So that time has come again – the domestic football season is heading for its exciting climax although of course this year we have the excitement of the World Cup to come as well.

This weekend it’s the turn of the Football League to come to its end with the last matches of the Chapionship all kicking off at 1pm on Sunday afternoon.  We’ll have all the news throughout the afternoon.

The following week, 9 May, it’s the Premier League’s turn, so to make way for our coverage of those last matches, this will be the last Sound of Sunday for a fortnight. 

 Our competition is a rollover from last week and there’ll also be the return of the Brain Teaser.  Superman 1940s Style is the last episode of the current story.  A new story will start in June. 

All the other regular features will be there as well.  Live from 1.30 this Sunday.

I am on air this week – this time a week ago, I was due to be going to Epsom Hospital Radio for the afternoon, but plans change ad that’s now been put off for a few weeks until May.

So this week, as well as all the usual, 5 Premier League football matches and a copetition rolled over from last week, we’ll reveal who is the most requested artist on HRB of the first three months of the year.  ill it still be Take That who topped the2009 charts, or maybe Queen who were 2008’s favourites, or maybe Robbie will reclaim the number one spot he held throughout the naughties.

We’re on the air on Sunday from 1.30 until 4 and Harry Robinson will play the next episode of the current Superman 1940s style story between 4 and 5.

We’re back on air on Sunday at 1.30 with the 80s Triple Play competition rolled over from last week.  There’ll be news of the Premier League football as the season comes to potentially the most exciting point and of course requests and dedications in Music on Demand. 

Quiet Quarter of an Hour, Show Biz and Entertainment and Memory Makers – The World Cup Years also feature in what is probably the last show for a fortnight. 

You can email the studio as well – studioone@hrbasingstoke.co.uk

We’re live at 1.30.

Good luck to everyone doing the Swimathon this weekend as well.

The Sound of Sunday is back live this weekend with the return of all the
regular features,  It’s a big footballing Sunday with both FA Cup and
Premier League action, so we’ll have news of all of that.

Two chances to win, Superman 1940s Style and Eurovision‘s Greatest Hits in there as well and the first of our new series – Memory Makers The World Cup Years remembering the songs that were hits during previous world cups.

We’ll also repeat our Duncan Goodhew interview 7 days ahead of thousands of people raising loads of money in the 2010 Swimathon.

Finally, after the death of Malcolm McLaren, a reminder of one of his biggest hits.  It sounds like a great song for a sunny weekend!

It’s been quite a year for HRB which exactly 12 months ago started with the official opening of our brand new studios by Simon Parkin along with Sophie and Rebecca Hyde and of course Stan the Town Crier of Alton.  It was very fitting that the clip from our Station of the Year entry that was played as Alan “voice of the balls” Dedicoat read out the nominations at the National Hospital Radio Awards last weekend, was Stan doing his thing at the official opening.

When Radio Academy Chief Executive Trevor Dann read out the name of Hospital Radio Basingstoke as the Bronze award winner at the National Hospital Radio Awards, it rounded off a very satisfying year for the station.  We have a strong team of volunteers, more live request shows than we had a year ago and more new members about to get their chance to join the programme rota. 

So this week on The Sound of Sunday, which will be the final day of National Hospital Broadcasting Week, we’ll play our Bronze award wunning entry in full and look ahead to some of what we have in store over the coming months. 

All of that plus the regular features for Sunday afternoon.

Sunday from 1.30 on HRB.

When The Sound of Sunday started, John Major was Prime Minister, interest rates were in double figures,and we were in the midst of Gulf War 1
Phillip Schofield and Gordon the Gopher wwre dominating TV screens every Saturday morning and EastEnders was only 6 years old.  Simon Mayo was on the radio reading out listeners’ confessions every day and Chris Evens was on TV every morning.

19 yeas on and the state of the economy dominates the news once again as
well as the aftermath of the second Gulf War.  Interest rates are at their
lowest ever figures.  EastEnders has just celebrated its 25th anniversary
whilst on Saturday mornings, both BBC and ITV may have virtually given up on the traditional Saturday morning TV format, but Phillip Schofield will soon be back on TV on a Saturday once again as “This Morning” gets a
weekend slot – in the afternoons!  Simon Mayo is still on the radio reading
confesions (but at the other end of the day) and Chris Evans is still doing
Breakfast (but on the radio).

