Annie othen interview mid morning presenter BBC Coventry & Worwixkshire

Interview with Annie Othen.                                  29^th May 2007

 

 

 

 

My guest today, if you tune into BBC Coventry and Warwickshire between 10 and 1, this lady certainly makes your morning feel good. I am delighted to say that Annie Othen is with us. Annie, great to see you.

 

Well, that's certainly a very nice introduction. Thank you very much indeed.

 

How did you get started within the radio industry?

 

It's a question I get asked quite often and it's actually quite a long time ago. The very simple answer is I was asked. I was very, very fortunate to be asked to join a radio station, but prior to that I had done some work on hospital radio. Not a huge amount, but I'd done some. I'd gone round the wards and I'd asked for requests and gone back to the studio and pulled the records out and tried to make something of a programme. I was working in press and PR anyway, and I offered my services to a radio station for free, which is pretty unusual to do anything for free these days. But I thought, if you do it for free they might help out and they did. I went along to help on OBs, on outside broadcasts and it was the archetypal one day someone didn't turn up and I got the microphone thrust into my hand and I did a piece on air. Within a week I had a phone call from the station manager saying did I want a job.

 

Would you say it's a lot about persistence?

 

Yes, there's all sorts of things. There has to be persistence, there has to be determination, there has to be a degree of self-belief that you can do it, and I teach some students about radio and I say to them: If you want to do it, then go for it and do it. If you don't do it, somebody else will go and do it, and you'll sit back and think: Hang on a minute, I could have done that. So, yes, there has to be a lot of hard work. In those days, and that makes me sound like an old crusty, I suppose, there were very few women in radio as well. I can clearly remember going into the first radio station, and I was the only female presenter and one of the blokes turning around and saying: I suppose I'd better not swear now. My reply to him was something I can't broadcast now. There was that determination to do it not as well but even better, to work not hard but even harder, to prove the point.

 

I noticed from reading your profile on bbc.co.uk/coventry…

 

Crikey, thanks for the plug!

 

…it said that you worked on Radio 2. What did you do there?

 

I did either late nights or early mornings. So I either did midnight till three

 

Which now Janice Long does

 

Which now Janice Long does, or I did a slot for Alex Lester. So when Alex Lester used to go off to do stuff in the day time

 

For Sarah Kennedy or Ken Bruce

 

I would sit in for him as well, and I thoroughly enjoyed it and I did it for a year or two and I had a great time and I did it out of the Radio Two studios in Pebble Mill.

 

Which is better, out of national or local. Which do you prefer doing?

 

To me, radio is radio, you know. I love radio with a passion. When I was a child I used to take my Grandma's portable radio underneath the bedclothes. There weren't duvets in those days, and you twiddled the knobs, so to speak. There's a thought that springs to mind, twiddling the knobs under the bedclothes, but anyway, I used to do that, and I used to love this idea of going round the world and listening to all these different languages and stations coming through. I just love radio per se, broadcasting to one person on air and it's that personal communication. Whether I'm doing it on national radio or on local radio, the basic premise of radio is just the same. Obviously there's a very nice connection with it being local radio. I know my patch inside out and back to front. I know a lot of my listeners so there's a real personal connection.

 

You started out at BBC WM before you moved on to Coventry and Warwickshire.

 

I've been all over the place, Ed. There isn't a station I haven't worked on.

 

You did the Breakfast Show on Radio WM, and that was mainly speech-based. Do you like doing speech-based, or do you like doing speech and music?

I like doing speech; I'm a nosy animal. I find this difficult; it should be the other way round. It should be me asking the questions and probing around rather than answering them, but I like speech, but I love music as well. My first job was in commercial radio in the days but that was in the days when there was a very good balance between speech and music. I've done all- music stations, I've done all speech stations; I think the idea is that you get some good meaty material, you get some great guests, and I've been fortunate to interview some of the great and the good, and some of the not-so-good, over my time. You know, I've really met some fantastic people over the years.

 

Who has been the most memorable person that you have interviewed?

 

Oh crikey, there's a million-dollar question. As I said, I've been very lucky, meeting Paul McCartney, interviewing him extensively on one of his albums. He and I sat in his dressing room backstage at the

NEC and had a long chat and I always remember while I was doing the interview the team was there. We had a very good long chat and he was very generous with his time. I remember there was a guy obviously drumming in the background, practising, and – you'll have to bleep this bit – but suddenly a voice came from the back saying: 'Shut the **** up!' Paul just looked at me, and went: 'Ah, that'll be Linda'. Great memories. Please bleep that bit.

 

As I was saying to you, I've interviewed Paul Gambaccini, I've interviewed Liz Kershaw, I've interviewed Alex Lester, got other interviews in the pipeline with Aled Jones, and it takes a lot of persistence. Did you have to persist?

