Local boy and Voice of St Lukes Hospice 2008,  Josh Dubovie is set to sing his heart out on live TV this Friday 12^th March in an attempt to represent the United Kingdom for Eurovision 2010.

If he is successful he will be jetting off to Norway in May and singing a song penned by pop legend Pete Waterman OBE.

Josh has been a frequent guest on Gateway FM and we fully support him at this exciting time.

A facebook page has been set up titled “Your county needs you” for people to join. Of course, the best thing that can be done is to watch the show on BBC1 at 8.30pm and cast a vote for him.

You can find out about Josh on myspace http://www.myspace.com/joshdubovie plus there is a short video that’s well worth seeing on the BBC web site www.bbc.co.uk/eurovision/contestants/ycny_2010/contestant_josh.shtml

So please join us in giving Josh your support. He’s a great singer  and could just be the guy to make Eurovision 2010 the year for us to celebrate a win at last.

Tuesday 2nd February

Top singer Peter Andre visited Tescos at Pitsea as part of his nationwide tour promoting his new CD.

Crowds gathered to meet the star, however the star took time out first to talk to Gateway FMs Danny Lawrence and Basildon Upper Academy student Harry Finn.
Listen to the interview.

Peter Andre Interview

Some 5000 people were waiting to meet Peter, but few would have known that during his signing session he received the surprise news that his ex, Katie Price, otherwise known as Jordan, has married cagefighter Alex Reid in a reportedly private and simple  ’quickie’ Las Vegas ceremony.

Peter subsequently revealed that he has no negative feelings about the couple and just hopes they will be a good influence on his children.

The reigning Miss Galaxy International, Hayley Mac with champion former javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread MBE, Olympic bronze (1984) and silver (1988) medallist, World Champion (gold, 1987) and silver medallist (1983)

The Selex Club provided the venue for Friday’s ‘Battle of the Bands’  in aid of St Lukes.

The place rocked. The bands provided sound levels to make your ears hum and feet tap.

It was a great show with a welcome surprise guest: Olympic star, Fatima Whitbread.

She joined Hayley Mac, reigning Miss Galaxy International, to present the awards.

The winning band was Eighth Deadly Sin, in second place The Leonhearts and third place went to No Tomorrow.

Interestingly the spead of marks awarded by the judges was quite small, which reflects well on the quality of all the entrants into the competition.

The coveted first prize is a day in Basildon Recording Studio and the opportunity to perform and represent St. Luke’s at a variety of different events through the year, as well as more air time.  Of course, all the bands gained terrific exposure, for they had all been featured on Gateway FM’s ‘Live & Loud’ show.

Cllr Sandra Hillier, Vice-Chair of Basildon District Council was joined on the judging panel by Peter Davies, MD of Orion Display and a Corporate Partner of St Luke’s Hospice; Yvonne Williams, MD of Gateway FM; Greg Fidgeon, Editor of the Yellow Advertiser and Mick Finch, guitar and vocals for ‘The Most’. Mick is an experienced professional musician who was able to give valuable advice to the contestants.

Gateway FM’s Breakfast Time presenter, Brian Wesley, lost no time in getting Fatima to the microphone for a brief chat immediately before the winners were announced: click the link to hear what she had to say: fatima interview

For more pictures of the event, visit the picture gallery for ‘Battle of the Bands’ in the media section.

A members meeting hosted by South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT) yesterday covered the closure of Runwell Hospital and the opening of its replacement Brockfield House, Young Carers Campaign, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and future plans.

SEPT is one of the largest NHS providers in the country of health and social care services for people with mental health problems and people with learning disabilities.

As an NHS Foundation Trust, SEPT is run locally, not by Government, and must work closely with the local community to develop services in a way that best suits the needs of local people.  Members meetings give the local community the chance to ask questions about the Trust and mental health services.

 If you would like to become a Trust member, you will find details via the website  www.southessex-trust.nhs.uk .

Gateway FM’s Ros Connors interviews Doctor Patrick Geoghegan from the South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust about Runwell’s history, the changes expected, and the stigma still surrounding mental health.

Click the link to hear the interview: Dr Patrick Geoghegan intv