BBC Radio Suffolk

This week BBC Radio Suffolk has announced a pretty massive revamp of its schedules to accommodate the new imported star – Terry Baxter.  The Breakfast Show is the prime slot for obvious reasons so Terry displaces Mark Murphy as Breakfast Show presenter, Mark takes  James Hazell’s mid morning slot and James moves to weekends. Lesley Dolphin appears, thankfully, untouched by all of this.

Mark and James are no doubt, and understandably, feeling somewhat perturbed but, certainly, if I was Mark I’d be jumping for joy. No more ridiculously early starts and, I would imagine, a more loyal and focused audience than can be found amongst those of us looking for a quick traffic and weather report, and a bit of news, before rushing off to work.

Previously a 5 Live fan, and before that, Capital Radio, I was converted to Radio Suffolk a few months ago, mostly by Twitter chatter, and I haven’t looked back since. Apologies to Mark, and also Nick Pandolfi on the equally good Town 102 Commercial Radio station, but I can no longer “accommodate” Breakfast Shows in my daily routine. They were a key part of my life when I was driving around London in my former life as a city whizz kid but now the radio’s for keeping me company as I work from my shed in the back garden.

Having spent a great part of my life working in London, then Croatia (where I barely understood 1 word in 5 of the local radio station but still listened to it) local radio in Suffolk does, I believe, have an audience demographic completely different from that of our capital city and other large urban areas. It’s a rural area, commuting times within the county are relatively short compared with our city neighbours, and those that are commuting to London are probably more interested in world and country affairs rather than those of the county, not of course to say that these are mutually exclusive!

I was told by an eminent political figure that there are more businesses registered, per square mile, in Suffolk than in any other county in the UK. That reinforces my belief that there are an awful lot of entrepreneurs like me running their own businesses from home or close to home. In theory that gives us a lot more control over our working environment and working hours – if it suits us to listen to the radio while we work then that’s what we do. And for small local businesses, what’s going on in the immediate and wider county community can be very important indeed.

I have never been disappointed with any Radio Suffolk Show or presenter but I love the Lesley Dolphin Show in the afternoons because it is always so relevant to everything I do – work and play. As a journalist and naturally curious person, everything to do with my locality is potentially relevant; as a Suffolk Treasure Trail writer I’m always looking for a head start on research on a new village or town to be explored, and as someone who loves quality home grown produce and entertainment, news of what’s on and interviews with local personalities can be a mine of information. And Lesley presents it all in such a cheerful, informed and natural way that brings out the best in everyone she talks to.

James Hazell’s show is equally entertaining, and just as well presented, but not so much of a must, for me, on the work  front. James covers some serious news subjects very skilfully, and incorporates more than a fair share of not so serious subjects and good humour, but to get the best out of the show you need to concentrate on the issues. So listening to James, mid morning, is a bit of a luxury- fine when I’m striding through the admin and emails but, when it comes to serious concentration for long periods, the radio has to go. I have to admit though I’m finding it increasingly difficult to turn that switch off.

I’m sure Mark will do an excellent job in the mid morning show and I’m looking forward to hearing what I’ve missed by not listening to breakfast radio; I’m equally sure that James’ audience, myself included, will now find a good reason to turn on the radio over the weekend. I just hope that the powers that be value the voices that we know and love as much as we do, and look after them for a long time to come. BBC Radio Suffolk is, to me, an infinitely valuable part of my media resources and I count it, with Twitter as,one of the most effective uses of my time – for business and pleasure. 

For more information on the changes go to BBC News Suffolk

Dogs In Suffolk

This post is inspired by the start, today, of  The Suffolk Show. I wrote a slightly churlish Tweet this morning about its decision to ban dogs from the show and thought it better to give vent to my frustrations, once and for all, here, rather than carry on sniping.

I Tweeted before on the subject but that was in the hope of bolstering support for overturning the decision or at least making sure that the subject was prominent when decisions for next year’s show are made. Now it just seems churlish, and I wouldn’t wish to do anything than support the various organisations that are participating, even if  am still a little “frustrated” with the organisers.

What I love about Suffolk, as far as dogs are concerned, is the fact that if any county has achieved a very sensible and balanced attitude to dogs, it is Suffolk. In some places dogs are either spoilt and turned into an extension of their human owners,  or neglected. In Croatia we mostly saw them chained up.  When we walked the adorable, well trained and harmless Springer Spaniel, Rosie, especially off the lead, many Croatians would visibly flinch in anticipation of an attack. Wherever we went, dogs were never allowed into a house almost as if it was a heathen act. In western capital cities some dogs wear pom poms and many have lost their dignity in other respects. However in Suffolk, to me, it appears that dogs are dogs, in harmonious co-existence with humans, each bringing out the best of each other’s qualities.

That being the case, our county show has decided to ban dogs. I think the decision is short sighted but could have lived with it were it not for the justifications given. The most infuriating reason supplied was that it was not in the dogs’ interests to be at the show.  To me, this is Big Brother at its worst. The fact that the show organisers think they can decide for the 99% of sensible and caring dog owners is one thing; the fact that they think they will improve the lives of the 1% of dogs by dictating to their owners for two days is another. I suspect that the 1% is of the type that would leave their dogs alone for far too long while they have fun at the show.

I spent a very happy two days at the show manning a stand last year and loved the fact that it was a family day out, including canine members of the family. Most dog owners didn’t have to be told to make sure their dog had water, or shade, or rest and most of them wouldn’t dream of not picking up poop. Peer pressure invariably prevails on the rest.

There were other reasons of course but I listened to an organiser from the Norfolk Show and, I’m sorry to say, that they seem to have got it exactly right - no dogs in food areas but generally allowed and a creche is provided for up to two hours.

Suffolk is a county that has animals at its heart and a county show that forces dog owners to leave their animals at home for long hours is just not representative of the county. Fortunately there are plenty of other shows that have a happier attitude to dogs, leaving the important decisions to the owners. I do so hope that the Suffolk Show organisers try and find a more constructive alternative to an outright dog ban next year.