So 19 years on, this Sunday on the show, Carol Vorderman talks about maths, Duncan Goodhew talks about the national swimathon and Hospital Broadcasting Association President June Snowden looks ahead to National Hospital Broadcasting Week, which starts with the National Hospital Radio Awards on 27 March.

Talking of which, for the first time, I’m off to the National Hospital Radio Awards next week, so this weekend will be the last SOS for a fortnight.
 

Sound of Sunday shows seem to be ever more packed these days, so much so that we couldn’t even squeeze in Carol Vorderman in the end last week!  She’ll be on next Sunday instead.

This weekend..Jamelia talks about bedtime storytelling and comedian Russell Kane talks about pub quizzes.  Plus all the regulars including the latest on Sunday afternoon’s Premier League football. 

We’re on HRB live from 1.30pm.

After the excitement of last weekend’s Carling Cup final, the FA Cup takes centre stage this Sunday and all local eyes will be on Reading who have made it to the quarter finals for the first time in 87 years.  They take on Aston Villa at home in a 1.45 kick off.  Andrew Cheal will be sending back regular reports from the home of the Royals. 

The other quarter final is Chelsea v Stoke  kicking off at 4pm.  The favourites will be Aston Villa and Chelsea to progress from the afternoon’s games, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is an upset in at least one of them. 

On this week’s show Carol Vorderman talks about World Maths Day, plus all the regular features including our two regular competitions. 

Finally, very sad news this week that regular Sound of Sunday contributor Dennis Rookard sadly passed away on Friday. 

Dennis was well known throughout hospital radio and in his home town of Brentwood in Essex, he did much work with Essex Radio, Pheonix FM and the local talking newspaper.

Through Hosiprog, he continuted to contribute to many hospital radio statios through a large number of plays, short stories and features, with his Myths and Legends feature being a regular on the show for many years and his plays and short stories being a part of Harry Robinson’s afternoon show on HRB.

He will be sadly missed by all those who knew him and came into contact with him, a fact shown by the number of tributes written on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&ref=nf&gid=354848413912

The Sound of Sunday has been running for nearly 19 years (we’ll be launching our new website for our birthday in March) and during that time, sport on a Sunday has become more and more important. 

When we first started, there was the odd Sunday football match, but nothing like what we have today.  No Six Nations rugby either.  We did have cricket of course in the summer and of course the formula 1 season has always dominated Sunday afternoons during the summer.

Nowadays, there is football every Sunday, sometimes 5 or more Premier League games, and we get to have reports from them all thanks to the team at IRN.

This weekend, we’ll be live at Wembley with our reporter following the first big cup final of the season – as Manchester United and Aston Villa battle it out for the Carling Cup. 

There’ll be a preview of the match and 3 reports live between 3 and 4, with another 3 on Harry’s show that follows between 4 and 5.  We’ll also be at all 3 of the afternoon’s Premier League matches. 

As the year goes on, other events to appear on a Sunday will include the World Cup football, and of course the new Foruma One season starts in a matter of weeks.  The last day of the Premier League is the big footballing Sunday and the busiest-all 10 games all kicking off at once with almost non-stop reports from around the Uk for around 2 hours.  We’ll await with interest that day in May!

Also on the show this week, we’ll squeeze in all the regular features including Myths and Legands and Superman 1940s Sty plus Phil Tufnell and Barry Morgan from the Basingstoke Lions.

All live from 1.30 on Sunday.

No show this weekend – David Bristow sits in for Sunday afternoon.  We’re back on 28 February with reports live from Wembley at the Carling Cup Final between Manchester United and Aston Villa kicking off at 3pm.  Phil Tufnell will be on the show as well.

In the meantime if you want to find out about Basingstoke Male Voice Choir and their CDs, call Les on 01256 414842.

For information about the Basingstoke Lions Swimarathon at Basingstoke Sports Centre on Saturday 6 March, call Barry Morgan on 01256 358008 or email barrybmorgan@btinternet.com.