INTRODUCING Facing West, otherwise known as sisters Caitlin and Sidney Powell.
In 2013, Caitlin and Sidney started covering songs and named themselves '2Girls with Guitars' to perform in public in their home state of Colorado, USA. Whilst performing covers, they also started to write their own songs and learn to play a variety of instruments.
In 2014, they worked with producer Jon Bonus to record 'Skyline', their first EP. They also discarded '2Girls with Guitars' in favour of Facing West.
In December 2014, they worked with producer Joshua Bertrand to record their full length album 'Long Way Home'.
Recently, Caitlin and Sidney performed a cover of Coldplay's 'Adventure Of A Lifetime', which you can see above. Over the course of the last month, they have worked with Fifgen Films in Portland, Oregon. Whilst on location in Portland, they recorded a new version of 'Adventure Of A Lifetime' and a video to accompany the new version of the song, which you can see below.
Before the new 'Adventure Of A Lifetime' video, here are Facing West's online links:
JANUARY 2016 has been one of the more unusual months for Carlisle United Football Club. Starting the month away from Brunton Park as the recovery following Storm Desmond began; Ending the month with an FA Cup fixture against a Premier League Club.
Sky Bet League Two - Season 2015-2016
League : Saturday 2nd : United 0 - Plymouth Argyle 2 [Played at Ewood Park, Blackburn Rovers FC] (Attendance: 4415)
The FA Cup, Round Three : Sunday 10th : United 2 - Yeovil Town 2 [Played at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool FC] (Attendance: 3357) [Replay required]
League : Saturday 16th : Barnet 0 - United 0 (Attendance: 2079)
The FA Cup, Round Three [Replay] : Tuesday 19th : Yeovil Town 1 - United 1 (After Extra Time; United win 5-4 on penalties) (Attendance: 4114)
League : Saturday 23rd : United 1 - York City 1 [First game played at Brunton Park following Storm Desmond] (Attendance: 7461)
The FA Cup, Round Four : Sunday 31st : United 0 - Everton 3 (Attendance 17101)
Those are the results for January. United have six fixtures scheduled for February: Two at home (Accrington Stanley and Stevenage) and four away (Newport County, Accrington Stanley, AFC Wimbledon and Morecambe).
I shall leave you with an image from the Carlisle United v Everton FA Cup fixture, played at Brunton Park, with United's Antony Sweeney in the foreground, Derek Asamoah in the background. Enjoy.
TIMES in UTC (GMT); Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz); Transmission powers in kiloWatts (kHz):
Friday 15 January 2016:
2125 UTC, 5865 kHz : Radio Farda : Male speech, time signal on the half hour, female speech. Persian language. To 2130 UTC.
2133 UTC, 5885 kHz : Voice of America : Male speech, French / Bambara languages to Africa via Santa Maria di Galeria (Vatican State), 250 kW.
2140 UTC, 5900 kHz : Overcomer Ministry via Spaceline Bulgariato the Middle East and Europe. Brother R G Stair's speech is to remind the USA of terrorism, listing Presidents past and present - Reagan, Bush Snr, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama - Presidential candidates: Mrs Clinton, Donald J Trump. Brother Stair states this speech was recorded at 10:30 on Monday 4 January 2016.
2154 UTC, 5950 kHz : IRIB World Service (also known as the Voice Of the Islamic Republic of Iran). Female speech with music, male speech. Music: 'Axel F' by Harold Faltermeyer. Signal strength good; Interference levels moderate; Overall signal fair. Male speech. Bosnian language service. To 2205 UTC.
2218 UTC, 6060 kHz : IRIB World Service : Male speech, instrumental, classical music. Arabic service via Zaheda, Iran.
2240 UTC, 6090 kHz : Caribbean Beacon (also known as the University Network), Anguilla. Recording of the Late Dr Gene Scott, speaking in praise of the Lord. Signal strength fair; Interference levels moderate to poor; Overall signal poor. English to the Americas. Music and speech. Interference from a morse code style transmission. To 2250 UTC.
2310 UTC, 6175 kHz : China Radio International : The Spanish language service, via Cerrik, Albania, 150 kW. Male speech, female speech 'Radio Internacional de China'. Signal strength strong; Interference levels slight; Overall reception good. Music. To 2325 UTC.
Those are all the Short Wave logs for January 2016. Please note, you may require the services of a translation programme for some of the web links featured in the station names.
SNOW has fallen in the Eden Valley and, as luck would have it, Wallpaper of the Week brings you a snow scene. The image above includes Wild Boar Fell from Aisgill, taken from the B6259 road.
