Week three... "Welcome to the final week of my blog here at BBC Lancashire! It’s been another exciting and action packed week here in Blackburn... I started the week by interviewing new playwright Lesley Anne Rose about her play Home Fires in Lancaster. The play is set in the present day and during World War Two and you can see the interview with Lesley Anne on our Features section. On Wednesday I spent the day with the BBC Bus in Blackpool. Sue Hendey picked me up at 8am so we could get to Blackpool to do an interview at the Solaris Centre by 9am. I’ve been getting to Blackburn for 10am everyday so having to get up at 7am was a bit of a shock, I couldn’t believe how dark it was! I’m going to really enjoy my last four months at university before I have to get a full time job and wake up when it’s still dark. It just shouldn’t be allowed. We arrived at the Solaris Centre early so there just time to have a quick brew to warm us through before going into watch the exhibition for the future plans of Blackpool sea front. I have to admit the DVD we watched was quite an eye opener with some ideas more bizarre than I could have imagined. Giant pink flamingos, 20 foot donkeys and life size snow globes that really snow on you. Don’t be afraid though there were plenty practical and exciting ideas too. The final decisions depend upon your vote so if you live or holiday in Blackpool and don’t want to see a 20 foot donkey outside your window you’ve got until Sunday to cast your vote on the People’s Playground website. Once the DVD was over we set about doing a video interview with the organisers and some members of the public. We had difficulty getting someone to talk to us because people generally see the camera and run but we finally got a nice woman from the café and a young lad who was there talking pictures himself. Nearly time to head back to the bus but first a shot of the sea front. It was absolutely freezing and the wind meant I couldn’t see a thing so it was just as well Sue had the camera. We went back to the bus and had our long awaited lunch before getting back to work. Sue put the audio from the video together ready to go on air that afternoon and I wrote up the cue for the piece. This week the bus is at Grumpy’s in Blackpool and it’s a great place for kids, it has everything you need to be creative and paint and decorate and it’s really cheap. I almost wished I was young enough to join in myself but bought my cousin Adam some great things so that at least he can have some fun. Sally and Chris were getting flu jabs in the centre along with lots of the public assisted my NHS nurses. They were also giving out Chlamydia tests and all sorts of health related things. Sue edited all the film footage ready for the website before we headed off home. Thursday started out like any other day at the BBC and ended in a bizarre blur of women discussing their bras with the bra doctor Sue MacDonald. Sue believes that a better fitting bra can improve a number of health problems from migraines to back pain. She has come up with an alternative bra that defies fashion and works simply to create comfort and better health. It was an interesting experiencing as we all stood around looking at each others chests and comparing notes, jumping on the spot and trying to suss if one was bigger than the other! The meeting was filmed by two post graduates from UClan. Embarrassing. After the excitement of our unusual lunch break had died down it was back to work. I interviewed David Whitaker a farmer and photographer form the Quernmore Valley near Lancaster. As he told me how he some days works up to 14 hours and still has time for his family and photography I wondered what exactly I spend all day doing and how my days seem much shorter than his? Today is my final day! I’ve just been out with Emma who has been looking after me the past few weeks, Lynette and Daniyah for a goodbye lunch. I’ve had a great few weeks and been made to feel more than welcome at the BBC. Unlike most work placements I haven’t made a single cup of tea! So I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s helped me out and a big special thank you to my BBC mum Emma Stanley (she’s not really old enough to be my mum) for looking after me and making me feel very welcome. Cheers Emma!" Week two... "This week at the BBC I’ve been has been a bit different to last week, I’ve been getting out and about more and meeting people from around Lancashire. On Monday morning I completed my interview with Zahid Hussain, Lancashire born author who has just had his first novel, and The Curry Mile, published. You can read all about his new book and life growing up as a British Asian Muslim online now. On Tuesday I set out into Blackburn to ask people what they do to cheer themselves up when it’s cold and miserable in January. Everyone had very different ideas and I got some practice in at interviewing and questioning the public. It wasn’t quite as easy getting them all to agree to me taking a photo of them! In between tea breaks and in depth discussions about Celebrity Big brother (I’m afraid that despite the fact that the staff at the BBC hate CBB we do spend a lot of time talking about it) I also managed to organise a few more interviews for next week. On Wednesday I headed out into the Preston wind to spend the day at the BBC Bus while it was in Avenham. I arrived to be greeted by Sally and Chris who told about what the bus offers to the community and what they do every day. There are all sorts of interesting characters that visit the bus throughout the day to chat to Chris and Sally. Sally went on air at 2pm and it interesting to watch how the show is put together and broadcast from a bus! I spent my time running back and forwards to the bus passing messages from Chris to Sue for when Sue was ready to put her pre-recorded piece on air. Then just as I was admiring the organisation and professionalism of the team there was a slight hiccup. Chris pressed the wrong fader for Sue’s piece and as we were all listening to BBC Radio Lancashire there was erm… nothing. Oops the wonders of radio. After that had been covered up by Sally the show ended and we all all got back to the bus where Sue show me how she edits the video footage that she has of her interviews ready for Emma to put them on the website for people to watch. Another week at the BBC is over and next week I'll be putting together more interviews and features for the website and spending the day in Blackpool with the BBC Bus. I'll also be finding out more about how the BBC works behind the scenes and talking to journalists about their jobs." Week one... "This week was the start of my three week placement at BBC Lancashire. Being a third year online journalism student I’ve been doing work for the website with the help of Web Producer Emma Stanley. I arrived on Monday morning and we started the day with a quick chat and cup of tea in the staff room. I’m returning to BBC Lancashire after a two week placement last May so we have plenty to catch up on. We then went through a list of jobs that Emma had in mind for me before I settled at a computer to begin researching the ideas. The first feature, about dancing as a way to keep fit in the New Year meant I head out into Blackburn town centre to look for a dance school to use. Forty minutes of torrential rain later I found the dance school only to realise it had closed down. So I headed back to the office for a warming cup of tea and to find another dance school. I found a new dance school in Preston and arranged an interview for Tuesday night. The rest of the day was spent chasing up stories about what’s going on in Lancashire over the coming months, from Doctor Who Days to the worlds biggest bird watch for readers to access online. After a nice cup of tea, I went to interview Carol May, a dance school teacher, on Tuesday night, she was very helpful and gave me lots of information on dancing and the best way to get into and enjoy dance classes. I’ve also been looking at how the people of Lancashire can make a good start to 2007 by leaving behind bad habits and acquiring new good ones. Staying fit was the first with the Carol May interview. Lancashire Greenpeace group have also helped me create the top ten tips for you to be environmentally friendly in your daily life. The tips are so simple that anyone and everyone can take them up. I’ve also spent time in the radio studio with Paul O’Gorman on his afternoon show. I sat with Paul while he presented the show and explained to me how the show is organised. There are so many buttons and screens it could take forever to learn exactly what to do! I arrived this morning after my mile long walk to Preston train station choking for a drink (did I tell you I like tea?!) I was greeted my Emma who told me the toilets weren’t working and we had no water. So we’ve spent today running up and down stairs for water and moaning about the lack of cups of tea. Thousands of pounds worth of technology and the office is turned upside down at the prospect of no hot drinks. Next week I’ll be spending time on the BBC Bus in Preston and interviewing Lancashire born author Zahid Hussain about his first novel The Curry Mile." Sarah Athey | 
