Christmas 2012!

MAY I just take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas 2012, with a little help from Boris the spinning Snowman...

Enjoy!

Short Wave logbook, September 2012

SHORT WAVE RADIO broadcasts heard on my Roberts R881 on Sunday 16 September 2012:

• Radio Romania International, 1150 - 1156 UTC, 15430 kHz, English to Europe and Africa, 'The Cooking Show'.
• Voice of Turkey, 1226 - 1248 UTC, 15450 kHz, English to Europe. Introduction to broadcast launch at 1230 UTC, Time Signal, station ID, news, press review.
• Radio Exterior de Espana, 1311 - 1328 UTC, 15585 kHz, Spanish to Europe, 'Mundofonias 2' [World music programme], female and male hosts.
• WEWN Birmingham AL USA, 1335 - 1350 UTC, 15615 kHz, English to Asia, 'EWTN Bookmark' [Author speaks about their work].
• WWCR Nashville TN USA, 1450 - 1520 UTC, 15825 kHz, English to Europe, Middle East, America, 'A Temple of Jesus Christ' with Cleveland Waters.
• WHRI Indianapolis IN USA, 1526 - 1545 UTC, 17510 kHz, English to Europe, Middle East, Africa, 'MFC Worldwide'.

A nice afternoon with the short wave radio!

Summer snaps

AS September has arrived, I'll post a couple more images of Summer 2012, these two images from the Ullswater Country Fair, Patterdale, Sunday 24 June 2012. First, the stick show:

And the second image is of the participants at the start line of the fell race, in the precipitation:

Despite the weather, the race did go on!

Luckily, the sun is shining today... Enjoy.

Wallpaper of the week, 19 August 2012

WALLPAPER of the week brings you an image of the final class at Brough Hound & Terrier Show, the Champion of Champions class. Brough Hound & Terrier Show took place Sunday 17 June 2012.

Wallpaper of the week, 12 August 2012

WALLPAPER of the week this week is an image of the people who gathered for the lighting of the Beacon to mark Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. This picture was taken at Church Brough, on the evening of Monday 4 June 2012.

Summer 2012

WELCOME  to Summer 2012 – I hope it has stopped raining, for the moment, at least. My last posting here on RFTFT was in May – So let’s have a catch up!

At the beginning of June, I had a nice day at the Kirkby Stephen Jubilee Summer Fair, Parrots Park, Kirkby Stephen. I was on ‘promotional duty’ for Eden FM Community Radio with my colleague, John Stewart, handing out leaflets and generally enjoying the events of the day.

Bank Holiday Monday (4^th June) was a real highlight, with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert (Gary Barlow and Cheryl Cole performing Lady Antebellum’s ‘Need You Now’ – Great stuff!),  which I followed at 9:30pm with a walk to Church Brough for the lighting of the beacon to mark the Diamond Jubilee. Other beacons were also visible from Church Brough, including Barras, Nine Standards, Tailbrigg Hill, Winton and Orton Scar (the latter with fireworks).

Early June is also the annual Appleby Horse Fair – Though these days, more caravans, top of the range Land / Range Rovers and motorhomes than horses!

Mid June included the launch of the second ‘RSL’ (Restricted Service Licence) for Eden FM Community Radio, broadcasting on 87.7 FM from the studios in Penrith. The transmission was preceded by a special programme hosted by Harry King – A ‘Merry Neet’, which Eden FM subtitled ‘The Show in the Showroom’ as the show was broadcast from the car sales room, rather than the studio! The image below is of the Eden FM team during the show in the showroom.

Left to right: Andy Neen, me, Nick Wells, Stef Yourell, Dave Hill, Sian Whittaker, Harry King, Jordan Summers, Lora Elliott, Max Newbold, Lee Quinn, Richard Bracken, John Stewart, Matty Buck.

Brough Hound and Terrier Show took pride of place mid June, another memorable day. Eden FM was broadcasting live from Greystoke that day too, so the Eden Valley was very popular that day!

The Eden FM RSL broadcast included the return of full daytime broadcasting, including the breakfast show (the presenter of which would wake at 5:30am), the morning show (the presenter of which would wake at 6am) and a Classic Rock show hosted by the legend that is Toby La Rhone!

