Community News: #SpringCommunityExpo18, the big RedShift Quiz plus Crewe Gang Show & a DriveMe Supercar Review

Liz Gives a WI Talk

Last week I was invited to give a talk about RedShift to the Haughton Faddiley & District Women’s Institute who meet at the Goodwill Hall on the second Tuesday of each month. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the ladies and finding out about their club.

#SpringCommunityExpo18

We have been putting the finishing touches to the schedule for our Spring Community Expo at Rookery Hall on Thursday 19 April. We’ve introduced a later start and finish (11.30 am - 5.30pm) which will hopefully allow for people to work in the morning and then join us in the afternoon for a few hours.

Also new this time are our panel discussions, one called “Commercial and Community: Working Together” and the other called “Business Essentials” which will help anyone starting up, or already in business. We have our usual Speed Networking, Exhibitors and Keynote Speakers. The event is sponsored by Hibberts Solicitors and Rookery Hall who are once again providing a super buffet lunch. Delegate tickets are just £15 and available from our website under the RedShift Events section.

RedShift Annual Quiz: Fri 23 March

Our Annual Quiz THIS FRIDAY is at Nantwich Town FC. We are raising funds to buy ourselves some new football commentary kit and run training course for new commentators over the summer. As always, our fabulous quiz master Paul Boniface has put together a super quiz with our signature “live” music round. We have space for four more teams, so please call 01270 440 750 if you would like to join us.

I spent the latter half of the week down in Surrey visiting old haunts and catching up with friends ahead of my wedding in May, so as I have been away, I thought I would ask a couple of RedShifters to share with me some of their local “Out and About” activities this week.

Crewe Gang Show

Firstly, Kelly-Ann Davies, our Wellbeing Weekly presenter and longtime volunteer who has been very involved with the Crewe Gang Show and local Scouts for a number of years. Here’s what Kell had to say about the impending 80th anniversary of this vibrant, dynamic and creative showcase of local young talent ...

“From 2 - 5 May, over 100 children, teens and adults take to the Lyceum Theatre to stage the fabulously entertaining Crewe Gang Show.

 supercar, blast, 

The cast of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Leaders  is a polished and professional show with lots of laughs, and a few tears. There will be well-known songs, brilliantly choreographed dances and hilarious sketches.

The Gang Show is a nationally recognised Scouting event and Crewe has had its own Gang show since 1938. It is produced, promoted and performed completely by volunteers - just as Scouting is - and dozens of people have given their time to create something memorable for audiences and the youngsters involved.

It really is something special to be part of ‘The Gang’ and you can see this on the faces of the performers. Support from the community for this very special 80th Anniversary is encouraged in the form of sponsorship, raffle prizes and above all, audience participation! Please do book your seats by contacting the Crewe Lyceum Box Office on 01270 368 242 or book online via crewelyceum.co.uk.”

Review: DriveMe SuperCar BlastOur second contributor this week is 12 year old presenter of Musical Monday, Daniel Achterhuis

Dan Achterhuis presenting at RedShift

who is not only carving himself a career in radio broadcasting with his cousin Ben Davies, but also as a supercar driver or commentator. Here’s Dan's report on his DriveMe Supercar Blast.

“After winning a Facebook competition with DriveMe, yesterday I finally got a chance to drive six sensational supercars!

As I arrived, I could hear the aggressive roar of the engines and see the mile-long circuit infested with dream supercars. One of DriveMe’s flagship cars and my dream car is the Lamborghini Huracán!

I got to drive it and WOW does it go fast! Much to my parents' horror, I got up to 90mph in falling snow! While I was in the very-American Mustang, snow started to fall fast, but I still managed to get up to 70mph and I’m still alive to tell the tale! All in all, the day was a dream come true and I can recommend DriveMe to any Automotive Enthusiast …

So there we have it, I never would imagine myself being able to give a review of a SuperCar drive in my Out and About! Thank you very much to Kell and Dan for your contributions this week.

This article first appeared in The Chronicle on Wednesday 21st March 2018. If you would like to get in touch with RedShift, please call 01270 440 750 or email hello@redshiftonline.org.

Out & About: It's All About RedShift Radio's #BigBroadcast This Week!

Barry Ellams from the Chronicle with fundraiser Briar Hulme

We are now a week into our #BigBroadcast on RedShift Radio. This means that we have added six hours of live programming to our schedule. I am thoroughly enjoying my stint as a breakfast show presenter: I am even coping with the earlier start to my day, although perhaps not firing on all cylinders until my first brew during a long song!

Nantwich Police

We launched the Big Broadcast with our first guest, PC Matt Stonier from Nantwich Police who gave us an insight as to what’s happening behind the scenes with some of the recent crimes such as the car vandalism on Birchin Lane. PC Stonier also spoke about the great projects he and some of his team are involved in with our local schools, such as youth mentoring and supporting their residentials.

