room full of redundant LPs and singles and mouldy shelving. They dismantled the lot and, with a great deal of puffing, panting and grunting, dragged Radio Heartbeat's offices kicking and screaming into the new millennium.

We would like to thank Carpet Style in Coatbridge - guess what they gave us! Big thanks to Tracy for all her hard work with a paint brush. But mostly thanks to SCI Communications, Glasgow who gave us the money - we now have the most beautiful administration office.

We have high-tech floating speakers which pick up the studio output. We have cameras which look out to the car park so we can monitor our cars all day as well as see who is coming and going. We have door entry systems which allow us to open and close the doors from upstairs. We have lights which switch themselves on and off when you enter or leave the room. We have everything! Except, perhaps, new computers but we can't afford those yet. (Any offers?)

We also made excellent use of some of those old LPs and singles as they now form the artwork on our walls. They look very good in their new frames. We didn't realise we had such collectable art.

We are very much at home already and it will be such a pleasure to come to work in the future.

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together!

Thanks to everybody who helped.

Heartbeat's Poet Laureate

George Fairlie hails from Kirkfieldbank in South Lanarkshire. A long-standing member of Hamilton Speakers Club and a member of Larkhall Burns Club he is accustomed to writing interesting and audience-enticing speeches. However, in his 71st year he had a notion to write more seriously. He joined a local writing group and tried his hand at a few poems. He was enthusiastic and dedicated and worked hard. He produced a portfolio of interesting word pictures and received lots of encouragement from his writing companions.

Encouraged by his tutor Nicola Brown he entered the Radio Heartbeat story competition and, much to his amazement, won both first and second place. His poem Camera Obscura et Lucida is a beautiful glimpse of nostalgia.

Like the short story competition entries flooded in from all over the world. The standard was very high. George could not beleive his good fortune.

Judge Sandra Brown who is an experienced educator and writer said of George's poem 'Camera Obscura et Lucida encapsulates a lot in three short verses and has some wonderful imagery. I loved the alliteration—the use of shift and sway and the truth of today. It works beautifully at the end with the use of the words closing and clasp where the same consonant blend gives the listener the almost unbearable sense of sadness that has arisen from looking at poignant photographs.' She went on to say what a talented man George obviously was.

The station will be publishing an anthology of the best of the poetry and short stories about the end of this year - keep watching for your opportunity to read George's award-winning writing.

Jean in her own Write

Jean Longridge of Uddingston has only been writing seriously for about a year but already she has beaten off international competition to win the Radio Heartbeat short story competition. Her story The Best Thing was judged to be by far the best of all of the entries received. She received her certificate from Denice Reynolds of Reflections Video who sponsored the prize.

The competition was open to anyone who could write something which we thought could entertain the patients. Information was sent to Writers Groups and to the National Association of Writers Groups Web Site. Word spread. Instead of just a few localised entries that we expected we had entries from various points in America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy and Turkey.

Judging took a long time as there were many criteria to be met. The panel had a hard task. The final decision was down to Janice Long of Radio 2.

Jean was absolutely delighted and was sure that her children would enjoy spending the £100 prize. Her next project is a special story for Hallowe'en featuring the children of Tannochside Primary School.

We wish her well.

Fun Day

If you haven't seen this poster then you should be asking us for copies. It is to advertise our wonderful Fun Day which we are holding on Sunday 24th June here in the grounds of Monklands Hospital.

There should be something for everyone. Dad's can try their skill on the Rodeo Bull while Mum can guess the weight of the cake or try her luck on the Tombola. For the kids there are ducks to hook, bouncy castles to scale and face painting. Our guests will include the Fire Brigade and the Police Community Involvement Branch.

Add to all this that Karen Whitefield MSP will be along to wish us well and Sandra Brown will be presenting the prize to our Poetry Writing Competition this should be a great day out.

Come and join us between 12 noon and 4.00 pm.

We would love to have your company.

Mr. Nice Guy!

Well we told you he was great and now other people agree with us.

John Thornton, our resident IT wizard has been presented with the Mr. Nice Guy award by his employers beCogent in recognition of all the work he has done here at Radio Heartbeat.

He should be very proud - we are.

John is a Genius!