Wednesday 20 June – The Olympic Torch Relay. I was in my home town of Brough for 4pm to see the Olympic flame pass through the town – It really was an amazing experience. I was lucky enough to be ‘whisked away’ to Penrith to see the flame again – Twice in one day!! To top the day off, I was a guest on a most excellent radio programme ‘Girls Nite In!’ hosted by Sian Whittaker (in the picture above).

Another highlight of the monsoon season this year was the Ullswater Country Fair, Patterdale, yes, it rained!! But the weather did not deter those who attended; another enjoyable day.

During all of this, my 37^th Birthday occurred and I could not thank family, friends and colleagues at Eden FM enough for their gifts, kind messages, cards, cake and love shown on the day. I was very impressed by the Eden FM card!

The Birthday card I received from Eden FM!

Eden FM were on the road at Dalemain Fair, which included an interview with Melo Sparrow – the popular Johnny Depp / Captain Jack Sparrow lookalike – and at the Scarecrow Festival, Langwathby, the Eden FM outside broadcast vehicle proving very popular, not least whilst parked at Langwathby railway station, capturing the sound of a passing train!

And as all that was going on, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Euro 2012, the Olympic Torch Relay and now the London 2012 Olympic Games, Summer 2012 had one recurring theme – yes – it kept on raining!

Who did what, 2011 - 2012

GREETINGS from Reporting From The Fox Tower on an exceptionally warm afternoon, so let's proceed with today's post: Who did what, 2011 - 2012, which refers to the recently completed football season, of course!

The results of the fixtures fulfilled by Carlisle United are still outstanding on this blog, so I shall complete those first:

Carlisle United results, February 2012:

• Saturday 4th: United 2 - Chesterfield 1
• Saturday 11th: Stevenage v United postponed.
• Tuesday 14th: United 0 - Tranmere Rovers 0
• Monday 20th: Brentford 4 - United 0
• Saturday 25th: United 3 - Yeovil Town 2

Results, March 2012 (all fixtures in npower League One):

• Saturday 3rd: Notts County 2 - United 0
• Tuesday 6th: United 2 - Rochdale 1
• Saturday 10th: United 4 - Bury 1
• Saturday 17th: Bournemouth 1 - United 1
• Tuesday 20th: United 0 - Preston North End 0
• Saturday 24th: Colchester United 1 - United 1
• Tuesday 27th: MK Dons 1 - United 2
• Saturday 31st: United 2 - Huddersfield Town 1

Results, April 2012:

• Friday 6th: Wycombe Wanderers 1 - United 1
• Monday 9th: United 0 - Scunthorpe United 0
• Saturday 14th: United 0 - Charlton Athletic 1 (This result promoted Charlton Athletic)
• Tuesday 17th: Stevenage 1 - United 0
• Saturday 21st: Sheffield Wednesday 2 - United 1
• Saturday 28th: United 4 - Exeter City 1

The final result, May 2012:

• Saturday 5th: Oldham Athletic 2 - United 1

Remaining on the Carlisle United theme for the final time this season, please visit the Peter Murphy Testimonial Year website. Thank you.

The final placings, 2011 - 2012:

Beginning with the trophies:

• Champions League: Chelsea
• Carling Cup: Liverpool
• Johnstone’s Paint Trophy: Chesterfield

Barclays Premier League:

Champions: Manchester CITY

Relegated: Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers

npower Championship:

Champions: Reading

Promoted: Southampton

Play off winners: West Ham United

Relegated: Portsmouth, Coventry City, Doncaster Rovers

npower League One:

Champions: Charlton Athletic

Promoted: Sheffield Wednesday

Play off winners: Huddersfield Town

(Carlisle United finished the season in 8^th place)

Relegated: Wycombe Wanderers, Chesterfield, Exeter City, Rochdale

npower League Two:

Champions: Swindon Town

Promoted: Shrewsbury Town, Crawley Town

Play off winners: Crewe Alexandra

(Morecambe finished the season in 15^th place)

Relegated: Hereford, Macclesfield

Blue Square Conference Premier:

Champions: Fleetwood Town

Promoted via play off: York City

(Barrow finished the season in 13^th place)

Relegated: Hayes & Yeading, Darlington, Bath City, Kettering Town

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, brings down the curtain on the 2011 - 2012 football season.