Chronicle Newspaper

I enjoyed very much welcoming the Deputy Editor of the Chronicle, Barry Ellams into the studio on Wednesday morning. Barry talked about the local Crewe and Nantwich headlines and each Wednesday at 9am you can hear Barry or Andrew from the Chronicle.

Fundraiser Briar Hulme 

Briar Hulme was one of my most inspiring guests of the week, Briar, aged 19, is raising funds to send six young women from an African refugee to university. Briar met these women during a two-month volunteering trip to Tanzania last year and she spoke passionately of her drive and ambition to help these young women carve themselves a better and brighter future. If you can make a small donation towards her £8,000 target then I know Briar would be over the moon. Her fundraising page is called Education To Empower on the www.gofundme.com website.

Hope House

On Thursday I was invited to host the Hope House Kids Ladies' Lunch at the Grosvenor in Chester. This was a super event, organised by the Hope House team, sponsored by Conwy based company CareLink and supported by Mococo jewellery from Chester and Tarporley-based Si Belle Boutique from Tarporley.

Highfields Academy ... Aided by Staffordshire University!

I was very tempted to bunk off work for the afternoon and have a relaxing wander round Chester but I had to dash back for the new group of Junior School Run children, this time from Highfields Academy. I needn’t have worried though. With Producer Steve and our two Staffordshire University students here on work experience, they were in good hands and I arrived four minutes into the show to find Joe and Libby in complete control of four very chatty year 6s.

Listen Live and Listen Again

Please do give RedShift a listen this week and let us know what you think. I am on air weekday mornings from 8-10am and we now have live shows right through until 10pm each day. You can ask your Smart Speaker such as Amazon Echo (Alexa) or Google to "play RedShift Radio" or you can find us on your mobile by downloading the TuneIn app or on your computer by going to www.redshiftonline.org/player.

I must say a big THANK YOU to Helen Gregory who has booked over 70 guests for our Big Broadcast and Steve Bebe who, despite doing an extra eight hours of presenting himself each week in March, is keeping up to date with uploading our shows so you can listen at your convenience.

Please visit www.redshiftonline.org/listenagain to find the links to all our broadcasts and keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter to find out about upcoming guests.

RedShift Annual Quiz

Now, if I forget to mention our REDSHIFT QUIZ again, I will get lynched! Join us for our “8 Rounds for £8” annual quiz. On Friday 23 March we will be at Nantwich Town Football Club from 7 pm with our unique quiz that includes a special “live” music round. To book your tickets, please follow the link on www.redshiftonline.org/redshiftevents.

Easter Weekend in Nantwich

Looking ahead to Easter Weekend, we are delighted to be supporting The Studio in Nantwich with their charity nights in aid of the Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity Dementia Appeal. It’s Electro 80s on Thursday 29th March - always a great night for 80s fans!

I am especially looking forward to letting my hair down on Friday 30th March for the Gin & Jive night, again at The Studio, with two of my favourite local bands; Baxter and VaVoom … and I think I will indulge in a sprinkling of gin!

On Bank Holiday Monday, its the Acoustic Gin Festival from 11am at Residence. I will see you there!

Out & About: Interviewing Laura Smith MP at UTC and RedShift's #BigBroadcast

It’s been more “In and Around” than “Out and About” this week: I have enjoyed staying close to home and studio, avoiding the grotty weather and thanking my lucky stars that I have not had to do much travelling in the snow this week.

I did venture to the Crewe Engineering & Design UTC to interview MP Laura Smith during her visit to the University Technical College. It was also my first tour of the full site since the final phase of the build and what an incredible facility it is.

Having an education establishment here in Crewe that offers such a broad range specialist STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) training opportunities with industry standard equipment is quite remarkable.

The UTC has harnessed very strong links with local and national organisations such as Bentley Motors, Air Products, Arriva Trains and Siemens, all providing ongoing support and training to students with a specific desire to follow a career in STEM subjects.

You can hear my interview with Laura Smith and the students on Friday morning between 9-10am as part of #SunnySideUp, our new breakfast show hosted by yours truly and Jasper my trusty companion.

#BigBroadcast

On Monday we began our #BigBroadcast which is a 28-day trial of full time broadcast output (8am - 11pm everyday) until 31 March. As an internet station we have always respected the fact that listening to us has not been as easy as if we were on traditional FM radio.

Now however, with the arrival of wifi speakers, wifi in some new cars and mobile apps supporting our streaming, tuning into your local community radio online really has never been easier.

We are trying really hard to reach out to our community and ask you to give us a listen and give us feedback that will help us to keep improving. Already for this month's #BigBroadcast we have over 70 guests booked in and four key themes. Our theme until Sunday is #ApprenticeshipWeek, followed by #LocalMusic week, then #LocalSport week and March wraps up with #HomeGarden week.

I should mention perhaps, for those who may not use or know about social media, my use of #hashtags is relevant to the way we promote and discuss our programmes and themes in the online world.

