The Three R's

New readers start here! I know I've had a flattering plug this week in Communication, the monthly journal of the British DX Club. So, if this is the first time you have happened across my blog, or made a deliberate effort to surf to it- welcome! If you're one of the regulars from the past six weeks or so since I started this wonderful activity on the other hand, well thanks for putting up with my 'stream of consciousness' writing so far
There are no "rules" as such with blogs, apart from the law and common courtesy which I do my best to observe. "Blogistan" is very much a country peopled by individual Ian's, normal Normans and eccentric Ericas, all with their own way of seeing things and saying things so as a muttering Mark I'm no different. However, obviously some postings may make more interesting reading to you than others. Just like reading any other newspaper or magazine, you're probably not going to read literally every line from end to end(including the ads!), so I won't feel offended if you pass on some of my postings! I would though rather stimulate honest opinions and exchanges of views, so don't hold back and if you have any criticisms, I want to hear them. If I willingly place myself in a public stocks, I expect to have the odd tomato or bad egg hurled at me once in a while!

Still, it's probably easier to read a piece where you have some idea where you are going, or to use the current cliche a "road map". I'm therefore going to try to put some pointers such as paragraph headings in these postings from now on, if I go off on a different road with my grasshopper mind. I was once described by my English teacher as an enigma, i.e with a great ability and potential with the language but a tendency to laziness. I think he probably had me sussed quite well actually, such that 27 years later probably not much has changed! At the same time, I take to heart encouragingly the words of another academic, in this case my lecturer at night school when I took my A Level History ten years after flunking it at the same school. He said I was a born essay writer!

Well, whether that is true is not for me to say but I do adore writing and long to do it more. Indeed, in my ideal world I'd probably be making a living from it. For the present though, I'm happy to log on and blog on, so trust you will enjoy reading my humble or perhaps self-indulgent thoughts from time to time. So, on with this first posting of the month, and back to the Three- or perhaps more- R's...

RADIO
Mr Marconi's world-changing invention has been a friend to me ever since I was a wee lad. However, as with all friends I've sometimes spent more time and played with it more often than others, simply because of the demands of daily living and other distractions, many of which if I am honest are not particularly fulfilling and add little to my knowledge of our global village and the God who I believe built it. Yesterday though (Saturday 2nd) brought I think, something of a renewal of my vows of marriage to this wonderful medium and a strengthening of metaphorical and literal friendships.
Dozed off on Friday night to the soporific sounds of thirties dance music in a language I couldn't understand, but it was absolutely wonderful and unexpected to hear. The frequency was 6165 kHz in the 49 metre band, and I discovered the next day the station was Radio Croatia . Although there was interference audible underneath, I had no problem listening, and this made an unusual change from the soothing late-night fare I normally listen to from Classic FM In fact, it reminded me what a wonderful world of listening still lies out there, despite the increasing tendency for broadcasters to abandon ship on the high frequen-cies. How much more thrilling it must have been, then, for listeners in an era before jumbo jet jaunting and satellite seeing to experience faraway places and different cultures through little more than a thin paper cone, a few bits of wire and solder or maybe a pair of heavy headphones.

The world of broadcasting is so very different today, where a flick of a switch or a a click of a mouse can bring up the latest happenings in both sound and vision anywhere from Hamburg to Harare, or Aberdeen to Auckland. Yet somehow that only heightens the appeal and the marvel, at both the new technology- the highways, if you like- which brings this entertainment and information to our fingertips, and the by-ways, the "side streets" of local stations, short term event stations and other curiosities, which still make the hobby of "DXing", or distant listening, so fascinating.

This duopoly of the old and the new was brought home with a fascinating visit on Saturday to the studios of the World Radio Network, known for short as WRN. The trip was arranged by Mike Terry, who I've mentioned before in this blog is a fellow member of the British DX Club a, one of our longest-serving in fact. Mike had been planning this trip for some time, but I have to admit I had not originally approached it with a great deal of enthusiasm of expectation. When you've worked in radio particularly, as I have, there can be something of a blase attitude of "when you've seen one radio station, you've seen them all", after a while. Nothing could be further from the truth in WRN's case, however. We had an enthralling afternoon both learning about the background to the station and their exciting plans, as well as looking round the "business end" where a large bank of flashing lights and whirring gubbins worthy of the Tardis transported in radio programming from all over the globe.

