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.

Results Round-up on New Year's Eve 2011 - 2012

WELCOME to the final post of 2011, which begins with Carlisle United's results for December:

Saturday 3rd : FA Cup Round 2 : Charlton 2 - United 0
Saturday 10th : npower League One : Scunthorpe 1 - United 2
Saturday 17th : npower League One : United 2 - Wycombe 2
Monday 26th : npower League One : Preston 3 - United 3
Friday 30th : npower League One : Huddersfield Town 1 - United 1.

May I take this opportunity to wish Rory Loy a speedy recovery after sustaining a broken leg during the Preston v United match, which took place at Deepdale on Boxing Day.

Staying on a sporting theme, memories go back to the summer and at Wimbledon, in the Ladies game, former champions were toppled and new stars shone. One of which is Miss Sabine Lisicki, pictured below, who is currently competing in a tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. Here she is pictured during some downtime:

Finally, may I take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year for 2012 and to thank you for reading RFTFT during 2011!

You are listening to Eden FM!

I have embedded the Eden FM Player here on RFTFT, the player is located in the left hand column. Enjoy the music and programmes and learn more by visiting the Eden FM website. Happy listening!

Merry Christmas 2011

I'D JUST LIKE to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and hope that you have enjoyed your day. Congratulations go to the Military Wives Choir who are the 2011 Christmas Number One with their recording of 'Wherever You Are'. The Doctor Who special will no doubt be pulling in a few million television viewers as I write, so it must be Christmas Day... Enjoy.

Wallpaper of the week: 18 December 2011

The ducks at Grassholme Reservoir, 9 September 2011.

Wallpaper of the week, 12 December 2011

This is Grassholme Reservoir, south of Middleton - in - Teesdale.

This picture was taken 9th September 2011. Enjoy.

December 2011 update!

APOLOGIES for not keeping RFTFT up to date during November, so I'm using today's entry to catch up with everything that has been going on. As with the previous post below, I'm beginning with Carlisle United's results for November:

Sat 5th: npower League One: Exeter City 0 - United 0
Sat 12th: FA Cup Round One: Alfreton Town 0 - United 4
Sat 19th: npower League One: Sheffield United 1 - United 0
Sat 26th: npower League One: United 1 - Colchester United 0

And those are the results for November 2011.

Introducing Eden FM...

EDEN FM is the new community radio station for Penrith and the Eden Valley, broadcasting on a Restricted Service Licence (RSL) from 25 November to 23 December 2011 on 87.7 MHz FM and continuously online at edenfmradio.co.uk . I am pleased and honoured to be part of Eden FM, I do hope you will take some time to listen to our programmes.

From FM to Short Wave...


I spent the evening of Monday 28 November 2011 listening to the Short Wave band of my Roberts R881 and heard a variety of broadcasts, listed here. Times in UTC (=GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz):

1950 UTC, 7485 kHz : Voice of America, English Service 'Special English' programme regarding 'rhetoric' speech, references to the Presidential television debate between Nixon and Kennedy; Martin Luther King.

2040 UTC, 7550 kHz : All India Radio, General Overseas Service, including the English Service programme.

2115 UTC, 7560 kHz : Voice of America, English service to Afghanistan. Music programme taking a look at the life and work of Johnny Cash.

2210 UTC, 7580 kHz : Radio Farda, music, female host with 'Radio Farda' ID, music, speech from female and male hosts.

2250 UTC, 9420 kHz : Voice of Greece, Greek language service to Europe, Atlantic Ocean territories, North America. Music, female host.

New music from Lindi Ortega...


I am currently listening to the album 'Little Red Boots' by Canadian musician Lindi Ortega. Ortega, 32, released the album in the summer of 2011 and plans an extensive UK tour in the new year of 2012. Here is the album sleeve, so keep a look out for it. I highly recommend this great album.

And finally...


This edition of RFTFT closes with a 'Wallpaper of the week', which is where I post an image which I allow you to steal and post as your wallpaper on the desktop of your PC or laptop. This image is of Wain Wath Falls, to the west of Keld, North Yorkshire, on the B6270 road. Enjoy.

Thanks for visiting!

Carlisle United results: October 2011

ONE month at a time is how I like to record Carlisle United's results here on RFTFT, so here are the results for October 2011. If you wish to share your views regarding the results, please use the methods of communication listed at the bottom of this post.

October 2011:
Saturday  1st: Walsall 1 - United 1
Saturday  8th: United 2 - Brentford 2
Saturday 15th: Yeovil Town 0 - United 3
Saturday 22nd: Charlton Athletic 4 - United 0
Tuesday 25th: United 3 - Sheffield Wednesday 2
Saturday 29th: United 3 - Oldham Athletic 3

United's fixtures for November 2011:
Saturday  5th: Away at Exeter City (0-0)
Saturday 12th: FA Cup Round 1 Away at Alfreton Town
Saturday 19th: Away at Sheffield United
Saturday 26th: Home v Colchester United

GOOD LUCK to the Blues for the November fixtures!

And finally...
...for this week at least: I spent an evening recently tuning the Medium Wave band of my Roberts R881 radio and to be honest, I didn't hear much as darkness had fallen and several stations of similar transmission power cancelled each other out, but I did hear France Info on 1377kHz with a strong signal. Usually, I post a link to the station website, but if you put France Info Radio into a search engine, you probably won't go far wrong. To compensate, here is the France Info logo. That's all for now, see you again soon.

A (final) July Day in Whitby: #5

FOR the final image in the series of photographs of Whitby, please enjoy this image of Whitby Abbey, Whitby, North Yorkshire.

A July Day in Whitby #4

A BEAUTIFUL view of the West and East Piers of Whitby, North Yorkshire, July 2011.

A July Day in Whitby #3

THIS is St Mary's Church, at the top of the 199 steps, Whitby, North Yorkshire, July 2011.

A July Day in Whitby: #2

ENJOY this view of a magnificent memorial in the grounds of St Mary's Church, Whitby, North Yorkshire.

