SoundTown
A beautiful morning in Dundee as we make our way through the northern outskirts of the city towards Baldragon Academy - home to our new SoundTown project. First impressions mean a lot and so it's good to see pupils waiting at the front door, ready to greet and direct the various guests who have been invited to the launch ceremony.
Our radio events team is busy arranging micophones and scanning the running order. They're minus one member - Becca - who has been smitten with some kind of stomach bug and left in a hotel room to perish...er, rest and recover.
I'm shown into the classroom which has been converted to a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ radio studio and I meet the headmaster George Laidlaw and various members of staff . There's also a good turnout from the council's education department which is encouraging. The award-winning school choir pipes up with a fantastic rendition of an African song, complete with split harmonies and percussion.
Clearly there's talent here.
Then Spike, our audio engineer, flicks on the red light and we're live on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Scotland. It's working! Roving reporter Richard Cadey describes the scene and orchestrates the applause. He spot two uniformed policemen in the audience and jokes that they have come to arrest him.
"Yes, that's actually true," one of them retorts in a voice so deadpan that Richard is un-nerved.
Baldragon pupils Calley O'Connor and Mark Stevenson are ushered to the microphones and told they will soon be interviewing celebrity guests. Yes, it's those singing twins from the Big Brother house. No...I don't know who they are either.
A little later I'm sat in front of the microphone, speaking to Fred MacAulay (who is back at Pacific Quay) about local golf courses. I mention Carnoustie and Monifieth and Fred begins to suspect I might actually know something about the game. I have to admit - to the Nation - that I only play golf on the Playstation.
Enough nonsense. We cut the red ribbon and our fifth SoundTown project is up and running. Even better, poor Becca, who has actually spent weeks organising all of this, makes a brief appearance.
Time for another song.
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