From The Archives - The Early Days

OVER the years on Reporting From The Fox Tower, many features have been tried,tested, and not necessarily dropped, more rested. Late 2015, this blog celebrated its tenth anniversary. As the tenth anniversary year continues, what better way to continue to mark the decade than with a look at the image archive, with a few notes about the images posted at the time. Beginning with the very first image posted on this blog:

Way back in December 2005, the Hunting With Dogs ban had not long been introduced. This image, which was actually taken from the Sky News archive at the time of the post, shows the typically stereotypical image of hunting with dogs - Huntsman on horseback in red tunic and velvet jacket. The BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Awards were a short time away from the time of the post, the post reflected on the cheeky idea doing the rounds on the internet at the time to nominate the man in red for services to equestrianism on the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Awards.
Unfortunately for those behind the plan, the BBC would not allow such high jinks to be involved in the voting process of the competition.
On to another image...

This Carlisle United Football Club crest was posted December 2005, when, under the leadership of Paul Simpson, United would be crowned the Champions of League Two the following May.

Finally, two more images to bring you for this post...

The Divine Miss Maria Sharapova.

These images of Maria Sharapova were first published on Reporting From The Fox Tower December 2005. The first image, which was captured in Rome 2005, also hinted at the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year competition at the time, asking why Miss Sharapova was not being recognised for her victories at that stage of her career.

The second image, captured at Wimbledon, accompanied a post where I wistfully wished what I wanted for Christmas that year...

Until the next time, enjoy.

Summertime with Sharapova.

IT is now officially Summer! The Met Office designates the first day of June as the first day of Meteorological Summer, a fact and a title that deserves the use of italics. The first day of June has passed, and the previous post here on Reporting From The Fox Tower, 'Springtime with Sharapova', becomes 'Summertime with Sharapova'.

To mark 'Summertime with Sharapova', above is an image taken from Esquire Latin America's May 2013 cover shoot. The shoot was one of Maria Sharapova's most popular photoshoots.

'Springtime with Sharapova' celebrated Maria Sharapova's 2014 Roland-Garros French Open Championship victory. 'Summertime with Sharapova' can bring you news of the result of the 2016 French Open Ladies Final: Spain's Garbine Muguruza beat world number one Serena Williams in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam title at the French Open.

'Springtime with Sharapova' closed with a video of Maria's photoshoot following the Roland-Garros victory; 'Summertime with Sharapova' closes with a video of Maria's Esquire photoshoot.

Until the next time, enjoy.

🌟

Springtime with Sharapova.

WE have reached the final days of May and the Spring Bank Holiday is upon us. Although sport continues indoors and out all year round, the Summer sports are now taking precedence. The 'Euro 2016' football finals will be taking place in France over the summer, but prior to that, the 2016 Roland-Garros tournament is currently underway.

This post is a throwback to 2014, when Maria Sharapova won the Women's singles tournament. The above image is from the photo-call following the tournament, with Miss Sharapova showing off the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen trophy in the vicinity of Le Tour Eiffel. I shall sign off with video footage from the photo-call. Enjoy.

★

Springtime on Short Wave

[Housekeeping: Times in UTC (GMT); Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz); Transmission powers (where applied) are watts / kiloWatts (kW).]  *Please add one hour to the times for British Summer Time.*

1210 UTC : 11815 kHz : Babcock International test transmission. Fair reception. Music loop with male announcements in English: 'You are listening to a test transmission', another announcement with email address for reception reports. Via the Woofferton transmitter, UK. To 1220 UTC.
*YouTube video of the test transmission*

1252 UTC : 13575 kHz : China Radio International. Fair reception. Russian language via Urumqi, China. 500 kW. Russian speech over Chinese music; Male and female speech. To 1300 UTC.
*C R I Russian website*

1309 UTC : 13590 kHz : Voice of America. Poor reception. 'VOA Deewa' programme in Pashto language, 250 kW via Iranawila, Sri Lanka. Speech from female and male. To 1314 UTC.
*VOA Deewa website*

1316 UTC : 13600 kHz : China Radio International. Poor reception. Russian language via Xian, China. 500 kW. Male speech, music, female speech. To 1330 UTC.

