Taking Your Pulse at Radio Heartbeat

Justice?

2008-11-24T14:07:00.004Z

Robert came to us on a work placement scheme in early 2008. He was paid to be here but showed up when he felt like it. He never completed a single full week. He was always late and seemed to think that actually doing anything constructive was a joke. We put up with a lot of this because he told us a sad tale about a cruel homelife and an uncaring mother. (His mother phoned regularly to see how he was and seemed very concerned for her son.) Eventually the work placement broke down for a number of reasons and he left us.

When Robert finally got a flat of his own, members helped him settle into his new home, got him bits and bobs and welcomed him back as a volunteer.

When the Station Manager was off ill Robert came to the office, forced the door and let himself in. He spent hours disconnecting the equipment in our new studio, rifling through the stationery cupboards and helping himself to anything which took his fancy. In all, he deprived the station of around ten thousand pounds worth of valuable equipment. A police raid on his home recovered some of this but much of it went for sale. What was recovered either doesn't work or has been held by the police as evidence.

Robert received a sentence of 120 hours of Community Service.

The other members of the station received much longer sentences as they work incredibly hard to earn enough money to replace the lost equipment.

Too sad to be robbed by one of our own.

If you can help, get in touch - please!

A Delicate Balance

2008-09-14T13:24:00.002Z

The number of hours of broadcasting for a radio station like hours is governed by the number of volunteers willing to work hard and the number of hours devoted to raising money from kind-hearted people and local business.

The number of hours for Radio Heartbeat is in direct proportion to the hard work and drive of General Manager Irene Dick and fundraiser Mitchell Gibb who work hard to raise the cash which runs the station and keeps the patients in Monklands Hospital with good in-house free programming.

During the last couple of weeks this balance has been tipped badly. Someone broke into the radio station and stole almost the entire contents of the new studio 2. It had only been operational for a fortnight when it went. Everything was brand new and shiny. We were very proud of it. But the thief stole an entire mixing desk - you can see the photograph on this blog - and he stole microphones, headsets, computer equipment and much more.

We are devastated! We are bereft! It was hard enough to get the money to buy the bits in the first place but to lose it again is bad.

If you have been offered cheap broadcasting equipment you should be calling us - it's probably ours!

If you are the thief then you should be ashamed of yourself. You have deprived an organisation which aims only to provide a patient-led service. You have deprived an organisation which only had the well-being of its members and listeners at heart.

Can you help to put the heart back into Heartbeat. Can you donate a little sum to contribute to the larger sum we are oing to need to replace the missing equipment?

If you can help then contact the station manager. Thank you!

We did it!

2008-07-20T18:16:00.002Z

We were beginning to think that it would never happen but here we are - we are back on air - and just to brag a bit here is a picture of the new broadcasting desks.

It has been a long and difficult journey and there are still more than a few loose ends to tie up but we have finally made it. We are broadcasting. We are talking to you!

Congratulations are due to everyone who contributed to the engineering work which made it all possible. There was, of course, our own wonderful John who knows so much. He was assisted by Alistair Owen who identified the shortcomings of our new studio setup and told us how to correct it. Brendan Lofty at Broadcast Warehouse who was patient and understanding. There was David McFarlane, the hospital electrician who has been more than patient. Then, of course, there was Billy Lindsay at Estates who lent us his staff. Thanks also to Kevin Bree who introduced us to Alistair Owen.

Of course we are still waiting to see when we are moving and when we have to take it all back down again but meantime we are loving being back! Support us! Join us! Donate to us! We need you!

What's the Point?

2008-04-27T22:06:00.003Z

Sometimes I just find myself wondering why I, or anyone else, bothers to volunteer. It is a lot of work for no cash reward and, sometimes, more hassle than you would ever want in your whole life. Even though, sometimes it is great fun there are times when it breaks your heart and breaks your spirit and you are left feeling bashed and bruised and totally unappreciated.

