Welcome to the BCB newsletter for December. Here’s just a few things that have been going on at BCB and some events that are coming up:

BCB AGM 2022

It was great to see so many people attending the BCB AGM on Sat 26th November. We know lots of people couldn’t be there, but it felt so good to get together again as an organisation. It’s always great for people to be able to put faces to names and meet people they don’t usually see. It felt like a very positive meeting. Hopefully the samosas were up to our usual standard – there were certainly none left at the end! Congratulations to Mercy Katola who was elected on to the BCB Management Committee, and a big thank you to Di Ives who is standing down after three years. 2023 is an important year ahead for us and we look forward to working together to take BCB forward.

Goodbye to Bread and Roses

It was really sad to see the closure of our neighbours, the Bread and Roses cooperative and café on North Parade. They held a celebration event on the 26thNov that some of us attended. Over the last 5 years have benefited from. They will be missed., Bread and Roses have provided an inclusive and welcoming space that so many people in Bradford.

New Volunteers Training

We’ve just started another new volunteer’s training course and we’re planning a rolling programme of training for new volunteers throughout 2023. We lost quite a few active volunteers post – lockdown and pandemic, so we’re actively recruiting new people to join us at BCB. If you know anyone who is interested, we hold new volunteers training sessions every month – the next ones are Tues 6th Dec, and then Tues 10th January, with the next course training course starting January. Come on down! Contact hello@bcbradio.co.uk for more details.

Banking on our visitors to BCB!

On 30 Nov, BCB was proud to welcome a team of people from the UK Infrastructure Bank. This is a new institution based in Leeds, with a remit to make investments that address the Levelling Up and Climate Change agendas. Working with our friend Eric Levine from Leaders Quests, we were asked to host a workshop here at BCB to provide senior staff from UKIB with a creative radio experience. It was, of course, also a great opportunity for them to find out about us at BCB. Thanks so much to all the BCB people who took part in the event – it was a great success. Let’s hope we can develop a fruitful relationship with UKIB in the future.

Islamophobia Awareness Month –

#ItExists

During November, as part of our coverage of Islamophobia Awareness Month, one of our new volunteers Tahir Shah recorded two excellent programmes. They were in depth interviews with two Bradford men, Riad Terzic talking about his experience as a Bosnian refugee now settled in Bradford, and Shahid Islam from Born in Bradford, celebrating some of the contributions of Muslims to science. This was part of the BMDC Stronger Communities contribution to #It Exists. The programmes are both available here! https://podcast.canstream.co.uk/bcb/index.php?id=67961

Featured Programme Of The Month

Every month, we focus the spotlight on one show BCB broadcasts and tell you more about it. This time we’re giving you more information about The Time Traveller

The Time Traveller is a brand new show on BCB brought to you by Johna Johnson every fourth Thursdauy 9-10pm. Each show Johna will be travels back through time through his extensive record collection, which started in 1970. The idea is to entertain, inform and enjoy a mixed selection of music genres featuring recollections of his record collections.

Warm Spaces

We know how hard this winter will be for everyone with the cost-of-living crisis and the hike in energy prices. BCB has become part of the Warm Spaces network which offers a place for people to spend time, have a cuppa and keep warm. Over these winter months, we welcome all BCB people to come in to BCB and spend time if they want to. We will be doing this alongside recognising that BCB is a working environment, and that we need to respect the space that volunteers and staff need to do their work. I’m sure we can make it work. Meeting room 1 will be designated for people to hang out in.

Festive Programmes on BCB

106.6fm

If you’re recording a programme that’s broadcast on BCB 106.6fm between Monday 19th December – Tuesday 3rd January, please record your programme in the 18,000 cart range (each day and time is labelled from c18,000 onwards).

Please check your cart number with Jonathan or Jem before you record it. Once you’ve recorded it, please let Jonathan or Jem know, so we can schedule it for broadcast.

If your programme is due for broadcast between Friday 23rd December to and Tuesday 3rd January, please record it onto a cart (or email a link to xmas@bcbradio.co.uk) BEFORE MIDDAY ON FRIDAY 16TH DECEMBER to give us enough time to schedule your Festive show into our automated QNXT schedule.

BCB will be closed between Saturday 24th December and Monday 2nd January, so now is the time to start planning to record your programmes, get a week or two ahead if you need to – and record your Festive show.

12 Parks of Christmas

Here in Bradford we are blessed with many beautiful parks and woodland spaces, so throughout December we will be highlighting our ’12 Parks of Christmas!’. We will be joined on our Bradford & Beyond Program by people who help conserve, maintain and protect the parks and spaces, and find out what their plans are for the year ahead!

Schools

Pupils from Rainbow Academy in Bradford have been joining us at the studios, every week, working with Jo Kenyon to become the radio stars of the future! Through making radio they have developed their communication and teamworking skills, and it’s been lovely to see how the children’s confidence has been built during their time here at BCB!

As well as producing a weekly report for our Bradford & Beyond program, the Children have been working hard to produce a Christmas special half hour program, which will be broadcast over the holidays!

We are also looking forward to welcoming St James Academy to the studios later in the month

BCB Christmas Get Together –

Tuesday 20th December

To see off the end of the year we’re inviting everyone down to BCB on Tuesday 20th December 5-7:30pm. This will be a great chance to catch up with everyone before we close for the Christmas period. It would be lovely to see as many BCBers as possible and, if people can and are able, we’re asking if people could bring down a bit of food to share for a potluck. Hopefully see you at the BCB studios on 20th December!