Radio Cambridgeshire Features

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Andie Harper, Friday 3rd July

Carol has not been too well this week but hopefully she will be back on Monday - thanks to everybody who has pitched in to keep the show on the road.

Andie Harper

Despite the hot weather the response has been great and Facebook in particular is going from strength to strength. There have been many stories this week which have originated on Facebook and if there is anything you would like to know more about don't hesitate to get in touch.

Among the major topics we covered this week which were first brought up by listeners were the application of suntan lotion in schools, passports, Ronnie Biggs and a lack of  indication by drivers.  As you will see there was plenty of variety so don't discount anything.

One thread which did start on Facebook, thanks to Bob, is the music we play. Apart from the three tracks in the Audio Vaults, which are chosen by me, the rest of the music is from the BBC Local Radio playlist and is selected by the computer each day. Here are the songs which featured this week.

Mon: Patti Scialfa - Loves Glory; Bob Lind - Elusive Butterfly; Badly Drawn Boy - You were Right

Tues: Elbow - One Day Like This; The Lemonpipers - Green Tambourine; BabyBird - You're Gorgeous

Weds: China Crisis - Wishful Thinking; Barry Ryan - Eloise; Mark Knopfler/Emmylou Harris - Donkey Town

Thurs: Divine Comedy - National Express; The Cranberries - Dreams; Soul Asylum - Runaway Train

Fri: A Flock of Seagulls - Wishing (If I had a Photograph of You); The Paragons - The Tide is High; Men Without Hats - Safety Dance

Andie Harper, Friday 26th June

It's been another good week for us with some terrific stories to get our teeth into. As ever, many stories came from you, including a call from Brian who came home from holiday to find large trees in the grounds of Murray Edwards College adjacent to his property had been felled without his knowledge. We sent our reporter Jozef Hall to look into it and he discovered that a property which had once been home to Emma Darwin (Charles Darwin's wife) is also scheduled for demolition and that the residents aren't happy. We await developments.

Other stories included Johnny Dee encouraging the people of the Fens to grunt, a way of identifying slower drivers, the decline of the town centre and of course the death of Michael Jackson.

We are grateful for all contributions and it is fair to say that we get as many comments on our Facebook page as we do by text or email. We have over 350 friends on Facebook and you would be more than welcome. It is also a place where you can see retro pics of me thanks to underhand work by my partner Christine and Carol - two women I thought I could trust!

On Thursday and Friday in the Audio Vaults we played tracks by artists headlining at Glastonbury this weekend but here is the complete list for this week's Vaults.

Mon: Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes - On the Verge; David McWilliams - The days of Pearly Spencer; GW McLennan - Haven't I been a Fool

Tues: The Beautiful South - I'll Sail This Ship Alone; The Fortunes - Caroline; The Broken Family Band - Walking Back to Jesus

Weds: Roger McGuinn - You Bowed Down; Tony Tribe - Red Red Wine; Hothouse Flowers - Alright

Thurs: The Specials - Ghost Town; Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal; Doves - There Goes the Fear

Fri: Status Quo - Paper Plane; Neil Young - Bound for Glory; Bruce Springsteen - Where the Bands Are

Andie Harper, Friday 19th June

On Thursday we heard a sad tale from John who lives in Peterborough. When his cooker broke he was unable to afford a replacement and as there appeared to be no official help he has tried to manage using a camping stove only. This proved to be not satisfactory and so he turned to us. John is 70 years old and has worked all his life but he is one of many with no savings and he had no idea where to turn.

You can listen to his story here, if you missed it on our show:

His tearful story affected many listeners and we were inundated with offers of practical or financial help.

Margaret of Fulbourn has a new cooker which she has offered and Les from Pro Clean has said he will provide a van to transport it. We are really grateful to them both and when it makes its way to John's home we hope Johnny Dee will be accompanying it.

To be fair, there are many agencies which could have helped John and I think that the relevant government agency should have pointed him towards them rather than just turning him down. Many listeners said how much the generosity of others has restored their faith in human nature at this time of spurious claims for  expenses made by many MP's.

Talking of M's expenses, Janet sent me this poem…

I want a floating duck house
I want to clear my moat
I need to mend my tennis court
That's why I need your vote.

I have to build a portico
My swimming pool needs mending
My lovely plants need horse manure
And the Aga needs much tending

A chandelier is vital
Mock Tudor boards are great
My hanging baskets won awards
And I've earned a tax rebate.

I need a glitter toilet seat.
My piano so needs tuning
Maltesers help me stay awake
And my orchard must need pruning

I could have said the rules were wrong
And often thought I should,
But somehow it was easier
To profit all I could

The public really have to see
That the rules are there to test
And by defrauding taxpayers
We were just doing our best

The Speaker of the House has gone,
Our sacrificial beast,
But the public are still braying
For our corpses at the feast

What do the public want from us,
Those vote-wielding ingrates?
They really should be grateful
To be financing our estates.

The message is so very clear,
(we're merely learning late)
That the British way of living well
Is to screw the b****y state.

You can hear that poem from Friday's show, together with another report on MPs' expenses prepared by our own Mousumi Bakshi here:

If you are holidaying abroad beware bogus websites charging you for an E111 health form was the warning we received from John  but then we received this from Helen.
It's not been E111 for a while now - it's the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) -

It's part NHS/ part government Dept of Health and is a little credit card style thing rather than those unwieldy A4 forms you used to have to get from the Post Office.

Get it from the NHS website:

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/Pages/About.aspx

Finally, here are this week's Audio Vaults tracks

Mon: Kevin Johnson - Rock& Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life; Otis Redding - These Arms of Mine; The Flying Burrito Brothers - Wheels

Tues: Green on Red - Little Things in Life; Percy Sledge - Warm and Tender Love; Richard Hawley - Serious

Wed: Bob Dylan - Rainy Day Women nos 12 & 35; Pinkertons Assorted Colours - Mirror Mirror; Glenn Frey - Part of Me, Part of You

Thurs: James - Waltzing Along; OMD - Electricity; Clout - Substitute

Fri: The Cure - Friday I'm in Love; Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger - This Wheel's on Fire; Garbage - Stupid Girl