Going gaga for a radio show
When most people volunteer, they do it at hospitals, children’s charities and donkey sanctuaries.
Me, I volunteered at a radio station. Philanthropic, right?
I’ve been terrified of talking on the radio since 1999, when I was interviewed on SAFM about an article I wrote. I’m not sure anyone other than dogs and bats heard me though, because my voice was that high-pitched with fear.
I’ve spoken on air a few times since, and I’m now in the audible-to-humans range – or perhaps better than that, because Himself wants me to speak in my “radio voice” all the time, but whether I have anything sensible to say is another story, as my panicked brain leaps ahead of my tongue.
And so I did what they say you should do: I faced my phobia and volunteered.
Now, mine is a radio station that broadcasts on FM (in Ireland) for just one month of the year – December – on a temporary licence, although you can tune in online from anywhere in the world, all year long. I’m not sure you’d want to though, because we’re Christmas FM, “bringing you the magic of Christmas.” Yes, even in April.
But we’re not merely obsessed with jingling people’s bells and tarting up their turkeys, for we have a greater mission. We’re a charity station, staffed by volunteers, sponsored by businesses, and raising funds for Sightsavers this year. By Boxing Day, we hope to have enough money to restore sight to 5 000 children suffering from avoidable blindness across the world.
So first I did a weekend course, and they put me in a studio where I wrote a script, and recorded a demo. It went like this: headphones on, deep belly breath, smile, pretend you’re talking to your grandma, slow your brain right down. Now slide mic on, hover finger over music, speak your bit, start music, mic off, vomit into own mouth. Job done. But I wasn’t that bad – they even asked me back. So I pre-recorded segments for the online stations; I got better.
Then on Saturday night, I had my “own” show, live, broadcasting all alone with no one there if things went wrong. And yes, I messed up several times – but it’s only November and nobody was listening besides my sister and a friend in Switzerland, surely ... Well, turns out hundreds of people were tuned in. And I, at least, loved it!