A July Day in Whitby: #1

AS Summer 2011 seems to have belatedly made a last-gasp reappearance, I present the first of a selection of images of Whitby, North Yorkshire, taken by me on a day trip to the town on July 28 2011. Please enjoy this image of the harbour.

A July Day in Haltwhistle: The Centre of Britain

JULY 26 in Haltwhistle, Northumberland: The Centre of Britain.

This fingerpost has the 'Haltwhistle - Centre of Britain' disc on the top, which has Haltwhistle marked on the map of the British Isles (if you look closely) and the fingers point to Bowness on Solway, Wallsend, Portland Bill, Orkney and Northumberland National Park via Haltwhistle Burn.

Carlisle United Results, September 2011

CARLISLE United's fixtures for September 2011 have been completed and here are the results from all competitions:

npower League One: Saturday 3rd: United 1 - MK Dons 3

Johnstone's Paint Trophy, Round 1: Tuesday 6th: Accrington Stanley 3 - United 2

League: Saturday 10th: United 1 - Hartlepool 2

League: Tuesday 13th: Tranmere Rovers 1 - United 2

League: Saturday 17th: Chesterfield 4 - United 1

League: Saturday 24th: United 1 - Stevenage 0

UNITED have six fixtures scheduled for October 2011, beginning Saturday 1st, away at Walsall.

Away from football, may I take this opportunity to congratulate Mark Cavendish on becoming Cycling World Road Race Champion in Denmark today (Sunday 25 September).

September Short Wave Results

AFTER an early start on the morning of Sunday 18 September for the Rugby World Cup, I spent most of the day listening to the Short Wave band of the Roberts R881. The following list of broadcasts I received includes times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kHz (kiloHertz) and a link to the broadcasters websites:

• 1139 UTC, 6075 kHz : Deutsche Welle, German language to Europe via Rampisham transmitter site, UK. 'Magazine' programme, Sport programme: Bundesliga football. 1200 UTC news: Afghanistan. Deutsche Welle website.
• 1332 UTC, 6190 kHz : Deutschlandfunk, German language to Europe via Berlin, 17 kW (kiloWatts). Classical choir music. Deutschlandfunk website.
• 1405 UTC, 6295 kHz : Jack Van Impe Ministries, English language to Europe via Reflections Europe, Republic of Ireland. Religious ministry. Reflections Europe website and Jack Van Impe Ministries website.
• 1439 UTC, 6305 kHz : Radio Merlin International, English language to Europe, via the Netherlands? Music: Transvision Vamp, The Real Thing, Beats International, Derek & The Dominoes, The Specials, Gary Newman & Tubeway Army, The Love Affair. Radio Merlin International website.
• 1550 UTC, 6930 kHz : Irish Music Radio, English language to Europe, via West Coast Ireland? Music: Amelie, The Bee Gees, David Guetta. Irish Music Radio email address.
• 1639 UTC, 7250 kHz : Vatican Radio, Slovenian language to Europe via Santa Maria di Galeria, Vatican State.Male speech, act of worship, male speech, music, female speech. Vatican Radio website.
• 1800 UTC, 7275 kHz : Radio Exterior de Espana, Spanish language to Europe. 'Tablero Deportivo V (5)'. Spanish football commentaries. Radio Exterior de Espana website.
• 1840 UTC, 7290 kHz : The Overcomer Ministry [Brother R G Stair], English language to Europe, Middle East via Nexus-IRRS [Italian Radio Relay Service], Slovakian/Romanian transmitter site. Religious ministry. Nexus-IRRS website and The Overcomer Ministry website.
• 1922 UTC, 7400 kHz : Radio Bulgaria, German language to Europe. Male speech, female speech, female guest on telephone. Radio Bulgaria website.
• 1945 UTC, 7485 kHz : Voice of America, VOA Special English to Middle East via Iranawila, Sri Lanka. 'Words and their stories', 'People in America'. Voice of America website.

Sunday was a rather good day with the radio!

Midweek Wallpaper: The End of Summer 2011

AS today, Wednesday 31 August 2011, is officially the last day of Summer, I'm posting a view of the River Eden at Musgrave, taken July 2011, for your enjoyment. Mr Malcolm Cowin can be seen on the right of the picture.

Carlisle United Results, August 2011

THE football season 2011/2012 is under way and here on RFTFT we will be following the fortunes of Carlisle United. Results will be published at the end of every month, including results from the league and cup competitions. Here are the results for August 2011:

npower League One: Saturday 6th: United 0 - Notts County 3

Carling Cup: Tuesday 9th: Oldham Athletic 1 - United 1 (McGovern) (United win 4-2 on penalties. Away at Aldershot on Tuesday 30th, Round 2)

League: Saturday 13th: Bury 0 - United 2 (Noble, Berrett)

League: Tuesday 16th: Rochdale 0 - United 0

League: Saturday 20th: United 2 (Taiwo, Byrne own goal) AFC Bournemouth 1

League: Saturday 27th: Leyton Orient 1 - United 2 (Miller x2)

Carling Cup: Tuesday 30th: Aldershot 2 - United 0 (Round 2)

"Win or lose, come on you Blues!"

The Sabbath

AS it is Sunday, The Sabbath, I thought I would post a nice photograph of a Church for your enjoyment.

This is St Theobald's Church, Musgrave, Cumbria, England.

Weekend wireless: August 2011

THE afternoon of Saturday 13 August 2011 was spent tuning the Medium Wave band of the Roberts R881. Here is what I heard [Times in UTC; Frequencies in kHz]:

1415 UTC, 1053 kHz: TalkSport, up to 500 kW via Central England (Droitwich, Worcestershire). 'Matchday Live'. For the TalkSport website, click here and for TalkSport Facebook, click here.

1518 UTC, 1170 kHz: Magic 1170, Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside, 320 watts via Hardwick transmitter, Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside. 'Eighties Magic' Dave Campbell. Website and Facebook.