1334 UTC : 13650 kHz : China Radio International. Fair reception. Chinese language via Urumqi, China. 500 kW. Male speech, saxophone music. To 1340 UTC.
*C R I Chinese website*

1341 UTC : 13670 kHz : China Radio International. Fair reception. English to Worldwide via Kashi, China. 500 kW. 'Postcards': A new butterfly garden in Dubai; Surfing in West Africa; Italian barber shop. Learn Chinese: 'Chinese Studio'. Ordering drinks in the Chinese language. To 1400 UTC.
*C R I English website*

1408 UTC : 13670 kHz : China Radio International. Fair reception. French language via Cerrik, Albania. 150 kW. Male and female speech. To 1415 UTC.
*C R I French website*

1425 UTC : 13710 kHz : China Radio International. Good reception. English to Worldwide via Kashi, China. 'Roundtable' Male and female speak of University education in China. Road rage incident in China on May 13th: Bus driver runs over car drivers leg. To 1435 UTC.

1629 UTC : 15180 kHz : "This is Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Praha".
1630 UTC : "This is South Sudan in Focus, from the Voice of America". Good reception. English to Africa via Santa Maria di Galeria, Vatican. 250 kW.
News: Fourteen students are traveling to the USA from South Sudan, to study for a fellowship. Civil Service overhaul. Nigerian talks to avoid a strike over oil.
Features: 'Question of the Day - What do you think?' Question regarding trust.
Tuesday health segment: Vaccines for neglected diseases. Zika virus update from the World Health Organisation. Drought in Southern Africa.
Recap of news headlines - Breaking news: Clashes between students of the National Congress party and Sunni students. Music. 'Thank you for listening'. Off air at 1659 UTC.
*VOA South Sudan in Focus website*

1705 UTC : 15205 kHz : Radio Saudi. Good reception. Arabic via Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 500 kW. Male speech, prayer, male speech. To 1710 UTC.
*Radio Saudi Arabic website*

1710 UTC : 15235 kHz : Channel Africa. Good reception. English to Africa via Meyerton, South Africa. 500 kW. Female reporter at the South African Parliament: MP's protesting for the removal of President Zuma were removed from the building. You can now listen to Channel Africa in the USA, over the phone. Male host: A human rights programme is being rolled out across Southern Africa, including South Sudan. The World Health Organisation is overseeing blood pressure tests in South Africa. To 1730 UTC.
*Channel Africa website*

1749 UTC : 15400 kHz : BBC World Service. Good reception. English to West & Central Africa via Ascension Island. 250 kW. 'Focus on Africa'. Salty foods increases the chances of hyper tension in blood pressure. Students in a township of Johannesburg have received digital tablets to help them with their studies. A ship carrying musical instruments from the USA to Brazil. Music: 'Analogue Africa Echoes'. Fifteen tracks on a newly recorded compilation. Twitter messages from Zimbabwe. 'Many thanks'. BBC World Service ID. EU Referendum on 'World Questions' Saturday (21st) & Sunday (22nd). 1800 UTC news: Venezuela accuses USA of campaign against their country. Syrian summit in Vienna. To 1808 UTC.
*BBC Focus on Africa website*

1820 UTC : 15500 kHz : Radio Exterior de España. Strong reception. Spanish via Noblejas, Spain. 200 kW. Fast-paced speech, included Sofia, Bulgaria - Snippet of speech in French, translated to Spanish. Male reporting from Vienna - Vienna is hosting a summit to secure peace in Syria. Speech by US envoy John Kenny. To 1830 UTC.
*Radio Exterior de España website*

1838 UTC : 15610 kHz : WEWN. Good reception. English to Europe & Middle East via Birmingham / Vandiver AL [Alabama] USA. 250 kW. 'Called to Communion' Male speaks in support of the claims made to him by Jesus Christ; talks of how no scientist has been able to prove the existence of all the living things. 'Called to Communion' with Doctor David Anders. 'This is EWTN Global Catholic Radio, WEWN, Birmingham, Alabama, USA'. To 1855 UTC.
*EWTN website*

1925 UTC : 15770 kHz : The Overcomer Ministry. Fair reception. English to Europe & America via WRMI - World Radio Miami International - Okeechobee FL (Florida) USA. 100 kW. Telephone caller, male, making a point on the recorded messages line. Brother R G Stair is speaking. Contact details: Telephone, email, website. "I am the best thing God put on this earth!" To 1943 UTC.
*The Overcomer Ministry website*

1952 UTC : 15825 kHz : WWCR. Fair reception. English to Europe, Middle East & America via WWCR-1 Nashville TN (Tennessee) USA. 100 kW. Male speaker talks of how he believes all preachers to believe their own words. The speaker believes the young generation are not connected to the Holy Spirit. 'The Old Trailblazer', Albert Pendarvis.
ID for WWCR. 'Welcome to Real Radio, with Pastor Jack Hibbs'. Chapter Twelve; 2 Corinthians. 'By the way you walk'. To 2015 UTC.
*WWCR website*

That concludes the logs for May 2016. Logging date: Tuesday 17 May 2016. Until the next time.

