Harrogate Hospital Radio can now boast to having some of the best broadcasting facilities in the region, thanks to Yorkshire Freemasons.
A £9,000 grant from the Fraternity has enabled the charity – which first took to the airwaves in 1977 – to refurbish its second studio with a state-of-the art mixing desk and associated furniture.
The donation was part of a £223,500 pot of money the Freemasons’ Province of Yorkshire West Riding awarded to a variety of regional good causes to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
And the first person to be interviewed in the newly-refurbished studio was John Clayton, the Province’s head freemason.
Harrogate Hospital Radio Chairman Ian Wighton said:
We are indebted to the Freemasons for their incredibly generous gift. In particular, I’d like to thank members of Pateley Bridge’s Vale of Nidd Lodge for nominating us in the first place.
Thanks to this donation, and that of a number of other organisations, we have been able to upgrade our second studio to the same standard as our main, on-air studio.
Harrogate Hospital Radio’s first broadcast was 35 years ago, and our equipment then consisted of one record player, one reel to reel tape recorder and a microphone.
Thanks to successive appeals, the support of numerous local organisations and members’ own fund-raising activities, we can now justifiably boast to having some of the best broadcasting facilities anywhere in the Yorkshire region.
Mr Clayton said:
It’s always gratifying to be invited to see how our donations are being put to good use.
Harrogate Hospital Radio is a wonderful charity and I’m delighted we have been able to support this worthwhile cause. It is highly regarded by patients and staff alike and plays an import role in hospital life.