1600 UTC, 1215 kHz: Absolute Radio, up to 200 kW via Moorside Edge, West Yorkshire, for Northern England. 'Rock n Roll Football'. Website and Facebook.

1624 UTC, 1242 kHz: Absolute Radio, 1 kW transmission via Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside. 'Rock n Roll Football'. Web links as above.

1653 UTC, 1341 kHz: BBC Radio Ulster, 100 kW via Lisnagarvey, Co Down, Northern Ireland. The Ulster Grand Prix (Motorcycling). Website.

Please follow the links provided to the broadcasters, I hope you find their sites of interest and enjoy!

When Taylor met The Beatles!

I LOVE this image of Taylor Swift beside a portrait of The Beatles at Abbey Road Studios, London. Tay was at Abbey Road Studios earlier this year to perform a concert for BBC Radio 2.

July 2011 Short Wave Listening

FRIDAY 8 July 2011 was spent listening to the Short Wave band on the Roberts R881 and here is what I heard. Usual abbreviations apply:

• 0825 UTC, 17730 kHz, Broadcasting Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (abbreviated to BSKSA). Arabic to North Africa, 500 kW transmission.
• 0843 UTC, 17790 kHz, BBC World Service, English to Asia via Oman transmitter.
• 0854 UTC, 17830 kHz, BBC World Service, English to West Africa via Ascension Island.
• 0916 UTC, 17880 kHz, Radio Sawa, Arabic to North Africa, 250 kW transmission.
• 1213 UTC, 21540 kHz, Radio Exterior de Espana, Spanish to Ecuatorial Africa, 250 kW transmission.
• 1232 UTC, 21540 kHz, Radio Kuwait, Arabic to Europe, 500 kW transmission.
• 1243 UTC, 21610 kHz, Radio Exterior de Espana, Spanish to Middle East. 350 kW transmission.
• 1300 UTC, 21840 kHz, Deutsche Welle, German to South Asia via Sines, Portugal, 250 kW transmission.
• 1315 UTC, 25000 kHz, Centre for Metrology and Accreditation, Espoo, Finland.

That's it for July - I think!

Here's just a few of my favourite things...

Beginning at the front, the radio with which I listen to the Short Wave and Medium Wave bands and FM is mostly tuned to BBC Radio Cumbria, this is the Roberts R881. Behind is the Crown DAB digital radio, it doesn't get used as much as it should. On the windowsill is a replica Eddie Stobart truck and trailer, I've had that a long while. Next to that, a 'Top Gear - The Stig' branded alarm clock. I received that last Christmas, a gift from one of my work colleagues at Eden Valley Oils. Finally, in the corner is a 2011 calendar received from KBS World Radio, Seoul, South Korea. My interest in international radio means I am fortunate enough to receive gifts as nice as that calendar. Enjoy your week.

Carlisle United Fixtures 2011 - 2012

HOME GAMES IN CAPITALS

AUGUST

6 NOTTS COUNTY

13 Bury

16 Rochdale

20 BOURNEMOUTH

27 Leyton Orient

SEPTEMBER

3 MILTON KEYNES DONS

10 HARTLEPOOL

13 Tranmere

17 Chesterfield

24 STEVENAGE

OCTOBER

1 Walsall

8 BRENTFORD

15 Yeovil

22 Charlton

25 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

29 OLDHAM

NOVEMBER

5 Exeter

19 Sheffield United

26 COLCHESTER

DECEMBER

10 Scunthorpe

17 WYCOMBE

26 Preston

31 Huddersfield

JANUARY

2 SHEFFIELD UNITED

7 LEYTON ORIENT

14 Milton Keynes Dons

21 WALSALL

28 Hartlepool

FEBRUARY

4 CHESTERFIELD

11 Stevenage

14 TRANMERE

18 Brentford

25 YEOVIL

MARCH

3 Notts County

6 ROCHDALE

10 BURY

17 Bournemouth

20 PRESTON

24 Colchester

31 HUDDERSFIELD

APRIL

7 Wycombe

9 SCUNTHORPE

14 CHARLTON

21 Sheffield Wednesday

28 EXETER

MAY

5 Oldham

Carlisle United have been drawn to play Oldham Athletic in the first round of the Carling Cup. United team news includes Matt Robson moving to number 3, with Rory Loy and Paddy Madden taking numbers 9 and 10 respectively. Paul Thirlwell will be United's team captain for the fifth consecutive season.

Update for June 2011

WELCOME to RFTFT, June 2011, The Summer! Or so I would like you to believe, as the rain continues to fall. In this update:

• Round-up of the 2010 - 2011 football season
• Radio Logs for June 2011

The 2010 - 2011 football season ended at the beginning of May, so here is a round-up of Champions, winners, promotions and relegations, as well as a mention of how teams in their respective divisions finished their seasons.

UEFA Champions League Winners : FC Barcelona (3-1 v Manchester United)

Barclays Premier League :

Champions : Manchester United

Relegated : Birmingham City, Blackpool, West Ham United

Carling Cup (The Football League Cup) Winners : Birmingham City

npower Championship :

Champions : Queens Park Rangers

Promoted : Norwich City

Play off Winners : Swansea City (4-2 v Reading)

Relegated : Preston North End, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe United

Johnstone's Paint Trophy (The Football League Trophy) Winners : Carlisle United

npower League One :

Champions : Brighton & Hove Albion

Promoted : Southampton

Play off Winners : Peterborough United (3-0 v Huddersfield Town)

Relegated : Dagenham & Redbridge, Bristol Rovers, Plymouth Argyle, Swindon Town

Carlisle United finished their League One season in 12th place

npower League Two :

Champions : Chesterfield

Promoted : Bury, Wycombe Wanderers

Play off Winners : Stevenage (1-0 v Torquay United)

Relegated : Lincoln City, Stockport County

Morecambe finished their League Two season in 20th place

Blue Square Bet Premier League :

Champions : Crawley Town

Promoted : AFC Wimbledon (as play off winners)

Relegated : Southport, Altrincham, Eastbourne Borough, Histon

Darlington finished their BSBPL season in 7th place; Barrow finished their season in 18th.

