A radio interview…

At around 5pm Claire from Premier Radio rang me, catching me a tad off guard. Once again I was in demand, or rather my thoughts were… ! Not a job interview sadly, but an invitation to participate in a radio phone in programme, later that evening. (Much later that evening!)

With the UK unemployment figures reaching another worryingly high level the subject was once again (quite rightly) back in the national agenda. With a general election just weeks away maybe, just maybe politicians will do more than simply pay lip service to their voting public and commit to doing something.

This Is It.

Since Monday, Premier has been broadcasting on DAB digital radio. The Digital bit all sounds good to me, but not sure about the DAB.

I guess it means is that if I’m ever asked in again for another interview I could potentially be heard by more than 90% of the British population. Should they be so inclined to turn on. My appearance on radio was on the day before.

The whole experiences was rather exciting, I must admit that much, and my prepared notes were not much help really, when it came to it. The idea was to talk about how we as a family lived on next to no income, or on benefits and in regard to the Simplify campaign and specifically the impact on us emotionally and spiritually. Andy and Andrew are very able and soon put me at ease. It did however take a while to get used to the microphone which was poised in front of me, Lucy looked at home in this environment, while I fumbled for my plastic cup of water. This is it. A quick gulp of water and we were counted in.

I realise now, after the event, that I could actually witter for England on the radio, with or without notes. Those who spoke to me afterwards, and who listened in were positive and encouraging. Indeed being out of employment for two years is a hard place to be, but this this radio experience gave me the chance to air some of my strongly held views, including the belief that God’s looking after us and ultimately in control.

Memorabilia, t-shirts and other paraphernalia marking this momentous occasion are not available anywhere. I’ve had my 15 or 45 minutes of fame. Well sort of. That was it.

A Premier Appointment

Yep, Sunday September 20th at 9am, WorkHope will be with accompanying friend in a studio of Premier Radio. Interesting. The Simplify campaign for the Evangelical Alliance will be under discussion as will this Blog.

September 20th was also the date a Premier appointment came to an end… Jose left my beloved Chelsea FC that day 2 years ago.

The following day, September 21st 2007, I left full-time employment with high hopes of quick appointment into the world of Graphic Design whilst my redundancy cheque burnt a hole in my pocket. A lot can happen in 24 months, or not as the case may be!. No “Anniversary” celebrations are planned, although a beer and a cake would be nice…

On the 22nd Mr WorkHope (Senior) celebrates his next birthday. On the 23rd, it’s back to job searching as per normal.

Media week

I never thought I would appear in a womans magazine, but that day has now come. Not as a centrefold of course but as a contributor/ writer. The excitement doesn’t stop there, oh no, also in the pipeline is a radio interview with Premier Christian Radio, which should be quite fun. The subject under discussion is unlikely to catch me unawares, it’s very likely to focus on how I (and my family) am coping with being out of work, rather than my choice of desert island discs.

Should the question be posed however, I would count the following seven gems as real contenders. ELO by ELO, Heroes by David Bowie, Genesis Live, Free All Angels by Ash, Boy by U2, Should God Forget by The Psychedelic Furs, Leftism by Leftfield.

Anyone have Jonathan Ross’s phone number?