Blog 43! BRAND NEW lunchtime radio show!

Hi guys,

Just a quick one today to let you all know about my brand new slot on Fly FM, Nottingham Trent's student radio station, starting this week on Friday 1-3pm.

Yes you are extremely lucky! You will be getting 2 whole hours of me every single Friday afternoon on Fly FM. What could be better.......???

Unfortunately the ever so popular Midweek Pick Up has been hit by the change in schedule and someone else will be taking that slot on every wednesday afternoon.  But never fear you gain an extra hour of me, with the latest tunes, chat, games and of course a sprinkle of special shows such as my successful acoustic session.

New additions include: Cupid's arrow, Dad's tip of the week, Approach Friday, Album reviews and lots more.......

So get excited, I sure am! Friday afternoon's are about to blow your mind! Tune in this Friday 1-3pm and every Friday from now on same time, same place for Fly through Lunch with Alex Blakemore.

CLICK THIS LINK TO LISTEN IN: www.flyfm.co.uk/player


Thanks guys, cya

Alex

Blog 42! Wolf Of Wall Street - Film Review

The Wolf Of Wall Street - MOVIE REVIEW

If you love a bit of sex, drugs and rock and roll, this film is for you! Grab your coat and wallet because this film is brilliant!

The plot although graphic (Hence the 18 age certificate) progresses fast which is surprising for a film that lasts 180 minutes. It is full of outrageous characters who all have the same motive money; doing anything they can to get their hands on cash. The plot has a lot of characters but in a film where you could easily get lost, Leonardo Dicaprio shines like never before in a role he was made for. If he doesn't win an oscar for this, I am afraid to say the poor guy will never win one. You feel every step of  his mental obsession with money and greed, along with the moments of madness later in the film. It is clear this movie was focused around his role and he is what makes this film one step above the rest. 

With that said, the moments of humour are well positioned and will make you crease with laughter on regular occasions. Unlike many films, The Wolf Of Wall Street doesn't force itself to be funny, creating a good balance throughout. The narrative is clear through monologues explaining thoughts and feelings of Jordan Belford (Played by Dicaprio), connecting the audience directly to the film and the character. 

There are moments in the film where you want to hate Jordan for his greed and attitude towards women, but for some reason I could not help but feel sorry for him on many occasions as his reliance on sex, money and drugs took over his personality causing his personal life to collapse in front of his eyes. In most films the good copper is usually likeable and you want him to win out in the end; but with this film I didn't want Jordan to be caught. 

It's difficult to say anything negative about this film because it is truly one of the best films i've seen on the big screen for a very long time. But to be picky, Margot Robbie (Plays Jordan's wife in the film) struggles to be believable and is outshone by Dicaprio's brilliance. Her forced accent can be irritating at times and I found it difficult to connect to her character during the film. 

I can't say much more without spoiling the film for those of you who are yet to feast your eyes on it.  It does not have long left at the cinema so I urge, almost beg, you if you haven't seen it at the cinema to go and see it. The big screen is a major factor in a film like this and it is not one to be missed! 

This film scores a solid 9.5/10 from me and is a must watch for anyone who loves a film that gives you humour, passion and a great story. Value for money and a real experience is what The Wolf Of Wall Street gives anyone! SEE IT NOW!

I'll be back soon

Alex :D

Blog 41! Acoustic session live in the studio with Josh Battram!

Hi guys,

Today was the day! I presented my Midweek Pick Up show on Fly FM, Nottingham Trent University's student radio station.

I had a live acoustic session with Josh Battram in the studio and it was incredible. If you missed out then don't worry, I have edited the best bits from the show on my mixcloud and I will put the link at the bottom of this blog!

The show was a real success and I had a large audience, so thank you for listening and giving both myself and Josh your support, it made it a great show.

There was real excitement in the lead up to and during the show, it gave me a real buzz, something which I always love and one of the main reasons why I am so passionate about radio and my possible future career.

Below are some pictures of Josh performing in the Fly FM studio, it all looked very professional!

 

It was brilliant to have some live music on my show and the feedback I received was very positive. I enjoyed offering you guys something a little bit different and I had a lot of fun during the show today.

Make sure you tune in next wednesday 3-4pm for your midweek pick up: www.flyfm.co.uk/player


In the mean time I leave you with Josh's performances in the studio today and the link to the mixcloud from today's show, which includes Josh's session and the usual fun and games.

Thanks guys :)

http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/fly-highlights-5th-feb-2014-live-acoustic-session/


Josh Battram performing live in the studio!

 

Blog 40! Exciting radio show on Wednesday!

Hi everyone,

This is my first blog in a while but I will be back soon when I start producing news stories again with written versions of my stories. Watch this space :p.

Just a quick one today to let you all know about my Fly FM radio show on wednesday 3-4pm UK time. This week (5th Feb) I have a live acoustic session during my show. Now this is completely different to what I usually do during my show and it's going to be brilliant. Josh Battram will be coming into the studio to perform 2 songs live for you guys so make sure you tune in.

I will also be taking pictures and recording it, so it will all be up on my blog in the coming week. He is an amazing guitarist and plays in a band in Boston, Lincolnshire called Scapa Flow. It's an exciting time to be doing something a bit different on my show and it would be great if you could all tune in and listen to some amazing live music.

On tuesday (4th Feb), a video of world record week will be going up on the Fly FM website, showing me taking part in the baked beans challenge. I had to eat a can of baked beans as quick as possible and I have to say I aced it. Something to make you laugh on a tuesday evening.