• Radio Logs for June 2011

Listening using Hitachi TRK 5854-E, Lloytron N401 Galaxy and Roberts R881, here is what I heard on the Medium Wave (AM) band during June. Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and transmitter power in kiloWatt (kW).

828 kHz : Radio 10 Gold, Holland

837 kHz : BBC Radio Cumbria, Barrow in Furness, 1 kW

837 kHz : France Info, Nancy, 200 kW

882 kHz : BBC Radio Wales, Washford (Somerset), 100 kW

900 kHz : RAI Radio 1, Milan (Italy), 600 kW

909 kHz : BBC Radio Five Live, Moorside Edge (West Yorkshire), 200 kW

918 kHz : Radio Slovenia 1, Domzale (Slovenia), 600 kW

936 kHz : Fresh Radio, Hawes (Yorkshire Dales), 1 kW

945 kHz : France Info, Toulouse, 300 kW.

Disclaimer: Some of the transmitter powers or locations may be factually incorrect.

Thank you for visiting RFTFT once again!

Wireless listening, April & May 2011

WELCOME to the latest round-up of what I heard on the wireless, during April and early May 2011. I spent the evening of 26 April listening to the Medium Wave band; the evening of 4 May listening to the Short Wave band. As always, times in UTC (GMT) ; frequencies in kHz (kiloHertz) :

26 April 2011 - Medium Wave :

• 2040 - 2110 UTC, 801 kHz : Bayern Plus, Munich, Germany. 100 kW (kiloWatt) transmission. Music including Glenn Campbell 'The Wichita Lineman', Roy Orbison 'You Got It'. World News update at 2100 UTC.
• 2115 - 2127 UTC, 810 kHz : BBC Radio Scotland, North or Central Scotland transmitter, 100 kW transmission. Political discussion programme regarding elections in Scotland.
• 2140 - 2158 UTC, 828 kHz : Radio 10 Gold, Holland. Music including Norah Jones, Michael Macdonald, Jon Secada, Chris Rea, The Cars, Katie Melua.

4 May 2011 - Short Wave :

• 1950 - 2010 UTC, 15610 kHz : WEWN Global Catholic Radio, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. English to the Middle East. 'Openline' programme, also to Asia after 20:00 UTC.
• 2024 UTC, 15630 kHz : Voice of Greece, 100 kW transmission. Spanish language broadcast.
• 2030 UTC, 15695 kHz : WYFR Family Radio, Okeechobee, Florida, USA. 100 kW transmission. German language transmission.
• 2035 - 2050 UTC, 15825 kHz : WWCR, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. WWCR-1 English to Europe, Middle East, America. 'The Pat Boone Show'.
• 21:11 UTC, 17560 kHz : Radio Havana Cuba, 100 kW transmission. Spanish language broadcast.
• 21:17 UTC, 17595 kHz : Radio Exterior de Espana, Portuguese to South America. 350 kW transmission.
• 2125 - 2128 UTC, 17605 kHz : Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, Dutch to South America. 250 kW via Bonaire transmitter.
• 2151 UTC, 17680 kHz : CVC La Voz Cristiana, Chile. 100 kW transmission. Spanish language broadcast.
• 2155 UTC, 17725 kHz : WYFR Family Radio, Okeechobee, Florida, USA. 100 kW transmission, French language to 2200 UTC, Portuguese after.

That was the week that was

FIRST of all, let's go back one week and begin by congratulating Carlisle United, Johnstone's Paint Trophy Winners 2011! The Johnstone's Paint Trophy (Football League Trophy) Final took place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 3 April 2011, with a 1:30pm kick off. Peter Murphy, who only became a Father for the first time the previous Friday, scored a goal for Carlisle United twelve minutes into the match - This decisive goal eventually proved to be the winner. On their sixth appearance in the Football League Trophy Final, Carlisle United won for the second time at Wembley Stadium. Congratulations Blues!

REMAINING with the football theme, those of you following RFTFT at the beginning of this football season may recall a week-by-week publishing of the results from npower League One, the division of the Football League in which my team, Carlisle United, compete. I can only apologise for being so lazy as to not continue posting the results from the division here on RFTFT, maybe next season I can take up posting the results from the division and continue to do so until the season end, which will take us up to the Olympic summer of 2012.

TELEVISION has played a big part over the last week or so - First, the BBC Red Button service has played host to video from the BBC Radio 2 'In Concert' programmes, including a set at Abbey Road studios, London, from Taylor Swift. Taylor and her band played the following tracks:

The Story Of Us / Speak Now / Fearless / Fifteen / You Belong With Me / Enchanted / Love Story.

Also 'In Concert' on the Red Button were Rumer and Friends, which I believe has also been very popular.

Cumbria featured throughout the week on television: Channel 4 had an early evening show presented by Fern Britton (rumoured to be axed due to falling viewer figures), who included Alan Carr as a guest. Carr insulted Barrow - In - Furness on the programme, though I would expect neither Britton nor the studio audience in London would know where Barrow is, so Carr's 'joke' (like all of them) fell flat.

THE BBC relocated to Easegill Head, Wharton, Kirkby Stephen for a week, to broadcast the 2011 series of 'Lambing Live', presented by Adam Henson and Kate Humble from the Marston family farm. The first broadcast was Monday 4 April, through to Saturday 9 April. Not all went well, as some of the Tuesday live broadcast was lost, as the BBC and outside broadcast partners Arena and Hyper Active battled with the stormy weather which caused the satellite links to be lost. The rest of the week went very well, producing a wonderful, interesting and informative programme, which gained over two million viewers on Monday night.

BBC Radio 1 will be in Carlisle in May for the Radio 1 'Big Weekend'. To be precise, the event will be taking place at Carlisle Airport. Applications for tickets have now closed. Seven hundred and eighty thousand have applied for the forty thousand tickets which are available, so if you are among the applicants, I wish you luck.