 

Yes, some of them. I mean, I've got a great production team here now, who work very hard in getting a lot of top guests together. In the past I didn't have that privilege, you had to do it yourself. I clearly remember, I'd do a programme, I'd finish at midday and I'd have a taxi waiting sprint to the station to get an interview, come back. You know, it might be an interview with Phil Collins, or Tom Jones, Gloria Estefan or whoever it happened to be, get the tape, get it back to Birmingham, sit down after a long day, edit it and get in on air in the morning. So, you know, you've got to be persistent and determined, I think, sometimes.

 

Do you prefer producing yourself, as you put it, or do you like having a producer?

 

I think nowadays, you have to remember in that instance I was quoting there weren't so many radio stations around. There was something like 64 radio stations; now you can stick a couple of noughts on the end, and, you know, include all the on-line stations. There's a lot of competition out there, so as I say, I think it's great to have a team. It's good having a production team and as I say, I have got a very good one: Suzie and Claire and Marion and Andrew and so on, who work very hard on the programme to produce some really top material. Then it's up to me on air to make the best of it and not mess it up for them.

 

I've interviewed you; you've interviewed me should I say, on several occasions. I have to say, whenever I've been interviewed by you, you've always know your stuff, you're always very professional. Do you think that's the key to your success?

 

Oh God. Er…I don't know what my key is to any success I might have had. I'm a worker, I'm a grafter, you know. I've got an interview coming up later on this week actually. I'll just lean over here, it's a big book, Johnny Walker's autobiography. I'll be interviewing him in the week and I think it would be most rude and most discourteous if I said to him: So Johnny, tell me about your book, so I think it's up to me to go away and read as much of it as I can, research it, and that way you get a better interview out of it, you know. If you have somebody who comes in for interview and they've slaved all year producing an album or a book and then you just say: So tell me about your book, then, or tell me about your album. A) It's insulting to the listener  B) It's a pretty boring interview and  C) It's insulting to the poor so-and-so who's spent all year working on their book and album. So I feel a bit of research is really important.

 

What would you say to anyone listening to this or reading this, who wants a career in radio?

 

Don't! No, go for it if that's what you want to do, then go for it. If you've got the talent and you've got the personality and the determination, and you're prepared to work hard, then you'll make it. It really is having that focus. It will not fall in your lap. It will not just happen. You might get some breaks early on, but you have to follow it through with that work, if you like.

 

When you're not working, what do you do to relax?

 

I think I've probably gone through a bit of a mid-life crisis actually. Over the last eighteen months I've taken up tennis; I'm having professional tennis lessons and I've taken up skiing. I've had skiing lessons. I've taken up running and I'm running the Two Castles Run on June 10^th, which if you'd said to me a year ago I'd been doing, I would have said: 'Don't be ridiculous, I'm not built to run' but I'm now running 10 kilometres. I run about 15 miles a week now, so I think I'm probably going through a bit of a crisis. So those are the sort of things I do. I've discovered skiing, I wish I'd learned to ski earlier in my life. I've got a family, I've got a little boy and you know he keeps me well occupied.

 

A taxi service

 

A taxi service, a laundry service, a restaurant service, schooling service, any service you could think of really, bless him. But he's great. So yeah, I'm just a really cup-half-full sort of person. I kind of like to go for something and have fun, really. You only get one stab at it, don't you, really?

 

Annie, thank you very, very much indeed.

 

Ed, it's been a real pleasure. But I do find it very weird having to answer the questions instead of asking them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ed Lowe

41 Robin Hood Road,
Willenhall,
Coventry,
West Midlands,
CV3 3BA

Telephone: 02476 305385
Fax: 02476 131578
Mobile: 07786 448056
website:edlowecov.blogspot.com

My space: www.myspice.com/edlowecov

My space is launched

Dear all,

I'm so excited, I have finally got round to launching my my space Page which is located at, www.myspace.com/edowecov

Please do join in the fun and take a look.

Ed

 

Ed Lowe

41 Robin Hood Road,
Willenhall,
Coventry,
West Midlands,
CV3 3BA

Telephone: 02476 305385
Fax: 02476 131578
Mobile: 07786 448056
website:edlowecov.blogspot.com

My space: www.myspice.com/edlowecov

Interview with Paul Gambaccini

INTERVIEW WITH PAUL GAMBACCINI

23^{RD MAY 2007}

VENUE: "LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN" RESTAURANT, SOUTHBANK

I met Paul in the lobby of his apartment block, and from there we went to "Le Pain Quotidien" where the following informal interview took place over lunch.

 

Paul asked me whom I had interviewed so far, and I gave him a few names and also said I would be interviewing Liz Kershaw this Friday. Paul replied that he had seen Liz Kershaw at a party recently, and had known her for a long time.

I asked Paul if he chose his own music for his radio shows. He said yes. He has a producer who does the formalities and the technicalities, such as timing the songs. The producer also does the negotiations with radio 2. For tracks played a list of writers and publishers is needed, along with disc numbers for legal reasons, and the producer takes care of all of this. This leaves Paul plenty of time to be creative.

