Sunshine Radio up for awards!

My New Year got off to a great start when I woke up to the news that Sunshine Radio has been shortlisted in two categories in the National Hospital Radio awards!

For those that don't know much about these awards they are held to recognise all that is great in hospital radio stations across the country. Run by the Hospital Broadcasting Association they have a number of categories, and are hospital radio's equivalent of the Oscars! So to be shortlisted in two categories is fantastic!

Best Speech Package

The first category we are up for is Best Speech Package for our feature on the Helicopter Museum in Weston. This category recognises excellence in speech-based programming or interviewing skills.Marcus and I went along and interviewed the founder Elfan Ap Rees, volunteers and visitors. I remember the first time I went here, it was with my parents and I wasn't that keen to go. I mean, a big hanger full of helicopters - what a boring way to spend my Saturday! Well, I was very surprised! It was actually really interesting, and the size of some of the helicopters is unbelievable! There are a number of helicopters in the museum that can not be seen anywhere else in the world, and we are lucky to have them on our doorstep. We thought a feature on the museum would be very interesting for the patients, and it is an added bonus that we have been shortlisted in the speech category.

Special Event

The next category we have been shortlisted in is the Special Event section, which recognises a one-off programme or event that does not form part of a station's day-to-day output. We entered our 35 years 35 songs piece, which was presented and put together by Nick. Last year Sunshine Radio celebrated 35 years of broadcasting, and Nick came up with the idea of playing one song from every year of the stations history. Every volunteer picked two songs, and recorded a short piece on why they liked the songs, and memories associated with it. This was a real team effort, and something very different from the sort of thing that you usually hear on hospital radio. A lot of work went into this, and we were very proud of the end result, which is why it is so great that it has been shortlisted.

Finally I am up for Fundraiser of the Year. This category has no shortlist, so people are nominated, and the winner revealed on the night. I have been the Fundraising Officer for Sunshine Radio for four years, and have spent the best part of that time coming up with crazy schemes and bullying people to take part! When not on air in the studio I can usually be found waving collection tins and sign up forms under people's noses!

Gold for Female Presenter of the Year in 2013

Last year I won Female Presenter of the Year, and attended the award ceremony in Blackpool. It was a great night, with a lovely three course meal, and the chance to celebrate the achievements of hospital radio volunteers across the country. Some people feel that hospital radio is not that great - is just a bunch of people talking rubbish into a microphone pretending they are DJs. This could not be further from the truth. It is so worthwhile, and has been proven to cheer patients up. For our wardround request show we visit patients on the wards and ask them what songs they would like to hear. You could be the only visitor a patient gets, and a five minute chat with you can really brighten their day. So can the fact that they get to request a song that can have great memories for them, and then share it with everyone else in the hospital. I remember last year I was in the canteen about half an hour before my show, Talk of the Town, next to a group of elderly men in wheelchairs. One man asked another if there was anything on television or radio that would cheer him up tonight. The man replied 'Talk of the Town by that Laura is on Sunshine Radio tonight. She is absolutely crazy, but makes me laugh!" His words have stuck in my mind to this day, as this is the reason I give up my time to do what I do. If I can make just one person smile then I have done my job. The most important thing for Hospital Radio is the patients. The awards are a little extra thing, and a way to thank and praise these volunteers.

The award ceremony takes place in Bristol on March 29. I am very excited - please keep your fingers crossed for us!

Oh, and before I finish what do you think of this dress? I was wary about wearing a long one, as I am clumsy and will probably trip over it, but I fell in love with the style! Couldn't decide on a colour at first,

Decisions, decisions!

but a poll on facebook put the blue out on top, so think I will go for that one :)

xx

New year - new start

Ready to blog!

So we are already a good week and a half into 2014. A new year, a new, fresh start. Yesterday was the day that most people break their New Years resolutions. So how are you all doing? Still going to the gym everyday, letting no chocolate what-so-ever pass your lips, and watching every penny you spend so that you can manage your finances better? Or have you crumpled. Totally given up and comforted yourself during the most depressing month of the year (in my opinion) withy a big slice of chocolate cake and a glass of wine. Don't worry if you have, you are not alone!

For New Years eve I spent it in my house for the first time in absolutely years! We were going to go out, but the price to get in places, together with the price of a taxi home and drinks all night was just too much. So we invited some friends over, and said goodbye to 2013 with Chinese, champagne and games. And you know what....it was great! And it was made even better the next morning when I woke up to find Sunshine Radio had been shortlisted for 2 categories in the HBA awards, but more about that in another post.

