Goodbye BBC... at least for now.

I walked out of the studios at BBC Radio Suffolk at 9.15 this morning and said "That's it. I can't change my mind now!"

17 years at the BBC including three presenting the weekend breakfast show.... and I had resigned. The end of an era indeed. After 28 years in broadcasting, I don't have to be planning the next programme.

I had so many emails. texts and phonecalls from listeners - they will never know how much I appreciated the send-off. My colleagues managed to render me speechless with a surprise phonecall from my 1980's co-presenter from Radio Orwell and Saxon Radio, Melvyn Prior, who is now presenting on BBC Radio Lincolnshire. This was followed by a montage of very embarrassing clips from my time at BBC Radio Suffolk - ah, the joys of live radio.

Today's programme included some extracts from interviews with some real "stars" including Donny Osmond, Midge Ure, and Dame Kiri te Kanawa.

Actually the biggest response I have ever had from pop music fans was to the interview with Nik Kershaw that I first broadcast about four years ago . He has this amazing fan club who keep each other posted wherever he does a radio interview. http://z11.invisionfree.com/Nik_Kershaw/index.php?act=idx

This weekend I was getting good luck messages from across Britain and abroad! I just HAD to repeat part of the interview for them, and play a song of course.

Now I always like to say I am a "big" Phil Collins fan, and once spent two days on the phone unsuccessfully trying to get tickets to his gig at the Royal Albert Hall, but I have never belonged to a fan club.

Nik Kershaw is from Suffolk. He is a great guy and a good singer but does he know how devoted these fans are I wonder?

http://www.rachelsloane.co.uk/