Please note this image was taken on the afternoon of 4 March 2015.
BRITAIN's newest broadcaster launched this week, following a series of test transmissions since late 2015. Dales Radio launched at 0700 on Monday 11 January 2016, following the breaking news of the passing of David Bowie. The breakfast presenter, Julian, welcomed listeners to Dales Radio, broadcasting on 936 kHz Medium Wave, FM frequencies and online, the first song immediately paying tribute to David Bowie: 'Let's Dance'.
Dales Radio, a Community Radio service, is a welcome return for radio in the Yorkshire Dales.
The area was previously served for almost fifteen years by Yorkshire Dales Radio, which was renamed Fresh Radio almost three years after the initial launch as Yorkshire Dales Radio. The history of that service can be found here.
Dales Radio was formed to apply for a Community Radio licence to serve the Yorkshire Dales. The licence was awarded in November 2013 and Dales FM, as they were named at the time, released a statement, which can be read here.
A website was launched and then updated for Monday 11 January, the website can be viewed here.
The 936 kHz Medium Wave signal is received loud and clear here at my location, so I look forward to including it in my Medium Wave logs. Here is a Google Street View image of the mast broadcasting 936 kHz, from Brunt Acres Road, Hawes. Enjoy.
At the time of posting, there has been one eviction - Winston McKenzie was evicted on Friday 8th January. Full details of the Big Brother series can be found in the Celebrity Big Brother link at the beginning of this post; Details of Channel 5 can be found in the link at the beginning of this post too.
Each housemates' name contains a link to their photograph.
If you are unsure who the above sixteen are, then here are a few refreshers: Angie Bowie is the former wife of David Bowie; Christopher Maloney is a former X Factor contestant; Danniella Westbrook is a former cast member of Eastenders; Darren Day is an actor; David Gest is the former husband of Liza Minnelli; Gemma Collins is a cast member of The Only Way Is Essex; Jeremy McConnell is a model; John Partridge is a former cast member of Eastenders; Jonathan Cheban is a close friend of the Kardashian family; Kristina Rihanoff is a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing; Megan McKenna featured in the reality television series Ex on the Beach; Nancy Dell'Olio is the former girlfriend of the former England football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson; Scotty T is a cast member of the reality television series Geordie Shore; Stephanie Davis is an actress; Tiffany Pollard is a television personality in the United States of America, whilst Winston McKenzie is a former boxer and now an aspiring politician.
FIRST of all, may I welcome you to the first post of Twenty-Sixteen here on Reporting From The Fox Tower! I do hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year.
It was during the New Year's Eve celebrations in the United States that Taylor Swift premiered the video for the song 'Out Of The Woods', taken from her album '1989'.
I do hope you enjoy the video and I would like to wish you all the best for 2016.
STORM Desmond early in December flooded Brunton Park and the surrounding area of Carlisle. Unprecedented rainfall brought flooding throughout Cumbria from Thursday 3rd December (West Cumbria), through Friday 4th and Saturday 5th (Eden Valley) to Sunday 6th (Carlisle & North Cumbria). This has impacted on Carlisle United, as only three fixtures have been played in December. The results of which are as follows:
Sky Bet League Two - Season 2015-2016.
The FA Cup, Round Two : Sunday 6th : Welling United 0 - United 5 (Attendance: 2028)
League : Saturday 12th : Oxford United 1 - United 1 (Attendance: 5936)
League : Saturday 19th : United 3 - Notts County 0 [Match played at Deepdale, Preston] (Attendance: 3336)
Getty Images captured an image of Brunton Park from the air, when the flood waters were at their highest:
In the aftermath of the flooding, the Club and fans came together to support the community. In the days following the Welling United game, the players volunteered their time to help residents of Warwick Road and surrounding areas remove flood damaged goods from their homes:
United players Michael Raynes, Joe Thompson and Jason Kennedy (Pictured left to right, above) removing flood damaged goods. United also appealed to fans who could safely get to Brunton Park to help them with the clear out of flood damaged areas of the Club. The following video from Carlisle newspaper News & Star shows the fans helping to clear out Brunton Park.
As the results at the head of post show, United fulfilled their fixtures away at Oxford United on Saturday 12th and the home fixture against Notts County on Saturday 19th was played at Deepdale, the home of Preston North End. United playing their 'home' fixtures at other grounds was to the chagrin of John Coleman, the Accrington Stanley manager, whose own team have had matches postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. United were due to play Stanley at The Wham Stadium on Boxing Day (Saturday 26th), but this was postponed, due to... A waterlogged pitch.