WRN is a unique organisation in that it takes in programmes from most of the world's major international broadcasters and then sends them flying out again through satellites and cables to landfall listener-side to the world's TVs, radios and PCs. It's an interesting and unique business proposition which nevertheless remains in the hands of three former BBC bods, but looks set to go from strength to strength as the means of digital delivery continue to grow and burgeon.

I've known of WRN's existence for some time, of course (they started in 1992) and for a while used to listen to them through WorldSpace, a somewhat less well-organised satellite system which started with good intentions but has rather lost the plot recently. Following my visit to WRN yesterday, however, I intend to hook the WorldSpace receiver back up to it's windowsill mini-dish, so that I can take full advantage of the excellent programming "bouquet" WRN offers. Even if I don't do that, there's always the option of catching up via the net and cordless speakers. Can you think of a more comforting way to end a dark and damp autumn night on a large island in the North Atlantic, by moving by the magic of technology to hear what's happening in the warm seas of the Pacific on a Spring day? That's how I concluded my Saturday night, falling asleep listening to Radio New Zealand in perfect quality, thanks to WRN. Excellent stuff.
Having said all that, it takes a lot to stifle the pleasure of chance discovery which a short wave radio set with an old fashioned "analogue" tuner can bring. On my late night train journey back from London, my audio boat landed me on the far off shores of the People's Republic, with the enchanting sounds of China Roots on China Radio International (find their website at www.cri.org.)
For those that would like to know more about WRN, there should be a report on this visit in the next edition of Communication. This is of course sent on subscription to members. We always welcome new participants, whatever your level of interest in broadcast radio or however long you've been listening. Check out the BDXC website for more information. Also, look out for an article on WRN written by my good buddy Chris Brand in a forthcoming edition of RADIO ACTIVE, an excellent magazine available from all good newsagents.

My other R's ?
RAIL
How great it is to see the name of Southern back on the rail map of Britain. The network now may be a shadow of its pre-Beeching heyday, but it recalls a wonderful part of Britain's rail heritage. I'll never forget the thrill my brother Matthew and I got from "driving" an electric multiple unit out of Strawberry Hill depot on the Southern- and the deafening hiss of the brakes as we let go of the "dead man's handle" remains a powerful arual memory even now.

However, I bet the old Southern had on-board loos which worked, which is more than can be said for their hi-tech modern equivalent. The new Electrostar trains have sophisticated sensors which lock the loo when the waste tank is 80 per cent full, meaning they can't be used. But what possible harm can be done by a little tinkling of uric acid on some isolated rail track in the middle of nowhere? Sometimes I think nanny state restrictions are just slightly mad!

REAL ALE
Working "facilities" are all the more needed on the homeward trip after a pint or two of a great cask ale. After the WRN visit, we made our way through a little boxes Vauxhall housing estate, to a pub which I think was called the Mawby Arms. Full of locals flitting between fillies and foulers- racing and soccer- it didn't look a promising venue for a post-visit chinwag at first. However, first impressions can be deceptive. The pub had an excellent range of three cask ales, of which my choice was the very tasty Kickoff from Robinsons of Stockport. I need to investigate this one further! The real ale lubricated some good chat for a couple of hours, before I headed back to Feltham for an evening visit- though no more beer!

Radio, Rail and Real Ale made for a fun day out yesterday and are things I take great delight in. However, if all these great enjoyments of life were taken away from me, I know I'd still have the one thing that matters most- my faith in Jesus Christ. Learning to read and write is a fundamental right, but I wonder how many modern folk know that it's only through the efforts of faithful Christians that some people are able to do so at all. Our education system has its roots in the tireless social action of folk who knew the three R's that matter most, and for me without this the rest is meaningless. Believing in the meaning of the life and death of Christ savours all my other friendships and family ties; in other words, it brings a Really Redeeming Relationship. Amen

Links: Tried to paste in some links here readers, but seem to be having some technical troubles which prevent it right now. I'm sure a little searching with Google should soon trawl up anything you might want to know about from the above though. Try pasting in:

www.bdxc.org.uk
www.classicfm.org
www.wrn.org
www.southern-railway.co.uk