On Rocket - the Rocket FM blog

So, What Did YOU Think?

2008-11-10T17:23:00.004Z

Rocket FM's 08 season ended on 6th Nov. We aim to improve with every run, so if you've listened or been involved in any way, please let us have your feedback now. We'll listen to every comment and incorporate them into our de-brief session. New ideas and positive criticism are just as welcome as plaudits or flattery!

Comment at the foot of this item, or email: studio@rocketfm.org.uk

HALLOWEEN Live and All Over The Place

2008-10-31T10:47:00.005Z

Rocket's Halloween Special comes to you tonight from downtown Lewes, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Portland, Maine, and Toronto, Ontario! Erin, Kai, Sunny, Annette & Peter talk about Halloween in the New World (where they know how to make it fun!) and play some of the wierdest, strangest music and stories on the airwaves . . . and some favourites.

Rocket on TV...part two [the Deege]

2008-10-27T17:18:00.005Z

PolarNet, who make programmes for NRK, national TV station in Norway, will be returning to Lewes and Rocket FM on the 5th.
Per Henning Dahl of the company has confirmed that a TV crew will be filming again at the Rocket Studio and also in the middle of the town and will be interviewing Andy Thomas about the station and also on the history of Bonfire, for a programme to be broadcast on the 6th.
A picture of Per and info. about their last visit was posted on 18 Oct.
Per has now kindly made available some clips filmed during the visit and you can see then on the PolarNet website.

Rocket all over the world [RLT]

2008-10-21T14:31:00.005+01:00

Bringing Lewes to the world, Rocket FM is heard all over the globe. Check out the world map. When local radio started in Lewes in 1998 little did I think I would be listening in Toronto, Canada. Headline courtesy of John Fogerty, and not Status Quo, keep up!

Rocket on TV ?! [the Deege]

2008-10-18T09:34:00.008+01:00

Rocket FM had a visit from Norwegian TV last thursday, in the person of Per Henning Dahl (pictured), all the way from Trondheim. Per found Rocket FM on the web for his production company, PolarNet, who make films for NRK, the Norwegian counterpart to the BBC.
Per was interviewed on air by Paul W. and the company filmed in the Studio and outside at St Mary's Community Centre and then Andy T. and Paul showed Per around the middle of the town and took him for a pint of Harveys at the Brewers Arms, which he downed with appreciation.
We understand that a film including the Rocket FM clips will be going out on their national television on the 5th...the power of the internet!

Viva Every One Of Them!

2008-10-16T15:28:00.003+01:00

What fine chaps and chapesses the worthy folk at Viva Lewes are. Rocket is top of the list in VL's online edition this week. Here at the Rocket FM Global Broadcasting Complex (and we do have one), we're all feeling truly humbled by such friendly words from such an august organ, and you can be sure it will only spur us on in our efforts to provide Lewes with another season of audio fabness. Online now, on FM this Saturday - get the thing tuned now!

Sussex Express plugs My Rocket Records

2008-10-15T14:58:00.003+01:00

Standby for Dilly Barlow's My Rocket Records, featured in the Sussex Express.

the Rocket blasts off ! [the Deege]

2008-10-13T13:46:00.011+01:00

the Rocket blasted off at 7.00 am on Saturday, 11 October, streaming from the Rocketfm website.
The web service will be joined by the local broadcast on 87.8 FM for listeners in Lewes and the Ouse Valley at 7.00 am bst on 18 October.

We would love you to sign the Guestbook on the website wherever you are listening. Enjoy !

Broadcasters? Guests? Letsby Avenue!

2008-10-07T08:34:00.003+01:00

If you want to present on Rocket, get in touch NOW! There are just a few evening programme slots left to fill, so if you're interested, contact us now on studio@rocketfm.org.uk to get the dates and times. Particularly if you want to feature ANY kind of music that you don't think Rocket already covers, we'll be glad to hear from you. And if you'd like to be a guest on a Rocket show - if you have something you want Lewes to know about - email us at the same address.

9,000 Little Rockets Hit The Town! [the Deege]

2008-10-03T19:00:00.010+01:00

With just seven days to go before the Rocket lifts off, 9,000 copies of the Programme Schedule are being delivered all over the town of Lewes, East Sussex.
If you live further afield, download your copy here.
We began colonising the Studio today and all should be ready for training and testing by the end of Sunday.
Please come to the Launch Social in Lewes next Wednesday evening, 8th October. If you need details of the venue, contact us at the Rocket website.