★ Taylor Swift's 'New Romantics' ★

TAYLOR Alison Swift closed what became 'The 1989 Era' of her career - Fans have segmented her career into 'eras', named after her albums - with a video for the song 'New Romantics', taken from her most recent album, 1989.

The video, featured above, has been compiled from footage of Taylor's performances of the song on The 1989 World Tour.

The 'era' began with a change of style, following the completion of the previous tour to support the album Red. The new style began with a beach photo shoot for Rolling Stone magazine, which was covered here on RFTFT. I shall leave you with an edited image from that shoot, I hope you enjoy the video too.

★

The Season finalé - On St Jimmy's Day!

THE Curtain has come down on a satisfactory season for Carlisle United Football Club - A top ten finish in the division, Capital One Cup match away at Anfield and an FA Cup match at home to Everton.

Reporting From The Fox Tower has been bringing you the results over the course of the season, so here are the final set of results, for April - And the final fixture in May.

Sky Bet League Two - Season 2015/2016

• League: Saturday 2nd [April]: Portsmouth 1 - United 0. (Attendance: 15416)
• League: Tuesday 5th: United 1 - Hartlepool 0 (Attendance: 4767)
• League: Saturday 9th: United 1 - Mansfield 2 (Attendance: 4426)
• League: Saturday 16th: Cambridge United 0 - United 0 (Attendance: 5806)
• League: Tuesday 19th: United 1 - Luton Town 2 (Attendance: 3497)
• League: Saturday 23rd: Crawley Town 0 - United 1 (Attendance: 1940)
• League: Saturday 30th: United 0 - Oxford United 2 (Attendance: 6948)

The final result of the season:

• League: Saturday 7th [May]: Notts County 0 - United 5 (Attendance: 5405).

This post is being compiled on Sunday 8th May - St Jimmy's Day! For it was Saturday 8th May 1999, a date forever revered by United fans, when Jimmy Glass saved United from non-League hell whilst under the stewardship of the Knightons. If you do need reminding:

Seventeen years to the day! Although not featured on the above footage, the moment will always be associated with the BBC Radio Cumbria commentary by The Late Derek Lacey and match summary provided by Graham Moss. 

So we come to the end of this thread, covering United during the 2015 - 2016 season. I shall sign off this post by giving an honourable mention to a football team who, not too many years ago, played United home and away in League One. Whilst United have completed a season in League Two, Leicester City Football Club, coached by Claudio Ranieri, have become Premier League Champions, 2015 - 2016. Congratulations to the Foxes.

Until next time.

Wallpaper Of The Week, 1 May 2016

WALLPAPER Of The Week marks the first anniversary of the release of the unofficial 'Bucks New Uni Short Music Video' project for the band Desire and their song 'Under Your Spell'.

The video features Abbie Steele, pictured, whose career as a model and actress has been championed by this blog. Reporting From The Fox Tower has included many posts covering Abbie over the years, which you can find in the Blog Archive. The most recent post, 'Another first for Abbie', which first featured the 'Under Your Spell' video, can be read here. In that post, you can find links to previous posts involving Abbie and you can trace other posts on the subsequent links.

You can find out more about Abbie by visiting her website; Follow her on Twitter and 'Like' her Facebook page.

I shall close this post, first by wishing you 'May Gosling', second sharing the video of Desire - Under Your Spell.

Enjoy.

Music, radio and sport.

This article was originally composed 25 August 2013 for the September 2013 issue of Cumbrian Local magazine.

MUSIC, radio and sport have always been long-held interests of mine – I’ve always lived in the Eden Valley and the highlight of the week as a youngster was to travel to Penrith by bus or car to visit the Woolworths store on Middlegate to purchase the latest vinyl singles – which at that time were priced between 79 and 99 pence – or a current album on vinyl or cassette.  As we all know, collecting your favourite music in whichever format you prefer – Vinyl, cassette, CD, minidisc, digital download – is an interest we all share.

