Volunteers

"I joined KTN when it was still at the planning stage and interested people were sitting around Mary's kitchen table.I joined the magazine side(we used cassettes in those days).

We used to meet one afternoon a week in someone's house and the recording equipment was kept in that house for a month and then moved to the next house. Gradually we had so many volunteers that we had to split into two groups and meet fortnightly.

The magazine has a mixture of different articles, recipes, poems and sometimes interviews with local people. I usually produce a fortnightly recipe with tasters for my fellow readers. We have a lot of fun on the magazine side and I think the best accolade comes from a listener who said " I feel as though I am sitting among friends when I listen to the recording."

Tricia Scammell
Committee Member

I volunteered as a reader on the news team over fifteen years ago. I was amazed at the number of people involved with producing the recordings each week. Back then a rota of presenter and three other readers join the technician in our studio where the editor has already delivered the local news cuttings. Half an hour of news is recorded and the presenter then helps the technician to make copies including the magazine side which was recorded in the afternoon. These are then delivered to the sorting office where, early next morning, our postal team pack and mail them to our listeners.

Now the process is very similar except that in about 2013 we switched from cassette tapes and now all our recordings are digital and go out on memory sticks. We supply a memory stick player on loan to any listener who requires one.I have made good friends through KTN and we have many laughs - and the occasional drama - as when we were flooded out of a previous studio in a big freeze! The studio moved to my house for almost six months before we found a new base in Saltford. We often get letters from our listeners and I know we are appreciated as a local service.

Sarah Barrett
Presenter for the news team