Lou Birt
@B1Lou
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Journalism course leader, University of Gloucestershire. Ex BBC 5 Live, Radio 4, Global & BBC England. My views.
Cheltenham, England
Joined May 2013
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🧵 It’s my last day at the BBC. I’m off to be Journalism course leader
@uniofglos
taking over from the immense
@paulwiltshire
- so big shoes to fill. I’m excited to be working with a new generation of journalists. Thank you to the amazing BBC colleagues I’ve learned from.
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My mum and dad would have been married 53 years tomorrow. Dad died last year. He called mum “the PLW” in jest (Plucky Little Woman) & adored her. They laughed a lot. My abiding memory from childhood is going to sleep hearing them guffawing at one of Dad’s jokes.
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"Who knows what hellish future lies ahead? … Actually, I do. I've seen the rehearsals"
#terrywogan
Eurovision 2007
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Essex, it’s been a blast. Nearly 8 years working with the best team. I’ve been proud of them every single day. Off to the West Midlands for exciting new job looking after news across Online, TV & radio. I’m going to miss the Essex crew so much. Here’s one of my presents v IRL 👇
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The napkins at my leaving barbecue. To be fair, I think the team has taken it pretty well.
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Two of our team got jobs this week at network radio. Really good jobs too. BBC local is a fantastic place to cut your teeth & learn tonnes of skills. Whilst I’ll hate it when they leave, I love seeing people realise their ambitions. It’s one of the most rewarding bits of my job.
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My desk this morning. Balloons everywhere for my penultimate day at BBC Essex. Plus a random teddy bear wearing glasses… obvs. What a lovely team they are.
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BBC's Nick Owen back at work after cancer treatment
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I’ve never known a group of people work as hard as our team this week. Some callers are scared & want help & company. The compassion the BBC Essex staff show them is extraordinary. Never has BBC local radio mattered more. We will fight to stay local as long we can.
Are you helping out friends, neighbours and your community during the coronavirus outbreak? Tell us about it and we’ll tell the whole county. BBC Essex: keeping you safe; keeping you company.
#makeadifference
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Many listeners are really struggling. The anxiety & distress is palpable. We are going to offer even more support. New features will include on-air tutorials to help people use Skype and FaceTime if they’re not confident with technology. Follow
@BBCEssex
for more information.
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A year ago tomorrow my rather wonderful father died. Since then I’ve had his spectacles in the boot of my car. Mum asked me to get rid of them but I couldn’t bear to. He never had the right pair for the activity, so they were all marked up for guidance. They are pure Dad.
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Dave is a superb interviewer, cares deeply about Essex and is one of the kindest people I know. Good luck with your next chapter
@DaveMonkEssex
and thanks for all you have done for the BBC.
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Proper local radio.
📻If you want your radio
#MadeInEssex
and not in London, this is the Breakfast show for you.🥓🍳
Ben and Sonia – Monday to Friday 6-9am, BBC Essex.
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Local radio is hugely important. National stations can’t report everything and there are issues which need a light shone on them in every county. Plus, listeners like it when presenters are just down the road broadcasting. It’s a local pride thing.
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My funny, clever Dad, who died 3 years ago, would have been 91 today. I miss him so much but I’m glad he didn’t experience the chaos of covid while being so ill. He would have hated it. I like to picture him reading the Telegraph in his armchair, exclaiming at something he’d read
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I’m often proud of our team as they’re a fantastic bunch but when they turn an outside broadcast round in a few hours, I’m even prouder. Eight hours live in Colchester today as it becomes a city.
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I remember being told (by a male manager) that women “aren’t good radio presenters” and listeners don’t like them. Utter twaddle. Hearing top women like these on air proves it. Not all women are good behind the mic - but neither are all men. It’s really not that complicated
Lots of fun this morning on the
@BBCEssex
Breakfast show with the sisters doing it for themselves! Great working with
@sonwatson
and newsreader Claire
@yummybreakfast
👯♀️💃🏻💁♀️ (as well as producer Matt, Jake and Rob behind the scenes)
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“For the first time we were not scared for our lives. My wife cried.” Ahmed describing going for his first walk around Essex after fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan.
