Don Treader (aka Gordon McFarlane) Born: 14th February 1952 Currently: 62 years, still active Current Involvements: DJ on Uplift Radio, Uplift Media, Uplift Christian Fellowship, Uplift Ministries
Biography
1.1 Early life and education 1.2 Career 1.3 Family 1.4 Vision and the lack of it 1.5 Business 1.6 Uplift - Accentuating The Positive
1.1 Early Life And Education
Don Treader, a pseudonym of Gordon McFarlane, was born on 14th February 1952 to Andrew and Isobel McFarlane, in Glasgow, Scotland. His first 2 years were marked by 14 eye operations to remove congenital cataracts, involving the needling of the cataract to disperse it and create a working passage for light to get to the back of the eyes. The result was good manageable vision which lasted him through his childhood. Brother to Irene, born 22nd April 1955, he in effect was brought up as an only child after it was discovered Irene was severely mentally challenged and was hospitalized from the age of 5.
His early life was happy, being characterized much by a zest for reading and music. One of his first memories was being ‘encouraged’ to perform at his local newsagents at his mother’s behest (4 years old).He was also one of the youngest members in his church choir (6 years old).
He attended Mount Florida Primary School until his family left Glasgow to live in Johnstone Castle in 1960, a result of the Glasgow Overspill. He attended Auchenlodment Primary and left as Christmas Dux in 1963.
Music became a love in his life. He took up the clarinet, with the vain hope of sounding like Acker Bilk and this continued when after passing his 11+ he went to Paisley Grammar. He joined the school orchestra and achieved Grade 5 before stopping at the age of 15.
Pop music began to figure more and more in his life. Treader admits to this eventually affecting his performance at school - being more interested in recording programmes on a reel to reel tape recorder, and listening to the radio, causing his work to suffer. This was compounded by a deterioration in his eyesight, glaucoma being diagnosed due to the blocking of the eyes' drainage canals by particles of the needled cataracts returning, (a fairly common result of the procedure undergone by him as a baby).
Treader remembers days when his eyesight would become hazy leading to dangerous situations when cycling on busy roads. The situation came to a head when he couldn't read an important exam paper and had to inform his teacher. An almost comical situation followed when at the doctor's he was asked to read the eye chart just in front of him. He had to ask where it was. Until hospital diagnosis confirmed he had acute glaucoma, it was generally believed that he was faking it for the benefit of his family and teachers.
His condition worsened and in 1967 he was admitted to the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow for corrective surgery. The first operation failed, as did the second. leaving him blind. During this time he became a Christian under the influence of his eye surgeon - Dr. Murray McGavin. Treader was to testify afterwards, 'I did not know that the Doctors had told my parents I would never see again, but for me a minor miracle took place. After the second operation I was totally blind, but within the space of ten days and after much prayer, I began to see light. After about 5 more experimental operations in as many months, I left hospital seeing. Indeed my consultant said I could see well enough to drive a bus.'
Having lost over a year's schooling, and to counter any possible recurrence of his condition, it was decided that he would be best served by finishing his education in the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh, which necessitated leaving his home, now in Gourock, Renfrewshire at the age of 17, and boarding in the school.
'It was like a new lease of life to me', said Treader. 'Having a strong Christian faith, and probably one of the best levels of vision in the school, helped me fit in well and gave me a new start. My dwindling performance at Paisley Grammar was reversed. I left the Royal Blind School with its excellent education after 3 years at the age of 20, with what I needed for University, something I was unlikely to have achieved at Paisley Grammar.' He also met and became engaged to his future wife Sheila at the Royal Blind School. 'A big hand had taken me from a place of failing and taken me to a place where I could succeed, and move on with my life.'
At Edinburgh University Treader studied a 4 year Divinity course at New College Edinburgh with the intention of becoming a minister. He also married Sheila Kermack, his schoolgirl fiancé, in his first year of study, on 14th April 1973. He went on to graduate in 1976, but by then his aspirations had changed. Having joined the Apostolic Church, a pentecostal fellowship, he was encouraged to see that his future did not lie in the formal ministry, but in teaching. 'I didn't want to teach,' says Treader. 'I tried everything but . . . social work being the main thing. But as with many things in my life, when I decided to try teaching as all other doors had shut on me - I applied 1 day before the closure of applications - amazingly it all came together and I was accepted'. Treader began a 1 year Teacher Training course at Moray House, Edinburgh, and graduated in June 1977.
