HBA Awards (29th March 2008)

Radio Lion has scooped an armful of awards at the Hospital Broadcasting Association Awards Ceremony.

Radio Lion's Programme Controller Gareth Wakefield was among the hundreds of hospital radio volunteers who attended the gala dinner in Leeds, hosted by IRN’s Jon Godal with video messages from Patron Sir Terry Wogan.

"We are absolutely delighted to have put Radio Lion and the Royal Surrey County Hospital firmly on the hospital broadcasting map by receiving these prestigious awards" said Gareth who took to the stage to receive the awards presented by, among others, Andrew Lansley CBE MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Dr Chris Steele, resident expert on ITV's This Morning programme.

Radio Lion won a trophy winner for 'Best Sports Output' and received certificates commending Radio Lion for excellence in the categories 'Best Special Event' (a literary event held at the hospital in conjunction with Guildford Book Festival), 'Best station Promotion' (for the annual Christmas Carol Service held in the hospital), and 'Station of the Year' (for all round hospital broadcasting excellence).

Gareth added "We are very proud to have been commended for these major categories out of over 400 hospitals that belong to the Hospital Broadcasting Association. I would like to thank all the Radio Lion volunteers for their dedication and enthusiasm, the Guildford Lion's Club for their support and the Royal Surrey County Hospital for their commitment to the community service we provide. Ultimately, however, it is the patients, their families and friends that I would like to thank for all their calls and contributions to programmes."

Click here to see pictures from the HBA Awards.

Literary Lion (14th October 2007)

Bookworms were well catered for when Radio Lion held its very first literary event on Sunday 14th October.

Two months before its annual carol service outside broadcast, a more ambitious programme was staged in the foyer of the Royal Surrey County Hospital ahead of the launch of this year's Guildford Book Festival.

From just after 4pm, a packed live two-hour programme kept visitors and listeners entertained with a rich variety of subjects, with help from some distinguished guests. Guildford MP Anne Milton was present to talk about her reading choices, while local poet Charles Measures discussed the inspirations for writing a recently published book of poetry. Guildford Book Festival contributor and BBC Southern Counties Radio theatre critic, Jeff Thomson, took to the air looking back to last year's event and previewing some of the highlights for this year. The Dean of Guildford, the Very Rev. Victor Stock, proved a real live wire, and spoke about his published diaries and the importance of poetry in the church.

Throughout the afternoon, Steven The Music Man, provided musical interludes on a variety of instruments - proving what an extraordinary young talent he is. The Mayor of Guildford, Cllr Mike Nevins, read a portion from a book of his choice, while Jax Davies and Graham Russ read extract from a variety of books throughout the programme.

All weekend Radio Lion held a book stall in the foyer, and along with the literary event, various bucket shakes and the generosity of Caffé Ritazza (which sold drinks for 1p and asked for a donation for the rest) gave the station a strong profile.

Click here to see pictures from Literary Lion.

Guilfest 2007 (13th, 14th & 15th July 2007)

It was another successful weekend for Radio Lion at Guilfest! Mandy had the best seat in the park - backstage at the main stage talking to the likes of Suggs from Madness, Romeo from The Magic Numbers and unsigned Manchester-based band Crazy P.

James enjoyed the music from the Ents 24 stage talking to many of the performers including Redwood. The rest of the team chatted to performers at the other four stages, stallholders, revellers and campers - all of which were enjoying the Guilfest family experience. Graham even blagged himself free beer from the 150ft long bar.

Friday: Supergrass and The Ordinary Boys; Saturday: Squeeze, Morcheeba, Crazy P, Richard Thompson and Cherry Ghost; Sunday: Madness, The Magic Numbers, Duke Special and Uriah Heep.

There were reports from the team during the live shows and a highlights programme with Gareth on Sunday between 8pm and 12 midnight.

Click here to see pictures from Guilfest.

Radio Lion Vs. Radio Frimley Park (25th October 2006)

Radio Lion welcomed Radio Frimley Park for the ultimate battle - a quiz! A team from each hospital radio station competed against each other to see which radio station would be crowned the brainiest.

Try as they might, Radio Frimley Park just couldn't keep up with Radio Lion. The final score was Radio Lion 2, Radio Frimley Park 0.