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A Colchester photographer called Stephen Johnson posted this on a Facebook community group. It’s Brightlingsea and it’s so beautiful.
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First Father’s Day without dad is helped enormously by remembering the utter contempt he had for the commercialisation he felt it represented. I can still hear his voice ranting about it, eyes flashing. I don’t need a day to remember him either, I think about him all the time.
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Don’t they scrub up well?
@sonwatson
&
@DaveMonkEssex
getting ready to host our Make a Difference awards tonight.
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Bit obsessed with these posters of places in Essex. I have seven in my kitchen & should probably stop now. They’re just so cheering & remind me of illustrations in children’s books. Just bought Southend & Finchingfield.
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The BBC Essex team is superb. Second to none. Many of them knew Sir David so it’s been extra tough to report on. Our callers and guests in the last week have all shown such sensitivity and respect too.
@B1Lou
Your staff are a credit to your station. Of all the interviews I’ve given, they gave us the most amount of space to share our experiences, by far. I suspect it’s because being local you will have met David numerous times yourselves. Our thoughts are with you too. Thank you!
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We’ve signed the book of condolence - many of the team have known Sir David for decades.
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People are amazing sometimes. She was clearly terrified. Well done Liam.
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Your average Friday morning as a local radio editor. Blowing up balloons at 7am.
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Marconi radio broadcast that 'changed the world' to be recreated - and you can hear it live on
@BBCEssex
with
@Rayradioessex
tonight. We’ve got a Marconi special from 6pm
#radio
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She grew up listening to BBC Essex sport - and now
@VictoriaPolley
has her own show. It’s what local radio is all about.
.
@BBCEssex
cricket season classic Around The Wicket is back for a fourth season this summer, but this time with a new presenter Victoria Polley
@VictoriaPolley
#AroundTheWicket
#BBCEssex
#VictoriaPolley
⬇️
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It’s tough when someone leaves, particularly when they’re as popular with the team as our Assistant Editor
@Rhid_Jones
He’s a superb programmer & brilliant with people. A true leader. He’s off to be the Editor of BBC Kent & BBC Sussex & Surrey. We’ll miss you very much Rhid 😢
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I listened to this over the weekend and I’ve never heard anything which is so clearly a public service. It’s ballsy and bawdy - and clearly incredibly valuable to those with cancer. Made me feel proud to work for the BBC.
#youmebigc
Our FRANKEST and most open conversation on this week's
#youmebigc
You wanted to hear about dating and intimacy after cancer - we delivered with help of Dr Tracie
@eveappeal
⚠️ DO NOT LISTEN WITH KIDS OR PARENTS!
Download:
🍏
🎧
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What an emotional night. All of the nominees make Essex a better place, every single day. I couldn’t be prouder of my team. After a very difficult week they did what local radio staff always do: they put their own feelings to one side & made it all about the listeners.
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Aiming for stoicism on first Christmas alone, I decided to cook something new & delicious. 2 supermarkets had limited supplies so I grabbed some random items which don’t even form a meal. Then a breathless
@IanPuckey
rang saying he’d found me a chicken. I have lovely colleagues
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This is my godmother. She’s a proper character. Interested in everyone and adored her job.
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Gave me goosebumps hearing from listeners who’ve managed to successfully video call their friends and relatives in isolation after our on-air tutorials and leaflets.
#MakeADifference
#coronavirus
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My amazing Dad, who had no time for Father’s Day and refused to let us celebrate an “American, commercialised construct,” modelling an excellent chunky cardi with an important-looking file under his arm. I am giving my mother backache and looking confused.
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Our team had a whip round for a cake to commemorate Southend’s city status. Here’s our original drawing. Design is not a strong point. And here’s the result, thanks to Kathy at Sophisti-Cakes. We gave it to a care home in Southend.
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I am SO excited. 😊
Time to unveil our fabulous new course leader: welcome aboard to
@B1Lou
, who starts work next month.
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Some of the closed Facebook groups celebrating towns and villages have some stunning photos and content. These photos of Maldon in the snow were taken by Paula Wiseman and posted on the For The Love of Essex, Suffolk & Norfolk page.