I told Paul I had some experience of local radio stations. Paul said he now prefers national radio as it maximizes audiences. However he came up through local radio in the States. One station he worked on in his youth was run by students and had a 25 mile radius. He was the top rated DJ in the area. He got to know the area intimately: - roads, beauty spots etc. and it was a complete experience which he cherishes. This lasted for 4 years.

I then asked if it was good to go onto national radio. Paul said people are not always in charge of what they can do. You have to go where the employment is, he said. Some start in local radio, some just like it there, but sometimes you have to move from city to city, depending where the work is.

Paul was lucky. He was a student at Oxford University and was offered a weekly appearance on radio 1. So he didn't have the trauma of going from station to station.

He explained that to be successful you needed 3 things:

Sufficient talent – not necessarily genius.

Hard work. This is the most important thing as it gets you into shape professionally and increases your contacts.

Favourable circumstances. Sometimes these are outside your control. There are some eras when it is not easy to get on national radio. It also depends on style and what is popular at a given time.

I mentioned I worked very hard and told him about the Degree Show and invited him to it. Paul again emphasized the importance of hard work. He said so many people think they can do anything because they want it and he said this is a mistake. There are only so many shows on national radio to be on. Paul said he had some lucky breaks but was also an extremely hard worker.

Paul mentioned John Walters who had been John Peel's Producer. John heard Paul on radio 1 and invited him to do some work on radio 4. It shows how once you are in the system, things grow.

I asked when he was next doing "Friday Night is music Night" and he told me next week at the Mermaid Theatre and it is being pre- recorded on Wednesday.

I asked how old he was and he said 58 years and thought he was born at the right time, as in the 1950's America was booming and led the world, since it had not suffered much economically in the Second World War.

He explained he lives in England most of the time but goes to America once a season. He has a personal assistant who deals with the shopping, tends the balcony and helps him with his work.

I told him I did charity work and was involved with the Caron Keating Foundation. Paul said he was involved with 2 charities, The Terence Higgins Trust and Amnesty International. He thought people were not really alive unless they engaged with the important issues of their time. Paul thought aids was the scourge of the modern world and people needed information on how not to get it. He said he was involved in a government health campaign. He had been asked to write the text for one of the adverts about health awareness. He said however, that he does not watch television himself.

I asked him to describe a typical "Friday Night is Music Night" day. He replied the day itself was easy; the hard work came before hand, writing the script. He gets the running order 10 days in advance, along with biographical details. He also has music notes on each section to be performed. He likes to have a few fascinating facts and little anecdotes to interest the audience.

I asked if there were any unknown people on the show. He said there were a couple of light classical singers who could perform light classics and Broadway material and that they were not widely known due to the adverse times. Lesley Garrett had made it, but she was unusual.

The weekend before "Friday Night" Paul writes the scripts which he will read on the show. They are organized and programmed. This is a different procedure from his American programme. In the latter he does not have a script set in stone, but just uses it as a guide to read round.

"Friday Night" is a lot more formal. A queue is needed for events. The producer needs to know what is happening. Paul loves doing the show because it is broadcasting. He rehearses the opening of the show, mainly so that the engineers can check the sound. Then he goes for a light dinner and is back by 7.05 pm. He talks to the guests until 7.15 pm. At 7.28 pm he goes on stage and talks to the audience, introduces the conductor and the show begins.

Paul works from home a lot and does not go into the radio station very often. He has an editor called Wendy Beck. Sometimes he goes to a party. Among the guests at one he went to on Tuesday were Tom Robinson, Liz Kershaw, Alex Lester, Ken Bruce, Clive Anderson, David Badiel, Andy Parfitt and Russell Davies.

I asked him whom he most admired and he said John Peel. John was his original mentor and he shared his producer and his office and used to see him several times a week. John Peel's beliefs rubbed off on Paul.

Paul said another important skill to have was a good telephone manner and also to be experienced on the internet.

I asked him if he could do "Coventry Conversations" and he said it would depend on his schedule.

I then asked him if he knew Elton John and he said he did and that he was an enthusiastic performer, often doing a 2 hour session. He has been to many of Elton's Birthday parties. His favourite Elton John song is "Your Song" as he thinks it is emblematic of Elton's career – a break from the norm. I t was also his career breakthrough song.

Paul said he was an Abba fan and loved the musical "Mama Mia".

 

At this point Paul had to attend another engagement so the interview ended.

 

 

Ed Lowe

41 Robin Hood Road,
Willenhall,
Coventry,
West Midlands,
CV3 3BA

Telephone: 02476 305385
Fax: 02476 131578
Mobile: 07786 448056
website:edlowecov.blogspot.com

Interview with Liz Kershaw 25/05/07

Interview with Liz Kershaw 25/05/07

 

 

 

If you live in the Coventry area and listen to BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire you will hear my next guest waking you up every weekday morning between seven and ten on the Breakfast Show. I am delighted to say that Liz Kershaw is with me now. It's great to see you. Thank you for agreeing to speak to me. What I would like to know first of all was how did it all get started for you within the industry.

