Chapter 4

When I made it down to breakfast, the mood was positive. I had passed the first hurdle or six and was still on track. When I arrived at the station, I organised my afternoon and evening shows, with two piles of notes. I had another meeting with the boss, a short one, and had a chat with Anita, who had come in to sort out her afternoon spot.

Christine and I went to the café again. She smiled a lot, and we tried one of the cream cakes, cut down the middle to conform with our diets. The afternoon show was much the same as Monday, but with a few more callers. I asked if callers from a long way could let us know if the signal was good and I got one caller from Lincolnshire.

The station format was a regular round robin of announcers. From eight to twelve there was a group of three who did the morning show, with a lot of talk about the news of the day with a bit of comedy. Twelve to two was Mark, two to four was me, followed by Anita. The three of us took the evenings in the same order. I had listened to bits of the morning show while getting dressed in the morning but did not have it on in the second booth while I worked, although the output was being played in reception. Sunday was just two announcers, both doing six-hour shifts with much of the format automated, so they just spoke every so often, with the news and weather.

My main relationships were building between me and Christine, with listening to Mark as he ended his session, then Anita as she started hers. Having both producers was an added bonus. The Tuesday evening show with music from the Big Band Era was an explosion of callers, most of them handled by Andrew, with him keeping my on-air ones to the most positive ones. The reason that it had that effect was that there were a lot of listeners who grew up with parents who had collections of the material, which had been almost the music of the war and the ten years after, with the area being integral to both the war and the cold war.

I needed to change gears on Wednesday, with something themed, but not too old. I could now put together an afternoon show quickly, so most of my morning was researching the music of the sixties to the eighties. I concentrated on the earlier period, as I had an idea about the later ones. I had lunch with Christine and spoke to Anita about my idea when she came in to work on her two shows. She talked to Mark after I had taken over, and then to Andrew when he came in to take over from Norman at the end of my session.

Thursday and Friday, the three of us put in time researching a range of modern dancing and sing-along music. I did the show tunes Thursday night and the big bands Friday. Saturday evening, the three of us did a six-hour show of party music, with a selection of hits across forty years. Andrew was our producer and had been told what we had planned. The three of us kept our announcements to a minimum, doing the station IDs in tune with the party theme and announcing groups of adverts as time to calm down and get a drink.

We didn’t do any on-air call-ins unless it was someone wanting to rave about the music and how it had their party jumping. Andrew handled all the others, many from cafés and fast-food outlets who had us playing in their premises. I was in bed and asleep before Anita signed off.

We were having a late breakfast when Andrew and Christine showed up for a cup of tea and a talk. He had a sheaf of papers and some emails that he wanted to discuss. He waited until we were all sitting with just cups in front of us.

“Carol. If this was just your first week on-air, then you’ve hit the ground running. The two ‘Anything Goes’ shows had a lot of positive feed-back, as did the ‘A-Train’ ones, although those were a lot more from the wider broadcast area, while the first was more from the bases. Your Wednesday show may set a trend, if you can keep it up. Last night, though, had the phones almost at melt-down. Places that play our station were happy with the party mix. I have an email from the boss, telling me that we have to make it a regular Saturday night show, as well as planning a twelve-hour version over New Years Eve and the rest of that night. I also have an email from Group Captain Allardyce, saying that he is planning a dance where he would like the three of you to DJ. He’ll get in touch with us later on that. I answered that you would only be available on a Sunday, and that there would be a fee.”

“Wow! That’s encouraging. A base dance would be about four hours, and we would need to know the theme to collect up the right set of discs. Will we get overtime pay?”

“You don’t, considering that you’re on a salary. There may be the odd bonus. One is today, with the four of us, plus partners, for lunch at the Bull, with the boss, in Barton Mills, where he lives. Chris and I will pick you up at twelve, Carol. It will be a working lunch, so be prepared to be asked a lot of questions.”

When they had left, we sat quietly for some time, taking it in. Then Maude spoke.

“I’m not surprised that the boss wants a meeting. I’ve listened to the station for a long time, and it’s been just background music. This week, your shows have been interesting and informative. The sixties and seventies show that you had on Wednesday showed just how timeless a lot of that music is. I was in bed and listening to last night with my leg muscles twitching. If I was young and fit, I would be dancing.”

