I am worried

I am the sort of person who will worry if he has nothing to worry about !

I've been like that all my life but right now I am VERY worried. VERY - VERY - VERY WORRIED !

You can say, I have said, that last SATURDAY at Bletchley Bandstand was a success - we raised £7 towards the costs of Sunshine Smile Day, gave out leaflets and recruited a volunteer for Milton Keynes Winter Night Shelter but the weather forced us to pack up less than half way through the day.


What if we have bad weather on SUNSHINE SMILE DAY itself ?


Lots and lots and lots is planned. Fingers crossed for the weather but what if the sun is shining brightly and nobody turns up ?

We have just eighteen days to go - just eighteen days.  Sitting here in the radio studio - 3.14am - ahead of going live at 6am with two hours of silly music to promote SUNSHINE SMILE DAY and SMILE DISCO I am packing eighteen years of worry into those eighteen days.

I spent all of yesterday afternoon as part of a team reviewing a system being developed for patients to engage with Milton Keynes Hospital via their phones in order to manage clinical out patient appointments.

Our hospital spends TWO MILLION POUNDS a year on

postage and patient letters. If modern technology can be introduced much of this can be saved.

I don't use a smart phone, I tell people I do not want one as I do not want it controlling my life but the truth is I do not know how to use one,

On yesterday's page - CLICK HERE - I questioned how many people I could engage with a press release for SUNSHINE SMILE DAY.  61 people read the blog page.

This is where the PODCASTS stood 24 hours ago.

And below this is were they stand at 3.28am today.

SIX listeners.....

FORTY minutes of playtime...

Probably marginally better than that achieved over the same time period by Radio Boring !

I think we can deduce from this that I am NOT good with social media. I do not see me being able to make the promotion of SUNSHINE SMILE DAY go viral !

I am worried !

I made posters to start advertising everything only to find there was a typo and the wrong date had been put in !

That version is OK isn't it ?

But now how do I get a few hundred out and about to tell

people - to persuade people to come to SUNSHINE SMILE DAY ?

Folks I AM WORRIED !

Anyone got a magic wand they can wave ?

Anyone who is better than I am with social media able to sort it ?

Anyone able to take some posters and display them ?

I am worried I will not be able to find the people we need to take away my worry.

Oh well !

5am to 8am this morning I will be live www.crmk.co.uk with LET'S INSPIRE.  I need someone to inspire me to stop worrying.

Them 6pm to 8pm this evening www.crmk.co.uk I am covering the show DECADES.  I am worried I will let the regular presenters down by not having a big audience.

Hello - is there anyone out there ?

Did you take time to read yesterday's blog page ?  CLICK HERE

103 people on social media read the PRESS RELEASE as I try to promote SUNSHINE SMILE DAY. Our local newspaper did not get back to me following the e-mail.

Blog figures since I started writing the page towards the end of 2016 are quite good.

Today is the 800th edition. Divide 91,118 by 800 and you get..... 113 and a bit as an average for the day.

Yesterday's page did not even attract an average readership. Oooopppppssssss !

Yesterday was my 134th show on crmk. I did not have a great audience and so far nobody has listened to the podcast !

857 podcast listeners divided by 134 = 6.4 - yesterday's podcast did not even attract one !

This week I am broadcasting a total of 22 hours on the radio.  My normal five early morning show, I am covering DECADES at 6pm on Wednesday then doing a 10 hour show overnight Sunday to Monday.

I'll be live in an hour with today's show: www.crmk.co.uk.  Once done it will be 4 hours down - 18 to go.

I am not going to promote today's show and I am not going to tag anyone into this blog page when it is published.  Let's see what happens.

We are supporting some fantastic and wonderful good causes - FAR better than the commercial charities which enjoy zillions of supporters and cash so why am I struggling to engage people ?  What am I doing wrong ?

Am I sad ?

No, not really.

Am I worried ?

YES BIG TIME !

SUNSHINE SMILE DAY is, of course, important to me on a personal level but more than that, what do we do if we can not get people to turn up and support the good causes we have invited to take part ? I am so looking forward to the music of SMILE DISCO but without lots of people there nobody will be dancing.

How do you get something to viral on social media ?

Can somebody tell me and I'll do it !

