PEARLS 3 Radio Presentation and Production Course
 
PEARLS 3 trainees completed the course at Desi Radio in Southall in the summer of 2008.  Click on the links or buttons below to listen to some examples of their work (in MP3 format):
 
Or click here for information about the trainees and their particular interests.
 
You can also visit the PEARLS Showcase 
or click here to find out more about the PEARLS course itself.

Interviews, features, PSAs and reports

	Breakthrough Breast Cancer interview - by Jasdeep Bains  Jas Bains interviews Sean Cobley, volunteers manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, about volunteering at the charity.  She began by asking what Breakthrough Breast Cancer does.   Listen (5' 54")
	Interview with the director of the Freud Museum - by Matina Grebener Matina Grebener interviews Michael Molnar, the director of the Freud Museum in Hampstead.  He talks about Freud's departure from Vienna and his period as a refugee in London.  This interview is also available on Camden Community Radio, where Matina is a volunteer. Listen (4' 16")
	A trip to India - by Prakash Kaur Hanspal  Prakash Kaur Hanspal reads her report about her trip to India with some of her family. Listen (1' 01")
	Interview with GP Penny Sowden - by Narinder Dosanjh Polyclinic is a term which we are hearing in the media with increasing frequency (for example, see BBC News). To move to this system of GP-led health centres would involve a change in the way NHS patients are cared for and one which could potentially affect us all. Narinder Dosanjh talked to Penny Sowden, a GP, to find out more. Listen (5' 55")
	Feature:  Cycling for Girls  - by Emily Chappell This feature came together during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing - I was inspired by the success of Great Britain's female cyclists and wanted to find out about other women on bikes in the UK. I spoke to lots of different people (and gathered far more material than I could actually use) and ended up realizing that cycling is a girl's game after all! Listen (7' 34")
	Interview by Surinder Kaur Bharj Surinder interviews Julia, a solicitor from Trinidad. Listen (1' 37")
	Wapping - by Zoe Spencer Zoe Spencer reads her report about the Wapping strike. Listen (4' 04")
	PSA (public service announcement) - by Kamaljit Dhanjal Kamaljit's PSA is about adult education. Listen (0' 35")

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Trainees:

	Jasdeep Bains Hey :) I'm Jas!  I'm studying psychology at the moment at university.  My future aim is to become a special needs teacher for children who have autism. I always wanted to do something with radio, so, one evening I was surfing the net, came across this course and signed up for it. This course has been a great learning curve, both on a professional and a personal level!
	Surinder Kaur Bharj I am Surinder Kaur Bharj. I am a retired social worker.  I enjoy my retirement. In my spare time I am registered with a modelling agency.  I also do volunteer work to visit isolated patients and visit sheltered accommodation to do the translations when needed. I enjoy swimming, yoga and socialising.  I enjoy being with my grandchildren when they are on holidays. I am training to be a presenter at the radio station (Desi Radio) in my spare time.
	Emily Chappell People have been telling me for years that I should be on the radio, and this summer I finally decided to take them seriously! The course was quite an eye-opener. I quickly realized that I am far more interested in producing than presenting, and have all kinds of ideas for documentary features I want to make. I already have a BA in English and an MA in Gender Studies and Indian Literature, so I’m looking forward to changing direction over the next few years, capitalizing on the experience I have so far, indulging my natural curiosity and pushing the boundaries of what can be done on the radio.
	Kamaljit Dhanjal I am Kamaljit Dhanjal (nickname Jeeti). I am working as a presenter at Desi Radio two days a week. I enjoy working with our community.  My hobby is writing stories. I also enjoy music, sewing and cooking.
	Narinder Dosanjh Having worked part-time as an IT tutor whilst bringing up my young family during the previous 8 years, I felt a change was on the horizon. I spent a year indulging my passion for writing for children only to discover that I have a passion for writing of all types including comedy, short stories and particularly poetry. The radio course was the icing on the cake this year in that it allowed me to further indulge myself.  I felt my Scottish accent worked really well on tape!!!!  Not only did I learn a massive amount of new skills, but also managed to catch up with and interview one of my favourite poets, Daljit Nagra.  (You can click here for my report and the interview with Daljit on the BBC London website.)   Since the PEARLS training, I have gone on to complete a Master of Arts in Creative Writing Studies: Creative Writing in the Community and have been offering bespoke workshops to local schools, government and community groups via www.poetivity.co.uk. I hope to continue with my Radio presentation work as soon as time allows.
	Matina Grebener My background is mainly in freelance media translation and I have done some print journalism as well. I have been grateful for the opportunity to learn many aspects of broadcast journalism on the PEARLS 3 course to expand my portfolio. In addition, I am always curious to meet people from all over the world and as I am from Germany originally, a country that used to be divided, it has been particularly interesting for me to meet women from the divided Panjabi area. Thank you everyone for the great experience!
	Prakash Kaur Hanspal I have been a radio presenter with Desi Radio for the past five years. I present the Gurbani Programme (which means religious programme) on Monday and Wednesday mornings from 7am-10am. I enjoy writing poetry and short stories and have written one for broadcast on PEARLS 3 called "A Trip to India". This story was written after a trip that my sister and I took to India in January 2008. I prefer to write in my mother tongue which is Punjabi.
	Zoe Spencer I'm semi-retired from work through my own choice.  I was a lithographer (printer) for the past twenty two years.  I was one of very few women lithographers in the national newspaper industry.  Now I'm looking for new dreams and opportunities to chase.  Desi Radio certainly has educated me in one of them.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience here.  Thank you Desi Radio.

TThe PEARLS courses are funded by the London Development Agency (LDA) Opportunities Fund 2007-2010
The audio on this site is hosted by London Link Radio, using the Canstream service from the Community Media Association. 

Desi Radio