The link for my show on wednesday is as follows: www.flyfm.co.uk/player 

The link for the video is: www.flyfm.co.uk

I hope you enjoy my show on wednesday and you are able to tune in, it's going to be brilliant.

Once again thanks for you support as always

cya soon,

Alex :)

BLOG 39! Fly FM!

Hi everyone,


Just a quick one this morning to let you know about my new Mixcloud page, which I will be using to upload podcasts and the latests highlights from my Fly Fm radio shows.

I will be back with another blog from 6th December, once I have met my first uni deadline. Sorry for the lack of blogs recently.

So for now follow the link below and listen to my latest Fly Fm highlights, certainly worth a listen.

 http://www.mixcloud.com/alexanderblakemore/

cya

Alex :)

Blog 38! 'Education charity shop'!

With Christmas time approaching many retail shops are setting themselves up for one of their busiest times of the year. For many students the thought of charity shops has never been at the forefront of their mind. I decided to investigate the world of charity by visiting two of Nottingham's stores.

The charity shop Mind, on Mansfield Road, Sherwood, is a charity that works with people with mental health problems affecting 1 in 3 people within the UK. They don't just work with the patience themselves, they support family's and give meaningful work to people who would not be able to get paid work for various reasons. This very important charity focuses on an issue that is close to many peoples lives. Assistant manager of the Mansfield store Jackie Chapman spoke to me about the importance of the shop and donations for the charity at christmas time. 

She explained that "It's particularly important at christmas time to support charity shops, because like most stores that's when we get most of our income. When you go into a charity shop to spend money or to make a donation you are automatically supporting people who are less fortunate than yourself." The support you give to mind over this christmas period will help them continue to support patience and their families suffering with mental illness. 

Mind takes a wide range of donations: Small electrical goods, children's clothes, toys and ladies and gents wear, books, DVD's, CD's. This creates a diverse range of products to sell to customers giving a wide variety compared to high street stores. Within the shop nothing is wasted, "If we find an item of clothing that is not suitable for sale we have a rag man who pays us so much per weight of bag. We have a similar system for books via world books, who pay us per box. We are the ultimate recycler, everything is used." The effort put in by the volunteers is a major part of the shops success and without their support the shop would not be able to sort out the best donations. 

You may now be convinced that shops like Mind are vital in the community but why should you shop charity instead of high street? After speaking to Jackie it was evident why charity is often a good decision "You get a wide range of clothes and fashions, if you go to a high street shop you will find the same t-shirt in lots of different sizes. What we do is a size 10 or 12 and you get a different range and lots of different era's. I think this makes the shop more interesting." 

Jackie's message to students was clear "Buy from a charity shop because you'll get a bargain"

Oxfam have a similar message "You should shop charity because you can get all kinds of interesting things that are no longer available in high street stores and for a bargain price. At the same time you will be helping a good cause." This was a tip to students from Patrick Wright the manager of Oxfam Charity shop in Mansfield Road, Sherwood. This shop's mission is to "raise as much money as possible so that it can help people in poverty and suffering around the world." 

The world of charity is something that is rarely published and it's important to acknowledge the work that goes into supporting good causes. But they can't do it alone they rely on people like us to help them out in whatever way we can. There are so many way you can get involved and anything you can do is highly appreciated. With christmas approaching why not head down to your local store and have a look at some of the bargains you could pick up. You could also donate something that you no longer need which could be put to better use by the charities.

Blog 37! Home after a busy but rewarding week!

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well and you enjoyed halloween and bonfire night.

As you can probably tell from the title of this week blog I've had a good week and I am writing from home in little old Lichfield. After a busy week last week and coming out with a fairly poor story overall, I was determined to put as much if not more effort in this week and find a really good story. Lucky I did and my week was spend producing a great local story about a women who runs her own business in Carlton, Nottingham. I found the rewarding side of journalism from my experience this week, being able to share a genuinely lovely story which deserves to be heard.

I also had my first Fly FM news meeting this week which was exciting, it is due to start broadcasting again soon so keep your eyes peeled for my news slots and be sure to tune in.

The media has officially gone into christmas mode. I was listening to Scott Mills on BBC radio 1 the other day and he played 'All I want for Christmas', in my opinion christmas songs should not be played till at least December.

This weekend is set to be a good one. I am planning on meeting friends and seeing family before heading back off to Nottingham on Sunday for another week of story finding. It is unbelievable to think I have been at University for 8 weeks and I am already thinking about coming back for christmas. Time has flown by, but I feel very settled up in Nottingham, slowly getting to grips with where everything is. I have always been terrible when it comes to remembering where I am going.

Speaking of christmas, I am looking forward to it more than ever this year as I will be nice to be home, get some money behind me and spend time with friends from home. I think being away makes time with family more special and you realise what you take for granted. The main thing I am looking forward to is having my double bed back for a month.

Enough of me, time to see what's in the headlines:

• The playstation 4 system is due for release on the 29th November, which means I only have to wait 21 days until I get my hands on it. (Exiting news for gamers) 
• The chairwomen of Ofsted has said that two year old's should start school in order to improve their chances. Now in my opinion when you're two you should not be worrying about your 'chances', that age is all about having fun and enjoying your very early years. Leave it to the four year old's to go to school. 

That's all from me this week now just time for song of the week! It's monster by Rihanna and Eminem

I'll be back soon 

cya Alex :)