Google Analytics tracks our website views, yesterday 18 people looked at SUNSHINE SMILE DAY.

Blog readership ?  Radio listeners ?  Website hits ?

W will tell you tomorrow.

Press Release

I am going to put out a press release to promote SUNSHINE SMILE DAY. 

In the twenty-first century are traditional press 
released still relevant ? 

Let's have a little experiment. Let's see if Milton Keynes Citizen picks up this press release and just how deep in their newspaper it buries it then let's see how 
many readers this blog page attracts and how many likes/shares it achieves on social media.

So here we go..................

LOCAL RADIO DJ FINDS HIS MUSIC SUPPORTED BY BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE

David, better known as The Geriatric DJ, presents five early morning shows each week on Radio CRMK. Here he is with members of his music fan club: Lisa Wearing a Watford shirt, Darren a West Ham shirt, Rylee a Southampton shirt while The Geriatric DJ is holding footballs from Leicester City and Fullham.

All have been autographed by players for The Geriatric DJ to use at Sunshine Smile Day and Smile Disco happening on Sunday 19th May at Milton Keynes Irish Centre.

Radio CRMK is now in its 41st year of broadcasting. Originally Cable Radio Milton Keynes it now sends music from its Newport Pagnell studio to listeners all round the world via the Internet.

David explained, as well as broadcasting on the radio I play music on YouTube, a daily blog, my website and in the community. I play music to make people smile, be happy and to inspire love for good causes.

At a recent 24 hour charity match held to support Milton Keynes Winter Night Shelter The Geriatric DJ was there to report on the game. Here he is with Winter Night Shelter's Communications Manager Sara Millington.

Following the event David broadcast a post-match overnight disco party, Barclays Premier League sent its trophy to the match then learning of The Geriatric DJ's music gave him gifts 
to use at Sunshine Smile Day.

The smile in the music, David explained, belongs to my late daughter who passed away on Friday 19th May 2017. Each year we hold, on the anniversary of her death, a big party to support good causes.

Sunshine Smile Day on Sunday 19th May at Milton Keynes Irish Centre will raffle the Barclays Premier League gifts during the family afternoon to support Ronald McDonald House Charity as it loves families with a child sick in hospital. As a small child in London's Guys Hospital Rebekah's family was among the first to receive this love from the very first Ronald McDonald House in Great Britain.

After the family afternoon there will be Smile Disco at Milton Keynes Irish Centre where The Geriatric DJ will be playing the music. This is being held to support Milton Keynes Winter Night Shelter and Milton Keynes Food Bank. Admission on the door is payable with a coin for Milton Keynes Winter Night Shelter, a tin for Milton Keynes Food Bank and a smile for the music. - A SMILE, A COIN AND A TIN TO GET IN.

Here's a picture which appeared in the Milton Keynes Citizen in 1984.

It was taken at a 24 hour charity disco organised by Head of Year, David, at Leon School. Now The Geriatric DJ, David's music is supported by over one hundred of his former students with Sunshine Smile Day being organised and hosted by a team of those students. 

Said David, it is twenty years since I left Leon yet every day  LEONITES work with me PLAYING MUSIC TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE, BE HAPPY AND TO INSPIRE LOVE FOR GOOD CAUSES. Leon School in the late 1970's and throughout the 1980's was The School of Love so come and enjoy that love and our music at Sunshine Smile Day 2019.

Well that's it.  Let's see which wins: The traditional local newspaper or twenty-first century social media !

THREE weeks to go...

THREE weeks today it will be SUNSHINE SMILE DAY.  Yes, just three weeks.

All happening at Milton Keynes Irish Centre - a FAMILY AFTERNOON followed by SMILE DISCO. So let's have a bit of a round up of the planning to date.

6am to 8am Monday - www.crmk.co.uk The Geriatric DJ will be broadcasting MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEGA MIX. This week all of the music played will be to celebrate our LOVING TREE and to thank some wonderful people who are supporting SUNSHINE SMILE DAY.

Let's have something from the playlist shall we.

Was Saturday's Rock and Roll Party at Bletchley Bandstand

a failure ? Depends how you look at it...... The weather was garbage !  Not a single market trader turned up - we were the only stall. Hardly anyone braved the town to shop.  We found we had a hideous typo on the posters ! Ooooooppppsssss !  The wind kept blowing the stylus across the vinyl records so we had to play everything digitally. We decided to pack up at lunch-time.  FAILURE ?  Could be but.....................................