Did I make any resolutions? No. I don't really bother with them, as I usually end up breaking then. In fact I think I have only kept one in all the years I have been making them, and that was the one I made for last year to keep my nails nice and stop biting them. So what I have done instead is to make some goals for 2014, things I would like to achieve for the year. If they happen great, but if not I am not going to beat myself up about it. My goals for the year are:
*Decorate our house, to make it feel more like ours
*Improve my blog, post more and get it out there.
*Save money for the wedding
*Improve my fitness and overall health.

So there you go, four very achievable goals for this year.

What a 13-year-old me wrote on my old bedroom wall

Number one is going well. We are only just into 2014 and already we have decorated 2 rooms. I have cheated slightly, as we did the living room before Christmas, but it is done, along with our bedroom, which is purple and I have sneaked in some elephant stuff :) These rooms went relatively smoothly, as most things I did were supervised by Joe. Though there were nearly purple footprints all over the bedroom after I managed to put my foot in a paint can while painting on my own! I managed to hop to the bathroom to wash it off, and catastrophe was averted! On another note, does anyone actually enjoy wallpapering?! Painting I find quite relaxing, but wallpapering is stressful! Luckily we are just doing one feature wall in each room, so not too much to do! We have also written a little note under the wallpaper in each room, to find in years to come when we redecorate. We did this when I was a kid at my parents, and it was fun when I found it and read what I had written :)

The other view of the living room 

One view of the living room

The purple bedroom!

Number 2 I am working on. If you enjoy my blog please share it....I want more followers!

Number 3.....the wedding! I am so excited about this, but March 2015 seems ages and ages away! People tell me it will go fast, but I am not believing that! So we need to save save save to pay for it! There will be more posts on the wedding planning I am sure, as I have come to the conclusion that I don't have a clue where to start! Any help or tips from married people out there greatly appreciated!

These are getting quite a few outings now!

Number 4 is going well so far. After a strenuous circuits class last night I am feeling fabulous today! I have set this goal before, and failed. But this year I know I will succeed as I have Ams to motivate me, and me to motivate her. We are going to help each other, and it is so much more enjoyable going with a friend.

So there you go. The first blog of 2014. Hope you enjoyed reading it, and stick with me through the rollercoaster that I am sure this year will be!

xxx

Top 100 books challenge: 55. A Suitable Boy

1474 pages is the reason that my blog has been so quiet recently!

I have been busy reading A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, on the train, at home....whenever I had a spare few minuets really. As I am so busy (and getting even more so in the run up to Christmas) it has taken me quite a while to finish this book.

I enjoyed it very much! It was nice to escape the UK, and travel to India, where we see the frantic attempts of Rupa Mehr to marry off her daughter Lata to ‘a suitable boy’. ThIs book shows the struggle Lata faces, between marrying for love, or to keep her family happy.

The idea of arranged marriages is one that I cannot really understand. I can see that parents want the best for their children, but I could never marry someone I did not love. For Lata it is a hard choice. She falls in love with a fellow student called Kabir, but he is a Muslim while she is Hindu, and her mother is horrified at the prospect. Here begins her hunt for the perfect man for her daughter, and we see them travel across India to find him.

Along the way we are introduced to Lata’s family, each with their own lives and stories to tell. Lata’s sister Savita was married to Pran, chosen by her mother. She grew to love him, something that Lata has been told will happen to her when she marries.

I felt a bit sad when I had finished the book. When I first picked it up the size of it was pretty daunting. Just carrying it around all day in my bag gave he a sore shoulder! But when I was a few chapters in I got addicted to the family, and felt like I was becoming one of them. Sitting on the train on a dark, dismal ride to work I was transported to a sunlit living room drinking tea with Rupa. Instead of waiting for my car to be fixed at the garage I was walking in the garden with lata discussing which man she should marry. When I finished the book I felt a little lost, as these characters had been with me for a while!

I won’t spoil it and tell you what Lata decides to do. Instead I will leave you with a quote from The Sunday Telegraph, which is printed on the book and sums up the way I feel:

“Make time for it. It will keep you company for a lifetime.”

Rating 10/10

Top 100 books challenge: 99. The Princess Diaries

The film of this book stars two of my favourite actresses, Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway, so I enjoyed watching it. However I had never read the book. I usually like to read the books before I see the film version, because they came first, and so much usually gets changed in the journey from print to screen.

The Princess Diaries is aimed at teenagers, mainly girls who still have the secret dream of becoming a princess. What young girl doesn’t? Growing up I was convinced I would marry Prince William (had to go for the elder brother so I could be Queen one day!) Now that his marriage has put an end to that I am focusing on the younger Royal....well I have never made my love of ginger hair on men a secret!

The story follows teenager Mia, who finds out she is actually a princess, and heir to the throne of Genovia. Understandable this news shocks her, as does the plan for her to begin princess lessons with her grandmother, the Queen of Genovia.