On my #SunnySideUp show I will be joined by various RedShift presenters all ready and able to teach me a thing or two about music (I am rubbish at remembering names of songs or bands!)

I am also looking forward to having guests Barry Ellams and Andrew Cain from the Chronicle join me every Wednesday between 9am and 10am to talk exclusively about the news they have published.

Following SunnySideUp each morning, Helen Gregory will host a #FeelGoodDaily show from 11-midday. Helen will be keeping listeners motivated with great music and interviews with people from our community, as well as tips and tricks for feeling the best you can every single day.

Steve Bebe will steam into another new show, an extension to his #WhatsHappening show that he usually presents on a Tuesday, which now becomes a daily programme between 12pm and 2pm.

With the usual programmes and varying guests and themes, I feel confident that we appeal to lots of people in our community, so please give us a listen and let me know what you think. My email is hello@redshiftonline.org and phone number is 01270 440 750 if you would like to get in touch and share your views.

RedShift Annual Quiz

Finally, our Annual RedShift Quiz takes place on Friday 23 March at Nantwich Town Football Club. We are proud of our unique style of quiz that includes food and a LIVE music round for just £8 per person.

To enter your team, please visit redshiftonline.org/redshiftevents and click on the QUIZ link. This year we are raising funds to run another Football Commentators' course and replace equipment so we can train more commentators to support the club with home and away commentary.

Final mention this week has to go to my sister Poppy Philiben to wish her happy birthday and my Mum to wish her Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday!

Out & About: Grant Funding Workshop, Regent's Park Broadcast and Welcome to New Presenters

Roll on Spring please! I thought I had escaped the winter sniffles but alas, this week I have been fighting off a tickly throat and runny nose. Fortunately, I don’t think it has taken hold, but I think that is only because I have forced myself to take it easy, go to bed early and consume copious amounts of echinacea and vitamin C (I am a little obsessed with the stuff!)

Grant Funding Workshop

Last Tuesday I attended a superb grant funding workshop lead by Stephen Wright from Grant Funding Skills. The three-hour workshop was packed with hints, tips and examples of good and bad funding applications. I am now on a mission to secure funding for a variety of projects, not to mention some much needed new studio equipment as most of ours has been in constant use for nearly eight years!

I am delighted to say that Stephen will be one of our panel speakers at our next Community Expo on Thursday 19th April at Rookery Hall Hotel. He will be joined on the panel by Su Turner, of Insight to Impact Consulting, offering advice in governance and leadership in education and the Third Sector, Jo Grubb of JG Creative Communications who helps businesses and charities with their branding, Andrea Holland who helps with communication in both sectors and Dianne Parrish from Cheshire Connect, a brilliant organisation that links charities to commercial organisations for non-financial and practical support to either help them grow or become more sustainable.

Please do contact me if you would like to attend as a delegate, or an exhibitor and next week I will provide a full run down on who the Keynote speakers will be.

Regent's Park Nantwich Broadcast

Last Friday I presented a mammoth six-hour Business Day show all about Regent’s Park, the site where we are based on London Road in Nantwich. It was the grand finale to our #LoveYourCommunity month at RedShift where all through February, our guests have been individuals, schools, community and commercial organisations that are active in our Crewe & Nantwich community.

We have interviewed over 60 people and learned heaps about things that are going on right here on our doorstep. Please visit our Listen Again page on our website to catch up with the interviews.

Our #RegentsParkDay included interviews with the ladies from Pressed for Time Ironing Service, Young Gas and Oil, The Nantwich Therapy Centre, Little Angels Pre-School & Nursery, Beastmasters Thai Boxing, Inches Weight Loss Gym, AJH Accountancy and Hullaballoo Kids. This is just as small sample of the dozens of great small businesses we have here at Regents Park. You can hear all the interviews at www.redshiftonline.org/regentspark.

Welcome to Two New Presenters

Last week we welcomed two new young presenters; Sinead D'Abreu-Hayling who has sung at a number of our events over the last two years has joined with her old school friend Ellen Adby to host a musical theatre show on Sundays at 3pm. Ellen has Tourette’s but certainly doesn’t let her tics get in the way of learning a new skill.

Being able to train and give opportunities to people with certain life challenges like Ellen is something that I am really proud of about RedShift. As an online radio station, we are not subject to the strictness of Ofcom so opening our doors to people that may not get the chance to present radio through traditional FM stations is something we value greatly.

Battle of Nantwich

We had our debrief meeting of the Battle of Nantwich last week. The feedback was very positive and I would especially like to thank the new volunteers and sponsors that we have recruited this year following a plea for help via this article. I would also like to mention however, that the event does reply on people paying to go on to Mill Island to watch the Battle and unfortunately, this was the lowest year yet for income, largely due to the number of people who stand on Waterlode and refuse to make any donation.

If you would like to help out with the next couple of big events for us: The Big Day Out and the Nantwich Show - both in July - please call 01270 440 750 and we can let you know about the volunteer opportunities.