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This is glorious. There’s not enough boat mending at lunchtime built into my day. Must sort that.
I was handed this today. Can't wait to work on my boat at 1pm...
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A few days away in Borth, where we came as kids & had piggy backs from my mother on the beach. Oddly comforting to come back - and stay somewhere I last visited 44 years ago. So good to see money coming into places like this.
#staycation
#Wales
#Borth
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Our reporter
@richsmithV
in
#Jaywick
. He's been live on air since 6am. Superb. It's what BBC local radio is for.
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Life’s looking up. I’m Out Out. I feel like a snail who’s just poked his head out of his shell for the first time in decades and looks quite startled 🐌
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20 years ago I was a
@bbc5live
producer on a night shift. I remember going with
@janegarvey1
to report on the sea of flowers.
#Diana20
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Our interview has travelled far and wide this week, so Tony was able to tell his story to multiple news outlets. It’s a great example of the journalistic power and cut through of local radio.
"I will never, ever forgive these people."
Tony missed his father's funeral in Pitsea - where he was due to be a pallbearer - because of protestors on the M25 on Monday.
Full story on BBC Sounds, click the link above.
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That was an anxious 35 minutes. The men’s urinals aren’t flushing. Plus we had an urgent delivery of dishwasher tablets
#localradio
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Getting ready for our partnership with
@ClactonAirshow
tomorrow. Walk a few miles up from the busy pier and it’s a different world. Just a few families and two men fishing and smoking.
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It’s so satisfying and exciting to launch new shows which add an extra 15 hours of programming to nearly 90 hours of live output broadcast from our Chelmsford studios every week. Made in Essex, for Essex.
#youressex
Monday 15 October is launch day! “Your Essex” 7pm-10 brought to you by
@jodiehalford28
is an in depth look at our county, hearing the untold stories of those who make it great.
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What an amazing story.
@DaveMonkEssex
discovers about his grandad on air 6 years ago - now he’s invited to meet Macron to pay tribute to the part he played in WW1.
EXCLUSIVE: BBC Essex presenter Dave Monk to meet President Emmanuel Macron of France as part of
#Armistice100
commemorations.
@EmmanuelMacron
@DaveMonkEssex
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Huge congratulations to our reporter/sport presenter/news reader
@VictoriaPolley
who has been nominated in the One To Watch category. 👏 👇
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There is nothing more cheering in life than good things happening to good people. And these two are the best. They also met at BBC Essex. We might be starting a trend ... 💕
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Today we’ve been mostly measuring donkeys.
CLAIM: Essex health organisations
@MSEssex_HCP
say the 2 metre social distancing gap is the size of a donkey
CHECK: We've been investigating with help from
@Hopefield_Essex
🐴📏
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Has anyone asked musician Plan B if he’s enjoying all the free publicity? Or indeed if Plan B has an actual Plan B?
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Taken over Christmas card duty for my mum. It was always Dad’s job but tbh, I’m struggling with his address book system...
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This far surpasses the last medal I received, aged 9, for playing the recorder quite poorly. Many thanks
@EssexPower100
@NickTaylorLLB
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We’ve seen 34 people so far - around 70 still to go and they’re still arriving. Really impressed with some of the talent
#NewVoices
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Welcome back Sadie
Four months ago, BBC Essex's
@sadienine
tripped and fell in London. She broke four ribs and suffered serious internal injuries. Doctors say she's lucky to be alive.
Sadie returns to the airwaves this morning, and meets Dr Ivan Tomasi from
@GSTTnhs
who saved her life.
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Aren't people lovely? Huge cake has just arrived for our 30th birthday from a listener and made by
@TiptreePatiss
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Well, those 2 years have flown. Best way to start your day (although I’m a bit biased.) Thanks to a great team:
@BenFryer
@sonwatson
@maktheknight
@VictoriaPolley
@richsmithV
@theejellyman
@vickyecarter
#BenSon
#MadeinEssex
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I didn’t realise I was the first EVER journalist to make the list. The pressure of living up to that is immense! 🎧
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I’m honoured. Many thanks
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My job has some glorious moments. I’m listening to The Canvey King, a documentary brilliantly made by
@Rayradioessex
about Lee Brilleaux, Dr Feelgood & Canvey island. It’s immense. Tonnes of stuff I’ve not heard before & new interviews. Proper proud. BBC Essex Good Friday at 10am
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BBC Essex presenters are all over the county this weekend presenting at fireworks nights.