Well, I am a music fan. I got my first record player when I was seven. I got chicken pox and I couldn't play out so I was there putting on my records that I got free with cereals, and some that my Mum and Dad gave me and other relatives handed to me, like 'I'm a Pink Toothbrush', Max Bygraves, things like that, and I just loved music. I used to get in trouble for learning the words to records rather than my revision for what was O Levels then, and my Dad thought nothing would ever become of me, and he was wrong. I did follow the path he wanted me to follow, which was academic,

and he did say: 'When you've got your degree you can do whatever you want'.

So I did. I did get a sensible job at BT and my hobby was helping out in a local radio station in Leeds, then I got my own show on a Saturday night just an hour long. Then, I got poached by Radio Leeds; that was commercial, and I did a rock show, a couple of hours on a Wednesday night. I was in a band by then, so I was making music as well and I got a taste for radio. Then I made a demo with a friend of mine. My brother was on Radio 1 and I didn't want to queer my pitch, thinking they wouldn't have two Kershaws, so I got my friend to take it in. They loved it, it was a unique format which is why I got my foot in the door. I wasn't just trying to be a clone of everybody else, and they gave me a show on a Saturday afternoon preceding the Chart Show, which was massive then, everybody listened, it was called 'Backchat'. That was twenty years ago, in October 1987. I won an award for it in the first year, and then they decided I was good enough to let loose with proper turntables, because that was a magazine programme, and be a proper DJ.

So you talk about how you got experience before. Would you say that the experience is the crucial bit for anybody who wants to break into the media, just doing anything you want to do with local radio?

Well, first of all I have to say, you have to have a speciality and a passion. It's no use going into it because you want to be famous and you want to be on the radio. You have to have a knowledge, whether it's sport, or local knowledge, or music or something that gives you that cutting edge. I think listeners can hear straight through people who are flaky and don't have a basis of expertise, and that's my advice. The go into local radio and volunteer. I didn't get a single penny. I went into local radio in 1981 and I didn't earn a penny until 1987, so that's six years of an apprenticeship: helping out for the love of it, making yourself useful, making yourself someone people can depend on and want to have around, and that's my advice. Don't expect a quick fix, learn the ropes and really get your foot in the door.

Yes, you have to learn, start at the bottom and work your way up. I mean, you've done television as well, most notably 'Watchdog' with 'the person who winks', Anne Robinson. Is radio very different from television?

As a presenter in radio, if you're doing a live show, once you're on air you are in total control. You're the director of operations. Obviously you're not alone, you have support and you have help and you have guidance and advice, but you're controlling the studio in most cases. Not on Radio 4, but on most radio stations you're controlling the studio. There's that aspect of it, rather than being a 'larynx on legs' where they just push you around and paint your nose and point you in front of the camera. Another thing is, if you do live radio it is immediate and spontaneous. If it's great you've done a good job, if it's rubbish, you know have to do better tomorrow, but you don't spend hours and hours crafting three minutes of broadcasting. It's just an immediate contribution to the airwaves.

I've done live show on 'Synergy FM' which is a student radio station in Coventry, and that was good experience for me. I never had such a buzz as when I did a live show: 'Ed Lowe at the Weekend', it was called. I think I get more buzz out of doing a live show a pre-recorded one because you know you've got to go with it and even if you make a mistake you have try and to work around it. I mean, have you ever made mistakes on radio or done that?

I've never sworn on radio, which is great after twenty years because I do swear in real life. There have obviously been mistakes in live shows when you think you're interviewing somebody and it turns out to be somebody else. I think a mistake which wasn't mine was a guest was booked for half an hour on Radio5 and they didn't turn up and the production team had no contingency plan and I had to fill for thirty minutes, so that was the most horrific experience of radio for me. That was a mistake but it wasn't mine.

Did you have nothing to mention, so you had to fill it up?

I had nothing because the whole half hour was that I was interviewing this celebrity and the listeners could to ring in with questions, but there was no celebrity so there was nobody to talk to and nobody was ringing in with any questions because there was nobody to address them to. So I had to fill for thirty minutes and at the end of it the producer said:'Oh my God, Kershaw, well done. You've certainly earned your money today'. At which point I nearly punched her, because nobody should ever be put in that position.

Now you've moved to Coventry and Warwickshire, what's it like working back in local radio after having done TV and all the nationals?

Well I first went back into local radio in 2000 when I took over the Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Northampton. It was a real challenge because I'd never done an all-speech show on current affairs on my own. I had done current affairs programmes on Five Live and the old Radio Five, but they were always double-headers. In fact there is only, out of 360 breakfast shows in the UK, commercial, BBC, national and local, there are only five women who do what I do, which is a solo speech breakfast show. As far as I know, there are no women now since the departure of Sarah Cox on Radio One, who do music breakfast shows. So the total for breakfast shows, women on their own in the UK, is 5 out of 360, so I'm really proud of what I do.