I enjoyed this book, it was easy to read, which after a long day at work is perfect for the train home!There are a few differences from the film, but not big enough to spoil it for me.

It got me thinking about if I found out I was a princess. You never know, Mr T could be a secret prince in a faraway land! (I do have a very overactive imagination!) If I was Queen here are the five rules I would introduce:

1 Tuesday’s would be cancelled - worst day of the week

2 Jelly tots would be free on the NHS, they cheer people up

3 Peter Andre, Phillip Schofield and Ron Weasley would be given Knighthoods for services to entertainment

4 Instead of a corgi the royal pet would be an elephant called Percy - who would wear a little purple hat.

5 Every month there would be a bank holiday weekend - and it will be illegal for anyone to work on it.

Seriously imagine Queen Laura - I think it would be fabulous darling!

Rating: 8/10

Top 100 books challenge: 27. Middlemarch

Life is too short to read books that you are not enjoying.

This statement applies to this book, and I have to admit that I only got half way through before giving up. I just could not bring myself to read anymore of it. I am the sort of person who always tries to finish books, and hate the thought of leaving one half read. However on this occasion I was bored and confused, and could read no more of it.

The main problem I found was the amount of characters that flit in and out of the story at various intervals. The characters first names are used once, then they are referred to as Mr so and so, and Miss so and so. This made me blur them into one, creating confusion as to who was who, and who was related to who.

The prose is quite long and winding. I have nothing against that usually, indeed some of my favourite novels are written in this way. But I found the writing in this book long winded. I found my attention drifting off while reading it.

Now for my confession....I never knew George Elliot was a woman! I had heard of the author, and had said I needed to read one of the books, but always assumed it was a man. It was only while googling the name for this review that I realised the author was a woman!

So there you go, I may not have finished the book, but I learnt something I never knew about the author!

Rating: 2/10 (based on only reading the first half)

Top 100 books challenge: 93. The Colour Of Magic

One word springs to mind to describe this book...disappointing!

I was quite excited when I looked at the Top 100 list to see quite a few Terry Pratchett books on there. I liked his books as a child, even acting in a play of The Wyrd Sisters (where I played the fool would you believe it?!) It has been a while since I picked one of his books up, and it looks like my tastes have changed, as I did not enjoy this one!

The colour of Magic is the first two Discworld novels and follows the exploits of Rincewind, a wizard who is expelled from Unseen University, who is forced to act as a guide for Twoflower, a property insurance salesman and the Discworld's first tourist. They visit many strange places, and meet random people along the way.

I found the plot very random, and my attention began to drift. I found it hard to concentrate on the story, and was constantly checking how many more pages I had to go until I reached the end. I was determined to finish the book, as I have vowed to read all of the books on the list. One of the only good things about this story is that it is short, at about 250 pages.
I enjoyed some parts of the book, for example the bit in the dragon cave, but there were too many parts I didn’t like. I enjoy fantasy books, but I found this one hard to get into, with a plot that didn’t interest me. Sorry Mr Pratchett. I only hope the other books you have written on the list are better!


Rating 3/10

Top 100 books challenge: 33. The Pillars of the Earth

The Pillars of the Earth focuses on the building of a cathedral in the town of Kingsbridge, England, and is set  in the middle of the 12th century. It gives an account of things that happened at the time, like the sinking of the White Ship, and the murder of the  Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket. However it is told through the eyes of fictional characters.

I loved the way that all the characters in this book were interlinked, and we saw how their paths kept crossing. In the first part we meet so many people, and hear all their stories separately. There was Tom Builder and his family, who move from place to place trying to find work, as Tom is intent on building the most beautiful Cathedral the world has ever seen. Then there are the monks, lead by the determined and clever prior Phillip. We also hear of the evil William Hamleigh, who thinks nothing of murdering innocent people, and the brave Aliena who is determined to avenge her father and carry out his dying wish. Later in the book all the characters are intertwined, and we see who helps who, and who is there to cause distress and problems.

There are some pretty gory scenes in the books, mainly with William Hamleigh, who is an arrogant man who is determined to be named the Earl of Shiring. He destroys anyone who gets in his way, murdering innocent villagers, and raping young girls. I detested William, and was pleased to see that he got what he deserved in the end.

The hero of the book for me was the ginger Jack Jackson, who carried out his stepfather Tom Builder’s wish to build a grand Cathedral and saved the town by building walls when it was under attack from William Hamleigh. I also really liked Prior Phillip, who is a fair and clever man, and also there to offer help and advice to those who need it.

A really interesting read, and a book that I was disappointed to reach the end of! This book is a classic example of good triumphing evil, with the good coming out on top and the evil getting what they deserve in the end.

Rating 10/10