Finally, let's look ahead to Monday 11 April and wish a Happy Birthday to British musician and vocalist Joss Stone, who celebrates her 24th Birthday. Here is a classic image of Joss to mark her Birthday:

That's all from RFTFT for now, take care and enjoy the sunshine! (Now I have said sunshine... cue... rain!)

Wallpaper of the week - We love Chantelle Munt! #1

A new series of images of the lovely Chantelle!

Wallpaper of the week, 27 March 2011

Statue dedicated to Ruswarp

Garsdale Station

August 2010

Happy Birthday, Keira!

Keira Knightley

26 today

Saturday 26 March 2011

Wallpapers, 20 March 2011

Images from the stone plinth below Ribblehead Viaduct

August 2010

Short Wave DX: March 2011

I SPENT THE AFTERNOON of Monday 7 March 2011 listening to the Short Wave band of the Roberts R881. Here are the broadcasts I heard (Time in UTC; Frequencies in kHz):

• 1352 UTC, 11735 kHz : Voice of Turkey English to Asia, music, male host with profile of Alexander Linokov.
• 1420 UTC, 11750 kHz : Radio Farda Farsi/Persian language service, music, male host, email contact details.
• 1444 UTC, 12150 kHz : Voice of America English to Asia via Iranawila, Sri Lanka (IBB transmitter). Female with 'VOA News Now' broadcast, followed by 'Border Crossings' music programme.
• 1552 UTC, 13640 kHz : Radio Tirana English to America 'Sports Roundup' female host, music, close of broadcast.
• 1623 UTC, 13845 kHz : WWCR-3 Nashville TN English to Europe, America 'GCN Radio Network' / 'University Network' broadcast.
• 1704 UTC, 14670 kHz : CHU Canada Canadian Time Signal station.
• 1721 UTC, 15000 kHz : WWV Fort Collins Colorado USA Time Signal station.
• 1744 UTC, 15235 kHz : Channel Africa English to Africa via Meyerton, South Africa (Sentech transmitter). 'African Digest' programme.
• 1803 UTC, 15365 kHz : Radio Canada International English to Africa via Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. 'The Link' programme. Also 1950 UTC, 15365 kHz : French to Africa, two females speaking from an outside location.
• 2007 UTC, 15400 kHz : BBC World Service English to West Africa via Ascension Island. Libya is the top story on 'Newshour'.
• 2032 UTC, 15520 kHz : WYFR Family Radio English via Ascension Island, to Africa? Male preacher reads passages from the Old Testament, The First Book of Moses, Genesis.
• 2053 UTC, 15580 kHz : Voice of America English to Africa via Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (RNW transmitter). 'African Beat' music programme.
• 2116 UTC, 15610 kHz : WEWN Birmingham AL English to Africa. EWTN - Catholic programmes.

Enjoy your week and avoid the Springtime snow...!

Wallpaper of the week, 6 March 2011

Information board giving details of the site of the Ribblehead Locomotive Depot and Brickworks

Ribblehead Viaduct

August 2010

Wallpaper of the week, 27 February 2011

Ribblehead Viaduct

August 2010

Wallpaper of the week, 20 February 2011

Blea Moor Common

Ribblehead

August 2010

Wallpaper of the week, 13 February 2011

St Leonard's Church

Chapel Le Dale

August 2010

2011 ~ New Year DX Days

SATURDAY 29 January and Sunday 6 February 2011 were the days I tuned the Short Wave and Medium Wave bands of the Roberts R881. Here are a couple of lists of what I heard (Times in UTC / GMT; Frequencies in kHz) :

Saturday 29 January 2011 ~ Short Wave :

• 1455 - 1510 UTC, 7585 kHz : Vatican Radio, Hindi /Tamil / Malayalam / English language block broadcast to Asia, via the Uzbekistan transmitter.
• 1613 - 1630 UTC, 9475 kHz : Radio Australia, English to Asia & Australasia via Shepparton transmitter, Victoria, Australia.
• 1650 - 1700 UTC, 9545 kHz : Deutsche Welle [German Wave], German language broadcast to South West Europe, via Nauen transmitter, 500 kW transmission.
• 1911 - 1928 UTC, 9615 kHz : BBC World Service, English to West Africa via Skelton transmitting station, Cumbria, England; 'Focus on Africa' programme.
• 1948 - 2000 UTC, 9840 kHz : WHRI [World Harvest Radio International], English to Africa & America, via Cypress Creek transmitter, South Carolina, USA.
• 2053 - 2100 UTC, 11615 kHz : Family Radio (WYFR), English service via Ascension Island.

Sunday 6 February 2011 ~ Medium Wave :

• 1320 - 1330 UTC, 585 kHz : BBC Radio Scotland, for South West Scotland, via Dumfries transmitter, 2 kW transmission.
• 1428 - 1435 UTC, 603 kHz : BBC Radio Four, via Wrekenton transmitter, Newcastle Upon Tyne. 2 kW transmission. 'Gardeners' Question Time' programme.
• 1454 - 1507 UTC, 648 kHz : BBC World Service, via Orford Ness transmitter, Suffolk, to Europe, 500 kW transmission.
• 1525 - 1545 UTC, 675 kHz : Radio Maria Nederland & Vlaanderen, via Lopik transmitter, Holland. 120 kW transmission.
• 1556 - 1615 UTC, 693 kHz : BBC Radio Five Live, via Stagshaw transmitter, Northumberland. 50 kW transmission. News followed by live football : Chelsea v Liverpool.
• 1644 - 1652 UTC, 720 kHz : BBC Radio Four, via Lisnagarvey transmitter, Northern Ireland. 10 kW transmission. 'Poetry Please' programme.
• 1706 - 1722 UTC, 756 kHz : BBC Radio Cumbria, via Carlisle transmitter, 1 kW transmission. Anne Hopper 'Music Box' programme.
• 1805 - 1815 UTC, 756 kHz : Deutschlandfunk, via Ravensburg / Braunschweig transmitter, Germany. 100 - 200 kW transmission.
• 1839 - 1850 UTC, 783 kHz : MDR [Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk] Info, via Leipzig transmitter on 783 kHz / 383 metres Medium Wave. 100 kW transmission.
• 1900 - 1910 UTC, 792 kHz : France Info, via Limoges transmitter, France. 300 kW transmission.
• 1918 - 1927 UTC, 801 kHz : Bayern Plus, via Munich transmitter, Germany.

