Sylvia and Hilary were invited to appear on Radio West Suffolk on 24th July 2024 to have a live chat on air with the host Adrian Copping ably assisted by Allan Prigg.

They were advised to arrive 15 mins ahead of schedule and were greeted by Allan Prigg who welcomed us and made them feel at ease explaining what the procedure would be.

After a cup of coffee they went into the studio where Adrian Copping, the radio presenter, was seated behind a bank of TV monitors and microphones and lots of technical equipment. They were sat in front of him, each seat having a set of special headphones and big dish speakers and were told to put on headphones and watch for the red indicator lights which showed when they had to keep quiet or when they should talk. They received a cue as to when they were LIVE on air.

Adrian introduced them both to his radio audience and the chat began. He was very friendly asking questions about Upbeat and how we operate and what we do. They told him about the origin of the group and mentioned the winning of the Queen’s Award received for Voluntary Service. They discussed the heath options and the value that Upbeat brings to the community.

They also discussed Debbie Carthy’s recent Wing Walk sponsorship and the money she raised, currently over £1100, and they told him how grateful Upbeat were for the support and help given by supporters and particularly local company, Treatts for their help and assistance. They stressed the importance of new members to enable us to continue and stated how anybody interested in joining Upbeat should ask their GP if it was ok to attend and to check the Upbeat web site and make contact with us via that or they would receive a warm welcome at any of our sessions.

It was a half hour talk which seemed to go very quickly and hope many people listened and that they got the message out to the wider public about Upbeat.