What’s the best way to mark the launch of a new DAB service? For Thornbury Radio presenter Simon Criddle it was to have his chest and legs waxed.
Thornbury Radio is a local, volunteer-run, community radio station in Thornbury, England, and its subsidiary, South Glos Digital Community Interest Co., owns and operates the new South Gloucestershire small-scale DAB multiplex.
SGDCIC was awarded the license at the end of March 2023 as part of round four of Ofcom’s small-scale DAB licensing. The multiplex went on air Sept. 16, 2024, with Thornbury Radio and smooth jazz/funk station Diamond Groove.
The multiplex covers much of South Gloucestershire, including the communities of Thornbury, Yate and Almondsbury and portions of the M4 and M5 motorways.
“Our new network has ample capacity, so we want to give smaller commercial stations, charities and community groups another option of reaching their customers and supporters by giving them ability to have their own radio service covering South Gloucestershire,” stated SGDCIC Director David Wrench.
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The launch of SGDCIC was supported by contributions and grants from the Thornbury Town Council and Thornbury Rotary, as well as by Thornbury Radio and its listeners.
Criddle, who presents the mid-morning show on Thornbury Radio, set a goal of raising £3,000 from listeners to mark the station’s launch on DAB with the promise that he’d have his legs and chest waxed live on air.
According to the JustGiving page for the effort, the funds will help with the cost of the transmitter and antenna setup needed for DAB operations, as well as other increases in the station’s operating costs. Criddle did hedge his bets with the fundraising, setting a £2,500 goal for waxing just his left leg, £2,750 for his right, and £3,000 for the chest.
On Oct. 18, the full £3,000 goal having been met, Criddle and fellow presenter Greg Robinson headed to Foxhills Spa at Old Down Estate for the treatment, which the rather hirsute Criddle described as “great, lovely.”