United were due to play Hartlepool United at home on Bank Holiday Monday (28th) - It would have been United's final fixture of the year - But this match has been postponed. It has been rescheduled for the evening of Tuesday 23rd February. It was rumoured Newcastle United's St James' Park could have staged the game.
Following the visit to Deepdale for the Notts County match, United will be on a tour of Lancashire for their next two home fixtures: United will play a League Two fixture against Plymouth Argyle at Ewood Park, the home of Blackburn Rovers, on Saturday 2nd January; United will play Yeovil Town in Round Three of the FA Cup at Bloomfield Road, the home of Blackpool, on Sunday 10th.
United's other scheduled fixtures for January: Barnet (away), York City (home) and Dagenham & Redbridge (away).
FIRST of all, welcome to December. Thoughts with those who have been involved in the Cumbrian floods, as a result of Storm Desmond.
This post leads with the logs of listening to the Tropical band late November, followed by logs of the Medium Wave band in early December. As always, times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz).
24 November 2015 (Tropical band):
2011 UTC, 3415 kHz : Shannon Volmet (Republic of Ireland). Fair to poor reception, Shannon Volmet, also known as Shannon Aeradio, North Atlantic Communications. Female voice reading data - 'Zero, Zero' - Service for weather reports and other information at Shannon Airport, Republic of Ireland. Continuous weather reports for the airport and times: 'Zero - Six - Zero - Zero'. To 2022 UTC.
2044 UTC, 3955 kHz : KBS World Radio (Seoul, South Korea). Fair to poor reception. German language service to Europe via Woofferton, UK. Speech from males (OM) and females (YL) in the German language. Music, speech: Sport - Boxing? Music, speech from male. To 2051 UTC.
2123 UTC, 5000 kHz : NIST Radio Station WWV (Boulder, Colorado, USA). Fair to poor reception. Time Signal broadcast, fluttery reception. To 2127 UTC.
3 December 2015 (Medium Wave):
1630 UTC, 639 kHz : CRo2 (Prague, Czech Republic). Good to fair reception. Two males in conversation. 750 - 1500 kW transmission via Prague, TCH (Czech Republic). Speech, audio stab, speech includes telephone interview. Czech language programme. To 1652 UTC.
1720 UTC, 666 kHz : BBC Radio York (UK). Good to fair reception. Male host speaking to representatives of a hospital support group - See more on the BBC York Facebook page. ID for BBC Radio York. Trailer for 'Northern Powerhouse' programme. BBC York traffic and travel. ID and time check. Music: Roy Orbison 'Only The Lonely'. North Yorkshire Christmas drink drive campaign launched, interview with the Deputy Chief Constable. 1730 UTC news: Military action in Syria. Sport: York City Football Club, non-league football in the FA Vase competition. Gary Neville joins Valencia. FIFA Committe. Snooker in York: Robertson v Higgins. Hockey. 500 watt transmission via Fulford, York. Weather update with Paul. To 1736 UTC.
1748 UTC, 684 kHz : RNE Radio Nacional (Seville, Spain). Fair reception. Male speech in Spanish, including sound effects of emails being received, text messages and voicemails - Including speech from a female. 600 kW transmission via Seville, Spain. Male and female speech, music. Time signal for 1800 UTC, IDs by female and male voices at the top of the hour. To 1800 UTC.
1824 UTC, 693 kHz : BBC Radio 5 Live (UK). Strong to good reception. Male host speaking to correspondent with regards to British Prime Minister David Cameron's plan to hold a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU. 'Drivetime with Tony Livesey and Anna...'. Mass shootings in California. News headlines at 1730 UTC. Sport headlines: Gary Neville is the new Valencia manager. FIFA vice President David Gill and committee meet in Zurich, Switzerland. Snooker. Hockey. Weather and travel updates. 50 kW transmission via Stagshaw, Northumberland (North East England). Football promo. UN climate change conference continues in Paris. How can the UK reduce food waste? To 1840 UTC.
1923 UTC, 720 kHz : BBC Radio 4 (UK). Fair reception. 'Front Row' (Arts programme). Male host speaks to female guest - An actress. The host brings in another male who introduces a song from a soundtrack. 10 kW transmission via Lisnagarvey, Northern Ireland. Male vocalist talks about being inspired by Marvin Gaye and Nat 'King' Cole. To 1934 UTC.
2110 UTC, 738 kHz : RNE Radio Nacional (Barcelona, Spain). Good reception. Male speaks of Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister. ID. Female speaks of terrorism. 500 kW transmission via Barcelona, Spain. Female speaks of Barack Obama. Music: Adele. Male speaks of Adele, her current album is '25'. To 2121 UTC.
