Living in Symphony

♬   ♪   ♩   ♫   ♪   ♩   ♬   ♬   ♪   ♩   ♫   ♪   ♩   ♬

A little known fact to start the blog this morning:

From 1993 to 2001, I worked at Radio Wave 96.5FM. Music became my daily fix. A constant that I was more than happy to let wash over me.

It was an exciting time at the radio station. It had only launched the year before and was rapidly gaining a great reputation for great music and fun outside broadcasts. I had many opportunities to go out on these and be a "roadie" or "runner", assisting with setting up and promoting the event in my snazzy T-Shirt and Cap.

I started at the bottom of the ladder by doing a non-stop music show, simply playing tunes back to back, no chat required. Quickly learning how to use the equipment in the studio enabled me to be a technical operator (the person pushing the buttons in the studio) when outside broadcasts went out on the road, moving on to becoming a Presenter on my own show, albeit the "Graveyard Shift" through the night. It's not as glamorous as it sounds. It was hard graft at times (I once worked 24 hours straight), but it was a tremendous amount of fun!

Everyone I worked with were an amazing team (a handful of those people are still there to this day), and I can honestly say that it was the BEST job I have ever had. I truly miss it. But times change, as do owners and tech. I became surplus to requirements and was laid off.

I stopped listening to music for a long time after that. Grieving for something that had given me so much joy.


♬♪♩♫ Living In Symphony ♫♪♩♬

Music the life blood feeding my soul,
Melodies course through my brain.
Beats keeping time with my heart,
Rhythm pulsing through my veins.

Lost in the flow, hypnotic sounds,
In a world of my own, I dance.
Singing along, caught up in the vibe,
Ignoring all else, entranced.

Joy permeates through the smile on my face,
Body feeling light, communicates fun.
But take the music away, you crush me,
My spirit destroyed when all is said and done.


These days, there's only one thing that makes my heart soar in the same way. That's when my son sings "You are my Sunshine". I sang the first verse to him all the time when he was a baby and he now sings it to me.

Thanks for reading. x  ;-)


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Clearly an expert would have posted on time.

This time last year...

We considered ourselves expert bloggers. Fresh from winning the Radio Wave award (and congratulations here must go to Viva Blackpool for 'pipping' us to it this year), we knocked out blogs with a certain surety about them. Now, twelve months on, perhaps we're not quite so steadfast.

If there is one thing I do know about blogging it is that you have to keep at it. Sometimes, when the topic you're aiming at says nothing to you, you have to persevere. I currently find myself on the bed, some fifteen hours late in posting, wondering what exactly I can tell you about being an 'expert blogger'. Perhaps it has always just been a hit and miss thing, hoping that I fall upon something catchy or strike up a debate once a week. I like to think I always give it a good go at getting you thinking now and then, stopping short of starting a riot- for me, that seems about the right line to walk.

Always remember you've got an audience. Venting always seems a great idea and there is little more satisfying than giving both barrels to some poor soul. Know before you start writing though, these are the blogs you will look back on and regret above all others- the ones that allow the glint of darkness you usually mask away to peep out because before you know it, you've let the whole world know you're actually a lot of a bastard. Careful consideration of words is key here, or you really do just lose touch.

Always do try to have an opinion. If you're anything like I am, you can't be doing with reading wiki-style pages about something. You want to know how the writer feels about something right in their gut, not what someone has told them to put out. Have your opinion, especially a controversial one, and argue  it to the end- it will make vastly more interesting reading but do make sure your piece can close on some kind of end- you don't want a long runner on the comments box that actually overshadows anything you've written, do you?

Finally, as my last piece of wisdom for the week, throw out any misconceptions you may have of being an expert blogger. You aren't. Even if Hemingway was here, I doubt even he would be an expert blogger all of the time. I'm sure he would have delivered snappy pieces- prize winning pieces no doubt- but coupled with a poor theme and a hang-over, he'd just as easily struggle over loose ends as the rest of us do. For me, blogging is about a connection we have with the world. It is a desire to write, reach out and to connect with other people in an age of information 'freedom'. You're not struck off by censors, you're not held down by an editor and you are as free as you like to record your point in the annals of time. In conclusion, the act of creating that record is probably one of the most important things we can do- it shows how we can learn from other people and discover perspectives on the world, and though I'm no expert, I'd say that can't ever be a bad thing.

Thanks for reading,
Shaun.