“Thank you, Maude. I’m just doing what I feel is right. I didn’t come here to be just a voice on air, I was brought in to make a change with our relationship with the bases, even if I hadn’t been told that. The only way to do that is to make the station bright enough to force them to listen. That changes our impression with the rest of the listening area as well, a somewhat unexpected by-product. I’m sure that the boss has realised that this is happening, his edict for New Year is a sign of that.”

“That would be a big undertaking.”

“Not really. We could pre-record the last five hours, one to six, with us live from six to one. I expect that the studio cameras would be turned off around that time.”

I went for a walk to think, getting some smiles from people I passed, and got back in time to get into ‘lunch with the boss’ wear. I was waiting on the main road when Christine stopped for me to get in the back. We went to Barton Mills and parked in front of a quite imposing pub.

The meal was good, and most of us had steak, seeing that the boss was paying. During breaks between courses, the boss congratulated us on the Saturday evening show, which Andrew had told him about, but that it was more than he had expected. He had been fielding calls from advertisers in hospitality supplies to get on board. The surprise for the others was when he started talking about a dance show on one of the bases, with us doing the DJ work.

The discussion moved to the bar, where a lot of ideas were floated and worked over. What was the best thing, for us, was that the boss was happy to allow us more leeway with programming. He did say that we were moving the station in new directions, and that we could keep moving on until we had created the new Zack. He could see some of what it would be but was willing to be further surprised. He did ask that we get things settled by the end of the year, so we could let the listeners know what they would be hearing in 2019. I thought that he was being very brave with his business.

I managed to get to one side with Andrew and asked him how the suggestion that I was good enough to be approached had come about.

“That was out of the blue. The Group Captain emailed the station to tell us about this girl with a great voice, who was playing show music in the hospital. He suggested that it could be a show that would attract listeners from the bases. Chris passed it on to the boss, who told me to follow it up. Before that, we had very little to do with the bases, other than sending a DJ to work with them for the odd dance. They have their own set-up, working on one-ten volt. That stopped a few years ago.”

When I was dropped off, I went up to my room and looked in my things for my lists. I had twenty each of my two music shows that I had been rotating in the hospital, with most of the patients having changed over that time. That gave me ten each of the shows here, with only checking for track availability. From what had been discussed, I was now expecting to be working here for the long term.

Over the next few weeks, we continued what we had started. Mark sounded brighter and Anita became sexier. The Saturday night party had more advertisers, with us given scripts to read from, usually starting with, ‘get the party swinging with…’ which sounded like we were giving advice. We started to get calls from well outside the usual broadcast footprint, which made everyone very happy.

In late November, I was spoken to by Andrew, who showed me a request from the Group Captain. He wanted me to DJ a dance at the Bob Hope Centre, in the first week of December, on the Thursday evening. That gave me time to pre-record a show. It was to be a ‘vintage recreation’ dance from the forties, so it would be a mix of my two shows. He would pick me up on the Saturday morning so that I could check out the equipment that I would be using, as well as the discs that they had on hand. There was a phone number, which I called. When I was put through to Brendon, I asked him how I would be getting into the base on the night of the dance.

“You’ll get a ‘Contractor’ pass when I take you to check. That will allow you access to the recreation side of the base.”

“I’ll need someone with me, on the night, to help out with things. Is it possible to have an assistant?”

“We can do that. Who do you think it would be?”

“Christine, the wife of my producer, also is the receptionist and administrator. If she can get to be hands on, it would help facilitate any future events, when the Colonel gets back to us.”

“That sounds like an idea. I’ll check. Have her with you when we pick you up at ten.”

After some pleasantries, I hung up. Andrew, who had been listening through headphones, was smiling.

“Good idea, Carol. I’ll let Chris and the boss know about this.”

On Saturday morning, the two of us were waiting outside the station when the jeep turned up. It was just Smithers, and the two of us got in the back. He took us to the main gate, where Brendon was waiting with the security Major. We were both photographed and filled in forms, signing them to not divulge what we saw while on the bases. With new lanyards, which were now ours to keep, Brendon joined us for the drive to the community centre. Christine was looking around as we went along an internal road running parallel to The Street, around behind the main control building and into the commercial area. At the centre, we were given a full tour by the manager, with her noting the amenities. In the dance area, we were shown the equipment that we could use, which was a proper DJ desk with three turntables, as well as a CD player. With that, you could entertain for ages. The theme wouldn’t need any flashing lights or lasers, as they weren’t around in those days.

