Paul Golder writes for the Brentwood Gazette
The Christmas period is particularly busy for me, as all my scheduling plans are laid waste by our presenters’ Christmas plans, not to mention regular attacks of flu and hangovers! We have a no-repeat programme policy so we aim to get a mix of live shows and features specially recorded for this year’s festive season.
On Christmas Day we’ve got specially recorded shows from a number of presenters including Mike Porter, Nick Field, Nigel Fitzmaurice, Xanthe Bearman and even myself!
On Boxing Day the highlight of daytimes is Patrick Sherring’s live extravaganza which is broadcast live from 10am to 1pm. Guests confirmed include ex-Phoenix FM presenter Nikki Mills, now working on Spanish TV, and Father Tim Lee from St Giles Church Mountnessing.
Patrick will also be joined by Brentwood singer/songwriter Sophie Griffiths. Sophie is only 17 but has been coming in to us to perform live and record sessions for over two years and she’s a real talent to watch out for in the future.
Thursday evening will see live shows from our cricketing experts Daren Mootoo and Brett Sanders, who will be on air with 98 Not Out, and also a vast team of pundits led by Andy Gilson who will be taking part in the Orient Hour Christmas special. And then after that, we’re pretty much back to normal!
I’d like to say a big thank you to all of the volunteers who worked hard to deliver another successful year of community radio to the people of Brentwood, and to the hundreds of guests who have come in to spread the word about what they do. Long may it continue!
** And while we’re on the subject of Patrick’s show – we were all very pleased to see that Bishop Stephen Cottrell has been named as the next Archbishop of York. Stephen has been a guest on Patrick’s show many times while he was Bishop of Chelmsford and we are all delighted to see him appointed to such a senior role.
** All of the presenters are busily working out which album and tracks were their favourites of 2019 from the thousands we’ve featured on air. Don’t forget to buy next week’s Brentwood Gazette where we exclusively reveal all!
