February 2011 Newsletter
Hello and welcome to the February edition of the Cue and Review Recording Service update this has been sent to you by email just to keep you informed about the progress being made on our studios. If you meet any of the team past, present or future let them know what we are up to. We are hoping to invite you into our new space by Mid March
Scottish Women in Business
Scottish Women in Business are a networking group based in Glasgow. Each year they ask their members for nominations for our Charity of the Year and this year Cue and Review – Print Speaking to the Blind was nominated and successful for the year September 2010 to August 2011. Throughout the year they take £1 from each person attending each of their events and also hold a charity raffle at Christmas and in the summer.
Click this link to go to their Charity of the Year page on their website. Liam McCann our Development Worker went along to the SWIB dinner where he is pictured with Jane Meneely President of Scottish Women in Business.
Mairi Morrison, Business Development Manager at Sense Scotland and a few other SWIB members are planning to run the Women’s 10k to raise funds for Cue and Review - Print Speaking to the Blind. We will shortly be opening a page on workwithus to enable people to sponsor the team.
Refurbishment Progress
For those of you not on Facebook or Twitter we have since October not been producing any cassette material from our studios. Our last update told you that we had been able to organise another builder Ross Craig to come in to deal with the mess that had been left by Sterling Choice when they left us in the lurch.
Ross has now completed the work on what is now known as the event space as you will see from the photographs we have shrunk the size of Alastair’s former office, increased the size of the front office and totally removed Morag’s office. All the walls have now been re-plastered and painted magnolia, ceiling and skirtings are now white. The wall between ourselves and the electrical company next door has been rebuilt meaning there is practically been no noise seepage coming from there space. New Laminate flooring has been put down throughout and brand new toilets and washbasins have been fitted. Ross will also shortly be completing work on our new kitchen area enabling cooking smells etc to be kept in one space.
Ross will be coming back towards the end of February to remove all carpeting and fittings from the studio area and then install a new acoustic treatment system. Liam will give you more information about how the new studios are going to be working.
Our electrician Colin Dickson who had previously been used to do electrical refurbishment on the top floor has come back during January and February and found that the wiring used by the first builder had been mixed with the old wiring this has now had to be stripped out and new wiring installed. We do now however as you will see from the photograph have a fancy new lighting system in the event space this will be repeated in the studios.
Michael Adams who previously used what we knew as the store room for his storage last year has kindly come back to as he thought make minor adjustment to the fire alarm system. Michael has told me that in effect other than the wiring within the office area everything else is going to have to be reinstalled. MJA Security in Bishopbriggs has kindly borne much of the cost of this; they have also reinstalled our own security system which will make a huge difference in the future.
Bishopbriggs High School Reunion Fundraising Event
Past Chairman Andy Lenihan of StageStorm Productions is organising a fundraiser for us. If you were atBishopbriggs High School during the 1980's this could be for you. You need to join up to the dedicated Facebook page to let Andy know you are interested. Post old pictures, post stories about your days at Bishy High. Meet old school mates or get your revenge on people that stole your wham bar! Invite all your school chums and once we get enough members we will organise the High School Reunion Party Night 2011 Bash! All profits from the event will be donated to Cue & Review (The Recording Service for the Blind) So get out your rubiks cube and spread the word.
Strathkelvin and Bearsden MP visits Bishopbriggs Media Centre
During the visit our local MP spoke with Corporate Modelling Ltd and with G.A Johnston Associates who both highlighted some of the issues surrounding local business.
Future Jobs Fund - Fraser McIlroy
As the newest start to the charity I have been involved in many fundraising events since I started at the beginning of December 2010. When I started I was working with Katy, Kenny, Scott, Liam, and Mark, its now just Mark and I as the others contract has come to an end. I’ll be with the team until May, last in last out. We have been working in office 10 above the studios from where Alastair has sent us out to gather signatures for the petition to secure funding from the Lottery to help with the radio project. This involved working online gaining interest that way and also on the streets of Bishopbriggs armed with nothing but a clipboard and pen we have not done badly as over 300 people have now pledged their support. Working with the rest of the team I have been involved in sending away applications for funding for our charity. During December the snow and the builders caused us to have no way of making it to work for a productive day so instead we worked from home.