2132 UTC, 756 kHz : Deutschlandfunk (Germany). Good reception. Classical concert, loud applause. German speech, female 'Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra', also 'New York Philharmonic Orchestra'. Next piece plays. Transmission via Ravensburg (100 kW) or Braunschweig [Brunswick] (200 kW). Classical piece from the New York Philharmonic Orchestra continues. Female host: 'Royal Philharmonic Orchestra'. Tone. Two 'Deutschlandfunk' ID's. Female speech: Corruption of FIFA, new arrests, links to the USA. To 2145 UTC.
2152 UTC, 756 kHz : BBC Radio Cumbria (UK). Fair reception. Male host promoting Georgie Spanswick (presenter). Music: 'Best of My Love'. ID for BBC Radio Cumbria, 2200 UTC news: Reaction following the implementation of RAF military action in Syria. Aftermath of the shootings in California. David Cameron seeks reform of the EU. Breastfeeding mum has baby taken off her. Ian Timms with news headlines here in Cumbria - Roads and railways affected by rain and flooding. BBC Radio Cumbria IDs - "Take care if out and about" - Ian Timms. Music: UB40 'Red Red Wine'. 1 kW transmission via Carlisle. Music: Roy Orbison 'Dreams of You'. 'Lilliburlero'. Text the studio. New music from Elton John, new music from Little Mix.. To 2210 UTC.
2231 UTC, 765 kHz : BBC Essex (UK). Poor reception. Music: Paul McCartney and Wings 'Silly Love Songs'. Male speech: "Hello to Bob, he's a truck driver just starting the night shift, so this is Bob's morning show". Music: Little Mix 'Love Me Like You'. Facebook task: 'Four Seasons or Three Degrees'. Text message; Email: "Could you please play my fab five?" Music: Frank Sinatra 'You Make Me Feel So Young'. 500 watt transmission via Chelmsford, Essex. Music: Glen Campbell 'Dreams of the Everyday Housewife', Michael Buble: 'Home'. To 2244 UTC.
I do hope that is comprehensive enough. Take care, catch up soon.
ONE FA Cup result and four league results to bring you, now November's fixtures are complete:
Sky Bet League Two - Season 2015 - 2016. FA Cup, Round 1: Saturday 7th: Plymouth Argyle 0 - United 2 (Attendance: 6005) League: Saturday 14th: Bristol Rovers 2 - United 0 (Attendance: 6423) League: Saturday 21st: United 2 - Portsmouth 2 (Attendance: 5503) League: Tuesday 24th: Luton Town 3 - United 4 (Attendance: 7298) League: Saturday 28th: United 3 - Crawley Town 1 (Attendance: 4641).
Carlisle United's festive fixtures begin with the second round of the FA Cup, away at non-league Welling United. Then there are four league fixtures: Oxford United (away), Notts County (home), Accrington Stanley (away) and Hartlepool United (home). C'mon ye Blues!
AS the reverberations of the events in Paris continue, one survivor of the attack on Le Bataclan Theatre has given hope to the world, following a Facebook status update. That survivor is Isobel Bowdery. Isobel's post also showed the world that, despite the horror, the most beautiful love story can be found in the darkest of moments.
This was Isobel's personal Facebook profile picture in the aftermath of the Paris attacks, the face of the survivor whose status update would be read, liked, commented upon and shared all over the world. The status update was given a like by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.
Isobel was attending the Eagles of Death Metal concert at Le Bataclan Theatre with her boyfriend Amaury Baudoin. They were separated during the attack, but were reunited on the streets of Paris in the early hours of the Saturday morning. Here are Isobel's words, from her Facebook status update, which introduced her to the world.
"you
never think it will happen to you. It was just a friday night at a rock show.
the atmosphere was so happy and everyone was dancing and smiling. and then when
the men came through the front entrance and began the shooting, we naiively
believed it was all part of the show. It wasn't just a terrorist attack, it was
a massacre. Dozens of people were shot right infront of me. Pools of blood
filled the floor. Cries of grown men who held their girlfriends dead bodies
pierced the small music venue. Futures demolished, families heartbroken. in an
instant. Shocked and alone, I pretended to be dead for over an hour, lying
among people who could see their loved ones motionless.. Holding my breath,
trying to not move, not cry - not giving those men the fear they longed to see.
