Special Broadcast
As part of the fundraising for studio two, a twelve hour broadcast was organized by station staff.
Gordon Young was instrumental in developing the idea and went on to coordinate the Sunday programs later in the year. The special broadcasts were a window to the patients and staff of what could be achieved by the presenters and two working studio's.
On Sunday 4th March. Radio Heatherwood held it's first "Radiothon" 12 hours of non-stop broadcasting. The day started at 10.00 am, the first record being "Rock Around The Clock"!. A team of presenters went round the wards collecting requests from the patients. The patient's requests were broadcast throughout the day.
Whilst the patient's tucked into the hospital's culinary delights the station played some slow relaxing music.
One program during the day; proved so popular that it became a permanent feature of Radio Heatherwood Sunday shows'-Sunday Praise. The half hour show featured a variety of music, not just Hymns but general music carrying the Christian message of love and forgiveness. The Hospital Chaplain, Rev Sebastian Jones provided a "Thought For The Day".
"Bembridge In Space" was the title given to the show from 2.00 to 2.45. A musical adventure through space with "Captain" John Bembridge "Engineer" Gordon Young and "First Officer" Nigel Griffiths. Songs such as "The Final Countdown", "Star Trekkin", "I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper" and "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" were featured here, linked by some of the corniest links to be heard on radio!. A special announcement was broadcast "Will a Mr E. T. please phone home!".
The children's ward was catered for with a program especially dedicated to the children of Rainbow ward, with records such as "Fraggle Rock", "Postman Pat" and lots of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan songs.
A quarter of an hour of zany humour with presenters reading some skits (short Monty Python sketches). This culminated with "The Four Yorkshire Men" performed by Gordon Young, John Bembridge, Roger Hawkes and Gordon Randall.
5.00 pm Gordon and John were starting to feel like they had been broadcasting for 17 hours rather than 7, but the show went on with a Golden Oldies programme. A real memory jerker with hits from the 5 decades spanning the forties to the eighties which helped to revive the adrenalin.
7.30 a comedy half hour was broadcast classics like Morecambe and Wise, the Barron Knights and Flanders and Swan. After the last of the three 1 hour request programme's, we went all soft and slushy with a 45 minute show of smoochy romantic records.
Finally, at 9.45 pm we began celebrating the end of our 12 hour broadcast, finishing with a firework display: well actually it was Beethoven's 1812 Overture which was the closest we could get to fireworks in the studio: finally the Queen record "Radio Ga Ga" !, summed up how we felt. Gordon and John were the main presenters for the day, but it could not have happened without the support of the other presenters who turned up to help out and thanks go out to Dave Smith, Trevor Kensall, Viv Lewis, Roger Hawkes, Melanie Waring, Alan Holder, Nigel Griffiths, Lee Henty, James Davies, Bob Walden-Mills, Kieran Hughes and Gordon Randall as well as to Rev Sebastian Jones and, of course, everyone who supported us with sponsorship and donations.
In all, the day raised over £800 which helped to fund the building of our second studio.
Compiled by Gordon Young February 1991
