On a cold Winter's night with a full Moon above, full moon fever was in full swing in the city of Cambridge, as local residents desperately phoned and emailed in their bids to save their local community radio station from going off the air, possibly for ever.

The atmosphere in the studio was tense, as it was packed out by just about everyone who has presented a show on the station, huddled against the walls to await the outcome of what could be their final chance to raise enough money to keep broadcasting their unique mix of radio programming.

The most touching story I heard in the build up to this moment came from a former Heroin addict, who said that working that at 209radio had "kept me on the straight and narrow" for the last 15 months. Praise indeed, and a testament to how this venture can touch and change peoples' lives for the better.

As the midnight hour approached (the possible switch off time if all else failed), we were all called out of the studio for an announcement by Karl Hartland, the station manager.

He'd received word that enough money had been raised for 209radio to stay on the air for another three months.

This was a classic cliffhanger moment, as there was literally had about ten minutes to go before midnight and possible station shutdown.

Immediately the atmosphere changed from tense anticipation to celebration, replete with a couple of bottles of bubbly cracked open and poured into plastic cups. Most people were sensible about how much they consumed though, as some of them were now going to be back in the next day to do their jobs at the reprieved radio station!

However...

Even though the good people of Cambridge voted 'yes' to 209radio staying on the air by pledging their support, they're not out of the woods yet, as this is a reprieve for three months.

So, the moral of this story is a simple one:

Recession or not, you must all keep supporting and using your community assets or they will disappear!!