It's that time of year.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR!

It's that time of the year when I'm always reminded about why I do what I do at Stafford FM...

The journey to getting Stafford a licensed full time FM radio station has always been one of the most challenging things I've ever done, but I always take huge pride in the achievements of the team going all the way back to the days at Gaol Mews, in 2001.

There's a real story to be told. It's been an emotional rollercoaster and although it's been awfully difficult at times, winning the license is probably up there with the day my kids were born! However, the ensuing hard work, struggles and mentally challenging months before we took to the air was a real battle. It's almost as if the easy part was winning the license - but the toughest ask was getting Stafford FM on air. It took months of preparation, late nights, early mornings and lots of encouragement from others. No one more so than my mum. She's no longer here now. Mum passed away from dementia in 2020, although that only seems like yesterday.

Do you ever look back through your life and ask yourself, what have I actually achieved? I do. It's sometimes quite hard to pin point what 'successes' you have had in life. I look around and see lots of people cracking on with life, taking pride in the homes they've created or the memories they are making - and then wonder about my own life. My 2 kids are my greatest achievement (cliched, I know!), but second to that would have to be getting Stafford FM a license. Make no mistake - it was a team effort, but people come and go. The whole thing has been one big life lesson. However, there are people who have been around me the entire time, and then there are those who have drifted off. That's often down to other commitments or the fact it can be all consuming, but there was one constant mainstay in my life during that period who understood it, got it and supported what we were trying to do... that was my mum. I do think out of everything in my life, my mum was proud of us getting Stafford FM to air. In fact, she loved Stafford FM. She enjoyed watching it launch, listening to it and seeing it grow. I often remind myself that mum would want me to do it. She believed in the radio station and what it is we are trying to achieve with it - but she also believed in me. I'm sure she's looking down on us right now tapping her foot and singing along to whatever it is we're playing!

I sometimes find myself looking at the launch day photos from the Market Square, only because I can see her face in the crowd watching and waiting with anticipation at the launch. That fills me with joy (photo).

It all sounds a bit corny to most people I would guess, but I do miss her dropping me lunch off when I'd been there from 4:30am in the morning. 

So many memories of Stafford FM past, but here's to the present and the future!