How Bona To Vada Your Dolly Old Eek!

The removal van has left Pease Pottage, heading for Castlereagh Street, which means that from Jan 26th, Peter Young is returning the Soul Cellar to its rightful Sunday lunchtime slot – 13.00 - 16.00 on London's Jazz FM 102.2 (The show is also available via the station's Internet feed).

PY promises: "Vintage Soul and R&B in the first hour. Followed by the best of the new and a sprinkling of classics from the Jazz, Soul, R&B, Blues and Gospel persuasion. The show will be the same as before and so will the jokes!" Most reassuring to know!

Following the untimely passing of Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees, many newspapers (who should know to check their facts), failed to realise that he was indeed Manx and not born in Manchester, as most of the media has mentioned. The following is from Manx Radio (14th Jan 2003). (Bernie Quayle has a daily late evening show on Manx Radio. Many thanks to Doris Squires of Port Erin for alerting us to this story.)

A remarkable series of events has secured a Manx flag to drape the coffin of Maurice Gibb at his funeral in Miami on Wednesday.

The Bee Gees did have a flag in their Miami studio, but it was a little worse for wear, and they wanted a new one in time for the funeral.

But the problem was time and flight connections, and with just 36 hours to go, it was looking impossible. The Bee Gees' personal manager telephoned Bernie Quayle's wife at 11 o'clock last night (Monday 13th) with an urgent request for a Manx flag.

The message was passed to Bernie, who was broadcasting a special tribute programme to Maurice at the time, and he made an appeal over the air for anyone in Florida who might have a Manx flag.

Alan Cotterill of DMS in Douglas, called in with the number of his cousin Tony Brown, in Florida, saying Tony had a brand new flag. Former Manx resident Tony was able to arrange for a courier to deliver the flag. He was very moved by the Gibb family's offer to replace it with a new one, because they wished to retain the one used at the funeral.

Press Release from IMIB on the way ahead for the 279kHz Longwave Radio Station

Mast objectors lose court battle

The High Court has dismissed the Petition of Doleance brought by the Bride Commissioners against the Department of Transport's award of a Siting Licence for the long wave transmission facility in Ramsey Bay.

The Petition raised seven objections to the licence, most of which were dramatically withdrawn halfway through the court hearing. The Department of Transport as landlords of the seabed are responsible for all activities taking place on or over it and the Bride Commissioners claimed they ought to have been consulted, as the platform will be only four kilometres from their coastline.

It was pointed out in court that an extensive Environmental Impact Assessment showed that there would be no effect on the parish other than distant views of the installation. Suggestions of a risk from pollution had been proven unfounded by a study conducted by leading oil industry experts.

The Commissioners had sought an order quashing the licence however, the Acting Deemster, Jeremy Storey, had agreed that such an action was not for the court - it could only decide whether the process of licensing was right and, if appropriate, order the Department to reconsider. Finding that the Commissioners' legal rights had not been improperly infringed or impaired and that they could not satisfy an important legal test of being a "party aggrieved", the Acting Deemster dismissed the Petition.

"It's good news for Ramsey and good news for the Island," said Paul Rusling, the project's founder. "We can at last get on with building the facility and get the radio station on the air. Dozens of new interesting jobs will be created mostly for locals and with real training."

IMIB CEO Paul Rusling, DJ Dave West and Marine Operations Manager Capt James Connolly examine the chart of where the platform will be sited Background: The village of Bride is in the north-east of the Isle of Man (see map above). Because the island is self-governing, it is able to provide more direct contact with the populace than other governments might. A Petition of Doleance allows an individual or group to question a government department's, (or staff member's) action or decision which the petitioner feels is illegal and will have a direct effect on him or herself. The platform will officially be called 'Caroline Island' on marine charts, in due deference to the original location of Radio Caroline North, close by. The studios and offices will be situated in Ramsey, the island's second largest town. The platform will also be tendered from there. www.longwaveradio.com Ramsey Harbour where the station's tender will be based

Buzzcocks 100th Edition features Radio City DJ

The 100th edition of BBC2's spoof TV music quiz, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, will be repeated on Sunday 12th January, 2315 -2345.

The anniversary show is not only graced by the presence of the Radio London Webmasters' favourite Two-Hit Wonder, John Otway, but ex-Radio City DJ, Woolf Byrne.

Woolf can be spotted on the far right of the 'Guess the member of the Dave Clark Five' Identity Parade line-up. He is a musician, in addition to being a DJ and actor and was a member of David Bowie's early backing band, The Manish Boys, alongside Big L, DJ John 'Purpleknees' Edward.

Mary and I first met Tom "Sea Poodle" Collins, (real name Terry Nicholas) at the end of Walton pier. The reason for this meeting can be found in Part One of Mary's report of the 1997 Big L RSL. He presented himself as an affable chap with a beard, who definitely had strong views about the state of radio. His own report of the broadcast can be found here.

Keeping in contact after the RSL in 97 presented no problem, as his enthusiasm for the whole Radio London revival spilled over to regular long phone calls about what could be done to bring Big L back, and discussing memories of the 60s stations.

When Mary and I started our website, Poodle was one of our most vociferous enthusiasts – almost to the point of embarrassment! He thought what we were doing was great, and as we started to make contact with long-lost jocks and unearth facts, figures and photographs of Radios London and Caroline, he credited us with being 'archivists', which, 400 web-pages later, I suppose we are!

Terry's enthusiasm for radio meant that he was involved in the RSLs run by Oracle Broadcasting that took place in Reading, where he used to live, with a view to there being a new station in competition with '210' and other local stations.

To those who knew him, he was one of radio's eccentrics. Say hello to Kenny for us, Terry.