Way back in 2000 I was telling people that we would have our second studio operational any day now. We had all the equipment. We had all the music. It seems that all we lacked was the will to do the job and the expertise to make it work. Well, today, that has all changed!


Thanks to the lovely John T. - that's him in the picture - who is an IT genius - we now have a fully operational pre-production studio with complete networked access to the other studio and to the office computers.


We can use this for news casting, for training, for recording shows, jingles and much much more.


It has been a long time coming but we are so proud to announce the arrival of our new studio.


Thanks, John!

Quality Assurance Checks

Some people take things to extremes. Some people will just not take your word for it that you are presenting good programmes and developing good station procedures. Well, when I say 'some people' I do, of course, refer to our Station Manager, Irene.

So determined was she to ensure that we were doing things just right she got herself admitted to Ward 19 just to be positive. Well, OK, so she was actually ill as well.

Presenters like Duncan who was playing his first ever show was scared to death at the thought that the big boss was listening in from her bedside and could phone him over immediately he made a mistake. He stumbled on regardless. She did phone him but only to say he had done a good job.

We are delighted that our Manager was cared for by wonderful nurses like Margaret Ann and Donna who are in the picture and surrounded by delightful ladies like Peggy McBennett and Betty Nelson who are also in the picture.

Many thanks to all the staff in Ward 19 for making our manager's stay so comfortable and for taking such good care of her. Now.... about that request you wanted ...?

Write for Radio

This is a hospital radio station with a heart. We like to listen to what our audience tell us. Any old radio station, it seems, can play continuous music but our listeners want more. They want items of interest and they want short stories and they want short stories they haven't heard before.

We thought we should rise to such a challenge and we invite you to join us. So if you think you have a short story in you and you can write it for radio we would be delighted to hear from you. Our sponsors have put up cash prizes and we have the best of people to do the judging.

Judging the short stories will be Janice Long of BBC Radio 2 fame. Now there's a woman who knows what's good for radio!

Judging the poetry will be local author and campaigner Sandra Brown who was Scotswoman of the Year in 2005 and certainly knows what people like to read and hear.

You can download all the details of the Short Story Competition by clicking the link. Download the Poetry Competition too. Print the brochure and pass it on to your friends - they might want to write for us too.

We anticipate that all items will be broadcast and the listeners will play a big part in the selection of the final choices.

Go on - get writing!

......... Update - we have been innundated with entries for this competition - there is no way we will be able to acknowledge every entry - we are all volunteers working in our spare time - Judging is a long and tiring process - If you sent us something then be patient - you should hear from us eventually.

Finally - We are Talking to You!

It has taken a long time. It has been months in the making. We have all worked hard. It has been worth it in the end.

TODAY WE ARE LIVE AND ON AIR

From a standing start in August after vandals ripped the heart out of the station and left us with no computers and no music library we have worked hard and done all the repairs. We have had lots of help from professional radio people like Jimmy Young, David Forbes, David Treasurer and more. We have had huge support from the boys at Radio Grapevine at St. John's Hospital at Livingston. We have had total dedication from our man Barry, from Andy, from Denice, and so many more. Today, though, we are indebted to Bob Chilvers from Patientline (that's him in the top photograph) who has spent so much time working to put us back on air today. Thanks, Bob!

So, now we can broadcast live to the hospital and we will be putting out good shows with good music which will be well worth listening to.

If you want a request for a relative or friend then talk to us cos we'll be talking to you!

Meet James!

We are a messy bunch at Radio Heartbeat and I am probably the worst of all. So it was almost a tragedy when our recently donated vacuum cleaner - which, in fairness, was not new when we got it - became very ill. Our cleaner rendered first aid with a screwdriver and sticking plaster but no amount of tlc was going to rescue this baby. It had sooked its last sook!

We were very sad. Money at this radio station is always at a premium and vacuum cleaners do not contribute to good station output which is our current priority. There was no cash to spare for a cleaner. It was more than a little problem.

Undaunted I reached for Yellow Pages, flipped open to Janitorial Supplies and dialled the first number I came to. Magic sometimes happen if you wish hard enough. I got straight through to the boss man at Alex Shanks & Co. He was charming. He was helpful and he knew immediately what to do.