@sadienine
was in Danbury tonight; Steve &
@IanWyattEssex
in Wickford &
@MattMackayDJ
in Maldon. What a brilliant team of people I have the pleasure of working with.
#bonfirenight2019
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A normal morning at BBC Essex. Can’t make tea because
@richsmithV
is making microwave meat loaf in the kitchen for a radio feature about
#costofliving
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Delighted to see our newest BBC Essex presenter
@jodiehalford28
in the Radio Times talking about listening to
@Peterpinkbanana
in the old Essex Radio days. That’s what BBC local radio should be for - finding new talent from the county they love and live in.
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In case anyone is confused, this was about giving it lots of welly with your voice, rather than about the dimensions of your genitalia...of which I have no prior knowledge.
#InternationalWomenDay2018
Next in paying tribute to women who have influenced me over the years, it's Louise Birt
@B1Lou
who taught me how to be a better radio presenter and train my voice. "Big Bollocks" she would shriek through the glass at the beginning of a show!
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Fascinating. “If staff came under suspicion...an image resembling a Christmas tree was drawn on their personal file.”
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Short week which has felt like a fortnight. This will sort me right out.
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BBC Essex nominated for best local station. Down to a brilliant team.
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5 strong women presenting shows on the BBC Essex schedule this week.
@sonwatson
@jodiehalford28
@Lucy_McNamara
@kathmelandri
&
@VictoriaPolley
Here’s to home-grown talent.
#womeninradio
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This is why we come to work every day.
Natalia and her two daughters fled Ukraine with just a bag each. Now they're staying in Harwich after being sponsored by BBC Essex listener Colin.
He's told
@sonwatson
that "BBC Essex done it for us" after they had problems with visas.
Full story at 9am:
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On Friday it should be a month until we can have a pint or a quick snifter in a pub garden again. BBC Essex is launching Pub Countdown - a daily celebration of all our brilliant hostelries. If you want a mention for one in particular, DM me.
#pubcountdown
#snifter
🤞
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Ah. Cheltenham Town Hall for an audience with Nigella Lawson. Last time I was here I was 13 and attempting to be Emily Bronte in a school competition - on the same stage. I was excruciatingly bad. I can, though, still remember the lines.
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It’s a little known fact but Matt always wears a tux to work. He is a stickler for standards
Today we’ve launched The BBC Essex Make a Difference Awards, celebrating the people doing good in Essex.
@MattMackayRadio
is live this morning from
@HatfieldPlace
where the awards will take place in September.
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Picked straight from the tree. Something very heartening about that. No packaging in sight.
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Brilliant news and so well deserved. Nick helped so many men by talking about his prostate cancer.
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It doesn’t feel like Bank Holiday week without the Clacton Air Show. One of the highlights of the year. Roll on 2021 ✈️ 🍦
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I can’t believe it’s been a year since Sir David Amess was killed. Since then, Southend has achieved so much in his name. Great collaboration between constituents, friends, the church & politicians. His pride would have been off the scale when it was made a city. RIP David.
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BBC Essex will be live in Southend all day on Tuesday March 1st as the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall make the town officially a city - something Sir David Amess wanted so much.
#southendcity
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A brilliant
@ClactonAirshow
2019. It was great to work in partnership with
@Tendring_DC
again. Thanks to
@ScrutonWyatt
&
@flyingPRgal
for top class commentary & all the
@BBCEssex
team who worked so hard. ✈️
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Chuffed to bits to be joining
@BBCEssex
as editor. Great patch & top team.
@GeraldMain
even left presents...
Radio tuned in, handover note penned & emergency
#JD
ready for new Editor
@BBCEssex
. Thanks
#Essex
for having me.
http://t.co/mncVkGWKaG
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"I like your mild political stances." I do love Neil Hannon's lyrics.
@divinecomedyhq
#latexmasgift
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We need pictures like this on such a grim day for Essex
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