You might have heard me on Radio 2 recently...

As trained journalists, 1284 was invited to be part of Jeremy Vine’s lunchtime show when the BBC came to Leicester for Radio 2 in the Park. 

It was an opportunity to reach a national broadcast audience - and a combination of my broadcast training and “Leicester accent” landed me the gig from George. 

I spoke to Jeremy about Martha’s Law. It wasn’t easy doing the serious section of the show as glasses clinked in the background and a busy Old Horse bar celebrated the city's successes.

But it was a valuable chance to acknowledge and discuss something that will hopefully make a meaningful difference to patients’ and carers’ experiences.

Being invited onto a national radio show demonstrates the importance of getting a local take on the news agenda.

It also shows why 1284 remains alert to social, economic and political issues in the news - even if its no longer us putting the newslist itself together.

Our media experience gives us a deep understanding of East Midlands media and political landscapes. 

It helps us start meaningful conversations that move projects along and aids us when navigating complex stakeholder relationships.   

Jeremy and the team put together a great show that really set the tone for a wonderful weekend.

His other guests that Friday afternoon included familiar local faces including Sam Hagger, Phil Hackett, Peter Shilton and Leicester’s Punk Collective for Mature Women. 

Then, on Sunday, George and I took in the show itself. At a pre-show BBC brunch we heard from Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2. 

She told us about trips to Bobby’s as a child (and a planned return over the weekend), as well as the small matter of the impact that live events like Radio 2 in the Park can have on local economies. 

A similar event hosted by Radio 1 elsewhere in the UK was found to be responsible for a £3m tourism boost while the show was in town. 

The Radio 2 event tickets sold out in 8 hours with 60% of those buying tickets were East Midlands-based. 

The two-day event saw more than 70,000 people head to Victoria Park to watch headliners Tears for Fears and Kylie and a line-up featuring countless others including Simply Red, Soft Cell, Rick Astley, Sam Ryder and James Blunt.

It was great to have a small role in welcoming it to the city.