Studios
The most exciting part of our refurbishment for those of you who present and produce at Cue & Review, is by far our new studio equipment. It is ordered and on its way, and will ensure we have the most versatile space possible going forward. For example, our new mixers that are fully integrated into the PC and software meaning that it’ll be even easier for you to learn new skills than previously thought. We will be installing 22” touch screens alleviating the need to use a mouse all the time. Our new microphones will be on angle-poise arms, making it easier for you to get the best possible position to record – meaning less time is spent correcting mistakes or perhaps audio that hasn’t been recorded properly. To give you an idea what the equipment looks like, see below:
The above will be installed in what was the old Studio 1 and Studio 4 spaces (far left and far right doors) with Studio 1 becoming our main hub of activity for any internet productions or radio we will be doing. The Studio 1 desk will now face the opposite wall, linked to the large (previously disused) studio that was being used as storage. A new window is being installed here to link both studios. The middle two small studios will be utilising our old equipment for the time being meaning we will have up to 5 fully equipped spaces that can record our whole range of audio services.
Whilst things will certainly look different from the past, the techniques you have been taught over the years will still be crucial in the new setup. There will be small changes in how you actually record your works, but the main skills required will be very similar.
We have also ordered new ‘on-air’ and ‘record’ lights outside the studios so that, unlike the past, you won’t have to deal with people opening the door halfway through a sentence to see if you’re still recording.
All in all, our new equipment will keep us bang up to date with the rest of the digital world, and means we will be able to record so many different kinds of programming – internet radio, talking newspapers, commercial production, podcasts – the list goes on.
Podcasts
We have once again written to the Evening Times and Herald owners Newsquest and in particular their Group Digital Editor Calum Macdonald regarding the business not just the accessibility sense of them promoting our audio recordings of their newspapers. We are not just envisaging the odd advert which they have been kind enough to do. We are now looking at them working with us to enable a daily service of at least one if not both of their newspapers and for these to be actively promoted on their website. Some of the more local Newsquest titles have been doing this for some time. We have also been advised by the circulation verification people ABC that podcasts figures can count towards circulation figures for the publisher.
Youth Club Member Starts Own Business
Former volunteer and member of our youth club Amy McMurray has started her own business anyone looking for flowers and a bargain have a look at the following. Newly established florist in Glasgow’s trendy West end. Delivers stunning flowers in Glasgow and surrounding areas. Call Amy for more help and prices 0141 945 2115 Quote Cue and Review and receive 10% extra.
Tireless Fundraiser Cycles on By
The Cue and Review fundraising team and Blairgowrie lost one of its characters on July 25 with the announcement of the death of Martin (known to local residents as Hamish) Kinmond. Hamish was indeed a little different. His old fashioned appearance, slightly unkempt, was something that local residents had come to expect and accept.
He was a well known local man who was known for many reasons. He kept a weekly running list of all results in Blairgowrie and District Darts League for many years and there must be many jotters lying with darts players’ names and scores covering many years.
His fame spread with regard to his annual jam making and many jars of Hamish’s very acceptable preserve would be distributed throughout the town.
Without fail every Christmas time a large box of groceries would arrive at various addresses in the town via the co-op delivery service, a gift from Hamish to people who had, in various ways, shown kindness to him during the previous year.
Tireless
A side from Hamish unknown to many was his tireless work to raise money for a charity called Cue & Review, which is dedicated to producing newspapers for young blind people. Over a period he raised, on his own, over £7,000 for this most worthy cause.
There is no doubt that this colourful man who negotiated the roads around the town on his tricycle often raised the ire of passing motorists.
But then we all have our little idiosyncrasies, and it is with warmth that we should remember this quite unassuming person who made a worthwhile contribution to society in his own manner and style. He is gone but not forgotten.
Bishopbriggs Directory
With the funding to help us to promote the charity coming as part of the Third Sector grant we now have the opportunity to reach out to more people in East Dunbartonshire with an advert appearing in the Bishopbriggs Directory. This is a high quailty A5 publication hand-delivered to over 12500 homes and businesses in the Bishopbriggs, Torrance, Colston, Auchinairn and Robroyston areas of Glasgow. The two page advert is promoting our www.blindweatherlottery.co.uk along with the transcription service and the offices to rent.
Rebranding our building at the suggestion of the past Chairman as the Bishopbriggs Media Centre should also help raise awareness with the new signage in place.
