WORK: Bath FM - Day 4

Today Paul and I drove up to Swindon as there was a problem with the offices broadband connection which needed to get fixed, mainly because the presenters needed the internet for aid them with their shows. This was especially important with the Bank Holiday weekend approaching where there would be no office staff at all apart from the presenters and therefore no-one to help if they had any problems.

Paul issued the studios with broadband dongles, which worked fine (eventually) and will hopefully hold out till the end of the bank holiday at least. The next task on the agenda was to visit the new Swindon offices with builders to arrange soundproofing the offices to move the studios into. The empty studio space looked good and both office spaces seemed big enough for two studios.

I think one of the best experiences of the day was meeting the builders who knew exactly what they were doing and were completely up for the job even though the work had to be done really soon. The builder Paul originally consulted gave him a high price quote and so he consulted his Uncle and Cousin to do the job, which they seemed more than happy to help with. Paul obviously knew a great deal about construction and I’m not sure if this came form working with his Uncle previously or perhaps his farming background but I thought it was extremely helpful for him to understand the in’s and out’s of construction and I wondered if I was ever to be a manager if I would need to have similar knowledge as construction is something I know absolutely nothing about. Paul seemed sceptical about whether it was possible to get the studios built in time before their eviction date from the current Swindon office. Both his uncle and cousin replied at numerous times “nothing’s impossible” which such certainty that I now consider it fact.

Paul's job seems extremely hectic, he could have a day planned but have to drop it at a moments notice to tend to emergencies like the Broadband incident today. I think one of Paul's best qualities is his ability to remain calm in highly stressful times. I think his job is exciting as he always has something to do which is the kind of job that suits me. I think that if I had the kind of knowledge and experience that Paul has with Radio for Television or Film Production that I myself would be interested in setting up a production company as it seems to be very fulfilling to work on a project like Southwest Radio and watching your own company grow and flourish seems exciting. I can tell Paul does this job for his love of Radio and I think his passion for the medium is what makes him a good manager.