Island Hopping
So happy 30th birthday to both Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Shetland and Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Orkney. I'm just back from a flying visit to Lerwick and Kirkwall where I was mightily impressed by the can-do attitude of the production teams in both centres. Just as impressive was the recent audience research we commissioned which told us how islanders appreciate the programmes provided by both stations.
Working in the Northen Isles - and so far from Ö÷²¥´óÐã Scotland's H.Q. in Glasgow - does present particular problems. Things that are taken for granted at Pacific Quay can cause weeks of frustration for staff elsewhere. One example is the air conditioning in the Lerwick studio. it had failed some weeks ago but there were no engineers on hand to fix it. There was talk of cooking chickens in the studio to prove the point.
Stragely enough, our presenter Tom Morton had the opposite problem when I met him that evening in town. He was collecting takeaway food for family and friends and trying to work out how he could keep in warm on the 30 mile drive home. Writing in he claims that I came up with a suggestion for this but, to be honest, I was making it up as I went along.
The next morning I was up at half past five to catch the flight to Kirkwall. John Ferguson, who runs Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Orkney, was the perfect host and took us for lunch at waterside restaurant in Stromness where I succumbed to a slice of cheescake made with Orkney ginger fudge. I'm still drooling when I think about that.
If you want a sight & sound snapshot of Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Orkney then please click on the following You Tube image.
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