Radio Warneford has been broadcasting music to the bedsides to keep the patients company for over 50 years. Recently, a patient who was staying with us here in the hospital put pen to paper to capture what the station means to those on the wards. He’s written a beautiful poetic tribute dedicated to 50 years of Radio Warneford, and we are incredibly honoured to share it with you now. It’s written by Paul Hulett, who was on Greville Ward, and is entitled: From the Bedside of Time.
From the Bedside of Time, A Poem for Radio Warneford’s 50 Years
We speak as one
the voices of yesterday, today, and tomorrow,
patients who have rested beneath hospital lights,
holding hope in our hands
and finding comfort in a song.
From the quiet wards of ’73
to the humming corridors of now,
your music has travelled beside us,
soft as a friend pulling up a chair,
warm as a memory returning home.
You, Radio Warneford,
born in a broom cupboard
with nothing but heart,
turned wires and willpower
into a lifeline of sound. #
You filled long nights
with laughter and gentle chatter,
turned loneliness into company,
and stitched courage into the silence
with every request played,
every name spoken aloud.
We………………………..
the ones who healed,
the ones still healing,
and the ones who will one day listen—
thank you.
For fifty years of kindness,
for every volunteer voice
that chose to give instead of take,
for every moment you reminded us
that we were not forgotten.
May your music keep flowing,
may your stories keep shining,
and may your signal forever carry
what truly matters:
Humanity.
Heart.
And the simple gift of being there.
