News
Guilfest 2010
18 July 2010
Guildford’s three-day music festival was once more brought very much alive with Radio Lion’s coverage of Guilfest.
What was our tenth anniversary in reporting from this increasingly popular event, half-a-dozen eager members visited a warm and sunny Stoke Park for another great year.
Dan Holt kicked off with a special Friday Live from the Guilfest showground, while Andrew Jupp and Jax Davis rounded things off with a sparkling two-hour highlights show on Sunday evening.
Among some of the names we had the privilege of talking to this year included Alvin Stardust, Mungo Jerry, The Delays, Level 42 and Kid Creole. All gave super interviews and added greatly to our coverage.
Our reporters roamed the length and breadth of the festival taking in all that Guilfest had to offer, encountering such curious visitors as pirate fairies, comedy nuns, a strange sheik and a girl clad in silver foil called Space Girl!
Up to 20,000 people were expected for each of the three days to see headlining acts Status Quo, Human League and Orbital. They also came to see the likes of N-Dubz, The Blockheads, Arthur Brown and Seth Lakeman.
Radio Lion members Paul Baverstock, Amelia Hayward, Christina Moriame, James Harwood and William Simpson mixed and mingled with many festival goers and campers...especially the mind-boggling Tantric Hamster Circus. They even gave us a song!
Guilfest is now established as a popular family-friendly festival and the Kids Zone proved a great draw once again. Adults were only allowed in if accompanied by a child!
The Theatre Tent had a varied line-up of performers (including comic pole dancers!), while spoof hospital-radio performer Ivan Brackenbury proved to be a big hit during his turns in the comedy area.
Radio Lion would like to thank the organisers for allowing us access Guilfest, once again and especially the photographic pass.
This gave us unrivalled access and meant that the pictures for our web site were greater that ever.
Don't miss the photographs!
Surrey County Show
31 May 2010
Guildford's hospital radio service was once again at one of the biggest events in Guildford's calendar.
The Surrey County Show was one again the highlight of Spring Bank Holiday Monday. Crowds once again flocked to Stoke Park for this, the largest one-day agricultural show in the country.
Radio Lion's James Harwood and Andrew Jupp spent a good number of hours soaking up the atmosphere and speaking to a fair number of people.
Diana Roberts was there from Visit Surrey telling us why the county is such a rich and diverse place to live and spend time in, while Daniel Whitby spoke of his hair-raising dare devil antics as part of the Bold Dog Freestyle Motorcross Display team.
Representatives from the Surrey Wildlife Trust, the RSPB and the Kent and East Sussex Railway were equally happy to chat with them, as was James Burns, the Surrey representative of Help for Heroes, the new charity that help soldiers' rehabilitation after the horrors of war.
James and Andrew even managed to snaffle a sneaky tipple of a Scottish liqueur and a cupcake in the food tent!
A special highlights show was presented by them later that afternoon giving patients a taste of what was going on a few miles across Guildford.
It's certainly a great place to go and, thankfully, the weather remained fine (but overcast) for the whole day!
Radio Lion would like to thank Jane Garrett once again for the press tickets.
Volunteers Awarded for Long Service
12 May 2010
More than 70 years of voluntary service were celebrated at Radio Lion's annual general meeting last week.
Five members of the hospital radio station that serves patients in the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford were honoured for their valued commitment.
June Snowdon, President of the Hospital Broadcasting Association, was a special guest to present the certificates to William Simpson and Guildford Lions Club member and former Radio Lion chairman Jim McKie for their 10 years' service.
Paul Sysum and former Radio Lion chairman Andrew Jupp were each presented with certificates to mark their 25 years' service to Radio Lion.
Graham Russ was this year's recipient of the station's Morris Mangan Award for Member of the Year.
This honour is given to a member who has shown outstanding commitment to the station over the past year and is given in memory of a former member who was a trusted and valued volunteer at the station for many years.
The winner, who is voted for by members, receives a silver salver for a year and gets a special certificate.
Sunday Retreat Highly Commended
25 February 2010
Radio Lion's religious show Sunday Retreat has been highly commended in the Best Christian/Speech Radio Programme category at the Christian Broadcasting Council Media Awards.
The entry featured extracts from the programme broadcast on 13 December 2009 which including an interview with Dr Chris Jagger about his trips to Samoa and El Salvador and with the Loseley Christian Cancer Support Group.
The presenter and producer Shelagh Godwin collected the certificate at the ceremony on 25 February 2010.
Shortlisted in Hospital Broadcasting Awards
5 February 2010
Guildford's award-winning hospital radio station is in the running for more possible glory.