My interest in radio stems from that time too – Growing up listening to the Radio 1 Roadshow every summer, as it progressed around the coast of the UK, listening on medium wave, as at the same time the now-defunct Atlantic 252 launched on long wave. Closer to home, BBC Radio Cumbria would have their own ‘summer tour’ and I recall seeing them broadcast live from Kirkby Stephen and Brough during a summer many years back. All this tuning of the radio bands cemented my interest in radio generally and a curiosity took hold – I would tune the FM band and hear the national broadcasters and the local broadcasts from Cumbria and beyond – Including Manx Radio from Douglas, the Isle of Man! Though it was one evening on television I saw a documentary regarding Radio Luxembourg, which was still on air at the time, which led me to listen to Luxembourg on 208 metres (1440 kHz) medium wave. It was tuning the medium wave band that I heard various local radio stations from around the UK and my first international broadcasts – BBC World Service broadcasting to Europe on 648 kHz and the European English service of Radio Sweden, broadcasting on 1179 kHz. It was then switching to the short wave band of my radio that I could hear the BBC World Service broadcasting to the world from, among other transmission sites, Skelton, here in Cumbria.  Hearing the European broadcasters was good, but it was discovering the American broadcasters, such as the Voice of America from Washington DC and then extending the ‘net’ to ‘catch’ Radio Australia, broadcasting from Melbourne and Radio New Zealand International, broadcasting from Wellington, which really fired the interest in international radio.

It was learning of the intention of a small group to launch a community radio station in Penrith that I enquired to join Eden FM as a volunteer in October 2011. As a presenter, my role was to present the weekly Country music show ‘Eden Country’, which was originally broadcast on a Sunday evening at 6pm. Since the spring of 2012, Eden Country has been broadcast on a Saturday lunchtime, which was followed swiftly by the launch of Eden FM Sport. I have also presented various weekday programmes which I have enjoyed, but I enjoy continuing to present Eden Country and Eden FM Sport, the latter allowing Eden FM to build links with the sports organisations in Penrith and the Eden Valley, including Penrith AFC (Penrith Football Club) and Penrith RUFC (Penrith Rugby Union).

Over the almost two years Eden FM has been broadcasting, I have been delighted to be a part of many events covered by the radio, from the Christmas events in Skelton and Penrith in 2011, the summer events of 2012 including the Olympic Torch relay and continuing to broadcast throughout 2012 and 2013, including this summer, meeting so many people at the summer shows at Skelton and Penrith. All of this has been facilitated by the Eden FM team members, past and present, to whom I will always be grateful, but the biggest thank you goes to you, who has listened and continue to listen and support Eden FM.

Thank you.

April's AM Airtime

MONDAY 11th April was a day spent beside the Roberts R881, still going strong in its seventeenth year. I was tuned to the extended Medium Wave band (just making the point that, on that receiver, the Medium Wave band goes up to 1710 kHz, rather than 1602 kHz, as on most receivers) and here is a record of what I heard that day.

[Housekeeping: Times in UTC (GMT); Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz); Transmission powers (where applied) are watts / kiloWatts (kW).]  *Please add one hour to the times for British Summer Time.*

1130 UTC: 936 kHz: Dales Radio. 150 watt transmission via Brunt Acres Road, Hawes, North Yorkshire. Strong reception. Lee Moulsdale. Comedy feature: 'The Bradshaws'. Music: Billy Joel 'Innocent Man'. IDs. Chaka Khan 'I'm Every Woman'. 'Dales Diary' events guide: 'Ride + Stride' walks with the Settle - Carlisle railway; Yorkshire Society survey. ID. Music: Divine Comedy 'National Express'. To 1145 UTC.

*Dales Radio website*

1222 UTC: 999 kHz: Rock FM [Presumed]. 800 watt transmission via Longton for Preston / Blackpool. Poor reception. Darren Proctor. Music: ABBA 'Voulez-Vous'. ID. Climie Fisher 'Love Changes Everything'. Speech, ad break. ID. Music: Jackie Wilson; ABC. To 1238 UTC.

*Rock FM on iTunes*

1308 UTC: 1053 kHz: talkSPORT. Up to 500 kW via Central England [Droitwich, Worcestershire] - Reception is awful! Hawksbee & Jacobs. Conversation regarding football management and their relationship with referees. Ad break. To 1315 UTC.

*Listen again to Hawksbee & Jacobs*

1324 UTC: 1071 kHz: talkSPORT. 1 kW transmission via Wrekenton, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Moderate to poor reception. Hawksbee & Jacobs. Speech regarding Manchester United. To 1332 UTC.

*talkSPORT Radio website*

1406 UTC: 1089 kHz: talkSPORT. Up to 400 kW via Moorside Edge, West Yorkshire. Moderate to poor reception. Hawksbee & Jacobs. Speech regarding European football; Diego Simeone; Gael Clichy of Arsenal Football Club; German football; David De Gea of Manchester United. To 1415 UTC.

