Friday 3rd February at 1.30pm Alive features Tom Pow.  Dumfries and Galloway has some stunning writers and thanks to BDS Limited in Dumfries, an information supply company with a great international reputation.  We have our fab local authors talking about their works and how Dumfries and Galloway is an inspirational place to be. 

At 1.30pm on the 23rd on the Friday Magazine Show, Fiona Blackwood is talking to Tom Pow about his writing in general.

Tom Pow was born in Edinburgh in 1950. Primarily a poet, several of his collections have won awards and three of his poetry collections have been short-listed for Scottish Book of the Year. Most recently, Dear Alice – Narratives of Madness (Salt Publishing) won the poetry category in the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust’s Scottish Book Awards in 2009. He has also written young adult novels, picture books, radio plays and a travel book about Peru. In The Becoming, Selected and New Poems (Polygon) has recently been published (June 2009).

He has held various writing posts, including that of Scottish/Canadian Writing Fellow, based at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and Virtual Writer in Residence (Scotland’s first) for the Scottish Library Association’s Scottish Writers Project. He was the first ever Writer in Residence at the Edinburgh International Book Festival from 2001 to 2003.

From 2000 to 2009, he worked for the University of Glasgow in Dumfries, latterly as Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing and Storytelling.

He is currently Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Glasgow University Dumfries and a part-time lecturer on Lancaster University’s distance learning Masters in Creative Writing.

Find out more about Mary Smith by checking out www.tompow.co.uk More information can be found about BDS, whose help in arranging these book reviews is very much appreciated at

www.bibliographicdata.co.uk

Get the outside in!

fresh air flowing through the house from room to room, especially when you have a lovely day like today.  Your house will thank you for it.

One of the best house tips you can have, is just open your windows.

When we make hot meals, tea, take a shower, have a bath, dry our clothes, or do anything else that adds moisture to the air (including  breathing), we’re also creating an environment that’s conducive to mold.  It loves warm, damp environments.  The problem is growing as construction technology makes our homes even more water and moisture secure.

You also have cleaning products, bleach etc.  They hang around in the air.

The next time you come back home, take note of the smell and how humid the house is.  Is it stuffy?  You don’t notice these things when you’re in the house for a couple of hours.

So today try opening the window.  Feel the fresh, clean feeling that only actual natural clean air can offer, even if it’s just for a brief minute.  You will feel energized too.  You will realise quickly why your mother and hers all did this.

It is simple, it is green and it is free.

Join me in a fortnight,

Pauline x

It’s all about the bugs! Tune in tomorrow for Interior Design and Home Furnishings expert Pauline Jack.  More great home tips!

Bibliographic Data Services, based in the Crichton Business Park have chosen for us two great DVD’s to review at 1.30pm today.

The moive that gave Gary Oldman his Oscar Nomination – Tinker Tailor, Soldier Spy.

Plus an Eastern European film that has stood the test of time since 1999 – Black Cat/White Cat

 This week is Dumfries and Galloway’s local Sexual Health Week – ‘Let’s talk about Sex – what’s new 4 u?’

 Alive radio is working with NHS D&G to encourage you to consider your sexual health and what could be new for you.

 Don’t be afraid to talk about it, it’s your body and you must always be happy and safe in how you approach sex and relationships.  Check out what is new in contraception and STI testing on http://www.c4urself.org.uk/

 Sheila and Margaret have the awesome local lad and world famous tenor Nicky Spence in the studio today.  Nicky will join them after 5pm in the second hour of their show.  Hopefully we can get him to sing too!! 

Nicky is performing “Nicht at the Opera” at the Theatre Royal on Saturday.  Tune in to find  out  more  about the show!

Topcat enters the world of Dancing on Ice again this Friday when he talks with Mark Hanretty.

Mark is the professional partner of Rosemary Conley, 65 but with the verve and energy of a woman half her age.  Find out their experience on the ice just after 5pm this Friday.

 Robin Braidwood from Braidwoods Solicitors is in the studio talking about your rights with faulty or “not as described goods”.

http://www.braidwoods.com/

Thanks to Pauline Jack from Hollywood Carpets for the Style Council today.  Lots of good ideas and tips.

Are you wanting to declutter for the spring?

Pauline gives use some top tips!

1. Deal with your clothes. Clean out wardrobes and drawers. Throw out anything that you no longer love or that no longer fits you. If it’s beyond repair, out of style, unflattering, or useless (like one sock only), then au revoir. 
2. Clear out your loft. Let go of those old love letters, broken chairs, old baby clothes, mouldy rugs, useless tools, old towels and sheets, extra blankets, anything you no longer need. If you haven’t used it for the past 2 years, chances are you don’t need it, and perhaps someone else could make use of it. 
3. Kitchen. Remove everything from your kitchen counters that is not essential for every day cooking (blenders, mixers, jars of dried beans, rice, flour, etc.). These items should be stored in cupboards. Clean out the cupboard and fridge to make sure nothing is expired, moldy or rotten. Make sure to also check under the kitchen sink.
4. Recycle paper. Magazines, junk mail and newspapers should be tossed out weekly. Books – especially paperbacks that you’ve read can be donated to the charity shop. Keep only books that are essential and irreplaceable. Old textbooks, paperback classics, can be given away to book car boot sales and friends. 
5. Don’t forget the garage. Broken items, scraps of wood, rusty tools, parts of appliances, electrical equipment that no longer works are all candidates for the recycle bin, refuse bin or skip. Fix it, use it or let it go.
6. What about your bathroom. Clean out medicine cabinets often. Keep a minimum of towels out. Make sure the linen cupboard is up to date and neat.
7. Stop clutter at the front door. Only buy what you need and have a place for it. Stop buying purely on impulse, throw out junk mail, it has a tendancy to grow. Accept other people’s stuff only if you really need it. If you acquire a new piece of furniture, let go of a piece of furniture that someone else can use. Recycle cans, bottles, papers, and plastic at least monthly.
8. Clean out your car. A car is an extension of your personality.  Is it tidy?  It speaks volumes about you. 
9. Ask yourself these questions:
• Do I love it?
• Do I need it?
• Is it essential?
• Does it enhance my life?

Then: Sort your things into 3 piles:

• Yes – I love it and I need it, it works and it’s useful
• No – Someone else can have it

No – Toss it out

More in a fortnight!

Join Topcat for an icy delight this Friday! He will be chatting with Frankie Poultney, Dancing On Ice Professional and a firm favourite with fans everywhere.

4-6pm this Friday Topcat with special guest Frankie Poultney!