I was incredibly lucky to survive. But so many didn't. The people who had been
there for the exact same reasons as I - to have a fun friday night were
innocent. This world is cruel. And acts like this are suppose to highlight the
depravity of humans and the images of those men circuling us like vultures will
haunt me for the rest of my life. The way they meticoulsy aimed at shot people
around the standing area i was in the centre of without any consideration for
human life. It didn't feel real. i expected any moment for someone to say it
was just a nightmare. But being a survivor of this horror lets me able to shed
light on the heroes. To the man who reassured me and put his life on line to
try and cover my brain whilst i whimpered, to the couple whose last words of
love kept me believing the good in the world, to the police who succeded in
rescuing hundreds of people, to the complete strangers who picked me up from
the road and consoled me during the 45 minutes I truly believed the boy i loved
was dead, to the injured man who i had mistaken for him and then on my
recognition that he was not Amaury, held me and told me everything was going to
be fine despite being all alone and scared himself, to the woman who opened her
doors to the survivors, to the friend who offered me shelter and went out to
buy new clothes so i wouldnt have to wear this blood stained top, to all of you
who have sent caring messages of support - you make me believe this world has
the potential to be better. to never let this happen again. but most of this is
to the 80 people who were murdered inside that venue, who weren't as lucky, who
didnt get to wake up today and to all the pain that their friends and families
are going through. I am so sorry. There's nothing that will fix the pain. I
feel priviledged to be there for their last breaths. And truly beliving that I
would join them, I promise that their last thoughts were not on the animals who
caused all this. It was thinking of the people they loved. As i lay down in the
blood of strangers and waiting for my bullet to end my mere 22 years, I
envisioned every face that I have ever loved and whispered I love you. over and
over again. reflecting on the highlights of my life. Wishing that those i love
knew just how much, wishing that they knew that no matter what happened to me,
to keep belieivng in the good in people. to not let those men win. Last night,
the lives of many were forever changed and it is up to us to be better people.
to live lives that the innocent victims of this tragedy dreamt about but sadly
will now never be able to fulfil. RIP angels. You will never be forgotten."
Isobel and Amaury went on to give an interview to Anderson Cooper on CNN, which is what I shall close this post with. Take a moment to think about those closest to you; We do not know what hand fate could deal us at any moment. Isobel and Amaury are the lucky ones. May their luck, and love, stand them in good stead for the future.
OCTOBER was a month of League games for Carlisle United Football Club, with three home and three away games over the course of the month. Here are the results of those six fixtures.
Sky Bet League Two - Season 2015 - 2016.
League : Saturday 3rd : Stevenage 0 - United 1 (Attendance: 2999)
League : Saturday 10th : United 2 - Morecambe 3 (Attendance: 5303)
League : Saturday 17th : United 1 - Exeter City 0 (Attendance: 4021)
League : Tuesday 20th : Northampton Town 3 - United 2 (Attendance: 3642)
League : Saturday 24th : Wycombe Wanderers 1 - United 1 (Attendance: 3457)
League : Saturday 31st : United 3 - Yeovil Town 2 (Attendance: 4095)
The November fixtures begin Saturday 7th, away at Plymouth Argyle in the first round of the FA Cup, followed by four league fixtures: Bristol Rovers (away), Portsmouth (home), Luton Town (away) and Crawley Town (home).
AN enjoyable evening was spent, on Tuesday 20 October, tuning the medium wave band, beginning at the beginning, on 522 kHz. Here is what I heard that evening. Time in UTC (GMT); Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) :
1817 UTC, 531 kHz : Jil FM (Algeria), 600 kW via F'Kirina, Algeria. Choral singing, female speech, music. The Beatles - 'The Long And Winding Road'. Moderate to poor reception. To 1840 UTC.
1848 UTC, 540 kHz : Kossuth Radio (Hungary), 2 MW via Solt, Hungary. Speech from male and female, ID. Good to poor reception. To 1900 UTC.
1914 UTC, 549 kHz : U R 1 Persha Programa (Ukraine), 550 kW via Mykolaiv Luch, Ukraine. Music and speech from the National Radio Company of Ukraine. Moderate reception. To 1923 UTC.
1925 UTC, 549 kHz : Spirit Radio (Republic of Ireland), 11 / 25 kW via Carrickroe, Co Donegal, Ireland. Music, female speech including a 'Spirit Radio' ID. 'Spirit Radio, Passion For Life' ID. Evenings with Olga Kaye, 2000 UTC news and sport. Logged to 1945 UTC. Fair to poor reception.
1951 UTC, 549 kHz : Deutschlandfunk (Germany), 100 kW via Nordkirchen / Thurnau, Germany. Piano concerto. Male speech. Moderate to poor reception. To 2002 UTC.
