STUART McGINLEY: It was good to get out across the county

One of the things I love about my job is the opportunities I get to do so many different things, like getting kitted out with the RNLI, taking part in a sports day at the Weald School in Billingshurst, and getting wet sponged by listeners!

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us last Friday for Local Radio Day and helped to raise money for Chestnut Tree House, they were absolutely delighted as you helped them to raise hundreds of pounds for the charity.

One of the other highlights for me was meeting our BBC colleagues at BBC Sussex and Surrey for a special edition of our workplace quiz ‘War of the Works’.

The legendary TV and Radio presenter Tommy Boyd kindly agreed to host the quiz as teams from each radio station went head to head answering 10 general knowledge questions.

It was great fun and even happier for team Spirit as we won but the BBC has already challenged us to a rematch next year at their studios in Brighton, and we can’t wait!

The quiz was broadcast on both Spirit FM and BBC Sussex and Surrey which is quite unusual as you rarely hear this happen, what was lovely is that there is no rivalry between the two stations as we both recognise we serve our respective audiences very well with great local content and there is plenty of room for both of us on the radio dial.

Of course, there is a healthy rivalry but it’s great to be able to work together with our BBC neighbours and have some fun together and talk about how much we love providing the best local radio possible.

The rules on how much local content radio stations need to provide are due to be relaxed soon, and we will see more local stations networking even more with programmes coming from hundreds of miles away, this is something Spirit FM will not be doing and with your continued support, we aim to be the most listened to local station for another 21 years!

n More mutterings on Twitter @stumcginley

n Hear McGinley in the Morning – weekdays 6-10 on Spirit FM