On the road in the UK - an update
Don't forget that we're touring around the UK next week to visit some of the many hundreds of communities that make up Britain in 2006 and finding out what's important to them.
We start in Bradford's Pakistani community, speak to Chinese people in Belfast and around the world, Arab communities in Glasgow, Somalis in Cardiff and to finish the week Polish people in London.
Each day we'll be linking our live audience to similar groups in other countries, and callers throughout the world. As ever we're asking you to set the agenda and tell us the issues you want to talk about where you are. Perhaps you have a question for the community? Perhaps you're from that community and settled in another country? If so please contact us and let us know what you think.
I'm looking after the first two - the Chinese community in Belfast and the Pakistani community in Bradford. For the Bradford programme, I've got off to a good start, I've got about 10 confirmed audience and lots more numbers to call. Several have quickly asked if food will be served at the event so I've also been ordering samosas and tea.
For the Belfast programme I've called on the help of a Ö÷²¥´óÐã colleague May, whose background is Chinese, to help me organise the audience there. I've also been in contact with various Chinese cultural groups and pro-integration groups in the US and Canada, trying to find, not pundits or professors, but ordinary people who want to talk about their lives and the issues in their community.
The fact that the programme is between 4am and 6am in China and no-one wants to get up at that time has made fixing quite a hard slog. I spoke to a regular contact called Wei from Oregon in the US who I found out was 9 months pregnant so probably unavailable for comment in a week's time.
I'm supposed to be overseeing the other three programmes, whatever that entails.
I keep getting emails from Priya who goes on jaunts to meet some of our contributors to the Somali programme for next Thursday, I think Richard who is organising our Middle East communities in Glasgow, is away on holiday and Ben looking after our final programme from West London talking to Polish people was for a while booking our guests in on the wrong day. I'm assured that that has now been fixed.
Still I'm sure it's all coming together and there's nothing to worry about.....
Please do send us your comments, your number if you want to take part in any of the programmes in the audience or as a caller, and on a personal note any management tips you have for me.
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