A Year of RCR



May 8 was the anniversary of the first broadcast from Rendlesham Community Radio when Peter Osborne did a two hour ‘Best of British’ show on VE Day to co-incide with Rendlesham’s stay-at-home street parties and a WW2 themed convoy arranged by the Parish Council.

The idea for the community radio station came from two Rendlesham residents: Steve Calver and Mark Isbister who work in the events industry. 

With the backing of the Parish Council who tapped into a COVID grant for Connecting Communities and the generosity of Mark and his partner, Alison’s, Bentwaters-based company, Team Audio, RCR was born. 

Connecting with the Community

RCR was conceived as a way to connect with the community during the pandemic but has grown substantially since then, with its reach being global rather than just local.

An original shout-out for volunteer presenters yielded a great response. Peter Osborne joined and bought a wealth of presenting experience.

Glenn Knights and Izaak deMay soon followed, adding originality and professionalism to the station. Content was added by Steve Calver and his DJ contacts as well as a great liaison with Mothership Studios who have become a very important part of RCR.

Their eclectic mix of programmes adds to the wonderfully diverse offer that RCR has become.

The Team

In addition to more experienced presenters, new shows appeared, hosted by keen members including Vic Proctor, Heather Heelis and Leanda Hoyland-Linch. Mair Potter and Denise Ashcroft-Law joined later with Kristina England doing a few shows on mental health.

Wayne Burns, Manager of Leiston Film Theatre, joined the Sunday line-up, and stand-up comedienne, Victoria Shortley has been a great addition to Saturday whilst Darren Cook and Daniel Potter have sport well-covered. Malcolm Clarke joined in Autumn, 2020, bringing some great ideas to reach out to un-tapped areas. 



Though Peter had to stop his regular Driving into the Weekend show due to work commitments, he has been able to co-host the Sunday Bimble with Pat Lewis. Very quietly, Karen Colbear has been gaining confidence proving she is a future stalwart of RCR.

Sponsors

On the production side, Steve ensures all shows are professionally produced and Izaak and Glenn have been learning the complex production skills needed to join the production team.

In the background, Mark and Alison of Team Audio have continued to support RCR with some amazing tech – new gizmos appear frequently and Rendlesham Parish Council supported the radio station to fund music purchases, additional kit, and recently, the delivery of a new fit-for-purpose studio at Jubilee Park. 

Youth Engagement 

For a year, RCR has occupied Rendlesham Youth Group’s room in the Community Centre while the Group has been unable to meet during lockdown.

To mark the RCR’s first birthday, we  used the opportunity to raise not just funds, but awareness of the Youth Group as a valuable resource for the village, as well as another very exciting project for young people in Rendlesham - the hotly anticipated new skate park. 

RCR provides opportunities for young people in Rendlesham to gain radio experience, either as presenters or producers.

Anyone interested in getting involved are welcome to contact the RCR team.

May Music Madness

With the aim of fundraising for these two projects, the idea for May Music Madness was born – a 52 hour marathon live broadcast.

May Music Madness will kicked-off at 5pm, Friday, May 7 and ended at 9pm, Sunday, May 9 - 52 hours of back-to-back, live broadcasting, comprising all the usual shows, but live, as well as some exciting new ones. It was an ambitious project and logistically very complex, as some of our presenters were working remotely from the RCR studio. 

For every presenter, there was a production team to ensure the smooth running of each show and a seamless hand over. There was also a continuous video feed online during the 52 hours which proved very popular. 

Live Music

As part of its ethos, RCR has actively promoted local musicians by offering them a chance to perform in the live lounge when regulations have permitted. Many of those musicians returned for May Music Madness, performing live in the square outside the Community Centre. 

As well as our presenters and production team, RCR crew were active with radio mics outside, liaising between the presenters, performers and the public as well as rattling buckets and selling raffle tickets! 

Everything was planned within Covid compliant conditions and it was great to see plenty of sensible social distancing by those attending.

We want your money!

The organisation and effort required by everyone was substantial - sleep deprivation being just one factor!

However, the RCR team had a fantastic weekend of music, fun and most importantly, fund-raising to benefit young people in Rendlesham.

If you think their efforts are worthy of sponsoring to help to raise funds for both Rendlesham Youth Group and the skate park, please consider donating via our fundraising page on Just Giving:

Special Shows

In addition to all the regular shows, we featured some exciting news ones:

Parish Council Chairman, Mike Stevenson debuted with his 'Waking Up the Neighbours', Mark Isbister hosted 'Mark in the Dark', Darren Cook aired 'Wadio Wookie with Cookie' and Karen Colbear and Victoria Shortley hosted 'Two Girls, two mics and some records'.

Rev Mandy Reynolds aired a live service with music on Sunday May 9.

Peter Ling, former DJ of many RAF Bentwaters events in the 80's, returned with his Soul and R&B show  - this will become a regular show on RCR.

Calling veterans!

Are you or do you know any RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge Veterans?

During the 1980's, Peter James (now Peter Ling) spent many years working on both Bentwaters and Woodbridge bases at the Officers Club and All Ranks Club and also DJ'd at ball games, weddings and private parties at the Rod and Gun Club.

Peter performed as Cloud 9 Roadshow with the main focus being R&B and soul.

Please share your memories of that time with us, request a shout out or a track from Peter during his show.

Contact: events@rendleshampc.org.uk

Happy birthday RCR!

Thank you to everyone who supported us either by coming along to say hello during the weekend, donating to our cause, listening, watching, whatever... please look out for future events!

Thank you, and here’s to a happy birthday!