There being few teaching Jobs for Religious Education teachers in Edinburgh, Treader attended meetings in the College where representatives from different regions in Scotland canvassed for candidates. 'Again this big hand took hold of my life. I was about to leave the interview as the queue was long before me. Somehow I stayed and after a friendly discussion with the Deputy Director of Education from the Grampian Region, I had a possible offer of employment. By 9.30 the following morning, I had a job in Bridge of Don Academy and a 5 bedroom schoolhouse. My future for the next 33 years was settled!'
1.2 Career
Resources being low, Treader started in August 1977 at Bridge of Don Academy as the only RE teacher, with responsibilities for writing the Syllabus, and teaching it. He acknowledges that his first 5 years were difficult, not unusual for any new teacher, but further compounded by his sole status. As he became more established, as the syllabus evolved and other RE teachers came to the school, the subject became more accepted in the school and the attitudes of pupils warmed to it. 'Times were challenging, but not unrewarding.'
1.3 Family
Treader had married in 1973 and in March 1975 his first child Ruth was born, quickly followed by Andrew in 1976 and Rachel in 1978. Pressures were high on him and his wife. 'It seemed in these days that the fears of divorce, unemployment or excommunication were constant companions', Treader said. 'An elder in the Church, a teacher at the Academy and a handful of children to bring up were very real responsibilities. Mistakes were made but we came out of them stronger. A move into Aberdeen from Foveran - 12 miles outside of Aberdeen helped make things easier.'
1.4 Vision and the lack of it.
From becoming a Christian on 23rd March 1968 Treader had an active faith. ‘Being bored overnight in hospital, I thought I’d pass the time by asking Jesus into my life. To my utter amazement I felt a warm peace, an envigorating presence, sweep over me. It lasted months, just enough time to get me through my traumatic operations, going blind then getting my sight back.’ At school and subsequently at Edinburgh University his faith became more lively and much strengthened, encouraged greatly by his change of church.
Entering teaching was an act of faith. He grew into the job . 'After some initial difficulties, I really began to enjoy it, getting great pleasure out of communicating with children. I felt it was my vocation.' Perceived difficulties expressed in the beginning by the College and his colleagues appertaining to his limited sight had come to nothing. He felt accepted by staff and pupils alike.
In the mid 1990s it became clear that Treader's eyesight was now failing, a possibility alluded to 30 years earlier. 'It got so bad that I had to find my way round the school corridors by looking at the ceiling lights for direction.' Having told no-one of his plight for fear of their reactions, he flirted with the option of resigning. 'I still had 15 or so good years in me left to teach, and possibly 30 years to stay at home doing nothing.' After much soul searching and prayer, Treader testifies to a night of decision when he felt inspired to continue teaching, to come clean with everyone including the pupils and to hold onto the inspiring thought that in years to come he would look back and see that it had been the right decision - he would be amazed at what would be achieved. ‘A few weeks later, after I had told every pupil and every class that I was going blind and would be getting a Guide Dog, it was as if a great weight had dropped off me. I had been hiding my blindness for so long. I could now be myself!’
Twelve years later at his retirement, Treader stated that these years had been some of the best, and the happiest, of his life. Being blind and sharing that time with his wonderful Guide Dog Yulie, along with the friendship, cooperation and respect of his pupils had done something for him he could never have imagined possible, something that could only have been God-inspired.
1.5 Business
In 1994 Treader started Exponential Services (now Uplift Media), an audio video production company which specialized in transferring, enhancing and producing media of all types, audio and video, cine, slide, picture and old VHS and camera video transfer, to latest formats and standards, inter format transfer between Pal, NTSC, Secam etc., bulk duplication of video first then CD and DVD, audio & video restoration, the filming and producing of Wedding and other function videos. This drew upon his fascination with old movie formats and audio production when young, and his newly found interest in technology including video cameras and computers. ‘I thought I had lost the chance to be involved with photography when my eyes got bad in the ‘60s but now I was in my element.’ It also helped counter a growing frustration at the lack of promotion in his teaching job and helped him find outlets for his time and interests. A major event took place in 1998, just before he went blind. His company secured the order to record a Charity CD involving some well known groups and some not so well known people on Shetland. Equipment was shipped, flights booked and in April, colleague Gerry Wiseman and he spent a furiously busy weekend in a remote hall, recording each of the acts before returning to Aberdeen to master and produce 3000 CDs for distribution. It was then that he realised his eyesight was going quickly. It had deteriorated to the point of him thinking his video career was now over. Not so however. With the incorporation of speech packages in his work and then in his business he was able to continue largely as before, employing and training others who could do what he could not because of his lack of sight. Over the years literally thousands of cines and videos were transferred and updated. In 2014, Exponential Services was incorporated under the ‘Uplift’ banner and now bears the name, Uplift Media.
