Frome FM Out of the studio but still on the air

Radio station Frome FM has been able to maintain its 24/7 radio service and support the community throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, thanks to the dedication of its programme-making volunteers and technicians and the willingness of local people to participate.

With a house-bound audience in mind, new shows were created to keep the listeners informed and entertained during the pandemic lockdown.

Some shows were about the pandemic, others purely for entertainment.

During April and May, Dawn Denton, local social media guru presented Corona Diaries – recorded comments from ordinary people all over the planet about how Covid—19 was affecting them and their countries.

Ida Down, presenter of the live Saturday Sizzler morning show, continued he show during lockdown by broadcasting live from home. Ida also added two new shows to the Saturday portfolio, Family Front Room Disco at 6pm and Classic Belt Outs with Dr.G at 7pm, to keep people entertained and divert the kids on a Saturday. Ida says "Broadcasting live radio from the spare room certainly has had its challenges, not least because the cat insists on walking across the keyboard mid show! However, the response from listeners has been overwhelming, and we've been asked to keep the Family Disco as a regular feature."

Jenna Myles, Winner of 'Best Newcomer' at the National Community Radio Awards 2019, who presents the monthly 'Somerset Cool' show, started a new show called 'The Good Stuff'. It was weekly on Fridays at 8am and Jenna wanted to shine some light into our homes with positive stories from all across the county. Jenna said: "The way our communities support each other always inspires me and I wanted to share some of the brilliant things people have been doing during lockdown."

Frome FM was asked by the UK Men's Shed Association to host a national show, 'The UK Shed Show' during the pandemic lockdown to help 'shedders' in the UK and all over the world meet and talk, as all sheds are closed for safety reasons. The 8-part series ran weekly for two hours on a Wednesday morning. Patrick Abrahams, who started the Frome Shed movement, had this to say, "Frome FM gave us some brilliant support to get the show broadcast. We had nearly 100 people take part in the show, with Shedders from as far afield as Australia, Honolulu, Canada & Iceland, as well across the UK, from the Shetlands to Guernsey. From the feedback we received, it helped listeners world-wide stay connected during the lockdown."

The weekly show for volunteers, All About Frome – Tuesdays at 1200 and 1800 – has delivered 16 shows featuring interviews and discussion with local people about coping with the lockdown, finding alternative ways to reach volunteers and customers, and the effects on children and families during this difficult time. The show was compiled and produced by a team of 5 working from their homes - one in southern France where she got locked down in March!

Chairman of Frome FM, Jeremy Westcott, a weekly contributor with Wednesday's 'Westcott's World', said, "I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of presenting my weekly shows and some specials from a 17th Century threshing barn in Mells. Contributions from real people about the pandemic, on the phone and via Zoom, have been sent from all over the globe including Finland, India, Spain, France, Australia and America giving us a unique insight into this global phenomenon."

Somerset County Council commissioned Frome FM to run a series of radio commercials about support for victims of domestic abuse – an issue that's increased by over 40% in this country since lockdown began in March. The ads are still airing.

Frome FM's studios are 'out-of-bounds' to the presenters and technicians until September, but most programme-makers have set up studios in their homes. Rupert Kirkham, Frome FM's Training Director and Presenter of 'All About Frome' says, "After the initial panic of not being able to use the studios in the town hall, we've all managed to work out (with a lot of help from our technician volunteer team) how to do radio from our own homes. Most of the shows have been pre-recorded, with presenters interviewing people via different apps on their phones and computers and editing the shows together on their laptops. Lockdown has made radio more accessible to more people – producers and listeners alike."

All Frome FM programmes from the lockdown period and the last few years, are available online at the Frome FM website