*talkSPORT homepage*

1442 UTC: 1170 kHz: TFM 2. 320 watt transmission via Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside. Good reception. Paul Hayes. Music: Eurythmics 'There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)'. ID. Louis Armstrong 'What A Wonderful World'. Speech regarding the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge visiting India. Music: Andrew Gold 'Lonely Boy'; Toto 'Rosanna'. To 1457 UTC.

*TFM 2 website*

1513 UTC: 1215 kHz: Absolute Radio. Up to 200 kW via Moorside Edge, West Yorkshire. Good reception. Danielle Perry. Music: Fun. 'We Are Young'. Text: 81215. Ad break. Traffic & Travel with Melanie. Music: The Zutons 'Valerie'; Kate Bush 'Hounds of Love'. To 1527 UTC.

*Absolute Radio website*

1540 UTC: 1242 kHz: Absolute Radio. 1 kW transmission via Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside. Good reception. Danielle Perry. Ad break; Promo; Traffic & Travel with Melanie. Music: Derek & The Dominoes 'Layla' [FULL version]. ID. Muse 'Feeling Good'. To 1554 UTC.

*Absolute Radio YouTube channel*

1620 UTC: 1341 kHz: BBC Radio Ulster. A 100 kW transmission via Lisnagarvey, County Down, Northern Ireland. Moderate reception. Male and female presenting a sports update. To 1630 UTC.

*BBC Radio Ulster website*

1642 UTC: 1368 kHz: Manx Radio [Presumed]. 20 kW via Foxdale, Isle of Man. Moderate to poor reception. Male speaking at length; signal propagation prevents comfortable concentration on the subject of the speech. To 1656 UTC.

*Manx Radio website*

That concludes the list of broadcasts received Monday 11 April 2016. If you have any thoughts you wish to share, please comment below.

Kind regards, Martin.

Wallpaper of the Week, 10 April 2016

WELCOME to another Wallpaper of the Week on Reporting From The Fox Tower.

The above image was taken at 1125 on the morning of Sunday 5 April 2015, during the second day of the Eden Classic Vehicle Group's Classic Commercial Vehicle Rally, held over the Easter weekend of 2015.

I have shared an image from the 2015 event, as the weather then was kinder than the 2016 Easter weekend.

If I remember rightly, the above vehicles were photographed at the rally site at Grand Prix Services, Brough.

Taylor Swift for Keds.

I LOVE this image of Taylor Alison Swift, promoting Keds footwear.

(Originally published Spring 2015.)

Happy Birthday R♥xi!

Happy Birthday Roxanne Leah Townsend!

Easter Monday's Final Scores.

EASTER 2016 is drawing to a close and with it the March 2016 fixtures for Carlisle United Football Club. April now remains as the only full month for fixtures, with the final day of the season being May 7. Here are the results from March 2016:

Sky Bet League Two - Season 2015/2016

• League: Tuesday 1st: United 2 - Leyton Orient 2 (Attendance: 3721)
• League: Saturday 5th: United 1 - Northampton Town 4 (Attendance: 4892)
• League: Tuesday 8th: Dagenham & Redbridge 0 - United 0 (Attendance: 1695)
• League: Saturday 12th: Exeter City 2 - United 2 (Attendance: 3375)
• League: Saturday 19th: United 1 - Wycombe Wanderers 1 (Attendance: 4532)
• League: Friday 25th: Yeovil Town 0 - United 0 (Attendance: 4075)
• League: Monday 28th: United 3 - Bristol Rovers 2 (Attendance: 4718)

On the evening of Monday 28 March, following the home victory against Bristol Rovers, United are ninth in the Division; four places off the play-off places.

The forthcoming fixtures for United are as follows:

April (All League fixtures): Saturday 2nd: Portsmouth [away]; Tuesday 5th: Hartlepool United [home]; Saturday 9th: Mansfield Town [home]; Saturday 16th: Cambridge United [away]; Tuesday 19th: Luton [home]; Saturday 23rd: Crawley Town [away]; Saturday 30th: Oxford United [home].
May (League fixture): Saturday 7th: Notts County [away].

I do hope you have had an enjoyable Easter weekend, whether it has been sunny / windy / stormy / all of the above. Until the next time...

Days gone by.

THIS is an article first published on my LinkedIn profile, September 24, 2015.

I JUST THOUGHT I would begin this first post by crediting the Flickr account See Like Click (A. Evans) as it is that account that is the owner and rights holder to the above image of the A66 Stainmore.