1.6 Uplift – Accentuating The Positive
At 58 Treader was on the move again. An opportunity for early retirement and a sense that he had nothing left to prove, being totally blind in a sighted school, he felt a desire to do something different. 'The weekend after I had confirmed my resignation a friend visited and the conversation strayed over a variety of topics, including radio. This struck a chord and overnight again I had a vision of the future. I was so much convinced of it that I purchased the Radio Station software that night and began to plan how to communicate further through the medium of radio, Uplift Radio as it came to be called. It brought together strands from my life’s work, the early years of recording music and radio programmes, the audio video and technical experience gained from my business, my teaching skills and of course my Christian faith.' The plan was to produce something that would be attractive to everyone, something positive in music and thought. So was born Uplift Radio on 31st January 2011, with the strap line ‘accentuating the positive’. In a dark world with negatives fueled by poverty, unemployment and recession, people need something positive to encourage and inspire them, to give them a way out. It was here that Treader took on his pseudonym, a play on the book by C S Lewis, ‘The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader’.
A 24/7 internet radio station, Uplift Radio slowly built up a strong listenership, achieving a sizable batch of new unique listeners each month. In the first 3 months of 2014 Uplift Radio was being listened to in 92 countries. New programmes, new presenters, a friendly positive atmosphere helped build its success.
Presenters have included:
Brian Fowler Dee Jay M DJ Smooth DJ Sophia Don Mark2
Having a Christian basis, but not being a Christian station, it was determined that Uplift Radio would try to play one relevant, genre appropriate gospel song each hour. Many of the intervening thoughts and quotes would have Christian influence, and presenter style would aim at being positive all the time. The Station was targeted at a largely non-Christian audience, and had to be attractive.
Other programmes included the popular Gospel Show featuring 2 presenters, good music and thought provoking discussion on topical issues. Also inspiring radio theatre such as Left Behind (a Christian drama based on the ‘end times’)
Beautifully crafted plays such as ‘Oliver Twist’, ‘Little Women’, ‘Ben Hur’ from focus On The Family; ’The Hour Of Power’ originally from The Crystal Cathedral in California; contributions from Joni Erakson Tada’s radio programme. Treader had found these to be inspiring and had secured permissions to broadcast them so that his audience could experience what he had for themselves.
Recent Developments
A further development in 2012 was a half hour church service on Sundays, primarily for those who couldn’t get to church. Called Uplift Christian Fellowship (UCF) it espoused the ideas of simplicity and informality in Bible Teaching and discussion, enhanced by the inclusion of beautiful inspiring hymns (mainly choral). The service was unique in that it was purported to be from different locations each week, the nature sounds giving it an additional ambient quality. Treader hoped to build into this a network of small groups, called Uchurch, to be a cyber community of faith. To date this has been a slow work, but one expected to grow.
In 2013 Treader felt something more was needed – a practical arm to Uplift Christian Fellowship. A weekly service on air was a good thing but couldn’t target local need. Having been involved closely with a team of volunteers in his local church for a number of years, bringing services, concerts and entertainment to Senior Citizens, it seemed to him that much of this could be replicated on a bigger scale, transferring it into local communities. Bringing the elderly, the young, the lonely, the disabled together, or going to where they were, to entertain, to inspire, to run coffee mornings etc. Uplift Ministries was formed, but to date has yet to make its mark.
In 2014, concerned that costs were escalating to maintain these non profit-making ventures, Treader rebranded Exponential Services as Uplift Media, making it the business name for the whole Uplift experience. Offering its audio/video expertise and studio facilities to business and individuals alike, would provide much needed support for the growing non profit-making arm.
Today Uplift Radio is being enjoyed by an increasing number of people, worldwide. With outlets on a variety of platforms including Itunes, Tunein, Tapin Radio, Vtuner, and by means of a downloadable App for smartphone and tablet,, it can be heard anywhere.