Blog by Jane Harvey
I have been cooped up in my tiny home for around 2 months now and it seems like there is no world outside anymore! I’ve stopped watching the news (because it’s so depressing) and social media is a sort of bubble which encloses me even though it’s proof there are still some people apart from me and my partner (and two cats!) that still exist.
So I decided to revisit my childhood dream of being a “DJ” of sorts…I had already been involved in community radio via volunteering with Cornwall Mind through a show called “A Space to Speak Your Mind” on Source FM and thanks to some great mentoring, thank you Jerry Padfield, I had made a few practice runs in the studio, getting used to the controls and speaking into the microphone. Then the dreaded virus struck and the studios had to close down. I had no computer at home so the possibility of making my own shows using software designed for amateur users was nil.
I bit the financial bullet and decided to buy a Mac Book laptop, eagerly awaiting it’s arrival. The Mac Book arrived on time and I found I had to relearn all about Mac computing as I had forgotten everything I had taught myself years ago. Then I tried to download the editing and recording software necessary for my radio show….and came up against nothing but problems. I just couldn’t get it to work so I started to teach myself how to use the software included with my computer, GarageBand. Hours of fun sitting at the kitchen table, time flying by, frustration because I didn’t understand half of what I was doing, almost giving up when suddenly it did seem to make sense! I pressed a few buttons and hey-ho! I added some music tracks and my own voice….I had a show!
The first show was aired last Tuesday evening and I’m hoping another will go out next week. I am absolutely loving finding my favourite tracks to play and thinking of what to say in between….amazing what a person of fairly advanced age can do with encouragement and support (I will forever be grateful to Jerry). My teenage practice runs in my bedroom are now becoming reality and I am now a presenter on a community radio station!
I hate this lockdown and all the terrible things which have happened as a result of the pandemic but it truly has given me the opportunity to realise a long-lost dream!
Jane