In August 2006 we inherited a broken radio station with not much working and few volunteers. With hard work from a few good people we fixed it and, in April 2007, got it working. It was brilliant. We recruited a team and made great progress. The volunteers bloomed, the station blossomed with new talent and the premises were decorated and beautiful. The patients loved it and so did we.

In October we paraded our new high-tech beautiful offices bought with generous donations. In November the hospital needed the site and tore down our newly decorated home. They gave us new premises which were spacious and adequate. They gave us a repeater unit to broadcast from the flat to the hospital. They lent us their electrician to run the wires and we hired an aeriel rigger to do the rest. We got our end working but never did find out where they ran the wires to and could never get access to the flat roof to connect ourselves to the repeater. We kept trying.

We bought lots of new equipment but discovered that the supplier had never actually tried to make the desks do what we wanted to do and so they were as surprised as we were when we phoned and told them that the desks they assured us were right won't do the job. In fairness they were great to us and changed the desks for more expensive ones at no extra cost to us.

The new studios have been decorated, the place looks grand and we hoped to be up and running soon but there is the rub! It has taken us several months of intensive volunteering to get as far as we are - and on Tuesday we are meeting with the Estates Department because - well you guessed - the hospital want to tear down our new premises and move us somewhere else - to somewhere MUCH smaller where we have to start all over again.

It all takes time, money, energy and enthusiasm and, frankly, the last commodity becomes increasingly lacking.

I know we will go on - it will just be a bit harder this time. The hospital wouldn't be quite the same without inhouse radio.

We will be back soon - and then we will, again, be talking to you!

Making Progress

2008-02-26T12:47:00.004Z

Few people are prepared to turn out on windy Saturday mornings. Even fewer are prepared to climb ladders and use power tools in the pursuit of music.

Radio Heartbeat would like to thank Garry Hoffman - an aerial specialist from Motherwell - who came out to do just that and help us to get our new Repeater unit up and running. Garry worked very hard with our man John.

We are not on air yet but that's not Garry's fault - he was super - and we will get there shortly.

Thanks to all who turned out to help, bring food, calm our John and provide the laughter and good humour Radio Heartbeat is good at.

Being a volunteer is not easy - keeping your balance is not easy - keeping a sense of perspective when things go wrong is not easy. We just do our best and when we get it wrong we try to make it right. We are working on the Repeater and ourselves all the time.

We'll be back on air just as soon as we can. We will be talking to you!

It's Been a While

2008-02-01T16:17:00.000Z

Well we no sooner got our beautiful new offices than the hospital decided we should be moving. They allocated us to nice premises across the road and we are just about settled in.

So far, we have one studio built but it doesn't play out to anywhere yet. The hospital bought us a repeater unit to carry the output to the hospital but we need an aerial rigger to connect it up for us.

Our broadcast desk was water damaged when our old premises were flooded just before we were due to move out. We need to get a new one but there isn't enough money yet.

We need new computers and new everything but it is a major trial.

Someone will come up with the answers - they always do - and someone will help - they usually do.

Meanwhile, the team including Denice, Andy, John, Chris, Irene and everyone else is working very hard to ensure that we are back to broadcasting as soon as possible and we will then be talking to you!

Our New Office

2007-10-15T19:44:00.000Z

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

2007-07-15T16:07:00.000Z

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

2007-07-14T19:14:00.000Z

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

2007-06-17T19:34:00.001Z

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!

2007-06-06T17:54:00.000Z

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!

2007-05-15T12:25:00.000Z

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

2007-04-19T14:15:00.000Z

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

2007-03-21T14:17:00.000Z

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!

2007-03-12T17:02:00.000Z

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!

2007-03-02T01:14:00.000Z

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!

2007-02-26T16:02:00.000Z

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

2007-02-23T13:48:00.000Z

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

2007-02-20T01:03:00.000Z

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

2007-02-16T14:12:00.000Z

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

2007-02-12T18:10:00.000Z

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

2007-02-08T17:26:00.000Z

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!