What it was like to be on BBC Radio 1

As you may know, BBC Radio 1 held their first ever Local Hero Week from Sunday 18th – Sunday 25th April and as part of the fun, they only went and asked our very own vTiger to help answer questions about volunteering on The Surgery. Now there was no way we were going to let that pass us by without finding out the insider goss, so we asked him to write a little cameo blog for us. Check it out here:

“So there I am sitting in a basement around the corner from Oxford Circus station on a Sunday evening chatting to Aled and Alexandra Burke about the joys of volunteering. Outside the glass panelled walls Westwood is waving enthusiastically, phone and text messages are pouring in, we’re live on Radio 1 and somehow I need to keep my composure and respond to questions about what volunteering opportunities are most applicable for a young person who is interested in fashion.

It still hasn’t sunk in but last Sunday’s Surgery show will always remain one of my most cherished v experiences. So how did this all come about? Well I think our people had been talking to the Radio 1 people and the VSO people were involved, and possibly a few other people and they agreed that it would be great to profile volunteering and have a Local Hero week. I’ll be honest and say when they said Westwood was fronting it I was a little unsure how things would pan out, but the Big Dog was on top form all week. Cruising around supporting good causes in his beat up A-Team van, with celebrity help from the likes of Scott Mills, Chipmunk and of course Alexandra he helped show the fun that can be had in all types of volunteering. The video clips on the BBC Radio 1 website are definitely well worth a watch!

What was most compelling was seeing that the Local Hero week had really made a massive impression on him and I don’t know what happened on the farm between Westwood and Henrietta the pig but he visibly lit up when recollecting the story on air. I have to say I was a little choked up by the impact the week had on him and as a result made a bit of a hash of answering my final questions. That said I loved it, every single second of it and if you ever get the chance to do any kind of radio seize the opportunity with both hands. Prior to the show I was chatting with the production team and Aled. It was interesting that all of us had gained some experience of radio as volunteers. I used to host a two hour weekly show during my time at Southampton University on good old SURGE FM. I never thought the skills and experience I gained would ever be used again let alone on a live show on Radio 1! Viva volunteering!

Adios, Tiger”

To find out about volunteering opportunties in the media, head to www.vinspired.com now!