Enjoy listening to your radio!

We Love Ryanair Girls!

Just a sample of what is on offer in the annual Ryanair calendar.

Got your copy yet?

New Year's Eve DX 2010

WELCOME to 2011, Happy New Year!

Let's begin with the results of listening to the Short Wave band on New Year's Eve, Friday 31 December 2010 ( All times in UTC / GMT; All frequencies in kiloHertz; All include an internet link) :

• 2050 UTC, 6030 kHz, Radio Ukraine International, English to Europe, Female continues visit to a University complex (see Christmas Eve DX). Click HERE for programmes in the English language.
• 2113 UTC, 6030 kHz, Radio Romania International, French to Europe, Female reporter with female guest. Click HERE for the broadcast schedule.
• 2137 UTC, 6075 kHz, Deutsche Welle, German to Europe via Sines transmitter, Portugal, 250 kW. Report from Africa. Click HERE for DW World, the Deutsche Welle website.
• 2205 UTC, 6100 kHz, International Radio Serbia, English to Europe via Bijelina (Jabanusa) transmitter, Bosnia Hercegovina, 250 kW. Female host speaks of visitors to Serbia. Click HERE for the International Radio Serbia English home page.
• 2231 UTC, 6155 kHz, Radiostation Belarus, English to Europe, Female and male hosts, range of feature programmes. Click HERE for the Radiostation Belarus English home page.
• 2304 UTC, 6175 kHz, China Radio International, Spanish service, male host with news from China and the Pacific. Click HERE for the China Radio International Spanish website.
• 2327 UTC, 7220 kHz, Radio Romania International, English to Europe & Asia, male host with station ID, female host with 'The Cookery Show' (Cottage cheese pie). Click HERE for the Radio Romania International English website.

Enjoy your New Year celebrations!

Christmas Eve DX 2010 and a Boxing Day Birthday

THE evening of Friday 24 December 2010 was spent listening to the Tropical and HF bands of my Short Wave radio, here are the broadcasts I heard, with links to the broadcasters webpages (Times in UTC/GMT; Frequencies in kHz):

• 1920 - 1936 UTC, 4005 kHz : Vatican Radio, German language to Europe. Europe & Mediterranean Schedule.
• 1948 - 1955 UTC, 4780 kHz : Radio Djibouti, Arabic language service. Radio Djibouti Frequencies (French language; may need to be translated).
• 2022 - 2036 UTC, 5960 kHz : China Radio International, English to Europe, Middle East and Africa via Albania. 'China Drive' programme. Shortwave Frequencies in Europe.
• 2057 - 2100 UTC, 6030 kHz : Radio Ukraine International, English to Europe. Programmes in the English language.
• 2107 - 2118 UTC, 6030 kHz : Radio Romania International, French language service. Schedule effective 31 October 2010.

THE Boxing Day Birthday is the 28th Birthday of Carlisle's finest, Miss Roxanne Pallett:

Happy Birthday Roxy, I hope you have had a great day!

Finally, The Ashes cricket series is under way. Give England a helping hand by voting 3-1 England on the ABC Grandstand Sport poll HERE. Show your support for England to win the Ashes in Australia!

That's the over... Enjoy Christmas and the New Year 2011!

Birthday Babes Christina and Vanessa

FIRST of all, a belated Happy Birthday to Vanessa Hudgens, pictured above, who celebrated her 22nd Birthday through the week. Here's hoping the Birthday celebrations took her mind off her recent separation from her boyfriend, Zac Efron. Keep smiling, Vanessa!

Birthday Babe for Today is Christina Aguilera, who became a true sex symbol with shots like this:

Happy Birthday to Christina Aguilera who celebrates her 30th Birthday today! Christina was in the UK last weekend to appear on popular ITV series 'The X Factor' , where she sang 'Beautiful' with eventual runner-up Rebecca Ferguson and to promote her new movie 'Burlesque', from where the image below was taken:I hope Vanessa enjoyed her Birthday and Christina has a great day!

Twenty-One! Taylor Swift is LOVE

Happy Birthday
Taylor Swift
21
Monday 13 December 2010

Celebrity Birthday, December 2010

Happy Birthday Britney, 29 today, 2 December 2010

It's another celebrity birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to pop princess and Hannah Montana actress Miley Cyrus, pictured left, who celebrates her 18th Birthday this coming Tuesday, 23 November 2010. Have a great day Miley!

Medium Wave DX Log - November 2010

The following are a list of broadcasters I heard on Medium Wave recently. All frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and all broadcasts listed below include a link to their websites in the station name.

1458 kHz : BBC Radio Newcastle, Wrekenton transmitter, Newcastle Upon Tyne, 2kW.

1485 kHz : BBC Radio Merseyside, Wallasey transmitter, Merseyside, 2kW. The Billy Butler Show. (Website includes Radio Merseyside Past & Present)

1494 kHz : France Info, Clermont-Ferrand transmitter, 20kW (also heard on 1557 kHz, Nice transmitter, 300 kW).

1503 kHz : BBC Radio Stoke, Sideway transmitter, Staffordshire, 1kW.

1512 kHz : TCR, Country music broadcaster, Republic of Ireland.

1521 kHz : Gold, Reigate/Crawley (Duxhurst) transmitter, 640 watts.

1530 kHz : Pulse 2, Vicars Lot transmitter, Huddersfield, 740 watts.

1539 kHz : Evangeliums-Rundfunk, Mainflingen transmitter, Germany, 120-700 kW.

That's yer lot for November 2010 on the wireless!

