Daniel has been a member of London’s longest running hospital station since 1990 and held the post of Trustee for 13 years (1995-2008); being responsible to hospital management for the running of the station.
Radio Brockley serves the patients and staff of the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore and Daniel started volunteering after first being a patient in 1986. Since then he has been involved in presenting, fundraising, production, website designing, merchandising and personnel.
Over more than half a dozen major operations later, the marvellous surgeons (including Professor Bentley, Mr John Skinner & Mr Nick Cullen), Staff and Orthotists have kept Daniel upright and he is eternally grateful for their care of him (and patience with him!)
Daniel has met many interesting people and conducted interviews. Two of the nicest were Natalie Cassidy (Eastenders) and Alison Moyet (Yazoo).
Other interviewees who have been heard on Radio Brockley, having been put under the spotlight by Daniel, include Don Foster (Lib Dem Lord), Theresa May MP (then Shadow Minister for Education), Gyles Brandreth (TV/Radio personality), Douglas Cameron (LBC legend) and Boy George (Culture Club front man).
Daniel rates Radio Brockley over and above many other charities. He explains the organisation is self-funded and run entirely by unpaid volunteers. Nobody takes a wage or claims for their time and all expenses are meticulously scrutinised, to ensure donations raised though collections, raffles, car parking duties, mug sales etc are spent carefully, wisely and only when necessary.
Radio Brockley provides a service to the patients and also helps keep young people off the streets, brings people of all ages and from all backgrounds together, it provides a worthy purpose and offers people the chance to learn a new and fun skill. It not only keeps young people off the streets, it gives them the chance to do selfless voluntary work that is great for their CVs and can even lead to professional work within the industry.
The charity has cultivated the careers of many presenters, including
Peter Young (Radio 1), Joe Lemer (BBC Bristol), Toby Friedner (BBC Three Counties), Tushar Macwana (Heart Midlands), Simon Conway (LBC) and Pat Sharp (Capital FM).
Daniel’s highlights include helping to raise thousands in the raffles, generating 40 messages from 40 celebrities for the 40th anniversary, winning gold at the HBA National Awards for ‘Best Speech Package’ and getting away with a show called “the Gee Spot”!
But, for Daniel, the best memories are of the live outside broadcasts he helped plan each Christmas morning and the dedicated band of volunteers that the station could not have operated without. Christmas mornings are not the same any more and are tinged with nostalgic blues. Happy memories!
Radio Brockley is a registered charity, No 253365 and HBA Member 190.
