Presented by David Heathcote
"In 'Thought for Sunday' mode?"
"If it moves, I'll interview it"
- Interviewing at the Hayfield Show
(clearly the dog is not impressed)
I'd recognise that face anywhere...!
The Weekend Night Shift - every Saturday and Sunday morning from midnight till 7am
Welcome to The Dark Side!
"Who knows anything about tape-recorders?" asked the Maths teacher as he strode (and could he stride!) into the classroom. A 16-year old Heathcote put his hand up. To cut a long story short, 6 weeks later David Heathcote found himself manager of a hospital radio station in Southend-on-Sea and a lifetime career in broadcasting (off and on) began...Well, is this a blog then?
My children will be the first to admit I'm not a world-leader when it comes to social media (thanks, kids!) So this may not be a blog, but it's meant to be!
Fri 24-Feb: I've had two hours of bass tuition, and now I can play 4 notes! I have a fantastic teacher, and he's being really encouraging. But my fingers hurt, and I'm thinking "What have I let myself in for??!"
Sun 25-Dec (yes, I know - but I wasn't on-air this morning, and I'm suffering withdrawal symptoms!): The Band met (for the first time) on Friday. None of us have had a lesson yet. But I AM reading Terry Pratchett's "Soul Music" as inspiration. Could I be another Imp Y Celin??
Mon 12-Dec: #1 Son visited from t'North and ceremonially lemon-oiled The Bass. I was rebuked for calling it a bass guitar - "that's what beginners call them, Dad". And what am I, pray? Serious instruction begins in the New Year. But in the meantime, think "2001" movie theme, apes and the obelisk thing: that'll be me with The Bass.
Fri 25-Nov: OK, OK - I'm going to learn to play a bass guitar. Interestingly, it was the one instrument no one mentioned when discussing my options. Why have I gone for a bass? 1. It has "only" 4 strings, 3 more than my optimum number but less than 6 (or 12 - good grief!!); 2. We have one in the house (thank you, #1 Son, for lending it to me)
Wed 23-Nov: So... I'm playing a musical instrument in public in April 2012, learning from scratch. Which is it to be - voice, drums, lead guitar or bass guitar? My "voice career" came to a juddering halt when aged 6 I auditioned for the school Nativity choir: I was appointed "assistant shepherd (non-singing)" 
Tue 22-Nov: I'm tone-deaf, can't read music, have no sense of rhythm. I know, I'll learn to play a musical instrument! What could possibly go wrong? Watch this space...
What's on The Weekend Night Shift?
Let's keep it simple (it's the middle of the night, after all!
)◊ ...... After midnight, "On this Day in History"
◊ ...... After 1am, "Quotation of the Night"
◊ ...... After 2am, "Question of the Night"
◊ ...... After 3am, "Answer of the Night"
◊ ...... After 4am, "How Old are They?"
◊ ...... After 5am, "Factoid Fix"
◊ ...... After 6am - now this is where it gets complicated, so please pay attention!
◊ ...... ...... On Saturdays, "List of the Night" (but occasionally something else)
◊ ...... ...... On Sundays, "A Thought for Sunday"
How to contact The Weekend Night Shift
As my esteemed Better Half is the first to confirm, I'm not the most technologically adept of people - mohair sweaters tend to get a boil wash in the Heathcote household when I'm on washing machine duty <sigh>. So please don't even think of phoning the station while I'm on air: I can't drive a programme and answer the phone!email is good, though, and the programme now has its own dedicated (well, something about the programme has to be dedicated!) email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Why not send me an email?
The Night Shift notepad (where I leave details of things I've talked about)
1. Climb a tree
2. Roll down a really big hill
3. Camp out in the wild
4. Build a den
5. Skim a stone across water
6. Run around in the rain
7. Fly a kite
8. Catch a fish in a net
9. Eat an apple straight from a tree
10. Play conkers
11. Throw some snow
12. Hunt for treasure on the beach
13. Make a mud pie
14. Dam a stream
15. Go sledging
16. Bury someone in the sand
17. Set up a snail race
18. Balance on a fallen tree
19. Swing on a rope swing
20. Make a mud slide
21. Eat blackberries growing in the wild
22. Take a look inside a tree
23. Visit an island
24. Feel like you're flying in the wind
25. Make a grass trumpet
26. Hunt for fossils and bones
27. Watch the Sun wake up
28. Climb a huge hill
29. Get behind a waterfall
30. Feed a bird from your hand
31. Hunt for bugs
32. Find some frogspawn
33. Catch a butterfly in a net
34. Track wild animals
35. Discover what's in a pond
36. Call to an owl
37. Check out the amazing creatures in a rock pool
38. Bring up a butterfly
39. Catch a crab
40. Go on a nature walk at night
41. Plant it, grow it, eat it
42. Go wild swimming
43. Go rafting
44. Light a fire without matches
45. Find your way with a map and compass
46. Try bouldering
47. Cook on a campfire
48. Try abseiling
49. Find a geocache
50. Canoe down a river