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Successful Blogging

 by Ashley Lister

 For me, the key to successful blogging involves three things:

            ·         Be part of a brilliant team

            ·         Write outstandingly good material

            ·         Win awards.

Huge congratulations to all the Dead Good Bloggers for being shortlisted for the Radio Wave Culture and Lifestyle awards. Once again, as most of you will know, we were nominated for Radio Wave’s prestigious website of the year award.

I wasn’t able to attend the ceremony this year because of teaching commitments but several of our writers went to represent the team effort that is the Dead Good Blog. If they get chance over the weekend I'm sure there will be comments and hopefully pictures posted from those bloggers.

I’m writing this on a Tuesday morning, so I don’t yet know who won – but I do know that being nominated is a huge achievement in itself and I’m proud that the work we do on this blog is being recognised by local industry and regular readers.

So, although I suspect thanks will already have been issued, I want to say here: 

            ·         thank you to everyone who nominated us and voted for us

            ·         thank you to Radio Wave for hosting such another fantastic evening and 

            ·         thank you to everyone on the Dead Good Blog for making this blog such an achievement. 

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We Won an Award

 By Ashley Lister

This week’s theme is pain and pleasure – a topic which I can tie in easily to this blog’s Thursday night victory at the Radio Wave Culture and Lifestyle Awards.
For those of you who didn’t receive a text, tweet, email, telephone call or FB update on Thursday night, the Dead Good Blog received the Website of the Year Award for 2012. If I haven’t already thanked you for your support and your vote, then I must now thank you wholeheartedly.
Thank you all for the votes. It is truly appreciated. The contributors deserve the recognition and we honestly could not have won this award without your support.
But I’m wanting to talk about pain as well as pleasure.
I should begin by talking about the pain that came from having my tuxedo shrink. (On that point I could also talk about the pain that comes from comments of people suggesting I’ve gotten fat and my tuxedo hadn’t really shrunk. But I’m not a small-minded person. Apparently my backside is no longer small either).
Nevertheless, the pain of wearing a suit that is too small was just one of the points that hurt on Thursday night.

It was more painful that three of our main bloggers weren’t able to attend. Stylish Ste and Suave Shaun (both looking distinctly dapper) were there. But the wonderful Lara Clayton, Lindsay Barlow and Vicky Ellis were absent due to other commitments and conflicting circumstances.
This was painful for three reasons: 
1) All three absent writers are talented and hard working and deserved the opportunity to let their hair down at this event. Ladies: I’m truly sorry circumstances were against you.   

2) The photographs we’ve taken would have been a lot easier on the eye if there had been some female content within them.  

3) You three were sorely missed. You deserved to be a part of the triumph. It would have been wonderful to be able to share the evening and the victory celebration with each of you in person.
Absences aside, it was the pleasure that marked the evening. The awards ceremony was prestigious and swanky and wonderful. I drank champagne and lager. My head still hurts. I could write prolifically about the pain of that.

A bloke approached Ste and myself early in the evening and asked if we were a couple. If he had seen how much Ste was kissing me after we won, then I’d have been waiting with anticipation to find out the answer to that question. In truth, it would only have taken one more kiss from Standard Ste and I would have been reaching for my lucky condom.

Another bloke later called me a sissy for wearing a tuxedo. I could have taken issue with the comment. I could have wondered why he was telling me that I looked like a sissy for wearing a tux when there were a thousand other guys at the awards dressed identically. But I let the sleight pass. I might have looked like a sissy in my tuxedo. But I was a sissy in a tux holding the award for website of the year.

In conclusion, I’d like to reiterate my thanks to everyone who helped us secure our success. Below I’ve reprinted the poem I read when we received our award:

We’re a poetry blog for the brave

Where the writers try not to behave.

I’ve just made this small note

To say thanks for the votes

And, of course, thanks to Radio Wave.

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Radio Wave's Website of the Year Award

Today's blog post has been kidnapped by Darth Vader... I lie! I'm actually unwell and couldn't summon the strength to write anything... I apologise.

However, I would just like to mention that we (that is the Dead Good Blog) have been short-listed for a Radio Wave Culture and Lifestyle Award. 

Our category is 'The Website Award' and we'd be delighted if you could take the time to vote for us...

...And to all of our readers who have already voted, a massive THANK YOU!

If you'd like to vote for our blog, please click on the Star Wars logo below:

Thank you for reading,
Lara

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