What's been the best topic that you've covered on the programme?

Oh, I enjoy all topics. I enjoy getting the facts out of people, because so many people spend their whole lives trying to pull the wool over our eyes, whether it's the War in Iraq or dustbins, rubbish disposal in Warwickshire. I enjoy getting to the bottom of things.

I suppose it's a bit like 'Watchdog' in a way. You had to deal with a lot of issues and a lot of companies. Would you say that 'Watchdog' and your breakfast show are closely linked?

They're both looking after the rights of the licence payers, who pay my wages. 'Watchdog': the first time I went on 'Watchdog' I was sent to Butlins, in Pwllhelli, Wales, undercover. That was terrifying, three days trying not to be identified as a BBC reporter, just hanging out as a holidaymaker, secret filming, interviewing, so that was a baptism of fire. Everything else I did on Watchdog after that was quite tame, things like, you know, getting to the bottom of Mercedes cars which people had paid a fortune for, whose brakes were causing accidents and things like that. Yes, in a way, it's the small person who pays for the licence fee against big business or government, whether local or national.

You also made 'Liz'll Fix It'. Tell me about what that was like, to be able to make the dreams come true for some incredible people?

Well, it was a terrible responsibility and there were so many heartfelt wishes and dreams and I think I felt slightly embarrassed about how much faith people were investing in me. But we did pull off some remarkable 'fix-its' and I was very proud of it. I won an award for that and when I went up to collect my award I said: 'This just shows everybody, and that was something I was brought up to believe, everybody has a story to tell. No matter how insignificant somebody may seem, if you sit next to somebody on a bench in a town centre, don't dismiss them because they have got a story and it can be fascinating. That was brought out by 'Liz'll Fix It'. All the people I met in Coventry and Warwickshire around shopping centres, every one of them had a life experience and story to share, and I think nobody touches that nerve better than local radio. No national station does it like we do, and no commercial station does it like we do.

Because you're constantly working on the radio, because you do another show on a Saturday, 6 Music as well, you don't really get a rest except on a Sunday. How do you manage?

Doing 6 Music is a labour of love, because I love music and I get paid to play music I really like. When 6 Music was devised, I wrote about it first in 'The Independent' and when they asked me to join I was really flattered and excited. It's absolutely targeted at people like me, so it's great to do. I'm home on Saturday about 2 o'clock, I'm home during the week about half eleven. I'm a real home bird and I like pottering around for the rest of the day. It's hard to get up six days a week, but I know how lucky I am and I'm not going to moan, and I do it through choice. I do have my lie-in on a Sunday.

What do you do to relax?

I spend time with my family. I'm a bit of a couch potato at the weekend. I like to spend as much time in my pyjamas as possible. I have fun with my boys. I like going away at the weekend, Saturday lunchtime till Sunday night, spending time with friends, normal stuff really.

I've had the privilege of being interviewed by you on several topics. One I do really do remember was about the benefits for disabled people. We were trying to get more people into work, and we were talking about this with James Plaskett, MP. I was really privileged to be asked to be on the programme because it's a subject which I feel passionate about. Is there…

But don't you think you should have been on the programme? Because don't you think too often that people talk about others and across others? I spend a lot of time, I think, talking about youths and young people in hoodies, and it's very rarely that anyone actually goes up to a teenager on a street corner and asks them why they're hanging out there and what their goals are in life, why they're causing trouble. So I would say, if you're talking about people, talk with those people as well.

You need to confront them and see if you can help them out in any way, because you mention there about hanging out on street corners and things like that. Because they've probably got nothing to do, whereas if you sit and talk with them, and find out what their goals are, then maybe you can help them achieve that. I just think that I would like to do more radio stuff like that. I would like to help people.

Well, as I've said before, you never get bored with talking to people because everybody's got a story. I mean if you went up to a lad on a street corner in Coventry this morning, and asked him why he's hanging about, what his background is, what his future might be, it's interesting. Especially if you're naturally nosy and curious.

Well, Liz, than you very much indeed.

Thank you for your time and good luck with your radio career.

Thank you very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ed Lowe

41 Robin Hood Road,
Willenhall,
Coventry,
West Midlands,
CV3 3BA

Telephone: 02476 305385
Fax: 02476 131578
Mobile: 07786 448056
website:edlowecov.blogspot.com

Interview with Sergeant Lee Burns from Little Park Street police station Coventry

Interview with Sergeant Lee Burns Little Park Police Station 18/05/07

 

First of all, last time I was here the main purpose of my interview was to gauge your opinion on drink driving. How has it been since Christmas ? Has it been up or down ?

