PEARLS 6 Radio Presentation and Production Course
 
PEARLS 6 trainees completed the course at Desi Radio in Southall in August 2009.  Click on the pictures, links and buttons below for information about the trainees and to listen to some examples of their work (in MP3 format).
 
You can also visit the PEARLS Showcase 
or click here to find out more about the PEARLS course itself.

PEARLS 6 trainees with examples of their work:

Amarjit Dharr   Interview with a former bank manager In the current Economic and financial situation we are bringing you first-hand experience and insight via an interview with an ex-bank manager for NatWest Bank. Listen (4' 32")

	Anjul Dutt I’m currently studying towards a degree in Media and Business Applications at Birkbeck College and will be graduating in 2010. I first discovered the world of radio via a project I was involved in at BBC London run in conjunction with Adult Learners Week in May 2008. I produced, researched and presented a programme about adults learning music and dance (I was fascinated by this subject, being a keen amateur musician myself).  It was an amazing journey which I really really enjoyed. The PEARLS radio course has been an excellent opportunity for me to build on my experience as well as gain practical industry skills to support the theoretical knowledge that I am gaining at university.    Southall Voxpops I asked people in Southall about how they have been affected by the recession. Listen (1' 39")
	Carol Sidney I have loved stories and drama and cinema ever since, as a child of eleven years old, I found myself captivated by Bergman and Bogart in "Casablanca", one late Saturday night on BBC TV, circa 1975. My mother thought I was in bed asleep.  At eleven, too, in a moment of clarity, in the middle of a history lesson, I decided I wanted to become a journalist.  In the intervening years, my dreams of journalism never transpired, but I have studied cinema and film production to Masters Degree level and made my own short films. I am currently finishing a business plan for my own production company and will focus all of 2010 on its development.  My interest in radio comes from my love of stories and now, having completed PEARLS 6, I consider radio production part of my toolkit of creativity. Radio offers a more immediate, very fulfilling outlet, and a chance for me to follow my curiosity and develop my ideas without the more complex practices of filmmaking. I am what I call a `podcast freak', subscribed to over forty shows, and Radio 4 and LBC form the wallpaper to my world.   The Portobello Film Festival - package/interview with Director Jonathan Barnett The Portobello Film Festival, founded in 1996 and based in West London every September, is a free independent festival which valiantly attempts to show all the films that filmmakers submit. In 2009, that will be 700 films. The service it does for ordinary viewers, filmmakers just starting out and British moving-image culture in general, means it deserves as big a profile as the more established festivals such as London, Edinburgh and Cannes.  This is what Director, Jonathan Barnett, had to say... Listen (3' 36")
	Gillian Fisher Having just moved back to London from Lancashire, where I was completing my MA in Contemporary Literature, I was at a bit of a loss to know how to make use of it, especially with jobs being thin on the ground. I attended one of the Women's Radio Group broadcasts and found it really exciting and so decided to come on the course to learn how it is done. I’ve found this experience fascinating and have really enjoyed discovering all the mechanics of how a successful radio programme is put together.  With all the interviewing, editing and presenting experience I feel this course has really helped me to find some direction.   Interview with Dr Chopra With no end of products and beauty treatments promising us radiant and perfect skin, I went down to The London Dermatology Centre to speak to dermatologist and clinical director Dr. Sunil Chopra to find out if everlasting youth can really be found in bottles. I began by asking him if there is any way of avoiding the dreaded spots. Listen (7' 09")
	Jyoti Walia My name is Jyoti Walia. I am married and have three children and live in Isleworth, Middlesex.  I have done a lot of voluntary work for the Metropolitan Police. I was Community Liaison Officer where I dealt with a lot of Asian families and their issues.  In June 2009 I joined the PEARLS Radio training course where I have learnt to make jingles and programmes.  I have also learnt to present a magazine programme with two interviews, advice and an advertisement. I have really enjoyed the course.  I want to be a presenter for Desi Radio.   Interview about arranged marriages Listen (9' 17")