My first full time employment was on the above site for Kier Construction, now part of the Kier Group, during 1993 and 1995. I was employed as a Trainee Laboratory Technician, based in a laboratory on Helbeck Road, Brough. I was 18 years of age and my first employment in the private sector. My daily routine included carrying out daily tasks and the work which was either delivered to the laboratory from site on Stainmore or collected from site by my colleagues and myself. I did keep a diary of part of my time in the laboratory, which I did re-read recently, which did revive a few memories. I would like to thank my colleagues, Messrs Paterson, Price, Illingworth, Busby and those whose faces I can picture in my mind but names may have faded from memory for the memories of my first employment.

Shortwave Sunday: March 2016

LOOKING back through this blog, it is an online record of the various radio broadcasts I have heard over the decade and more that this blog has been in existence. Sunday 6 March was another of those lovely days spent beside the radio, listening to the Shortwave bands. Here is a record of what I heard that day.

[Housekeeping: Times in UTC (GMT); Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz); Transmission powers (where applied) are kiloWatts (kW).]

1110 UTC : 6210 kHz : Radio Merlin International (UK Pirate). High energy dance music - Relay of Energy FM Tenerife 'This is Energy', ad break. Dance mix of Ellie Goulding's 'Love Me Like You Do'. Moderate to poor reception. To 1132 UTC.
*Radio Merlin website*

1145 UTC : 6295 kHz : Radio De Zwarte Panter [Radio The Black Panther] (Dutch Pirate). Dance music. Fade out - Loss of signal.
*Radio De Zwarte Panter website*

1316 UTC : 9560 kHz : Radio Slovakia International (Slovakia). Good to moderate reception. English to Europe via Radio 700 (Kall-Krekel, Germany). 'Slovakia Today' with Katarina Richterova and colleagues. To 1330 UTC.
*Radio Slovakia website*

1412 UTC : 9580 kHz : Medi 1 Radio (Tangier, Morocco). 'Intermission': Music: Annie Lennox 'Whiter Shade of Pale', Grace 'You Don't Own Me'. Fair reception.
*Medi 1 website*

1433 UTC : 9655 kHz : Radio Romania International (Romania). Strong to good reception. Romanian to Central & West Europe. Speech and music. To 1506 UTC.
*Radio Romania website*

1520 UTC : 9690 kHz : Radio Exterior de España (Spain). Strong to moderate reception. Spanish to North America. 'Tablero Deportivo' ['Sports Board'] covering the Barcelona football match; Repeated mentions of Suarez and Messi. To 1535 UTC.
*Tablero Deportivo website*

1545 UTC : 9785 kHz : China Radio International (China). Good to moderate reception. English worldwide via Jinhua, China. Sports report: American football, dog sled racing. Report about the popularity of new movies. Music: Solo artists on tour in China. Weather forecast prior to close of the broadcast. To 1553 UTC.
*China Radio website*

1612 UTC : 9875 kHz : China Radio International (China). Good reception. English worldwide via Kashi, China. Social media in China. Music: Uncle Kraker 'Writing It Down'. LinkedIn releases list of top ten jobs in China. To 1624 UTC.
*China frequencies website*

1644 UTC : 11600 kHz : Overcomer Ministry (USA). Brother R G Stair singing in praise of the Lord, then loudly highlighting words from the Scriptures, the Gospel, the Tabernacle. Quotations. Broadcasting from The Tabernacle: Requesting if European listeners could contribute "One thousand to one hundred thousand dollars to buy airtime"! Moderate reception. English to Europe & Middle East via Spaceline, Bulgaria. Off air abruptly at 1659 UTC.
*Overcomer Ministry website*

1700 UTC : 11600 kHz : Bible Voice India. "You are listening to Bible Voice India". Moderate reception. Change of language. Speech with occasional musical interlude. To 1710 UTC.

1825 UTC : 11600 kHz : End Time Coming (UK). Moderate reception. English to Europe. Male speaking to a congregation, quoting directly from a copy of the Bible - Audio of pages being turned. Abrupt end of sermon for contact details of ETC Ministry. Close of broadcast at 1830 UTC.
*ETC Radio website*

1847 UTC : 11670 kHz : All India Radio (India). General Overseas Service IV. Strong to good reception. English to Europe and Africa. 'Welcome to Studio One' went on location to meet a climber who traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, to go climbing. "It is time for the news - Please stand by". 1900 UTC news broadcast: Female leaders should have more belief in themselves. Fears militants and would-be terrorists have traveled to India. To 1902 UTC.
*All India Radio website*