2034 UTC, 576 kHz : RNE Radio 5 (Spain), 100 kW via Barcelona, Spain. Clear, male, Spanish speech. Poor reception. To 2041 UTC.
2046 UTC, 585 kHz : BBC Radio Scotland (UK), 2 kW via Dumfries, Scotland. 'Sportsound' Falkirk v Hibernian. Interview with Alan Stubbs. 2100 UTC news headlines: Motherwell & Clyde steelworks to be mothballed. Sport and weather. 'Another Country with Ricky Ross' : Owen Bradley: The Nashville Sound (Country music programme). Music: Patsy Cline 'Walking After Midnight'. 'Night Train To Memphis'. Logged to 2100 UTC. Strong to Moderate reception.
2111 UTC, 603 kHz : BBC Radio 4 (UK), 2 kW via Wrekenton, Newcastle - Upon - Tyne. 'The World Tonight' China's Xi Jinping's state visit to the UK, meeting the Royal Family. Strong, fair reception. To 2121 UTC.
2127 UTC, 603 kHz : France Info (France), 300 kW via Tramoyes, Lyon, France. Strong, clear speech, male speech regarding Bashar Assad, leader of wartorn Syria. Strong to moderate reception. Preview of the new Star Wars movie to be released. Champions League football update. To 2144 UTC.
2157 UTC, 621 kHz : RTBF (Belgium), 300 kW via Wavre, Belgium. Music, speech, female speech 'Bon soir', reads frequencies in kiloHertz. Music. Off air at 2202 UTC. Fair reception.
2207 UTC, 630 kHz : BBC Three Counties Radio (UK), 200 watts via Lewsey Farm, Luton. Music: Petula Clark 'Downtown'. Male speech, telephone callers. Music: The Corrs 'What Can I Do'. Music: 'My Boy Lollipop'. Poor reception. To 2235 UTC.
IT has been a while since this blog has celebrated Miss Roxanne Townsend, so here are a couple of great images of Roxi - The absolute beauty of the above image and then on a night out with Chanise Murphy.
CELEBRATING the fabulous Taylor Swift with three wallpapers this week. The first one, above, is Taylor taking a selfie with Alan Carr during her visit to his show Chatty Man, which was broadcast Friday 24 October 2014, prior to the release of the album 1989, which was released the following Monday. The second image was taken by Getty Images and is a beautiful shot of Taylor performing live:
The third image takes us back to 22 April 2014 and an image Taylor posted across her social media, when she was 'Looking for Easter eggs.....':
A SHORT but important post. It was ten years ago this day that this blog came into being. You can link back to that very first post here. I would be interested to learn who the anonymous comment was posted by, I am sure that person made themselves known to me at the time, but due to the passage of time, it seems my memory may have mislaid that information!
Thank you to everyone who has visited this blog over the ten years, I have no plans to retire this blog anytime soon; To the contrary, you may have noticed the background template has been updated and expanded, something I did have in mind to mark the tenth anniversary of this blog.
If you would like to browse any of the posts from the past ten years, then you will find them all in the Blog Archive listed on the left of the page.
OKAY, maybe not a beach, but not far off. Wallpaper of the Week is Wallpaper of the Beach this week, something this particular fixture reverts to from time to time. As a previous post included a link to Laura Robson's blog, then this week's wallpaper is an image Laura posted on social media almost twelve months ago; Surfboard aerobics in the Caribbean. It is an awesome image.
TWO DAYS ago, I posted what I thought was the roundup of the September fixtures for Carlisle United Football Club, but I was foiled by the fixture planner's computer, as the final fixture was this evening. So, here is that elusive fixture :
League: Saturday 19th: York City 2 - United 2 (Att: 3692)
Capital One Cup, Round 3: Wednesday 23rd: Liverpool 1 - United 1 (Att: 42518)
(After Extra Time, Liverpool won 3-2 on penalties)
League: Saturday 26th: United 0 - Newport County 1 (Att: 4402)
United still have one September fixture, away at Leyton Orient in Sky Bet League Two, on Tuesday 29th.
United have six League fixtures in October: Stevenage, Morecambe, Exeter City, Northampton Town, Wycombe Wanderers and Yeovil Town.
Laura the Explorer
As this is a sporting post, I shall link blogging and sport once again, courtesy of British tennis player Laura Robson, who has her own blog, Laura the Explorer, which I hope you will enjoy reading. Next summer will see the next Olympic games in Rio, a subject Laura has posted about on social media from time to time, as she hopes to represent Team GB on the tennis courts. To round off this post, here are some images of Laura representing Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. Enjoy.