And finally...

Last, but definitely not least, let's wish a Happy Birthday for today (Sunday 27 May) to Miss Stephanie Hodson, Miss Intercontinental 2011 and participant in the most recent series of ITV's Take Me Out - And yes, she did get a date! Happy Birthday Steph!

World Wide Wireless, May 2012

LOG of Short Wave radio broadcasts I received Friday 4 May 2012:

• EWTN/WEWN, 0942 – 1000 UTC, 11520 kHz, SINPO 44444, English to Africa, Asia, Middle East, Europe via Birmingham AL USA. Holy Rosary with Mother Angelica.
• China Radio International, 1124 – 1140 UTC, 13650 kHz, SINPO 54444, English to Europe, Asia, America via Albania. ‘Beijing Hour’.
• Radio Rossii, 1258 – 1300 UTC, 13665 kHz, SINPO 44444, Russian language, Male & Female voices, cheering children. ID.
• China Radio International, 1306 – 1320 UTC, 13670 kHz, 44444, Chinese language, female speech over soothing piano music.
• China Radio International, 1330 – 1342 UTC, 13710 kHz, 44444, French language service, female reporters speaking over music with vox pops.
• China Radio International, 1349 – 1355 UTC, 13790 kHz, 44444, English to Europe, Asia, Australia, America via Urumchi, China. Male speech.
• BBC World Service, 1405 – 1412 UTC, 13820 kHz, 23332, English to Middle East via Cyprus, ‘World Briefing’ female speech.
• University Network, 1418 – 1426 UTC, 13845 kHz, 23332, English to Europe, America via WWCR-3, Nashville TN USA. Female and male speech.
• IRRS-Shortwave, 1450 – 1500 UTC, 15190 kHz, 23332, English to Europe, Middle East, Asia, Australia. The Overcomer Ministry with Brother RG Stair.
• Radio Africa, 1505 – 1510 UTC, 15190 kHz, 54444, English to Africa. Female speaking of freedom and equality.
• KTWR – Trans World Radio, 1520 – 1522 UTC, 15200 kHz, 43333, English to Asia via Guam. Male speech in praise of God, singers.
• Voice of Korea, 1535 – 1550 UTC, 15245 kHz, 44444, English to Europe and America via Pyongyang. Memories of the Great Leader.

All in all that's a pretty decent lot!
Martin.

Just dropping by...

...to say Hi and apologise for not posting in my blog for a while - A couple of months - But I do have a list of things to post about here on Reporting From The Fox Tower, so I hope to crack on with that this week - Hold me to that! Until then, enjoy the Bank Holiday.

(Steamy) Wallpaper of the week, 25 March 2012

I HOPE you enjoy this image of a traditional steam train, situated just through the gates of the Appleby Heritage Training Centre, next to the Settle - Carlisle Railway Station, Appleby - in - Westmorland.

This photograph taken February 7, 2012.

Apologies for the lack of written articles over recent weeks, I do intend to catch up with a few things here on RFTFT in the near future - Please do bear with me! Until then, enjoy the sunshine.

Wallpaper of the week, 18 March 2012

ENJOY this springtime image of a horse having a snack in the Eden Valley.

Monday night is Skins night!

OKAY, so I couldn't think of a fitting title to this post, so I stated that if you're watching E4 now (10:20pm, Monday night) the popular television series 'Skins' is on the air. So that's the title over and done with, now here's what could have been the title:

Short Wave Logs, February 2012


Here are the radio stations I heard on Short Wave during an evening last week. Times in UTC / GMT, frequencies in kHz (kiloHertz):