1914 UTC : 11790 kHz : Follow The Bible Ministries (USA). 250 kW transmission via Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean. Strong to moderate reception. "Life should be one continual prayer to God", break-up of broadcast from time to time. Quote from John, Chapter one. Break in transmission. Mark, chapter one, verse 35. Break in transmission. "Reading the Bible daily is important". To 1920 UTC.
*Follow The Bible Ministries website*

1923 UTC : 11810 kHz : BBC World Service (UK). 'Focus on Africa'. Social media; Football; Private doctors. Industry in Tanzania is growing. Promo for Matt Reinhardt with 'Americana' in half an hour. 1930 UTC news headlines: Former US First Lady, Nancy Reagan, has died. News from Syria and NATO. Police in Northern Ireland investigate a bomb. Moderate reception. English to West & Central Africa via Ascension Island. To 1941 UTC.
*Focus on Africa website*

1953 UTC : 11900 kHz : Voice of America (USA). Moderate reception. French to North west Africa - 100 kW via Sao Tome and Principe (Pinheira). 'Soul USA' playing James Brown 'Papa's Got A Brand New Bag', followed by speech...

1958 UTC : 12075 kHz : Voice of America (USA). Moderate reception. French to North west Africa via Selebi-Phikwe, Botswana - 100 kW transmission. 'Soul USA' playing Joe Cocker 'With A Little Help From My Friends'. To 2000 UTC.
*Soul USA website*

That concludes the log for March. Please note that not all broadcasts I heard that day have been included; I omitted the 'talk back' channels, usually semi-scrambled, between port and craft; I also omitted a log, simply because, it was two broadcasts listed at the same time, same frequency, and I haven't yet been able to tell them apart.

Please do click on the weblinks that follow the majority of logs. Please note that not all of the websites linked to are in the English language.

Until the next time, kind regards and enjoy.

Welcome to March.

As this is the first post of the month, I did feel a welcome was in order. Here is Wallpaper of the Week:

This glorious image of the River Eden was taken as it was approaching five o'clock on the afternoon of March 25th, 2015. The flow of the river is approaching us; it has passed St Theobald's Church, Musgrave (obscured by trees, on the left of the river in the distance), to the location where this photograph was taken, on Musgrave Bridge.

I do hope the image has added some brightness to your day.

The fourth tier, February 2016.

THE month of February is almost at an end, so it is an ideal time to round up the February results from my favourite club in the fourth tier of English football, Carlisle United Football Club.

Sky Bet League Two, Season 2015-16.

• League: Saturday 6th: United 2 - Accrington Stanley 0. Attendance: 4709.
• League: Saturday 13th: Newport County 1 - United 0. Attendance: 2106.
• League: Tuesday 16th: Accrington Stanley 1 - United 1. Attendance: 2080.
• League: Saturday 20th: United 1 - Stevenage 0. Attendance: 4780.
• League: Tuesday 23rd: AFC Wimbledon 1 - United 0. Attendance: 3526.
• League: Saturday 27th: Morecambe 1 - United 2. Attendance: 3070.

As it stands on the afternoon of Sunday 28th, United are eleventh in League Two, having played 31 matches, won 13, drawn 10, lost 8. United have 49 points.

United have seven fixtures in March: Leyton Orient, Northampton Town, Wycombe Wanderers and Bristol Rovers (Easter Monday) at home; Dagenham & Redbridge, Exeter City and Yeovil Town (Good Friday) away.

Enjoy the forthcoming fixtures in Springtime.

Wallpaper of the Week: A memory.

WALLPAPER of the Week takes in a view of the River Eamont leaving Ullswater at lunchtime on March 25, 2015. This image, looking towards Ullswater, was taken from the Pooley Bridge, destroyed during the storms over the first weekend of December 2015.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Medium Wave, February 2016

WEEKENDS are a time for enjoying the finer things in life. For me, that is tuning a radio.
Here is the log of broadcasts received on Medium Wave, Saturday 6 February 2016. Times in UTC (Universal Time Coordination; Same as GMT), frequencies in kHz (kiloHertz), transmission powers in kW (kiloWatts):

• 2000 UTC: 774 kHz: RNE Radio Nacional, Spain. Multi transmitters, 20-100 kW. ‘Tablero deportivo’ (Sport). Good reception. To 2012 UTC. Website.
• 2020 UTC: 783 kHz: [Presumed] Radio Of Syrian Arab Republic, via Tartus, Syria 600 KW. Speech, half-hour time pips, speech. Moderate to poor reception. To 2030 UTC. Website.
• 2035 UTC: 792 kHz: BBC Radio Ulster, 1 kW via Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Male reporter at a sporting event. Moderate to poor reception. To 2050 UTC. Website.
• 2105 UTC: 801 kHz: [Tentative] BBC Radio Devon, 2 kW via Barnstaple, Devon. ‘BBC Introducing in Devon’. Moderate to poor reception. To 2120 UTC. Website.