He gave me a sheaf of paperwork with the material on hand that we could use. I asked Brendon if we were to be escorted on the night and he told me that with our new passes, we could come in our own vehicles, which would be checked at the gate. I told the manager that we would be arriving at the gate at six, and with him as soon as we could after that, to get ready.

When we had seen everything and had all our questions answered, we were back in the jeep and taken to the Hardstand Sports area. Here, Brendon explained that the Colonel was working on the top brass to have a Christmas Dance for the base, on the Saturday night before the actual festive day, with the idea of the three of us recreating our Saturday show in real time. The building had both one-ten and two-forty, so we could bring in our own equipment. He said that it would be confirmed at the vintage dance. We left the base by the West Row Gate and were dropped off back at the station.

We went in and the first port of call was the loo and then a cup of tea. That was followed by Chris calling the boss and telling him what we’d been up to. He told her to get Andrew in and that he’d be with us in half an hour. While we waited, I went off and put together my things for a Saturday afternoon show, then joined the others for a short meeting.

As far as everyone was concerned, this was a great move forward. I would pre-record my voice parts for a show and Andrew would run the desk and answer call-ins. All the music would be off the computer. I had two lists of my old shows that I could use. He was fully able to make it sound as if I was there in the studio on the Thursday evening. The Saturday one would mean that the three of us would have to pre-record a pre-Christmas party show. It was a bit of work, but we had a good three weeks to get it ready.

I had one of the emergency shows that we could broadcast this afternoon, so Christine and I were sent off to get something vintage to wear at the dance. We ended up at Pocket Watches and Petticoats, in Bury St Edmunds, for the dresses and shoes, with a stop at another store for vintage jewels. With the right hairstyle and make-up, we would be the bees’ knees.

I went in on Sunday, with Andrew, and recorded a full Thursday evening ‘Anything Goes’, with adverts. He had the play list and just needed to be on hand to answer calls.

On the Thursday, Christine and I left the station after my show. She went home to change, and I went off to get ready. She picked me up at half-past four and we went to her salon where we were both booked in to get the right hair to match the outfits. We arrived at the main gate at six, and the car was checked over with mirrors under it and everything opened up. The only things we had extra was a box of discs that I would add to what was available. With a ‘Contractor’ sticker on the window, we were waved through.

It was odd to be unescorted and on the base. She drove the way we had gone last time, and we were at the dancehall at half past. We had an hour to get things ready. The DJ kit was set up, and I played something to check the sound, and tried the microphone, getting the hand of the various switches. When I was happy, we went to the Starbucks shop, where we tried the coffee and a cake, both too excited to be hungry.

At seven-thirty, the dance floor was filled with couples in vintage clothes, dancing to a Glenn Miller number, and I was up there, in a big-skirted dress. Christine was beside me, in her own outfit, feeding me discs from a list, as well as making sure I kept hydrated. I had shown her how to start a track that I had cued up, so that I when I needed to go to the toilet, she could keep the music going for three tracks. Between us, we kept up the tempo for three and a half hours, ending at eleven. It had been fun, the dancers had been energetic and happy, the kids had jumped up and down on the sidelines and I thought that it had been a success.

As we were collecting up our own discs and giving the desk a wipe over, a couple approached us. She was gushing in how wonderful the evening had been. When he congratulated us on a job well done, I knew who he was.

“Thank you, Colonel. It was a lot of fun for us, as well.”

“I’m in civvies, so call me Chuck. Have you thought about the Christmas event?”

“We have. We can pre-record our broadcast show and do it. Is it still at the Hardstand?”

“It will be. That’s the Saturday evening. On Sunday evening, I was wondering if you could repeat it at the Page Centre in Lakenheath. They have the same equipment that you’ve used tonight, which would be relocated to the Hardstand for the Saturday, with a big lighting set up that suits a party. There’ll be tables and chairs set up with room to dance.”

I looked at Christine, who was smiling.

“Chuck, I think that we could do both shows. This lady is Christine. She is our receptionist and administrator. She has the ear of our boss, and is married to Andrew, one of our producers. I think that she has the authority to agree to your plans.”

He shook her hand.