• 1830 - 1850 UTC, 9420 kHz, Voice of Greece, Greek language to Europe and America. Male host, music.
• 1855 - 1910 UTC, 9430 kHz, BBC World Service, English to West and Central Africa via Woofferton [transmitting station], Shropshire, UK. News broadcast at 1900 UTC. BBC World Service on Twitter: @bbcworldservice
• 1910 - 1925 UTC, 9445 kHz, All India Radio, General Overseas Service, English to Europe, Africa. Male host, interview.
• 1930 - 2000 UTC, 9500 kHz, Radio Australia, English to Asia via Shepparton [transmitting station], Victoria, Australia. Breakfast with Radio National's Fran Kelly. Radio Australia News on Twitter: @RANews
• 2025 - 2035 UTC, 9600 kHz, China Radio International, English to Europe, Middle East, Africa via Kashi [transmitting station], China. 'China Drive' programme.
• 2045 - 2100 UTC, 9655 kHz, Deutsche Welle, English to Africa via Kigali [transmitting station], Rwanda. Female host, news. Deutsche Welle English service on Twitter: @dw_english
• 2120 - 2130 UTC, 9830 kHz, Adventist World Radio, English to Africa via Moosbrunn [transmitting station], Austria. Male preacher, sermon from Adventist World Radio Ghana. Adventist World Radio on Twitter: @awrweb
• 2145 - 2200 UTC, 9915 kHz, BBC World Service, English to West and Central Africa via Ascension Island [transmitting station]. 'Click' technology programme.

Wallpaper of the week, 20 February 2012

Just a little reminder that Eden FM, the community radio station for Penrith and the Eden Valley, is still broadcasting online at http://www.edenfm.co.uk

Please do take a moment to listen online!

Enjoy your week.

Wallpaper of the week, 12 February 2012

FOLLOWING the recent wintery weather here in Cumbria, I thought I would post a nice image of Brough Castle in the mist and snow, taken Christmas Day afternoon 2009. Enjoy.

Football and Radio updates

First up, the football results of Carlisle United matches played January 2012, followed by the radio stations I heard on Medium Wave during an evening of the same month.

The scores (all npower League One matches):

• Monday 2 January: United 3 - Sheffield United 2
• Saturday 7 January: United 4 - Leyton Orient 1
• Saturday 21 January: United 1 - Walsall 1
• Saturday 28 January: Hartlepool 4 - United 0

Fixtures for February 2012 are as follows:

• Saturday 4: United v Chesterfield (2-1)
• Saturday 11: Stevenage v United
• Tuesday 14: United v Tranmere Rovers
• Monday 20: Brentford v United
• Saturday 25: United v Yeovil Town

Good Luck to the Blues for the February fixtures.

The stations (all stations heard 2 January 2012, times in UTC/GMT, frequencies in kiloHertz):

• 1955 - 2010 UTC, 1377 kHz: France Info, French language via Lille, France, 300 kiloWatt transmission.
• 2025 - 2045 UTC, 1386 kHz: Euskadi Irratia, Basque language via Bilbao, Spain.
• 2120 - 2130 UTC, 1404 kHz: France Info, French language via Brest, France, 20 kW transmission.
• 2140 - 2155 UTC, 1413 kHz: Co-channel broadcasts: Premier Christian Radio, female preacher in English language via Heathrow or Dartford Marshes, 0.5 kW transmission / BBC Radio Gloucestershire, evening programme in English language via Bourton-on-the-water or Berkeley Heath, Gloucestershire, 0.5 kW transmission.

That's it, you're up to date.

Wallpaper of the week, 5 February 2012

THE first Wallpaper of February 2012 brings you an image of Brough Castle, which I hope you like.

Wallpaper of the Week, 23 January 2012

SEPTEMBER 30 2011 : These steps are from the Pumping House of Grassholme Reservoir at the bottom of the hill, to the road which crosses the wall of Selset Reservoir at the top of the hill.

Wallpaper of the week 15 January 2012

WALLPAPER of the week is an image of a sheep spotted on the land between Grassholme and Selset Reservoirs, 30 September 2011.

Wallpaper of the weekend

THE image this Friday evening is of Grassholme Reservoir, taken from the road crossing the dam at Selset Reservoir to the west of Grassholme. The reservoirs are off the B6276 Brough - Middleton-in-Teesdale road. This image was taken on the afternoon of September 30 2011. Enjoy.

Welcome to 2012!

MAY I begin this first post of 2012 by wishing you a Happy New Year and hope you enjoyed the festive period. I also now bring you the first 'Wallpaper of the week' for 2012 - This image was taken by me on 29th September 2011 on a bridleway which leaves the village of Dufton, Cumbria, to the east and joins the Pennine Way, leading to Peeping Hill and High Cup Nick. I liked the look of the old gate and the colours of the fields bring the picture to life. I hope you like it as much as I do. Happy New Year.