Tropical Band DX, October 2010

TUNING the lowest frequencies of the Short Wave band, the Tropical band, produced the following results on the evening of Wednesday, 13 October, 2010 (Times in UTC, frequencies in kHz) :

• 2110 - 2125 UTC, 3915 kHz : BBC World Service, English to East and South East Asia via Kranji, Singapore.
• 2125 - 2135 UTC, 3955 kHz : KBS World Radio, English to Europe via Skelton, Cumbria, UK (VT Group transmitting station).
• 2220 - 2235 UTC, 3985 kHz : Voice of Croatia, English to Europe and America. 'Croatia Today' with Chris Bushell (Website in Croatian).
• 2245 - 2305 UTC, 4005 kHz : Vatican Radio, English to Europe (Website is Europe 1st Programme schedule).

September Sunday Round-up, 12 Sept 2010

WELCOME to another RFTFT post. First, npower League 1, Saturday 11 September 2010:

Bournemouth 3 - Dagenham & Redbridge 0

Brighton 2 - MK Dons 0

Bristol Rovers 0 - Brentford 0

Charlton 1 - Notts County 0

Colchester 1 - Plymouth 1

Hartlepool 2 - Exeter 3

Leyton Orient 1 - Huddersfield 2

Peterborough 5 - Oldham 2

Rochdale 3 - Walsall 2

Sheffield Wednesday 0 - Carlisle United 1 (Curran)

Swindon 1 - Southampton 0

Yeovil 3 - Tranmere 1

Radio Round-up, August - September 2010

In a previous post (September 1st), I logged the Short Wave stations I heard Monday 30 August. I failed to include links to the websites on that post, so I shall post them here now :

China Radio International (English)

All India Radio (English index)

Radio Pakistan (Front door to English & Urdu services)

Medium Wave logs, Tuesday 7 September 2010, times in UTC, frequencies in kiloHertz :

• 1828 UTC, 1413 kHz : BBC Radio Gloucestershire via Bourton-on-the-water / Berkeley Heath transmitter. BBC Gloucestershire homepage
• 1857 UTC, 1413 kHz : Premier Christian Radio via East London / West London transmitter. Premier Christian Radio page
• 1921 UTC, 1422 kHz : Deutschlandfunk (DLF) via Heusweiler transmitter, Germany. DLF website
• 1957 UTC, 1440 kHz : RTL Radio Luxembourg via Marnach transmitter, Luxembourg, relaying China Radio International German - French services. RTL homepage
• 2022 UTC, 1458 kHz : Sunrise Radio via Brookman's Park transmitter, London. Sunrise Radio website
• 2022 UTC, 1458 kHz : Gold [Capital Gold Manchester] via Ashton Moss transmitter, Manchester. Gold website

Weblog of the week : Abby's Blog

Abby on board Wild Eyes :

Earlier this year, Abby Sunderland attempted to sail around the world. Unfortunately, Abby was unsuccessful in her attempt, but she did use wireless and satellite technology to link to the internet during her sailing, when she kept a blog, which she has continued to update now she is home. Visit Soloround, Abby's blog on Blogspot (Blogger), by clicking here.

That's it for the time being, have a good week!

Football results, Wallpaper of the week and a couple of notes

npower League One, matches played Saturday and Sunday, 4 and 5 September 2010 :

Brentford 1 - Sheffield Wednesday 0

Carlisle 0 - Swindon 0

Dagenham & Redbridge 2 - Leyton Orient 0

Exeter 1 - Charlton 0

Huddersfield 2 - Bournemouth 2

MK Dons 1 - Hartlepool 0

Notts County 4 - Yeovil 0

Oldham 1 - Bristol Rovers 1

Southampton 0 - Rochdale 2

Tranmere 1 - Peterborough 0

Walsall 0 - Colchester 1.

Plymouth v Brighton postponed.

Wallpaper of the week : Silloth, May 2010.

This is the Church on Criffel Street, Silloth, Cumbria, May 2010.

Finally, may I thank the hundreds of you who visited RFTFT at the latter end of the week - The hit counter almost went into meltdown and the referrers / recent hits list could not keep up; seems all the Turkish waiters love Kirstie Day!

I plan to browse the Medium Wave band one evening this week, so I hope to bring you the results here on RFTFT later in the week or at the weekend.

Have a good week!

Morecambe, May 2010

Kirstie Day @ Miss England 2010 - The Result

REPORTING FROM THE FOX TOWER brought you the result of the Miss Cumbria 2010 contest, which was won by Kirstie Day, pictured left. Kirstie, age 18, of Hayton, Carlisle, went on to represent Cumbria at the final of the Miss England 2010 contest, which was held this week in Birmingham.

Although Kirstie lost out on the title of Miss England - That went to 21-year-old Miss Nottingham, Jessica Linley - Kirstie was awarded the Miss Variety Club title, as she raised the most money for the Variety Club, the contest's chosen charity. Kirstie now holds the record for the highest total raised for the charity through the Miss England competition. Well done Kirstie!

This brings the Miss Cumbria - Miss England story full circle and to a close.

PICTURED RIGHT is Beyonce Knowles, once of the group Destiny's Child, now a popular solo artist and wife of Jay - Z. Beyonce celebrates her 29th Birthday on Saturday - Happy Birthday!

August Bank Holiday DX and a midweek wallpaper

MONDAY 30 AUGUST 2010 was a Bank Holiday (public holiday) in the UK, so I used the morning to listen to some of the highest frequencies on the Short Wave band and here are the results:

• 0925 UTC, 17490 kHz : China Radio International. English to Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia via Kashi, China. 'Beijing Hour'.
• 1019 UTC, 17510 kHz : All India Radio - General Overseas Service to Asia and Australasia. Music of the SubContinent.
• 1030 UTC, 17540 kHz : China Radio International. Chinese language service.
• 1049 UTC, 17720 kHz : Radio Pakistan. Urdu / Tamil service up to 1100 UTC, followed by news in English for four minutes.

And that is what I heard on the Short Wave band.

Wallpaper of the Midweek

I have decided to publish the view of Morecambe sea front unhindered by football results. Enjoy.

