You don't have to be a genius or a Buerk to help make iPM. We rely on your stories and ideas to shape the programme, if there's an issue you'd like us to take a look at, or something in the news that's got your goat leave a comment below or send an email to ipm-@-bbc.co.uk.
A starter for 10: Have you ever experienced racism while on holiday? Did you get the right advice before you travelled? It's something we're looking at and we'd appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences about explaining death to children on the blog and via email.
Have a listen to the stories and advice given by three of the people we spoke to. This is the item as it featured on the programme:
For further advice and support, the Radio 4 Action Line points listeners to childhood bereavement charities such as .
And thanks to Sue, who wrote to us with these recommendations:
When are the Christmas decorations coming down? Annette emailed to protest that the lights are still up in Machynlleth, Powys. It was suggested by Big Sister that the town might be saving on the expense of bringing the lights down, or that the cherry picker was broken.
We asked for other examples of seasonal decorations hanging on into the spring. One of 434 people who follow iPM on , Nmeth, found a parking space in Harrogate and dashed off to grab this photo. He uploaded it to the (No running. No dive bombing. No petting.)
Send us more photos.
"My daughter left the house without telling anyone, leaving her three children with us."
Each week listeners send us one sentence explaining an event from their week. Often they are deeply personal. Others are dramatic.
"Pulled a man from a burning truck."
Some illustrate a fragment of huge national news stories, such as the recession.
"Took car for service at fantastic half-price offer. Found I'd got the wrong day, but they could still do it as they were not busy."
A dozen or so words drawn from your last 168 hours.
Send us an email or leave a comment below. We'll weave them all together into the weekly Your News bulletin.
The thoughts of many are with David and Samantha Cameron following the death of their son, Ivan, as we'll report on PM shortly.
"[I cannot] imagine the pain of losing a child... the mere thought always reduces me to tears. I can't even write this post without tears!" Wrote Fi on the PM Blog.
Claire Bates, whose six-year-old son - like Ivan - has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, wrote an article for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ News .
"When I heard today's news about [Ivan's] death, I pulled over my car, took deep breaths and watched my hands begin to shake.
My middle son asked me why we weren't going to pre-school. I told him a special boy like Noah had died and a family just like us was very sad."
The very public illness of Jade Goody has also raised the issue of how to break such bad, but vital news to young children.
There was in which Jade Goody discusses a book about dying. The same paper hears from a childcare and parenting author, .
Do YOU have experience in this delicate area which you could share? Feel free to click on comments, or send an email to iPM@bbc.co.uk.
THURSDAY UPDATE: today reports how Mr and Mrs Cameron broke the news to their children.
"Scattered Grandma's ashes in the park, had my clutch repaired for free, and started tests to see if eleven years of anorexia have left me infertile."
A Your News item on iPM last week. The woman who wrote said her blood tests came back this morning.
She's 24 and not thinking of having children anytime soon, but wants to know how healthy her body is now. We *may* talk to her later this week.
But it's not easy to start a family after having anorexia. A Danish study which followed women over twelve and a half years found that fertility is reduced by a third in women who've had an eating disorder. The findings also suggested that prenatal mortality is six and a half times higher than the average.
Have you had an eating disorder and gone on to have children? Were there issues around feeding your own children? Email us or leave a comment.
'In some areas of the country, somebody who's a thief and sells things at lower prices to other people, might well be seen as a 'freedom fighter' rather than a regular criminal.'
According to Professor Joshua Bamfield of the
Does this ring true? Are we more lenient toward crime when times are tough? Can thieves ever be described as 'freedom fighters'?
Are you a shop keeper, security guard, or do you have a shoplifting story to tell? Share what you know - comment below or email us.
Annette emailed to say that in Machynlleth, Powys, the Christmas lights are still up. Does she like it? She does not.
"At night-time two lights are still on. My partner's mother said the lights were still up in Porthmadog, North Wales. And I have heard also from a person in Cardiff, North Rd. where the lights are still to be seen."
Following iPM's Yuletide campaign celebrating sad municipal decorations and spindly trees, we were wondering if you'd spotted any lights lingering around your town. Send a photo if you can or add to , thanks.
Do you snore... especially during iPM's Your News slot? Sleep isn't the only topic that listeners choose to share with us in their one-sentence news snippets. Cat puke came up this week (if you'll forgive the imagery).
Send us your news in a single line by email or leave a comment below.
Here's the script from last week...
I started my new job today after being made redundant. Who says you can't get a job during an economic meltdown?
I was half way through my second hour of teaching at what is known as a Top University when I realised my dress was on inside out.
The cat has been sick on my keyboard. Judging by the contents, I'm happy that there's one less mouse around here.
Scattered Grandma's ashes in the park, had my clutch repaired for free, and started tests to see if eleven years of anorexia have left me infertile.
My wife and I rescued an elderly neighbour who had tried to commit suicide by turning on her gas oven and then going back to bed.