The Canucks are coming [RLT]

2008-09-30T15:14:00.011+01:00

TORONTO: I'm heading back to Lewes soon for another season of Get Smart on the Rocket.

My guest on November 4 at six o'clock will be Reb Stevenson, former barmaid at the Brewer's Arms, Lewes. Actually we all know that she was working there undercover, as she is a hotshot journalist in real life, on the Ottawa Citizen, now on assignment on a farm in Essex! Not quite St. Lucia where she was recently sent on a travel story. We will find out from this vivacious Canadian lady,when she returns to Lewes for the bonfire season, how she makes those videos all by herself.

You are nobody if you aren't on You Tube nowadays? Which brings me to Reb's brother Zach, one half of the Human Statues duo, on Global TV in Vancouver:

Eric Eggleston has got a new band in Ottawa called Harpoon. They were at the Ottawa Bluesfest over the summer with Kathleen Edwards, who our own Peter Flanagan is much taken with. A regular on the Rocket we'll catch up with him on the phone.

Billy Reid is making waves here in Toronto and is another You Tube favourite. Also spare a thought for Toronto artist Russell Chesham, who keeps getting requests for Rick Astley covers.

There is enough Canadian music here to keep you quiet for a while. I'll be warming up on the Rocket with the papers on Sunday 12 October on the phone from Toronto. You'll be getting the Canadian papers along with the news from Blighty. I'll try hard to find something of interest!

Rupert Lloyd Thomas

Stand By Your Letterbox! (PF)

2008-09-26T20:53:00.003+01:00

It's that time of year - the Rocket FM 2008 programme schedule will soon be delivered, still steaming from the presses, through a letterbox near you! We're aiming to get a copy into every household in the town, so lookout for the big green rocket. Inside are details for the whole 2008 run (apart from Bonfire coverage, which will be available on the Rocket website nearer the 5th) - more than forty presenters bringing you over 250 programmes, full of local views, news and every kind of music. Look out for the schedule in a number of shops, pubs and businesses throughout Lewes too.

Breakfast presenter plays James I [DB]

2008-09-24T22:37:00.004+01:00

Breakfast presenter Dino Bishop is to take to the stage next week in the world premiere of the new Gunpowder Plot musical, Remember! Remember!

Dino, who plays King James I, will be dressing in authentic period costume for the role, complete with wig and (very sticky!) beard. We are even promised a Scottish accent in his portrayal of the monarch, who was the subject of the failed plot by Guy Fawkes in 1605.

Lewes Operatic Society are staging the production at Lewes Town Hall next week, from Wednesday 1st - Saturday 4th October. Tickets for evening performances have all but sold out for the much-anticipated production, but good seats are still available for the 2.30pm matinee on Saturday 4th. Tickets are available from Lewes Travel, 1 Station St, Lewes, or by calling 01273 480127. More details from the Lewes Operatic Society website.

Ofcom Licence Rocket FM for '08 [the Deege]

2008-09-23T19:23:00.005+01:00

Ofcom..the Office of Communications..has again granted Rocket FM Lewes a 'Restricted Service Licence' to broadcast locally on 87.8 FM, beginning on 18 October.
Ofcom replaced the Radio Authority as the body which licences and regulates radio stations in England.
The Licence has to be applied for each time Rocket wishes to broadcast and will cost us £1,400 in '08!
Work on the Programme Schedule is now far advanced and we aim to post the Schedule on the Rocket FM website by the end of this week.

Waitrose renews sponsorship [the Deege]

2008-09-02T15:48:00.027+01:00

We are very pleased to confirm that Waitrose have renewed their sponsorship of the Rocket FM website for a further year. Waitrose came on board the Rocket last year and the manager of the Lewes store Paul Soane spoke live on the station and took questions from listeners. Later in the run, the prize of a magnificent Christmas hamper was drawn and announced on air. Waitrose will be donating further prizes this season, so be sure to listen to the station for a chance to win!
for info. on the Lewes store click here

Rocket To Seahaven

2008-08-20T12:54:00.005+01:00

Rocketeers are on air elsewhere! Seahaven FM are broadcasting for the next four weeks, and RFM regulars Steve Pilfold, Andy Reeve, Andy Thomas and Peter Flanagan are taking their Lewes-honed skills (temporarily) down to the seaside. Seahaven broadcasts to Seaford, Newhaven and Peacehaven, and is hoping to apply for a full time licence in a few months' time.

