Up Our Street Autumn 2019

GET INVOLVED
Iftar in the blocks
Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims end their
daily Ramadan fast at sunset and it is a great
way to bring a community together. In Easton
we have a growing tradition of such celebrations
with Grand Iftar at St Marks Road now firmly
established as a yearly event. Local residents
Hawo and Fadumo were so inspired that they
decided to hold their own event outside Twinnell
House and Wills Drive in Easton.
Pat from Up Our Street has been working with
residents in the blocks for a number of years,
and supported the group with the event.
Digilocal in the dings
Young people in the Dings will get the chance
to learn computer coding, thanks to DigiLocal,
which has 17 volunteer-run tech clubs around
Bristol. The Dings Community Association
applied for an Endowment Fund
grant to get the tech club started,
as they were concerned that there
wasn’t enough for young people to
do in the area.
As the Dings is right on the doorstep
of many of Bristol’s tech companies,
DigiLocal was keen to recruit
volunteers from the industry to share
their skills with the local community.
When Up Our Street popped in, we met Arlo,
Lily and David, who work for Delaware, an ICT
company with offices in Temple Quarter. They
are now volunteering regularly at the Dings club.
Pat says: “Hawo, Fadumo and other women
from the blocks prepared an amazing feast
for all. On this particular Saturday, Iftar was to
begin at 9:21pm and when around 9pm we
started putting everything on the four tables
we borrowed from the community room, we
realised that we were not able to fit even half
of the food prepared! All the chairs then had to
be repurposed as additional small tables and
every bit of space was taken up by the trays, hot
dishes, flasks and bowls.”
“We brought 100 plates with us but towards
the end even that wasn’t enough and some
residents had to run home and bring their own
plate. It was fun and a real privilege to be part
of this event. Hopefully some new connections
were forged during this special evening. And I
hope that the amazing hospitality of the women
who worked for days to prepare a meal for all
the neighbours will be long remembered in the
block.”
Do you have an idea to bring your neighbours
together? Contact pat@upourstreet.org.uk or call
0333 023 5463 (calls charged at local rate) to find
out how Up Our Street could help.
They showed us how to use Scratch software
that teaches the basics of computer coding,
which you can use to make simple games and
animations.
There are spaces for up to ten
young people aged 8 to 14, and it’s
free to take part. The club will run
all year round at the Safe ‘Ouse in
the Dings Park on Wednesdays from
6pm to 7pm. DigiLocal is always on
the look out for volunteers. John
Bradford, Digilocal Coordinator
is keen to stress that “some
confidence with a laptop is useful, but you don’t
need any particular coding experience, more an
understanding of problem solving.”
Contact john.bradford@digilocal.org.uk to find
out more.
People volunteer in their community in all different ways.
What does volunteering mean to you? Share your story with Up Our Street, get in touch with
Tamsin on 0333 023 5464 (calls charged at local rate) or text/WhatsApp 07903 089 002
Volunteer powered radio
How many volunteers does it take to run a radio
station? Up Our Street caught up with Pat Hart,
presenter of the One Love Breakfast Show and
Chief Executive of BCfm, one of Bristol’s longest
running community radio stations to find out
more.
“Everyone at BCfm is a volunteer” says Pat. “And
as far as we know, we’re unique in community
radio in having a dedicated news team. They
are all volunteers who cover five days a week
seeking out local stories, researching, deciding
what the mix of local and national will be, writing
scripts and reading the news.” There are currently
14 volunteers working on the news team.
BCfm has 70 different shows, featuring local
people from all walks of life. “Where else would
you have a presenter like Rosabell from La
Ventana Latina (The Latin Window), which is a
bilingual Spanish/English show interviewing the
Extinction Rebellion protestors?”
“We’ve also trained up our presenters to use
mobile phones to record interviews, so you get
that really immediate on the spot reporting with
unique voices.”
Pat is also keen to give a shout out for the team
that you won’t hear on the airwaves. “Without
the tech team there would be no BCfm. Around
eight volunteers do everything from keeping the
computers running and the transmitter working,
to the logistics of outside broadcasts at events
like Bristol Pride.”
Training has always been an important part of
the ethos at BCfm, and we can hear the pride
in Pat’s voice as he lists all the BCfm volunteers
who have moved on to paid work in local and
national media. He also tells us that a certain
Marvin Rees honed his presentation skills in the
early days of BCfm.
It seems like a long time now since those early
days. Born out of a short-term project, BCfm
secured its community radio licence in 2007 and
began broadcasting from the Beacon Centre. The
station moved to Easton Community Centre at
the end of 2017.
With several awards for BCfm on the shelf to
prove it, it’s clear that the station really cares
about the quality of the shows they broadcast.
“It’s got to sound good” explains Pat “people
have to want to listen, not because it’s a worthy
community thing to do, but because the output
is good. We’re proud of that professionalism. It’s
part of taking the community seriously.”
Pat is also keen to stress that diversity isn’t just
a buzzword for BCfm “We like to mix people up
from different parts of the city, to bring them
together on our shows. We’re part of Bristol and
we aim to represent all aspects of city life. It’s an
open door here, if you’re prepared to come with
an open mind and to listen to other points of
view, then BCfm is for you.
Want to find out more about volunteering at
BCfm? Contact steve.shepherd@bcfmradio.com.
Tune in to 93.2fm or listen online bcfmradio.com
Up Our Street hosts a show all about Easton and
Lawrence Hill on the third Monday of the month.
Our next show is 22 September, 2pm to 3pm.
GET INVOLVED
8 Up Our Street Autumn 2019 www.upourstreet.org.uk www.upourstreet.org.uk
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