The exact figures I couldn't give you. However, it has been identified that drink driving isn't just a problem at Christmas, it's a problem throughout the year, especially when you get into the summer months. A number of people want to go to country pubs, have a few drinks because of the warm weather and then feel that they want to drive. Now clearly this is a problem because we are seeing accidents that are drink-related during that time as well. Around the World cup last year we had a big campaign and we were actually targeting drink-drivers. After the England football game or a large football game like the Final we would have officers out stopping people who may have consumed alcohol and giving them a roadside check. These activities were going on during the World Cup but they will be ongoing during the summer as well.

Do you think the Press are doing a good job in combating this problem, or could we be doing more as an organisation ?

I think the media play a vital part because the media is also involved in promoting drink through advertising, and obviously that is very successful. As an organisation, as the law enforcement side, we're only just catching up with the type of advertising to actually stress how dangerous it is. However what you see is in the press, there's a lot of reports about young girls struck down by a drink- driver, but what it needs is some sizeable sentences to make the risk of drink-driving and having an accident too much to take on. At the moment I don't think there's that balance yet, but that's a personal view. I think we need tough sentences to actually deter people from drink-driving.

You only have to watch programmes like Traffic Cops. People are always being breathalysed. I always think, why bother putting your life at risk but everybody else's life on the road as well.

You're right, it is a danger. It is a danger to the passengers in the car. Quite often you'll find that they're the casualties. You see how the car is built. They have air bags and the driver often survives. But the people without seat belts in the back seats are the ones who are flying out of the windows. Cars aren't designed to hit people who are pedestrians, so they don't crumple in the way they are meant to, and as a result you find that fatalities can be quite high.

Another big issue which comes in to effect on July 1 is the smoking ban. Is that going to be hard to enforce ?

At the moment we have a finite number of resources and we are dealing with alcohol- related violence and alcohol- related violence around the pubs in the evenings. If we then have to start trying to enforce a law where quite a sizeable amount of our population do actually like to smoke, and we then have to enforce and tell them not to. I think it could cause a lot of tension, but if we look what's happened in Ireland, they have adopted it reasonably well. Very much like the 24- hour drinking, we need to be very flexible how we respond to it.

Going slightly back to the drink, do you think that 24-hour drinking was a good thing, or do you think drink-driving has gone up because of it ?

I don't think that drink-driving has gone up as a result of it. I think 24-hour drinking was never going to cause us any extra problems because it takes away the urge to binge drink and rapidly drink towards the end of the evening because you are trying to out a number of drinks inside you before the bar closes. 24-hour drinking should actually make it a more relaxed and more responsible way of drinking because you are actually spreading out the amount of drink you can have over a longer period, and maybe you won't be in such a rush or have such a large quantity in a short space of time.

What do you, as a member of the Police Force, come across in the way of prejudice against the gay community ?

We see the aftermath and that's in the form of hate crime, and this is crime against racial groups, religious groups, disabled groups, the gay community and anyone where they are a minority community and there is a degree of prejudice towards them which is a factor within the reason for the victimisation. That will be a hate crime. Now we have a clear strategy and all forces do, about how they deal with hate crime. As I said, there is a number of offences that are reported, and in Coventry it is in excess of 400 offences every year. However, we strongly suspect that this is vastly underreported, and what we are launching is a policy whereby not only hate crime are reported, actual offences, but also incidents, so that we can understand the type of prejudice that is out there. By gauging the amount of prejudice there is out there, we can look at tackling the bigger problem.

What do you think is the most common hate crime ?

I think we understand more about racial hate crime because it is so visible. I think there are sections of the community, like the disabled section and the gay community, who don't bring these matters forward. For the gay community it is because they feel they might be outed, so they would rather ignore it and just pass it off and accept it as part of their life. They don't come to the Police because the demands of the Police are such that they are going to take them to court or ask them to give evidence. And for the disabled, like yourself Ed, it becomes access to the Police Station, how you're going to be treated. There's a lot of training for the Police, how to deal with people who are suffering from a disability, how to deal with a person with a mental disability, and it is how we can actually deal with those things and make ourselves more accessible, and that's what we need to get right before we are actually going to have a true reflection reported to us.

 

 

 

 

On a regular basis I come into university on the 21 bus. Some of the drivers are a problem and won't even get the ramp out for us.

That's unacceptable because there's a standard that they should provide service to, and all members of the community whether they are disabled or not, and their behaviour is unacceptable. But clearly you've highlighted something that you're accepting as part of the everyday occurrence when in fact that is some disabled phobia, and they are being discriminatory towards you.

For example, I need to go down to London on the train today, and even though I book assistance a long time before we need it, the amount of ramps that aren't there when I want them to be. I have to be quite snotty with them, but I shouldn't have to be like that.

If you fight the cause you will get what's needed, but that shouldn't be the case. It should be there as a matter of course. I know from the recent Disability Discrimination Act quite clearly that it shouldn't be that we should get to this point where adjustments are being made. It should be a matter of course already, so I can fully support and understand what you are going through because of the amount of reporting that has been going on.

I mean, I have tried to run various campaigns, and it's just that people are scared to talk to me about it. They think that because I'm in this, I am thick.

