Hello! Once again, it's been a busy couple of weeks on the show with discussions about all kinds of subjects provoking a response from you. Amongst other things, we've looked at using mobiles whilst driving, Derby's development, how hard it can be to get a GP appointment, the games played in school playgrounds and the new bus lane on Duffield Road in Derby.  | | Ashbourne's shrovetide football |
There was also lots of coverage of the Shrovetide football in Ashbourne and the moving tale of one former drug addict from Derby who has kicked the habit thanks to a spell in rehab. One highlight for me though, was being cooked a Thai seafood curry on the show by a chef trained by Jamie Oliver. You might have seen Taz Robinson from Derby on the "Jamie's Chef" TV show! Did you catch me on the telly the other day? East Midlands Today were looking at one of my hobbies - even following me around while I was doing it! If you missed it, there's a link to the video below. What's interesting is the number of people who've come out of the woodwork after it was on who also share the same passion. I've been sent loads of emails from people telling me about what equipment they use! One thing to look forward to is a high-profile competition coming soon to the show. In the week beginning March 12th, there'll be a couple of large travelling adverts for the show moving around the area. If you spot a symbol on them, you could end up as a winner. Confirmed prizes at the moment include Rams season tickets, short breaks away and tickets to the rest of the season at the Derby Playhouse, so keep your eyes peeled that week! Meanwhile, here's the link to the latest exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from the show... Here's a new section on the newsletter. The following web sites have all been mentioned on the Breakfast Show recently... Have you picked up one of the new Rams car stickers yet? They're free and declare your support for Derby County - and what's more, you could end up a winner on the Breakfast Show just for sticking them in your car. You can get them from Shop DCFC at pride park, BBC Radio Derby's reception and the BBC Bus. Do you know someone who would be interested in subscribing to the newsletter? Do tell them about it, they can subscribe at bbc.co.uk/derby in the "Radio Derby" section. By the way, if you missed the Tiffin recipe or the pictures from Andy's 3000th Breakfast Show, follow the link to Newsletter 5. Here's some links to try... What would you like to see on the next newsletter? With weather presenter, Nicola Beswick. "In addition to Andy Whittaker's very own radio window on the weather and erratic personal thermometer, it's my privilege to bring the weather news to listeners of BBC Radio Derby. Honestly, my instruments are better than his, ner ner! "I'm up at 4.15am to be at the Weather Desk for 5.30am. First job, after grabbing a cup of peppermint tea to get me going, is printing off my weather charts for the next 132 hours and logging onto all my weather modelling software, most of which comes from the Met Office website. "At 5.35am I speak to the great Weather Presenters down at Weather Centre in London - the likes of Rob McElwee, Alex Deakin and Kirsty McCabe. We talk through the 'weather story' for Derbyshire and East Staffordshire for the coming 48 hours. "Then it's down to me for the rest of the morning, monitoring websites and the skies; watching satellite pictures, checking weather stations for cloud cover, temperatures, signs of rain and any changes to the story. "I'm kept rather busy through Andy's breakfast show, he likes to keep me on my toes with bizarre stories from the papers and leftfield questions on just about anything! As well as challenges: 'Nicola can you do your next bulletin without mentioning the word "shower" please?!'. (I have to confess, I'm usually better equipped for those awkward questions after porridge time at 7am!). I love being part of Andy's show, plenty of general teasing and hair pulling at times between all of us on the teams from from weather, sport, travel and news - a perfect breakfast menu for me! From the radio car team this time... 27th February - Andy Potter | | Andy Potter on a recent Radio Car job |
It's a big day on the mobile phone front today as legislation changes on their illegal use in cars. Points on your license, fines up and a high profile police campaign reflecting the dangers are all to be highlighted this morning. Dispatched to Burton to observe if these changes are reflected in driving habits, it's remarkable that I spy seven people chatting merrily away in my first ten minutes at the roadside. However this number significantly drops when I change the reporting position to the roadside outside Burton's Police station. It's then back to Derby to cover the opening of a new bus lane on one of the City's busiest roads. It's here that the power of local news and reporting is illustrated at its best. Although there is a pre-arranged interview with the City council, an action group against the changes has already been formed, and they turn up to get a piece of the action, so we get both side of the argument. 2nd March - Kelly Smith | | Kelly's picture of sunrise at Darley Park in Derby |
This morning I'm set the task of being a detective – the subject I'm looking for, Spring. I decide to have a look for my prey at Darley Park in Derby. Despite it being an exceptionally cold morning and being barked at by three dogs (called Heidi, Compo and Nora) being walked by their owners, I manage to get glimpses of my subject. It's a beautiful morning at the park as the frost turns the turf into a crisp white lawn, in the background there's a chorus of birds and I spot a crocus. I venture down a very muddy bank to take a picture of my one bit of evidence that Spring has arrived – what I didn't account for was the huge amount of mud left on my boots that left a dirty trail everywhere I went for the remainder of the day! I also nearly went face down and covered myself in the muck! After I take off my detectives hat I meet Tilly. The beautiful dog who's going to Crufts with her 15 year old owner Maria Terry who lives in Castle Donington. The dog was absolutely gorgeous and it was obvious that Maria loves her very much. She provided great sound effects – barking at Maria’s granddad on cue but like so much in my life didn't pay a blind bit of notice to any of my commands. I asked Tilly to 'Sit' and she just looked at me as if to say 'go make me'. Maria asked and she dutifully obliged! In the last newsletter, I asked you what you'd like to see in this one. Paul wanted to know "what the coloured rectangles at the bottom of the screen represent. They have titles such as: 'chilled', 'lazy' and 'serious' - I think I'd put myself in the middle category there! Also, are the smaller boxes immediately above these for the different presenters to use - I noticed that different shows appear on these." These are known as "jingle tabs". All the presenters here at BBC Radio Derby have a range of tabs that they use and most of them have different musical "idents" on them. These are the bits of music that identify who you are listening to. The words lazy, and chilled are just ways of distinguishing between the different jingles. "Lazy" is quite laid-back sounding and has lots of saxophone, whereas "groovy" is quite upbeat. | 