• 2125 UTC: 801 kHz: RNE Radio Nacional, Spain, via Burgos, 10-20 kW. ‘Tablero deportivo’ (Sport). Good reception. To 2135 UTC. Website.
• 2140 UTC: 810 kHz: BBC Radio Scotland, via Burghead or Westerglen, 100 kW. ‘Pipeline’ with Gary West. Good reception. To 2155 UTC. Website.
• 2210 UTC: 837 kHz: BBC Radio Cumbria, 1 kW via Barrow in Furness, Cumbria. Anne Hopper. Moderate reception. To 2220 UTC. Website.

• 2225 UTC: 846 kHz: Radio North, 1 kW via Redcastle, Co Donegal, Ireland. ‘Night Music’. Moderate reception. To 2235 UTC. Website.
• 2240 UTC: 855 kHz: RNE Radio Nacional, Spain, 300 kW via Murcia. ‘Tablero deportivo’ (Sport). Good to strong reception. To 2250 UTC. Website.
• 2300 UTC: 882 kHz: BBC Radio Wales, up to 100 kW (Washford, Somerset). Adam Walton. Good to strong reception. To 2315 UTC. Website.
• 2323 UTC: 909 kHz: BBC Radio 5 Live, up to 200 kW (Moorside Edge, West Yorkshire). Stephen Nolan. Good to strong reception. To 2335 UTC. Watch live webcam.

• 2345 UTC: 936 kHz: Dales Radio, 150 watts via Brunt Acres Road, Hawes, North Yorkshire. ‘Stress Busters’. Good to strong reception. To 00:05 UTC. Website.

That completes the log for February 2016.

Do please click on the weblinks.

Thank you.

Now Playing: Facing West

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:

• Facing West TV on YouTube
• Facing West Music on YouTube
• Facing West on Patreon
• Facing West on Soundcloud
• Facing West on Twitter
• Facing West on Instagram
• Facing West Website
• Facing West on Google+
• Facing West on Facebook
• Facing West on Bandcamp
• Facing West on ReverbNation

I hope you enjoy the music of Facing West. I shall leave you with the Fifgen Films production of 'Adventure Of A Lifetime'.

Enjoy.

January's Final Score.

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.

Short Wave logbook, January 2016.

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 Bulgaria to 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.

Wallpaper of the Week, 17 January 2016

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.

Enjoy.

Now Playing: Dales Radio

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.

Dales Radio are also on Twitter and Facebook.

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.

Farewell, Starman.

David Bowie

January 8, 1947 - January 10, 2016

#CBB - January 2016

A new year, a new series of Celebrity Big Brother, broadcast by Channel 5 these days.

So, who are the housemates this time around? 

Angie Bowie, age 66, Twitter: @angiebowie2020 , Atlanta

Christopher Maloney, age 38, Twitter: @ChrisMaloney77 , Liverpool

Danniella Westbrook, age 42, Twitter: @westbrookdanni , Essex

Darren Day, age 47, Twitter: @DarrenDOfficial , Wakefield

David Gest, age 62, Twitter: @DavidGest2016 , York

Gemma Collins, age 34, Twitter: @missgemcollins , Brentwood

Jeremy McConnell, age 25, Twitter: @JezzaMcConnell , Dublin

John Partridge, age 44, Twitter:@mustbejp , Bury

Jonathan Cheban, age 42, Twitter: @JonathanCheban , New York

Kristina Rihanoff, age 38, Twitter: @KRihanoff , London

Megan McKenna, age 23, Twitter: @Megan_Mckenna_ , Woodford

Nancy Dell'Olio, age 54, Twitter: @nancydellolio , London / Rome

Scotty T, age 26, Twitter: @ScottGShore , Newcastle

Stephanie Davis, age 22, Twitter: @Stephdavis77 , Liverpool

Tiffany Pollard, age 34, Twitter: @TiffanyPollard , Utica

Winston McKenzie, age 59, Twitter: @WinstonMcK , Croydon

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.

In the words of Marcus Bentley:

"Who goes? YOU decide"...

Are we Out Of The Woods yet?

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.