To New Orleans
New Orleans is a very special place to me, and to the World Have Your Say team.
It was from the in the French Quarter that we broadcast our first out-of-studio, on-the-road, programme in March 2006. It was seven months after Katrina ravaged much of the city including the beautiful and soulful jazz venue. I also spent a lot of time with one of our listeners Carole who took Anu and I to her destroyed home.
Since our New Orleans debut we have broadcast from Detroit, Washington, New York, Portland, Columbus, Boston, Cleveland and Atlanta in the States, from Soweto and Sandton in South Africa, from Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana, from France, Turkey, and all over India. We've run around with mics hearing from you, our listeners, in schools, churches, offices, taxi ranks, universities, in the middle of crowds, at people's houses, nightclubs, cafes, restaurants…
But the first five minutes (we opened with a bit of live jazz) at the Preservation Hall will, for me at least, not be topped easily.
Anyway, enough reminiscing, some very nice radio people (opposed to they WHYS team who are just averagely nice radio people) invited us to come back to New Orleans to the and do our programme from there on the 19th July.
A very long meeting followed with several members of staff not wanting to go but eventually we decided that some of us had to make a big sacrifice and leave the rain-soaked pavements of central London and tap dance our way to the French Quarter in NOLA.
Well ok, it didn't happen like that, the invitation arrived with whoops of joy and a big bun fight to see what producers got to go. I didn't. I'm not bitter. Well ok, I am. But through gritted teeth I'll wave off Ros, Mark, Rabiya, Anna, Peter and James (our technician) in a couple of weeks.
I am still organising it (sounds fair hey?) so if you want to come along to the show, take part, be in the audience, tell us your views on the stories in the news, or suggest your own idea - please email me directly (please make sure you are available on Thursday 19th July between 11.15am and 1pm and can get to the French Quarter). If you have a story idea, or a suggestion for what the team can do on their short stay, send us your top tips - please post at the end of this. Last time I experienced gumbo and biscuits and gravy for this first time....(and you thought I was done reminiscing!)
And finally whilst I was away from work for a few months my friend Carole in New Orleans moved jobs and I've lost contact - Carole are you out there?
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