Midweek Sports Bar touches the parts other radio stations don’t reach.

by Rick Johansen

Well, I gushed about bfFM’s Midweek Sports Bar last week and this week I am going to do it again. What a cracking show.

To my mind, Bristol Community Radio is the nearest thing we have to genuine local radio. In fact, since BBC Radio Bristol moved away from local issues and presenters, preferring a more generic style, it’s the only local radio we have.

Neil Maggs (Maggsy) really is an excellent presenter. He has a touch of Mark Watson in his style and delivery. He doesn’t bumble, he doesn’t waffle. And best of all, he is himself (and I say this without even having met him).

His partner in crime, Nick Day, is fast becoming the Nick Day I have known for years. Never at a loss for words or, worse still, a terrible pun, his personality is blending in perfectly with the witty, irreverent but thoughtful Maggsy.

There were several highlights for me this week.

For me, the main highlight was the interview with the brother of Mark ‘Divvy’ Saunders. Mark died recently but famously last season, when stricken with terminal cancer, gave the team talk to the players of his beloved club. I never met him but he was, from all accounts, as passionate about his club as you can get. Wonderfully, the interview struck exactly the right note: respectful, touching and at times funny. Beautifully done boys. The story about how Mark had forged a strong relationship with Rovers fan and current club chaplain Dave Jeal was especially touching.

City’s matchday announcer Tim Shires was excellent value too and I hope he become a regular part of the show for City midweek games and Bristol Rovers’ Hospital Radio commentator John Malyckyj spoke well too.

Whilst there was humour, there were serious issues too. The boys took on the Ched Evans issue head on and there was a healthy discussion about ‘the Rooney rule’.

I enjoyed the local sport round up too and I’d like to see Maggsy and Nick develop this part of the show. As they have shown, Bristol is far more than a couple of professional clubs.

As we say in Bristol, it made I laugh!

Well done Maggsy and Nick Day, although Nick Day was not the name used by Maggsy at the end of the show when his brain slipped out of gear!

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