THE next few weeks will lead up to the first anniversary of the release of 1989, Taylor Swift's album, written, recorded and produced with Max Martin and Johan Shelback.
The above image, this week's Wallpaper of the Week, is Taylor performing Welcome To New York, in New York, on the eve of the album release.
This week, Taylor tweeted that during the ongoing 1989 World Tour, she was honoured to perform Love Story in St Paul, on what was the seventh anniversary of the release of the song.
MISS Taylor Alison Swift has released her latest single from her album '1989' and here is the accompanying video. This is 'Wildest Dreams', which, as of the evening of Monday 7 September, had amassed 36.1 Million views since the video was published on Taylor's official Vevo video channel on Sunday 30 August.
AUGUST is coming to a close, it is the Bank Holiday weekend and here on RFTFT is a feature which has been neglected for a very long while - A monthly round up of Carlisle United results and a preview of fixtures for the following month. As the new football season has begun, here are the results for August 2015 :
Sky Bet League Two - Season 2015-2016
August 2015
League: Saturday 8th: Mansfield 1 - United 1 (Attendance 4146)
Capital One Cup, Round 1: Tuesday 11th: United 3 - Chesterfield 1 (Att 2950)
League: Saturday 15th: United 4 - Cambridge United 4 (Att 6354)
League: Tuesday 18th: Plymouth 4 - United 1 (Att 6071)
League: Saturday 22nd: United 1 - AFC Wimbledon 1 (Att 5949)
Capital One Cup, Round 2: Tuesday 25th: QPR 1 - United 2 (Att 5501)
League: Saturday 29th: Hartlepool 2 - United 3 (Att 4935)
United have seven fixtures in September, beginning with a trip to Port Vale for the first round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, whilst later in the month, United visit Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC, in the third round of the Capital One Cup.
Medium Wave Roundup, August 2015
A RATHER warm Sunday was spent listening to the Medium Wave band and here is what I could hear. Log times in UTC (GMT); Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) :
1240 UTC: 1170 kHz: TFM 2, 320 watts via Stockton-On-Tees for Teesside. Music from Bobby Brown, Billy Ocean, ID for TFM 2. Music: Fleetwood Mac, ad break. News. Music from The Proclaimers, Dire Straits, Kate Bush. Good reception.
1325 UTC: 1215 kHz: Absolute Radio, up to 200 kW via Moorside Edge, West Yorkshire. Ad break, ID for Absolute Radio. Music: Queen 'Hammer To Fall', James Bay 'Hold Back The River'. Good to fair reception.
1400 UTC: 1242 kHz: Absolute Radio, 1 kW via Stockton-On-Tees. Music from The Waterboys 'Whole Of The Moon', Fatboy Slim 'Praise You'. Live from the Edinburgh Fringe. Good to fair reception.
1435 UTC, 1341 kHz: BBC Radio Ulster, 100 kW via Lisnagarvey, County Down, Northern Ireland. Male speech. Moderate reception.
1600 UTC: 1557 kHz: BBC Radio Lancashire, 250 watts via Oxcliffe, Lancashire. Piano accompanied by Operatic vocals. Moderate reception.
ON September 25, 2014, Rolling Stone magazine published issue 1218 and the cover story was The New Life of Taylor Swift. It is to that issue of the magazine that this edition of Wallpapers of the week references. Yes, this edition is Wallpapers - Plural - As you get two this week, both taken from the stunning on location beach photo shoot for the magazine article. Enjoy.
ONE WEEK ago, I spent the evening tuning the upper echelons of the Shortwave band. I was listening from 1900 UTC (GMT) on Saturday 11 July 2015, starting on the frequency of 17790 kHz Shortwave. Times in UTC (GMT); Frequencies in kHz (kiloHertz). Here is what I heard:
1909 UTC; 17790 kHz : Okeechobee, Florida is scheduled to be on the air, on this frequency, at this time, broadcasting to Africa. I am not sure if I heard a broadcast, as there was noise. I maybe could hear a voice - Wasn't sure.
1922 UTC; 17855 kHz : Music on this frequency in the 16 metreband, female speech. Reception: Moderate. Spanish language, male and female voices, music. Transpired to be Radio Exterior de Espana, Spain, broadcasting to North America via Noblejas, Spain. 200 kW transmission. Possibly the 'Tablero Deportivo' programme.
1945 UTC; 17885 kHz : Males in conversation. Reception: Moderate. Female speech, music. This is the BBC, Hausa language to Africa via Ascension Island, 250 kW transmission.