'Come and see us,' he invited.

I did.

Now we have the beautiful and ever so helpful James as part of our station team. He is not just a cleaner he's our pal. He is shiny and gorgeous and much too nice to sit in the cupboard so we leave him in the hall so that everybody can admire him and we tell them all we are shining like a shilling thanks to our pal Alex.

Thanks, Alex - and here's the plug we promised you!

So...Speak Out!

We are a radio station that likes good speaking practice on air. We like our people to be witty and funny and present good programming.

We decided that if you can't entertain an audience you can see then you will struggle with an audience you can't see. To help with audience entertainment we formed a Speaking Group which meets every Wednesday at 7.30 pm in the Lecture Theatre in the hospital. Now it is not just radio staff who attend but people from outside the hospital as well. They learn to build up their own confidence by standing up and speaking up.

If you have a wedding speech, an important interview, a university or work Presentation or anything of that type which worries you, feel free to come and join us and get help and support. If you just want a good laugh then we have that too with Comedy Workshops and much more.

Come along and join So...Speak Out in Monklands. Or for more information email us.

You'll love it - honest!

The Fish Supper

All voluntary organisations need staunch supporters. These are the folk that dig deep into their pockets to fill our collecting cans, folk who come to our dinners and cheer us on and folk who work their little socks off to see us right. Every one of them is important to us. Every one of them, we hope, knows how much we value them.

However, as I was going home on Tuesday evening after a particularly long day full of little highs and many disappointments in terms of our progress towards good programming for our listeners, I was feeling more than a little down. I was also hungry and cold. It seemed reasonable, in the face of all this adversity, that I should seek sustenance and warmth. Where better, then, than our local chippie. Well he isn't local either to the radio station or to my home but I would drive a long way to eat fish and chips cooked by this man.


When I got to Roberto's in Broomfield Street, Airdrie, he enquired after the welfare of the radio station, as he often does, chatted and then said the magic words, 'This one's on the house.'

Ah! Bliss! Roberto, you are a lifesaver and a true gentleman. What's more you make the best fish and chips anywhere.

On The Home Straight

Well thanks to Dave Broderick - that's him in the fotie - and his wonderful team from Radio Grapevine at St. John's Hospital, Livingston it now seems as though we might be broadcasting very soon. Iain Stuart was over at the weekend and he and our very own Barry - more about him later - worked on improving our output to the Patientline system. They think they have conquered it!

Now all we are waiting for is the final verdict from Patientline's man Bob Chilvers. All being well - tune in shortly for the best in hospital radio.

Of course, if it doesn't work and we are back to the drawing board then you will have to buy me lots of chocolate to cure the pain.

Irene and Mitchell Entertain

Station Manager, Irene and Head of Sport Mitchell Gibb (that's him in the fotie) are off out tonight to do what they do best - talk rubbish.

Seriously, as if they could ever be serious, they are off to propose The Toast to the Lassies (Mitchell) and the Reply from the Lassies (Irene) at a Burns Supper in Strathaven to raise money for the Town Mill there.

These two are well known speakers in the area. Irene talks to Luncheon Clubs, Rotary, Probus and all sorts while Mitchell is the dandy of the Sportsman's Dinners. Between them they should entertain the good folk of Strathaven royally and have their chuckle muscles aching.

Good luck, guys!

The Security Team

We thought you should meet the Security Team at our Radio Station.

They are ferocious, fierce and fluffy.

Visitors to the station are more likely to be licked to death than savaged but don't bet on it!

The small white fuzzball is Chloe and she is the constant companion of the Station Manager. Bella, the black bombshell accompanies our man Andy.

Who needs a Burglar Alarm System? Well actually we do and for this we are indebted to a local company for their help and assistance.

Andy's Going Mad

For ten weeks now our poor Andy has been going mad trying to organise all the music on the playout system. He has colour-coded, updated, moved, shuffled and loaded all the music so that presenters can have everything just right.

He is tired. He is cross-eyed. He is going slightly loopy. He is greying fast. Even Bella the dog has a drooping tail.

Help is needed.

Can you spare an hour or two to rescue this man from early dementia.

Can you help him with the workload of organising a completely new playout system.

Go on - you know you want to!