“Welcome to the base, Christine. I’m Colonel Sherman, and I have overall responsibility to the wellbeing and morale of many thousand servicemen and women on our UK deployments. We also have our bomber wing located inland, at Brize Norton and Fairford, with B-52s, whenever there’s a need to bring them over from the states. I do have to travel a lot, which is why I’m hard to catch up with. Group Captain Allardyce will be your main contact. He will be in touch about the other dances and future events, next year, and arrange Contractor passes for the other announcers. They will cover both here and Lakenheath only. By the way, you both look like pictures of aunts of mine, back home. Thank you for getting into the spirit of tonight. It is much appreciated, and I think that most here would have thought that you were two of us, flown in for the occasion.”

“Thank you, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you and it was a pleasure to be here, helping Carol and making people happy. I’m looking forward to the Christmas shows.”

“With your passes, Carol can take you into Lakenheath and show you the set-up there. Use the car that you came in, today, as that has been entered onto the security system for both bases. Don’t overdo the visits, but I do suggest that the Exchange may be a nice place to inspect while you’re there.”

He left us to tidy up. Christine was trembling. I stood next to her and hugged until she settled down.

“Carol, this is such a big thing. Not just for me, but also for the station. We have a toehold and it’s going to be an exciting time ahead of us.”

“I know, Chris. When we hear from Brendon, we’ll need to get the others authorised, so that they can see what we’re in for as soon as possible. Your car will take the four of us, so you’ll have to be our driver and helper. You did really well, tonight, keeping the music going while I was off. With three of us, that won’t be needed, but we will need to be kept fed and watered. I’m looking forward to looking around the Exchange in my own time.”

We put our things back in the car, was hugged by the manager and thanked for a great evening, with the suggestion that it wouldn’t be long before we were back. On the drive back, via the out gate and the main road, we were both quiet. It had been an interesting evening.

On Friday morning, I was quizzed at breakfast, having to describe some of the outfits that I’d seen. At the station, the boss was already there, talking to Christine. He took us into his office, and we gave him the main points from last night. He made notes as we went through what Chuck had told us.

“You girls have certainly hit the jackpot there. I’ll need to have a long meeting with the Group Captain, to formalise what’s expected from us, and what they can offer in the way of support, but it looks very good, so far.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I do have some bad news for you, Carol.”

“Oh. What’s that?”

“Because you’re the newest start, you get to work through the Christmas period. Both Mark and Anita will be having time off, so you’ll need to pre-record, or else handle the whole evening. We’ll bring in our Sunday part-timers to handle the afternoon session.”

“That’s doable, as long as I know the dates, so I can prepare.”

“That’s why you’re such a find, Carol. I’ve just told you that you’re going to be doing six-hour shifts, with a probable three-hour preparation, and all you say is that it’s doable. I’ve known others who had been asked the same thing who had complained that Christmas wouldn’t be right without dinner at home with their family.”

Christine snorted. I expect that they were both thinking about the same person.

“If I can pre-record a Saturday afternoon, I would like to pop home with my gifts. I’ll be back for the party show. I can see some Sundays planning for the base shows, seeing that it’s only a couple of weeks away.”

Christine laughed.

“Sunday, friend, we’re going to Lakenheath. You’ll show me the Page set-up. And we can shop at the Exchange. You can give your folks something very American and different, this year.”

I grinned and nodded.

“Great idea, Chris. That would be fun.”

During the day, we had a message from Brendon, asking for Mark and Anita to be ready on Saturday morning to be given the base tour and get their accreditation. They were advised about the arrangement when they came in. There was a real buzz between us when we did our shows that day.

On Saturday, when the jeep arrived to pick them up, Brendon got them into the jeep as he brought a big envelope into the station and gave it to Christine. I saw him through the open door of the second booth.

“That’s the pictures taken by the official photographer on Thursday evening. The Colonel was very happy. I’ll be in touch next week, after we get the others on board. I’ll only give them a quick tour, this morning, and get them back in time for their shows this afternoon.”

Then he was off and in the jeep with the others. I went over as Christine was pulling a sheaf of pictures from the envelope. They were all eight by ten, in colour, and showed various scenes from the dance, with several of the two of us in our vintage gear. We had a bit of a laugh and she put them aside to show Andrew when he came in. There was one that showed me with my full outfit showing, which I asked if I could have. It would be perfect for framing to give to my mother for Christmas.

Marianne Gregory © 2026