Radio Lion has been shortlisted in two of the ten categories for this year's Hospital Broadcasting Association's annual awards.
The ceremony is open to all members of the HBA from all over the United Kingdom with an ever increasing high standard of entries.
Last year Radio Lion won the top Gold Award in the Specialist Music section with Rock Extra and hope to win in this category for a second year with this year's entry for Global Rhythms presented by Annie Bassey.
The station's coverage of the Guilfest summer music festival has received commendations in four out of the past five years in the Special Event section.
Radio Lion has covered Guilfest for the past 10 years and members are hopeful that this year it will scoop a higher award.
In previous years Radio Lion has won an HBA silver award for its sports coverage in 2008, has been commended as "station of the year" and for station promotions and won the non-music category for a wartime memories documentary in 1996.
The station has also been victorious for its religious output, winning gold awards in 2002 and 2003.
The HBA awards are a nationally recognised event in the radio industry with a panel of judges reflecting just how important they have become.
This year veteran DJ Tony Blackburn, BBC Radio 2 controller Bob Shennan and BBC Weather presenter Carol Kirkwood are among the 30 judges making the decisions.
The awards take place on 27 March 2010 during the HBA's annual spring conference, which this year takes place in Glasgow.
Carol Service 2009
13 December 2009
Patients, visitors and staff enjoyed an hour of traditional carols and readings in the reception of the Royal Surrey County Hospital.
The twenty-eighth carol service saw lessons read by guest speakers including Councillor Pauline Searle (Mayor of Guildford), Anne Milton (MP for Guildford), Iain Elsey (Chairman of Radio Lion) and Gareth Wakefield (Programme Controller of Radio Lion). The carols were sung by GHOSTs choir to the sounds of the Friary Guildford Brass Band.
Guilfest 2009
12 July 2009
The last chord has been strum at the eighteenth Guilfest music festival.
The cloud and rain didn't stop the crowds from supporting their favourite bands playing on eight different stages at Stoke Park in Guildford.
It's the tenth consecutive year that Radio Lion has covered the festival. Jax Davis, Amelia Hayward, Dan Holt, Matt Howard, James Neale, Graham Russ, Gareth Wakefield and Mandy Worrall all braved the weather to interview artists, revellers and stallholders.
The main stage saw performances from Motorhead, Brian Wilson, The Happy Mondays, The Stranglers, The Charlatans, Athlete, Toploader, Linda Lewis, Wailers and Goldie Lookin’ Chain.
The Ents 24 stage boast an equally good line up with performances from Nouvelle Vague, Joe Bonamassa, Will Young, Imelda May, The Lightning Seeds and Lisa Hannigan.
There was a comedy tent where the likes of Bob Mills entertained, theatre stage hosted by Man In The Moon and kids zone full of entertainers and activities. There was a new 70's disco tent, ideal for a late-night boogie!
Local businessman Tony Scott has been organising the festival since 1992 which in the early days was known as Guildford Live. The event attracts crowds of around 20,000 each day. The festival still retains its family-friendly atmosphere which won it an award in 2006 in the 'Best Family Festival' category.
The highlights which included interviews with Athlete, Joe Bonamassa and Goldie Lookin' Chain were broadcast on air throughout the weekend.
Don't miss the photographs and interviews!
Surrey County Show
26 May 2009
Guildford's Stoke Park was bathed in hot sunshine on Spring Bank Holiday Monday, encouraging thousands of visitors to visit this year's Surrey County Show.
It was only hardy souls who were prepared to brave the cold and the very wet conditions of the previous two years of what is the UK's biggest one-day agricultural event.
From early in the morning judges had the impossible task of choosing victors of the cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and other livestock, alongside those who had entered the craft and floral design areas elsewhere on the showground.
Radio Lion once again sent reporters to record a range of interviews for a special highlights show broadcast later that afternoon.
Alongside winning cattle owners, Adam Wareham and Andrew Jupp spoke to representatives from the National Farmers' Union, The Freemasons, Stagecoach (the Merrow branch of the schools' theatre group) and The Mission to Seafarers. As an activity of the Lions Club, we spoke about the charity work it does around the world as well.
Mrs Crimble's wheat and gluten-free biscuits (based in Odiham) were savoured on air as was a pasty from The Original Welsh Oggy Company!
We even bagged a chat with the guys from the Monster Trucks stunt display team who provided heart-stopping entertainment in the main arena.
These were just some of the people and firms or organisations we spoke to, all of whom were new to the patients' ears, proving that no matter how many times you visit the Surrey County Show, there is always something new and interesting to discover!
Read more news in the archive.