That's not the case at all. From the questions you are asking, you're clearly going to try and test my mettle.

People didn't think I would be able to get a degree, but I proved them wrong.

That's all credit to you.

My next question is : Would it be possible for a person with a disability to join

the Police Force ?

Yes. We have a full range of jobs to do. If you are asking me, could a person in a wheelchair become a Police Officer, at the moment I would say the job does restrict that probably happening. There needs to be a degree of fitness, the job actually demands you to physically tackle offenders, to be driven around in cars, to get out of cars, tackle offenders, be able to do personal safety training. That is the situation at the moment but I think the Police would without a shadow of a doubt have people in wheelchairs being Police Officers if it wasn't for that physical restriction on that. And it's not for lack of will, but I think what we'll have in the future is different layers of Police. So we'll have Police Officers who can do interviews and there's nothing I could see that would prevent a Police Officer in a wheelchair from conducting an interview, and you can be the Ironside for the modern day and carry out those interviews. However, if it's in the patrol aspect in the street I think it would be very difficult. However that doesn't mean that someone with a limited disability, a wooden leg, a prosthetic leg or prosthetic arm couldn't be a Police Officer. I know of officers that have one eye, so they are partially blind, and they are still fulfilling a role as a Police Officer.

It's just getting the message out there, and I'm trying to make people aware, and listen out for this, employers : I'm coming out there, and if you don't employ me, there'll be trouble.

That's quite a dramatic statement.

Some cities have had problems with racial tension. What's the situation like in Coventry ?

We have quite well established links with the minority community, since obviously the likes of Handsworth that happened so many years ago, and with urban street rioting. What we have learned is that we need to be very sensitive to their needs and we need to be able to understand that they are a minority community, they are a vulnerable community. They do suffer hate crime and for us to police them without a degree of sensitivity will cause problems because they feel alienated. So what we've learned to do is liase strongly with their leaders, and recently we've seen tension in Birmingham, Leeds, Bradford….

Newcastle ?

Newcastle. And that's because the links aren't as strong as in other places. In Coventry we have a large percentage of our community from the minority groups, and what we have done is to develop things like community forums. We've formed clear strategies for actually communicating with them. If there is any tension we can find out quite quickly from our contacts that there is a problem and we start actively trying to talk with them and allow them to police their own issues. There might be a big event coming up that might have some tension, and it might be the Coventry Vaisahkhi, which is similar to the Birmingham one. The Birmingham one ended in disorder. The Coventry one, because we were able to ask the community how they would like us to police their event, they gave us strong guidance as to what they wanted to do, and we gave them the responsibility of managing it themselves, so that they are able to reduce the tension and work within their own community to manage that tension so that we didn't have to get involved. But there's a lot of close liaison with them, and that's the real future. We need to integrate fully and understand our communities.

I suppose it's a bit like doing an interview in a way. I note what questions I want to ask somebody and you have to do your best to answer them. It's all about working together.

Yes. It is very much working together, and policing today is by the consent of the whole community, and it's only by having their consent to police that we can actually offer that service. If we don't have that consent and we don't have their respect we are never going to be able to properly police them so we certainly do have to listen to them.

Do you think the situation with the youth of today has got worse or better ?

This is a situation which the government and the local authorities have created themselves, through the withdrawal of lots of diversionary schemes like youth clubs and amenities for youths. This did actually create a culture where the youths stand on street corners and have nothing to do. They become bored and they become disorderly. Also we've made the situation (and the parents as well) where children can get access to alcohol. It's very profitable for off- licences and supermarkets to sell alcohol because they are a market that's eager to have that. For the police we need to work on several fronts, because quite clearly youths are being targeted. They are not a minority group but they are an underrepresented group in the city and in the country, and what we need to do is actually work by providing them with some strong provisions, making sure that their behaviour is challenged, tackling the alcohol that they have access to. That's why you've seen a lot of test-purchasing being done on off-licences, and we really need to show them the way forward and listen to them as well. Some of the things the Council has done is Youth Parliament, the Youth Council, actually set them up so that they have a voice and that is actually fed back to the Council themselves. So yes I do think they struggle, I can understand why they are having difficulties. We created this, and we have to find a way to solve it.

I suppose, a question I would like to put to you is : What made you want to join the Police Force ?

For me I joined late in my career. I joined at the age of 29. I was an insurance broker, a corporate insurance broker, and I travelled the country selling large policies to different companies. I did that for a number of years and then got thoroughly bored, so I joined the Police Force for stimulation and a very good pension and to enjoy myself. Only one day out of all the years I have been doing this have I regretted joining the Police. It is an excellent career and you get the opportunity to speak to a wide variety of people. Meeting yourself today has been a pleasure for me.

Thank you very much. I presume you don't have a lot of time to yourself, but what do you do to relax when you are not working ?

