Beth Ray Writes

I love listening to the radio. As in I really love it. I am that person who texts in to BBC Radio 2 whenever I have something interesting to say or I’d like a shout out for a friend. Which for a 31 year old woman, seems a bit weird according to some of my friends. I will admit I emailed Scott Mills before his breakfast radio show to say congratulations on getting his dream job. I know it sounds bizarre to some of you (or maybe all of you) to be messaging someone I don’t even know but I feel radio is an important part of me and my daily life. So let me tell you why it is before you start judging.

As someone who works alone and freelance I don’t have the opportunity to chat with colleagues or friends during the week, so the radio keeps me in a routine.
I hear Scott Mills when I wake up, Vernon Kay between visits, Trevor Nelson before the day is nearly done, Sara Cox when I’m driving home, Jo Whiley when I’m making tea and DJ Spoony or OJ Borg when I can’t get to sleep. It brings me joy to hear the different things going on in their lives, to hear that Trevor Nelson was considering adopting a rescue dog (he did), Sara Cox pretending to re-enact Eastenders by ‘chopping’ her microphone muff, Scott Mills telling us he never goes out anymore now he has 4am starts (but he did manage to go to the theatre last weekend) and I like Vernon joking with Janice his producer (whose real name is not actually Janice).

I know you might be reading this thinking it’s all a bit much knowing so much about these presenters but these are the only conversations I hear every day and it gives me something to talk about with my family or husband. It seems I’m far from alone in this radio bubble as a report last week showed BBC Radio 2 has 13.65m weekly listeners, an increase of 2.7% from the year previous. 

So why am I such a fan of the radio at this young age of 31 I hear you ask? I always grew up listening to Radio 2 with my parents but I started to really appreciate the joy of the radio during lockdown.
I was isolating away from my husband in our home because he had Covid and it was at at time where we all were staying in, unable to socialise with anyone outside of our household. I remember feeling very anxious because I couldn’t find any joy in what was becoming a very scary world. Constantly watching the news or on social media it was a very bleak and miserable time for everyone. Then I listened to the radio. It drowned out all of the white noise from social media and the news. Radio was the best escapism. I text in a message wishing my mum a Happy Birthday to Reverend Kate and Jason (early mornings on a Sunday FYI) and they read it out on air. I recorded it on my phone and sent it to mum. 

The point I want to make is, radio is important to so many people as it is the best escapism from our every day worries. When social media and the news can seem so scary it’s nice to turn the radio on and hear the silliness and light hearted stories from everyone who joins in.

Scott Mills said on his very first show as the newly appointed breakfast host:
“The aim here is to make you smile, to bring up your mood, to make you shoulder and head dance in bed or in the shower or in the car or in the kitchen and to keep your spirits up on mornings when you maybe don’t feel so great.[…] I want you to be listening every morning and for this to be your go to place, where you know that Radio 2 is the one that is guaranteed to lift you up, to hear something funny or interesting or an artist that you love or a piece of music that means so much to you.”

For me, the radio is an easy way to find joy in the everyday world and I hope it continues to flourish forever in my lifetime and I hope it never goes away. Thanks for reading, lots of love from Beth in Cheshire.