Wallpapered football results of the week, August 2010

AS OPPOSED to the usual 'nice picture followed by football results' format favoured here on RFTFT, this week I (Martin Cowin, author) have decided to combine the two, which I hope you like. Firstly, the scene is Morecambe Sea Front, photograph taken May 2010, secondly, the football results are from npower League 1, matches played 27 - 28 August 2010.

Make Miss Cumbria Miss England 2010!

HELP MISS CUMBRIA Kirstie Day (pictured right) to raise money for Variety Club - The Children's Charity - and to win the title of Miss England! To vote for Kirstie - Winner of Miss Cumbria 2010, Finalist in Miss England 2010 - Text 55MissCumbria to 81118 or call 0901 293 7900 and press 55 when prompted. Votes cost £1 and 15p goes to The Variety Club Children's Charity. Voting lines close September 1 at 6pm. Kirstie is sponsored by The Edinburgh Woollen Mill. To view Kirstie's official profile on the Miss England website, click here. Good Luck Kirstie!

• DAB Digital Radio Channels List, August 2010

IN the ever-changing world of UK Digital Radio, here is the latest list of stations broadcasting on DAB :

• Absolute Radio Extra

Absolute Radio Extra provides live football commentary every Saturday and live music from concerts and festivals.

• Absolute 80s

Visit the Absolute 80s website, listen on DAB, Sky channel 0200, Virgin Media 951, Freesat 726.

• Absolute Radio

Visit the Absolute Radio website.

• Amazing Radio

Visit the amazingtunes website.

• BBC Asian Network

'Retro Selection' with Kanwal Qazi. Email retroselection@bbc.co.uk or visit the website.

• BBC Radio 6 Music

Visit the BBC 6 Music website.

• BBC Radio 1Xtra

'On DAB, TV and online' 'The Summer Sunday Rewind' with Ronnie Herel.

• BBC Radio 1
• BBC Radio 2

'Johnnie Walker's Sounds of the 70s'. Email walker@bbc.co.uk or visit the website.

• BBC Radio 3

'BBC Radio 3 Requests. Coming next - Choral Evensong'.

• BBC Radio 4
• BBC Radio 5 Live

Visit the 5 Live website.

• BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
• BBC Radio 7
• BBC World Service

'To comment on our programmes, call 0144 960 9000 or email overtoyou@bbc.co.uk'

• BFBS Radio

British Forces Broadcasting Service. Website, Text 07740 377377 (start message with UK and a space), Telephone 01494 848001. Also available on Sky 0211, Freesat 786.

• Classic FM

Visit the Classic FM website.

• Planet Rock

Visit the Planet Rock website.

• Premier Christian

Visit the Premier website.

• Smooth Radio UK

'Smooth Radio : Love Life, Love Music. Enjoy our London station while we get the national channel ready for its autumn launch.'

• talkSPORT

Visit the talkSPORT website. Call 08717 223344. Also available on Sky 0108, Freeview 723, Virgin 927 and HomeChoice 625.

• UCB UK Christian

Telephone 08456 300 400 or visit the website.

And that is the complete list as of 22 August 2010. The line - up will change again at some point, I have no doubt...

And Finally! A new feature - RFTFT Loves . . .

Zahia Dehar.

Teenage blonde French prostitute, anyone?

Wallpaper of the week, 21 August 2010

Daffodils at Helbeck, May 2010. Enjoy!

• npower League One results, 21 August 2010

Here are the results of the football matches played in npower League One today (Saturday) :

Carlisle 4 (Zoko, Berrett, Madine, Taiwo) - MK Dons 1

Charlton 1 - Oldham 1

Exeter 2 - Bristol Rovers 2

Notts County 1 - Dagenham & Redbridge 0

Peterborough 4 - Huddersfield 2

Rochdale 1 - Colchester 2

Sheffield Wednesday 1 - Brighton 0

Southampton 1 - Leyton Orient 1

Swindon 1 - Brentford 1

Tranmere 0 - Bournemouth 3

Walsall 2 - Plymouth 1

Yeovil 0 - Hartlepool 2.

Enjoy your weekend!

npower League One results, 14 August 2010

Bournemouth 5 - Peterborough 1

Brentford 1 - Walsall 2

Brighton 2 - Rochdale 2

Bristol Rovers 2 - Yeovil 1

Colchester 1 - Sheffield Wednesday 1

Hartlepool 2 - Swindon 2

Huddersfield 0 - Tranmere 0

Leyton Orient 1 - Charlton 3

Oldham 3 - Notts County 0

Plymouth 1 - Carlisle United 1 (Harte 68)

Dagenham & Redbridge v Exeter City and MK Dons v Southampton were both postponed.

The next fixtures for npower League One are to be played Saturday, 21 August, 2010.

Perseid Meteors, August 2010

I LIKED this image of the Perseid Meteors over Stonehenge, which featured on the homepage of MSN, Friday, 13 August, so I decided I would re-post it here for your enjoyment.

Carlisle United Football Club squad 2010/2011

THE CARLISLE UNITED squad is as follows :

1. Adam COLLIN
2. Frank SIMEK
3. Sean McDAID
4. Marc BRIDGE-WILKINSON
5. Danny LIVESEY
6. Peter MURPHY
7. Kevan HURST
8. Graham KAVANAGH
9. Jason PRICE
10. Matt ROBSON
11. Paul THIRLWELL
12. Tom TAIWO
13. Francois ZOKO
14. Ian HARTE
15. Craig CURRAN
16. Tony KANE
17. Richard OFFIONG
18. Andy COOK
19. Gary MADINE
20. Mark GILLESPIE
21. James BERRETT
22. Ryan BOWMAN
23. Tony CAIG
24. James CHESTER

Squad list as per Issue 2 of 'United Review', Official Matchday Review of Carlisle United Football Club. I hope to keep Reporting From The Fox Tower updated with results from Brunton Park and away during the npower League One season, so please keep checking back to RFTFT. C'mon Ye Blues!