We gave out loads of leaflets.We found a volunteer for Milton Keynes Winter Night Shelter, made £7 profit from our bric-a-brac and tombola stall and spoke to some lovely people. Does that not spell SUCCESS ?

Tuesday's radio show with The Geriatric DJ - MUSIC FROM MY VINYL COLLECTION www.cemk.co.uk 6am to 9am will feature the very best of Elton John and promote the VINYL TOMBOLA on Sunshine Smile Day.  With the grotty weather on Saturday we did not even put out the vinyl tombola so fingers crossed for three weeks time !

Left to right....

LISA - SUNSHINE SMILE CREW MANAGEMENT TEAM wearing an autographed shirt from Watford FC.

SMILING DARREN - SUNSHINE SMILE CREW MANAGEMENT TEAM wearing an autographed shirt from West Ham.  Wearing a Southampton shirt is avid listener and music fan RYLEE VARNHAM. Finally, on the right is the SILLY OLD MAN himself The Geriatric DJ with autographed footballs From Fullham and Leicester City FC.

These wonderful gifts which will be included in the raffle at SUNSHINE SMILE DAY with all profits being donated to Ronald McDonald House to hep care for children who are sick in hospital came following Barclays Premier League checking out the PODCAST of the post-charity football match David

broadcast in March.  David is broadcasting another overnight disco party this coming week-end to support all of the good causes taking part in SUNSHINE SMILE DAY. But before that what is happening on the radio this coming Wednesday ? (SORRY about the paragraph formatting - those idiot geeks at Google are screwing up AGAIN !)

www.crmk.co.uk 6am to 9am on Wednesday will be two

hours of SILLY music as The Geriatric DJ applauds the work of all the good causes taking part in SUNSHINE SMILE DAY.  Please put this date in your diary and listen in..... As The Geriatric DJ is ever fond of saying..... LIFE IS A LOT MORE FUN IF YOU ARE SILLY !

Things do not come a lot more silly than the shoes he was wearing at Bletchley Bandstand on Saturday ! SORRY BUT THE IDIOT GOOGLE GEEKS WILL NOT ALLOW PARAGRAPH FORMATTING AROUND PICTURES TODAY - that's not being silly it's being STUPID, THICK and a GEEK !

Thursday's show - WAKE UP WITH THE CLASSICS will feature waltzes from the Strauss Family.

6am to 8am www.crmk.co.uk.

For Friday's show PICK OF THE POPS the time machine will be going back to 3rd May 1969. The world was on the verge of a new decade - what a decade that was. Can you believe that was FIFTY years ago.  SCARY !  Make sure you listen in www.crmk.co.uk FRIDAY 6am to 8am.  Here's something from the chart.....

The BBC say the weather for next Saturday will be good - can you honestly believe anything that failing and biased institution says ?  However, we have our fingers crossed.

We are planning to go to the car boot sale at MK Irish Centre on Saturday to promote SUNSHINE SMILE DAY and SMILE

DISCO as well as running a stall to make a few pennies. ANDY has been absolutely INCREDIBLE gathering STUFF for us to sell at the

boot sales. We use the boot sales to fund our work. EVERY penny raised for a good cause within what we do goes to that good cause.  We could do with some more STUFF to sell as we have major costs coming up ahead of Sunshine Smile Day.  That brings us to SUNDAY - 11pm Sunday to 9am Monday David will be broadcasting another of his overnight radio shows.... www,crmk.co.uk. This show looks forward to SUNSHINE SMILE DAY which will then be just two weeks away .

Last week David met with Sara from Milton Keynes Winter

Night Shelter. Smiling Darren went along to a homeless shelter to chat with friends there. Both will be following up these meetings over the coming week.
Milton Keynes Winter Night Shelter and Milton Keynes Foodbank are the causes SMILE DISCO is supporting. We..... PLAY MUSIC TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE, BE HAPPY AND TO INSPIRE LOVE FOR GOOD CAUSES.

THREE weeks today it will be SUNSHINE SMILE DAY - scary !!!!!!!

See you there !