Trying to cure my snoring: going to sleep after spraying drugs down throat and nostrils, putting in a mouth guard and something called "a chin-up adhesive strip".
Lost my job, joining the thousands of others.
I mended holes in two gloves this week - not done this since 1983.
I have a Muslim lover. My family don't know. They hate Muslims.
I am not sure about this 'back to school at my age' malarkey - I have two essays and three practical reports to complete in four weeks' time.
The Village Hall Wine Club night was so successful that I cannot remember anything about it.
If you have a sentence of news you'd like to share with us this week, email us or leave a comment below.
Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea. Idea.
You can proclaim it proudly on the blog, comment below.
Keep it succinct on .
Or quietly drop us an email about it.
Whatever, just share what you know.
Especially if you're a shop keeper, security guard, or the victim of a credit crunch crime. iPM's looking at the link between crime and recession, do we take a more lenient attitude toward shoplifting when times are tough?
But Reg Eccles number came up. Out of 100 people he was chosen as a juror at the trial in the summer of 1975.
A huge responsibility for a shy, 32-year-old shoemaker with a young family. But he took it on and, although difficult, allowed the experience to change him.
He describes to Eddie what happened. This is a longer version of the interview broadcast on PM.
Reg contacted us after we asked for your experiences of jury service. Thanks to everyone who got in touch - you can read many of the comments on our initial posting and also the follow up.
Barrister Keith Sutton, who got us on to this subject, takes part in the programme this week to share his 20 years experience of working with juries.
There are strict rules about what we can ask former jurors and what information they can offer about their experiences. These restrictions have meant that researchers have been wary of looking at the workings of the jury room. There has been some interesting research which challenges some of the myths of jury selection. For instance, one report says that juries AREN'T made up of just the retired and the unemployed.
You can find out more .
Your News, if you don't send it... then the script stays blank (see Richard Baker above).
We're always on at you to "share what you know", but with Your News it couldn't be easier. One sentence about an event or incident in your life this week. Simple.
We (sometimes) add the old Nine O'Clock News theme and always book some of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s top radio talent to read the bulletin. Last week's Your News went for broke and secured the services of Nils Blythe (he's "the business").
Here's the script:
My jaw clicked last Wednesday. It clicked again on Thursday. A week later it still hurts. I can't eat food over an inch in height as a result.
Went on my first photographic outing of the year yesterday, ISO 1600 and the light readings still rubbish, when is this cold spell going to end??
Started twittering this week, with my first twitter all about dinner: "Just about to cook yummy Quorn Fajitas for dinner"
Now have a very distinguished streak of white gloss paint in my hair after spending most of the week painting our bedroom.
Went to a memorial for an ex-boyfriend who died too young, but cheered up by gorgeous Handel opera on Radio 3.
I got a Goblin teasmaid from Freecycle, and it's got a radio in it, so now i get woken up by Today with tea - perfection!
If you have a sentence of news you'd like to share with us this week, email us or leave a comment below.
iPS: iPM is hoping to devote a whole edition of the show to Your News in the near future. What do you think?
"I still can't get some of the evidence out of my head, six months on."
"I found most days emotionally draining, but always very rewarding."
"It was a shock to me to see grown men unable to read or write."
"Serving on a jury renewed my faith in the legal system."
Those are some of your views on jury service - thanks for all your comments and emails.
It's rare for us to be required to carry out a public duty, especially now that National Service has gone.
Many of you wrote that jury service showed you a side of the UK that you never knew existed. You said it gave you an insight into the lives of people you would otherwise never have met. Some of you found this experience disturbing, others saw it as valuable.
Do you feel that jury service made you a better, more optimistic citizen? Or did you leave court a less trusting or certain individual? Comment below or email us. Please be extra careful if you leave a comment on the blog that you don't compromise the secrecy of the jury room. We are not looking for details of the case.
"Section 8 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 provides that it is a contempt of court punishable with a fine or imprisonment for a juror to disclose to any person any particulars of statements made, opinions expressed, arguments advanced or votes cast by members of the jury in the course of their deliberations in any legal proceedings."
'Now I am at home in front of a real fire reading.'
A Your News sentence that landed in our inbox, which got us talking about the UK legal system, and what it's like to be a member of the jury.
Have you done jury service? Was it what you expected? Did it give you more or less faith in the British justice system? Anything like the film ?
Please save us from the specifics of the case. ( We have rules to obey ) But we are interested in how you found the experience - good or bad. Leave a comment below or email us.
What would you like our next programme to look at? And why? This is the space to share your knowledge, stories, ideas and expertise with us..and everybody else.
Leave your comment below, or email us - thanks.
For the first time in over thirty years - we are using our cars less.
iPM invited and of , to discuss what they think is behind this fall and ask whether our relationship with the car is changing.
Listen to a longer version of the discussion broadcast on Saturday's programme. It's chaired by the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s Transport Correspondent Tom Symonds:
All comments welcome.