That concludes the Shortwave logs, until next time. To conclude this post, I shall add a couple of pictures, with captions to explain. Enjoy.
107.5 Eden FM is the not-for-profit, voluntary Community radio station for Penrith and the Eden Valley.
October 2014, Eden FM studio 1: Left to right: Martin Cowin (Presenter / Director), Lee Quinn (Chairman), Rory Stewart (MP for Penrith & The Border).
FRIDAY 3 July 2015, the evening of, was spent beside the Roberts R881, tuned to the Medium Wave band and here is what I heard. Times in UTC / GMT; Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) :
1925 UTC; 999 kHz : Rock FM 2, Preston. Music: The Cutting Crew, speech, ad break. Johnny Cash 'Ring of Fire'. James Blunt. Elvis Presley 'Burning Love'. The Style Council, Maroon 5. Presenter: Ray Rose. Transmission: 800 watts via Longton for Preston - Blackpool. Reception: Moderate to poor.
1952 UTC; 1008 kHz : Groot Nieuws Radio, Veenendaal, HOL (Holland). Music, English lyrics, female vocalist. 'Groot Nieuws Radio' translates as 'Great News Radio'. Dutch language service. Reception: Moderate to poor.
Sometimes, the Medium Wave band can be chaotic, and at 2012 UTC, on the frequency of 1035 kHz, came so many possibilities. Some of the programming I heard included female speech, male speech, music: Bob Marley 'One Love'. Just some of the broadcasts on the frequency included Lyca Dilse (Crystal Palace, London), BBC Radio Sheffield (BBC Asian Network), Northsound 2 (Aberdeen), WestSound (Ayr). Reception: Moderate to poor.
2035 UTC; 1044 kHz : Cadena SER, SER Euskadi, Radio San Sebastian, Spain. Male and female speech. Transmission: 10kW (kiloWatts) via San Sebastian, Spain. Reception: Poor.
2044 UTC; 1053 kHz : TalkSport, Droitwich. Ad break: Vodafone. NatWest T20 Cricket. Male hosts speaking of the FIFA Women's Football World Cup, men's FIFA World Cup, Le Tour de France. Newcastle United Football Club recruit Steve Mclaren as head coach. Tweets. Transmission: Up to 500 kW via Droitwich. Reception: Good.
2059 UTC; 1071 kHz : TalkSport, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Speech, ID, news headlines. Wimbledon Tennis: Heather Watson (GB) takes Serena Williams (US) to three sets; Williams wins. 1kW via Wrekenton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Reception: Moderate to poor.
2108 UTC; 1089 kHz : TalkSport, Moorside Edge. Speech: Male hosts, films, birthdays. The new head coach of West Ham United is Slaven Bilic. Up to 400 kW via Moorside Edge (North England). Reception: Moderate.
2127 UTC; 1107 kHz : AFN Europe, Germany. Speech, ad break, music: Neil Diamond 'Song Sung Blue'. AFN Europe is Armed Forces Network Europe; the American Forces broadcaster in Europe. Transmission via Amberg, Grafenwoehr, Vilseck, Germany.
It could have been the battle of the BBC Locals on 1116 kHz at 2138 UTC, I could hear female speech. Broadcasts listed on the frequency: BBC Radio Derby (1kW) and BBC Radio Guernsey (500 watts), plus whatever else was coming in from Europe at the time.
2214 UTC; 1125 kHz : RTBF VivaCite, Wavre, Belgium. Speech - Not BBC Wales.
The battle of the commercials was taking place on 1152 kHz at 2230 UTC. I heard conflicting music tracks from Rose Royce 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore', Whitney Houston, male speech. On this frequency at that time were LBC (London), Clyde (Glasgow), Free (Birmingham), Metro (Newcastle-upon-Tyne), Key (Manchester) and Smooth (Norfolk / Plymouth). I could hear more than one broadcast!
2245 UTC; 1161 kHz : Tay 2, Dundee. Music: Crowded House 'Fall At Your Feet', Dionne Warwick? 'All The Love In The World'. Male speech, female speech, ID for Tay 2. Madonna? 'Caught In The Middle'? Reception: Good to moderate. Transmission: 1.4 kW via Greenside Scalp, Dundee. Promo, ad break: Homebase. Midnight news bulletin. ID. Music: Elton John 'Rocket Man', Dexys Midnight Runners 'Geno'. Gerry Rafferty 'Baker Street', Chris Rea 'Auberge / Let's Dance'. Ad break: Motorbikes for sale. George Harrison 'My Sweet Lord'.
