AN INVERNESSIAN IN AMERICA: DIANE KNOX reflects on 40 years of Moray Firth Radio, Tich McCooey, Sony Awards, boy bands and some of the happiest days of her life
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This week marked 40 years of Moray Firth Radio, our local radio station that covers an area the size of Belgium.
That line always makes me giggle; it was our sales pitch! But when you think about it (sorry, Google it), that’s 11,849 square miles. And when you compare it to, say, Edinburgh – the largest city in Scotland, which is a mere 102 square miles – you get a feel for just how special MFR is.
It’s special to me, for so many reasons.
I was a presenter on MFR for six years from 2004 to 2010. I look back on my time at the North’s Number 1 so fondly; it was truly the foundation of my career and some of the happiest days of my working life. But what made it so great?
Well, first up, the people. I worked with not only some of the most talented people in UK radio, but some of the funniest, motivating, witty characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of being friends with. Tich McCooey, Nicky Marr, Helen McPherson, Ray Atkinson, Jodie McCluskey, Garry Spence, Ken Kelman and Davey D are some of the on-air personalities you may know, but the behind-the-scenes team were the cogs who kept the wheel turning.
When you work at MFR you become part of a family, a relatively small group of people who are responsible for this dynamic radio station. And they really are the best bunch I’ve ever had the pleasure of working alongside and learning from.
The biggest achievement of my career came in 2010, when I was nominated for, and ultimately won, radio presenter of the year at the national Arqiva Radio Awards.
I was given the award – by boyband The Wanted! – at a glitzy ceremony in London and I remember having the greatest night of all time.
I still have the dress I wore that night and often look at it and smile, and the trophy takes pride of place in my Jacksonville office.
The same year, we won the Sony Radio Award for station of the year. Anyone who knows radio, knows that the Sonys are the BIG ONES, so to play a role in that gold-winning team will always be one of my biggest accomplishments. Two awards in one year, I don’t know why I didn’t put more lottery tickets on!
But 2010 also brought another of my favourite MFR memories. We were off to London for another award ceremony, where we’d been nominated once again for station of the year. But, as luck would have it, a volcano in Iceland erupted that week and scattered ash all over the UK, causing the highest level of air disruption for several years.
But since we were on a winning streak, we had to get to London. So our managing director Danny Gallagher scrambled to hire a coach to bus us all there.
An 11-hour “team bonding” experience – and we didn’t even win! And I got slagged all the way to London for my stinky spray tan.
I’ve been smiling from ear to ear as I’ve written this. Happy birthday, Moray Firth Radio! Here’s to another 40 years of keeping the (very large) north of Scotland entertained and informed.