For the first time in 30 years, . Have you noticed?
As the economy grew, so did our commute. The average daily distance we were prepared to travel in our cars increased fivefold since the 1950s.
But it looks like things are changing. show the average motorist drove 90 fewer miles last year than in 2007.
Are you part of this trend? Has your relationship with the car changed? Or is it changing? Please share what you know by leaving a comment below or email us.
Following iPM mistaking a Buff Orpington for a Rhode Island Red, we tested your knowledge of chicken recognition and challenged you to 'Name that Chicken'.
This chicken was, of course, Shaun Williamson - Barry from EastEnders.
This is where the programme starts - with your suggestions. Leave your ideas in the comments below or email us. All thoughts very welcome.
And just in case you're carrying around a little burden of guilt - non, je ne regrette rien.
We used our volunteer army of blog readers and listeners to look at the issue of voluntary work. You told us it was a good way to prepare for the world of work during periods of unemployment, the government also and voluntary organisations as important in helping the long term unemployed.
But should the long-term jobless be with voluntary organisations? Is that in keeping with the spirit of "volunteering"? We spoke to:
Listener Pip Bradley who works at (see picture above). And volunteer Master Composters, Tony Curtis and Kim Garner on the benefits of volunteering. You can hear more of that in the player below too.
The "Volunteering Tsar" discussed the issues with Eddie and Jen.
After composting, I spoke to the . The charity works to support prisoners and their families. Thanks to help from Radio 4 panel member Pat Somerset, I visited the charity's London offices and spoke to its director Andy Keen-Downs (pictured) and one of their volunteers, 'Linda'. You can hear more of that below.
, The Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations discussed how the voluntary sector could best help the unemployed. You can hear more from him in the player below.
iPM depends on your ideas and suggestions. Feel free to leave your thoughts on this week's show in the comments below.
Ever said something you later came to regret?
'Has the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ gone mad what Carol Thatcher said behind closed doors is between her and the people who were there not the whole world.'
writes Lessle on the PM blog
So, have you gone public with something that, perhaps, should have stayed private? Were there repercussions?
Share your burden of guilt with us in the comments below. Or if you're still feeling far too guilty, email us, and we'll try* and keep it to ourselves.
* promise we'll not name and shame.
We used the picture above to illustrate the disappearence of Jane Sendell's Rhode Island Red bantam, Ruby. Jane alerted iPM by sending a sentence to our Your News slot. Stoats were the assumed culprits, but the mystery continues. Jane updates us:
'Ruby hasn't been found (this wasn't helped, I feel, by using a picture of a Buff Orpington in your kind appeal to the public). We're pretty sure that she has been eaten but we cannot rule out the possibility that she joined the Shadow Cabinet, given the range and depth of her intellect.'
Buff Orpington? Opps. Apologies.
Is chicken recognition a dying art? Can you name the chicken pictured below?
Leave your entry on the blog.
UPDATE: All has been revealed.
On our iPM New Years Honour programme we found our listeners are doing voluntary work ranging from setting up a basking shark watch project to distributing human milk to newborn babies.
And following our look at the stigma around unemployment, listener Janiece Spence told us volunteering was a worthwhile way to spend time between jobs: you learn new skills, gain potential employment references and it looks good on your CV.
Other people may be thinking that too. We've spoken with the charity , who say that figures from December show there's been a 44% increase year-on-year in the number of applicants for voluntary work.
Have you done unpaid work during periods of unemployment? What did you do and how did you find it? Or do you run an organisation in need of volunteers? Leave us a comment or email ipm-at-bbc.co.uk
UPDATE Part of the government's plans to help the unemployed, include new volunteering opportunities. There's also the prospect that, for the long term unemployed, they could be required to . Ralph Michell of the spoke to Eddie about this. You can hear and extended version of that interview in the player below.
(BTW ACEVO's CEO )
from Poyntersjte
³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Newsreader + old Nine O'Clock News theme + your news - all the words + one sentence = Your News
Last week, Winston Plowes sent his single sentence of personal news in the form of a haiku. (Gesundheit!) He's back....
"We found ourselves at the Darbar in Rusholm, Manchester, on the curry mile. My Haiku from that night is -
Darbar chaat shatter. Aloo, Chana, Tamarind. Fragrant Curry Mile."
Tabithahergest sent her "haiku of the week". If we were being picky, we might point out that it's not really her news, but it's still very good...
"January is, like a homie's low-slung jeans, almost at an end."
Here's what Radio 4's Neil Sleat read out this week:
I've just received a new photo of my adopted chimp, Eddi. She's growing up fast!
Bright red blood on the toilet seat at work.
I tried to sell a painting of a bulls head to the butcher but he told me to go away and called me a 'gypsy'.
We are having steamed sea bream for dinner, 4 for £10, what a bargain.
Send your news - marked Your News - to our Your News team via email or leave a comment below.
NB. It doesn't have to conform to the rules of Japanese poetry.
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