Steve Pilfold has Breakfast on Seahaven FM, from 7-10am every weekday; Andy Reeve brings his take on Nashville and quite a few stops beyond to his 'Country Shack' on Sundays from 7 till 9pm. And Rocket DG Andy Thomas and Peter Flanagan present further instalments in their finely-scripted and neatly choreographed series 'Guitar Town' - also on Sundays from 4-6pm. What synergy - they get the chance to keep their hand in, so to speak, and you can practice your listening skills too!
Seahaven FM broadcasts on 87.7, and online at www.seahavenfm.com

Rocket Booster! [from the Deege]

2008-08-08T15:50:00.003+01:00

Lewes Town Council have given Rocket a tremendous boost this year with a grant of £1,000. This will enable us to upgrade some of our ageing equipment and improve our broadcast platform.

The Town Council have been a great friend and supporter of Rocket FM since the beginning in 2001 and we take this opportunity to say how much we appreciate it.

Catch Rocket FM on Facebook! [CMG]

2008-08-05T23:33:00.006+01:00

Come face-to-face with your favourite community radio station on Facebook! Brand new from today Rocket FM Facebook Group is open to all our fans, listeners, presenters, volunteers and contributors to join.

Write on our Wall, send us comments, enjoy the pictures and most important of all, tune in! See our schedules on the Rocket FM website.

Hello Website!

2008-08-05T08:18:00.003+01:00

Rocket's blog now has its own space on the website. Catch the latest in the run up to this year's season. See an interesting headline? All you need do is click on through - you'll go straight to the full story. Or use the News Blog button to see all the blog posts.

Funny How Tempus Just Fugits Right On Away

2008-07-25T15:36:00.004+01:00

Busy week on the RFM forward organising front. The first round of emails has gone out to all previous presenters and interested parties, asking all who wish so to declare an interest for the 2008 Rocket season. And a steady flow of replies is trundling back. It certainly seems we won't be short of bodies to fill the schedule. Work has also continued on finding and signing up advertisers and sponsors - the DG and Radio Caro have been actively active on this front. Dino has this very day been fitted with enhanced audio editing capabilities, following on from his successful Ad-producing endeavours in '07. Ruth is assembling Lewes's great and good in an orderly queue outside the RFM Global Broadcast Complex, ready to appear as guests on the Deeby R.O morning show. And 'Wires' Reeve is presently in a holding pattern over Shoreham, concocting ever-stranger schemes to electrify and automate everything in the studio, particularly one or two of the presenters.

Latest: DG & PF yesterday visited the premises of Uckfield FM. Clearly the disguises worked, and they have returned to tell the tale . . .

Societies Fair July 2008

2008-07-21T11:53:00.006+01:00

Here is a slideshow from the Societies Fair '08.

Societies Fair '08

2008-07-17T19:32:00.007+01:00

Rocketeers manned the Rocket stand at the town hall in Lewes East Sussex England on 12 July for the Societies Fair; over forty societies were there..not bad for a town of 17,000!

Some useful contacts were made, including two people who want to do a show on Rocket FM, and the Fair raised a considerable sum for a local charity.

In the picture: Rocketeer Ruth.

Rocket Ru Wins Big In Medicine Hat

2008-07-14T16:44:00.003+01:00

RFM stalwart Rupert Lloyd Thomas is hurtling about North America yet again. Latest news is that he's won a large box of spanners in Medicine Hat, Alberta, kid you not. See if it sounds sane to you - check out Rupert's trave(b)logue at:
http://punchbuggy.blogspot.com/

A Quiz, already.

2008-07-14T16:25:00.003+01:00

Rocketeers are busy and talented folk. Lunchingman Steve Pilfold has a videoquiz for us. In case you were missing that music. Watch the yootoob below, then check out www.whereinsussex.org.uk/blog

Rocket Spain

2008-07-14T15:21:00.004+01:00

Great to see the new Rocket FM blog!

I was busy sunning myself on the Med in Valencia when the email popped into my inbox... Looking forward to hearing all about the 8th Magical Year!

Radio Caro