Oh, that's a tricky one. What do I do ? Firstly I've got two teenage daughters. Both do lots of sport so I am a taxi driver and a sounding post that listens to all their gossip, all their woes. I do a lot of housework. I am very domesticated. Sounds like an advert for a personal. I am domesticated. I lift the toilet seat and put the toilet seat down. I do a lot of DIY around the house, as much as my wife can find me, and I watch a lot of rugby and films. If I get any time from that I study as well.

What do you study ?

I've just finished the second part of my Inspector's Exam. Hopefully within a couple of months I will pass an interview for my MBA.

What's that?

That is the Masters for Business Administration for the Public Sector. Like yourself, I did my degree, my Law degree about two years ago after five years of study, so I am used to study.

It's just that initial getting all the work in and everything.

Yes, coursework was a bind.

And you think …I won't use the actual word, you can imagine what it is, but you think: My God, I've got to get this in, I've got to get that in, I've got to do this, I've got that on.

Very much so and I can understand the pressures of any student and even young children now that have to put in exams, and it wasn't like that in my day.

Obviously I can't do this interview without touching on this case which has been constantly, constantly in the news over the past two weeks, the Madeleine Mc Cann case. What is your view on it ?

I think it's an extremely sad case. As a parent I'm distressed by the fact that a child has been abducted for whatever reason. I believe that if that person was abducted in this country, there would have been a quicker response by the Police, and we would have maybe locked down the area a lot quicker, and we would have been dealing with this a lot quicker and given it high priority. I think it is by the pressure of the media and the fact that it is very high profile that has brought some of the policing over there to be as active as it is now. However if it maybe was a different way round and it wasn't so high profile, it may not have got the attention and the services it deserved. However, I think two and a half weeks now is a very long period of time for a three- year- old to be kept.

So I would say, and anybody else who is listening, if you know anything, please contact your local Police or you can call Crimestoppers as well. The number is 088 555111.

I would support that view. We can forward that information on to the Portuguese authorities via Leicestershire Constabulary.

Sergeant Lee Burns, thank you very much indeed.

Ed, thank you very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ed Lowe

41 Robin Hood Road,
Willenhall,
Coventry,
West Midlands,
CV3 3BA

Telephone: 02476 305385
Fax: 02476 131578
Mobile: 07786 448056
website:edlowecov.blogspot.com

Jeremy Kyle show tomorrow 9:25 a.m. ITV 1

Dear all,

Just a quick note to let everybody know that the jeremy Kyle show I was in the audience for recently, will be televised tomorrow morning (Friday) at 9:25 a.m. on ITV 1.

ed

xx

Ed Lowe

41 Robin Hood Road,
Willenhall,
Coventry,
West Midlands,
CV3 3BA

Telephone: 02476 305385
Fax: 02476 131578
Mobile: 07786 448056
website:edlowecov.blogspot.com

FRIDAY NIGHT IS MUSIC NIGHT LIVE ON BBC RADIO 2 88 TO 91 FM

Hi All,

Here are some more details about Friday's LIVE show on BBC Radio 2

Live from the Mermaid in London, Paul Gambaccini presents the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Roderick Dunk with special guest Jane McDonald.

Listen to the show online, www.bbc.co.uk/radio2

Ed Lowe

41 Robin Hood Road,
Willenhall,
Coventry,
West Midlands,
CV3 3BA

Telephone: 02476 305385
Fax: 02476 131578
Mobile: 07786 448056
website:edlowecov.blogspot.com

Latest news

Dear all,

Hope you're well, I am fine.

Well, what a hectic few weeks it has been for me, I just don't know whether I'm coming or going, but I like to be busy.

While I'm almost finished almost at Uni, just the last few weeks to go.

Thank you to all my studies supporters and academic support team, I truly have the most fantastic team.

I'm delighted to introduce dual a few new people on this e-mail list:

Firstly, Chris Egan, who was in Jane McDonald's bans and orchestras for years, since 1999 right up till 2003.

 

Secondly, Russ Lindsay, who is the husband of the late great Caron Keating, he has his own management company called James Grant management.

 

Thirdly, is Alex who works at in the radio field.

 

Fourthly, and last but by no means least, Sergeant Lee Burns of Little Park Street police station in Coventry, who I have had the privilege of interviewing once before for my university coursework and who I'm going to be interviewing again from my university coursework this Friday.

Events which I'm attending:

Friday night is music night, which is being recorded in London this coming Friday 18th may, one of the guests on the show is the one the only Jane Macdonald, I'm really looking forward to it.

Between this month and next month, I've only got three other events which I'm attending: --

2 g4 concerts on their farewell tour. Also 9th June, attending show in Birmingham where Tina Oberman is performing, all these events I am really looking forward to.

I'll be in touch soon.

Lots of love,

 

 

Ed xx

Ed Lowe

41 Robin Hood Road,
Willenhall,
Coventry,
West Midlands,
CV3 3BA

Telephone: 02476 305385
Fax: 02476 131578
Mobile: 07786 448056
website:edlowecov.blogspot.com