Roy Lawrence writes…
On the Wirral Peninsula, where I live, we are fortunate enough to have a local radio station which presents programmes with a distinct Christian slant. Its name is ‘Flame’ and I am privileged to have been invited to be a director, trustee and broadcaster.
My own contributions are short bursts of Christian teaching in a ‘thought for the day’ style and can be heard on weekdays, usually at 8.15 in the morning and 5.30 in the afternoon.
Half a million people are able to listen in locally. The station’s existence strikes me as a mini-miracle. There are hardly any funds to run it. All the equipment has been either begged, borrowed or bought at a knock-down price. It broadcasts only by courtesy of a mission church on the outskirts of Birkenhead, which has offered half its premises to the station, and a householder who has allowed the broadcasting aerial to be fixed to a tree in his garden!
The managing director – a remarkable man whose name is Norman Polden – formerly a chartered engineer, somehow offers Wirral a 24-hour broadcasting service, seven days a week, all year round. And although the broadcasters and station staff all work on a voluntary basis, the result is surprisingly professional.
Spectacular results
The station aims to have a healing impact throughout Wirral and beyond and the results are sometimes spectacular.
There was one occasion when someone who had attempted suicide by swallowing a cocktail of pills collapsed to the ground in a coma, pulling a radio off a table as she fell. The radio turned itself on as it hit the floor. The cocktail of pills proved to be not quite fatal and as the coma gradually lifted, the would-be suicide found herself listening to Flame’s gospel message. It both changed and saved her life.
Perhaps less spectacular, but no less significant, was an occasion in the life of one of our regular broadcasters. Her name is Laura and she has multiple sclerosis. She was brought along to the station after having a fall at home. Her husband, David, who has a major involvement in Flame felt he could not leave her at home. So he took her with him. Norman’s response was to invite her to broadcast and in no time at all she found herself on air. She has become one of Flame’s most regular and best loved presenters. You can hear the effect of her MS upon her voice, but it is this very factor that makes her an inspiration to all who are disabled.
Since Flame began to broadcast, the station has made use of five presenters who suffer from one sort of disability or another. They include Beryl, Norman’s wife, who puts together a splendid programme of assorted hymns every Sunday morning from 9.00 till 11.00. Beryl has made such good progress recently that we may soon have to take her out of the disabled category, but she has been one of a highly significant group.
Let me tell you about Andy. He used to be both mentally and physically ill. He felt he could not leave his own house and if he met others he had real difficulty in talking with them. However, one day a friend succeeded in persuading him to visit the Flame studio and whilst there Andy revealed an unexpected talent for media work. To everyone’s surprise he became a regular broadcaster. This proved the means of reintegrating him into society. It led to his involvement in various forms of community service. He found the confidence to become a tower guide at Liverpool Cathedral and also to sign on at a local college as a mature student on a course for drama and stage management. In time he was invited to run the college radio service.
Lindsey’s story is not dissimilar. She had a problem with drug addiction, but a local Christian couple, Graham and Sue, took her into their home. Graham had an involvement with Flame, and he took her into the studio. She discovered an aptitude for the technical side of broadcasting and would often ‘work the desk’, though she always said there was no way in which she would speak into a microphone. However, by accident she found herself doing just that, because when a record came to an end she happened to be the only person in the studio and someone had to introduce the next item of music. To her surprise she enjoyed it, and so did the listeners. Before long she was a regular presenter and found that simultaneously life began to open up in other ways. She joined the music group in her church and is now in some demand because of a newly found talent as an entertainer.
Flame offered a similar lifeline to Clive. Clive’s life was spoilt by a bad stammer. But, strangely, it seemed to vanish if he read poetry. Because he was a talented poet himself he was invited by Norman to host a regular poetry programme on Flame. His programme became a real joy for listeners, and once again the opportunity offered by Flame opened up the possibility of a new involvement in society. He presents poetry evenings all over Wirral. There is a bonus too. Unexpectedly his stammer has come under control and he is now able to teach other stammerers how to achieve this control for themselves.
If you wish, you can listen to him and to some of the others I have mentioned, though I am afraid not to Andy, unless an old programme is repeated, because sadly Andy died in his sleep one night not long ago. If you would like to try the station for yourself, it is not difficult to do so. If you live in Wirral, all you have to do is to tune in to 1521 kHz near the top of your medium wave band.
If you do not live in Wirral, you can still receive Flame providing you have a computer. The station is available all over the world. Just access www.flameradio.org. Towards the top of the display on your screen you will see a long bar bearing the words, ‘On-line click to listen on-line.’ A single click with your mouse on this bar is all you need to bring you Flame Radio on-line. Have a try!
One final thought. If you should listen in and find you have a comment to make, why not phone the station? Its telephone number is 0151 643 1696. Norman Polden really loves to chat to his listeners. And, who knows, the next thing you hear on Flame could well be the sound of your own voice!
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