Flying high for Red Kite Radio

Steve Clapinson, who grew up in Buckinghamshire and lived in Great Kimble for 18 years, took part in the exhilarating experience to raise funds for Haddenham-based community station Red Kite Radio and also for Aylesbury Food Bank.

On Sunday (24th September) he told Red Kite Radio presenter John Reid-Hansen all about his exciting skydiving adventure when he was a special guest on the Sunday Brunch Show.

Steve's tandem skydive took place at an airfield in Peterborough earlier this month and he said he loved every minute of it and did a perfect landing. His fund raising target was £500 and he has exceeded that, with £735 so far.

He is keeping his JustGiving page* open until the end of October and hopes to raise even more. Then he will split the proceeds in half and share the money raised between Aylesbury Food Bank and Red Kite Radio.

Steve moved to south Lincolnshire more than 20 years ago but still retains strong links with Buckinghamshire, reading the Bucks Herald each week on memory stick, and he returns to the county frequently.

He said: "When I first heard about Red Kite Radio earlier this year I tuned in one Thursday evening on my Alexa and the first show I listened to was Gold Kite, then it was Cherry Waller with the Sixties Rewind and then Motown Magic. I loved it."

Steve has become such a fan of the station he travelled down to Haddenham in the summer to attend a Funk, Soul and Dance Night organised by presenter Deep Kundhi to raise funds for the station, and it gave Steve the idea to do something himself.

He said: "I had a great time at the Funk, Soul and Dance Night and I met Cherry Waller and got her autograph and I thought, here is a community radio station I want to do something for, and so I decided to do the skydive."

Red Kite Radio Head of Output, Chris Long, said: "We are immensely grateful to Steve for his incredible feat and his generous donation to the station. And we are delighted that he enjoys listening to our shows."

*Photographs and a video of Steve's skydive can be viewed on his Just Giving page, which is still open for donations until the end of October https://justgiving.com/crowdfunding/steve-clapinson.

Red Kite Radio, run entirely by volunteers, is based at Haddenham Garden Centre and has been broadcasting for six years to Thame, Haddenham and all the surrounding villages in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

Local listeners can tune in on their radios at 107.2fm, but the station has fans from all around the country and the world, who regularly tune in via their Smart Speaker or by listening online at www.redkiteradio.com.