	Kashmir Panue  My name is Kashmir Panue.  I live in Hayes, Middlesex.  I am married with grown up children and have four grand children.  I worked for British Telecommunication in Harmondsworth as a computer operator/helpdesk for 16 years until I was made redundant in 1995. After that I worked for a year with Royal Bank of Scotland, then for 9 years with an Indian company Techmahindra as Application Support until I was again made redundant in April 2009.  In June, 2009 I joined the PEARLS course for radio training. This course has been an eye opener, as I had no idea how the 'Radio World' was working. I have learnt about doing interviews, how to use a Tascam for recording and editing the recording. I also learnt how to prepare a magazine programme which includes lots of interview etc.  I plan to join Desi Radio to present a programme.   Interview with Paul, airline steward I interviewed Paul, an airline steward based at Heathrow.  He talks about his experiences in Punjab and India. Listen (5' 27")
	Mamta Sharma I do voluntary work in a children’s nursery, looking after small children, which I do well and enjoy very much.  For the PEARLS course, I researched the topic of living in a joint family.  This is my interview with Mrs Jyoti Walia and Mrs Amarjit Dharr about living in a joint family.   Interview with Jyoti Walia and Amarjit Dharr Listen (4' 47")
	Paramjit Kaur Sethi  My Name is Paramjit Kaur Sethi. I am married and have two children. I am working with the community for 30 years empowering women and giving training.  I'm a founder member of Hillingdon Women Centre. I served as a non-executive Board of Director in Hillingdon Primary Care Trust for three years and as a councillor for four years on London Art Board for local authorities. One year chair and Vice Chair of Hillingdon Domestic Violence Forum, now I am an advisory member. I have been executive committee member for 10 years of the Hilllingdon Community & Police Consultative Group. I would like to develop my skills as a radio presenter/producer to serve wide range of community.    Interview with Bindu Listen (7' 29")
	Paramjit Toor Born in India, I came to UK when I was eight and was educated in Wolverhampton and West Middlesex.  I am a qualified beautician, aromatherapist, electrologist and beauty specialist.  I worked in an office for the last eight years and reaching fifty, midlife crisis, I  want to do something I enjoy doing which is meeting people and presenting topics on air.  That’s the reason I enjoyed my course in radio presenting.   Interview with Juliet Paramjit interviews Juliet about her work. Listen (1' 47")
	Parvinder Kaur I have always had a passion for the media, having studied Communications at University. The PEARLS 6 course introduced me to all aspects of radio production and presenting. The course has been great fun as I have learnt a lot and can't believe the 12 weeks have flown so fast (just shows how much fun we have all been having). I would recommend the course to anyone who is interested in working for radio.
	Teresa Birks  I am keen to put my diverse work and volunteering experience to good use as a radio producer. I spent many years working in human rights and education in East Timor, Indonesia and Malaysia and have a passion for languages.  The PEARLS 6 course has helped me consolidate previous hands-on experience in radio, for example working on a radio soap opera with Common Ground Indonesia, as a researcher on radio and regional identity in Indonesia at the University of Leiden and as a producer’s friend on a Radio 4 Crossing Continents programme.    Interview with Joyanna In this interview I asked Joyanna about her role as a magistrate. Listen (8' 10")
	Thamasin Marsh  Thamasin’s background is in the arts, media & landscape design. She spent twelve years as a travelling cook, observing humanity & food cultures, organising events for rock legends, film sets, the fading aristocracy of Europe, opera festivals in Italy and for the General Synod. Her cooking career took her from Baghdad to Provence and from Hackney to Scotland. She has appeared in Tatler, the Observer Magazine and on Austrian Television. She writes for the N16 Magazine and her book Magic Gardens for Portmeirion was published in 2008. Her next project is to collect food related memories from people who have migrated across the world and to present them in an audio format.    Interview with a butcher  Thamasin interviews a butcher with a major supermarket, talking about educating the public about meat, especially regarding cooking and understanding its origins. Listen (5' 04")
	Juliet Bawden After studying Textiles at Camberwell Art School I made a living for fifteen years writing craft books. I then moved into print journalism concentrating on homes and interior features. A passion for radio, as both a listener and contributor, led me to join the PEARLS 6 course. The experience has been great fun, and very informative. My goal is to produce packages for talk radio stations.    Tank girl Juliet Bawden interviewed a rare phenomenon: a woman high up in the defence industry. Listen (5' 05")

The 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