We must catch up!

REPORTING From The Fox Tower has been quite quiet recently, due to a technical outage at RFTFT HQ, which, thankfully, was resolved by the good people at KTD, Kendal.

The plan for posts over the last couple of weeks was to address the summer of sport which is now upon us, which I shall bring you, but as Wimbledon 2017 is coming to a close, one Penrith business is thriving as they supplied Traybakes to the Championships. Learn more from this recent ITV Border report by Kate Walby:

WATCH: A Cumbrian bakery will serve almost 30,000 of its handmade traybakes at Wimbledon. Kate Walby explores why it's ace for business: pic.twitter.com/DWHc5VqNuO

— ITV News Border (@ITVborder) July 5, 2017

Here is a recent photograph of the team at Traybakes, Redhills, Penrith, who have won a contract to supply cakes to TV chef Paul Hollywood and also to Wimbledon.
[Managing Director Justine Carruthers, centre, with sales administrator Chris Raffel, left, sales and marketing manager Judith Keating, right and their bakery technician team, back; 16 May 2017. PAULA THANNER]:

The Traybakes team, May 2017

As this post is a 'hello again' after a couple of weeks, I shall be back in a day or so to re-establish regular posts. Until then, enjoy the weekend!

M a r t i n

Wallpaper of the Week, 26 June 2017

TAKING you down memory lane to a recent stop - August 2016 - for Wallpaper of the Week.
The image is of Christ The Redeemer in the foreground, with the Rio 2016 Olympic Stadium in the distance, with colours of the nightlights peppered throughout. Enjoy the image.

Best of Luck, Katy!

ONE of the athletes who competed at #Rio2016 was Katy Sealy, (pictured above, at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games) representing Belize. Reporting From The Fox Tower first introduced Katy on March 28 with the 'Meet The Olympian!' post, followed by the '...5 Gold Rings' post on April 2.

Katy is currently in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for the Central American Senior Championships, taking place this coming weekend. Here is a Tweet from Katy, in Honduras!

pic.twitter.com/6ltPMm795J

— Katy Sealy (@KatyBelize) June 26, 2017

The picture was Tweeted June 26. For more of Katy on social media, here she is in training for the hurdles, shared on Vimeo:

katysealyvideo1 from D Sealy on Vimeo.

Finally, I hope you have learned a little bit more about Katy and join me in wishing her well for the Championships.
If you want to find out more about Katy, visit her website. If you would like to make a donation to assist Katy in reaching her targets, visit her GoFundMe page. Keep up to date with Katy via her social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Good Luck, Katy!

A Midsummer Night's DX (June 2017)

FIRST of all, I recently found the above spinning globe on the internet and thought it would decorate a post about radio broadcasts traveling the world quite nicely, so I have given it the privileged position at the top of the post.

The previous post of radio activity, logging Medium Wave, can be viewed here. That post opened with "It is raining!" - The weather cannot be anymore different, as this weekend is the hottest days of the year so far!

Let us move on to the subject of this post: A log of broadcasts received on the Short Wave band of the Roberts R881, Monday 12 June 2017.
Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and transmission powers in watts or KiloWatts (kW).

A QSL from Radio Peking, which would become Radio Beijing, latterly China Radio International.

• 12 June: 1908 UTC: 7385 kHz: China Radio International, China. Good to moderate reception, 500 kW via Kashi-Saibagh, China. Albanian language including male and female speech, current music (Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake). To 1922 UTC.
• 12 June: 1927 UTC: 7395 kHz: China Radio International, China. Good to moderate reception, 500 kW via Kashi-Saibagh, China. German language including male speech, music, female speech, instrumental music (Vanessa Carlton 'A Thousand Miles'), live music. To 1945 UTC.
• 12 June: 1950 UTC: 7415 kHz: China Radio International, China. Good to moderate reception, 500 kW via Urumqi, China. Czech language 'Learn to speak Chinese' programme, off at 1955 UTC.
• 12 June: 1957 UTC: 7415 kHz: China Radio International, China. Strong to moderate reception, 500 kW via Kashi-Saibagh, China. English language with 20:00 UTC news: Leaders of China and the Philippines meet; New military award created; EU are ready to discuss Brexit with the UK, though a new UK Government is yet to be formed, following the June 8 election; President Macron takes control in France; UK Government announces Cabinet reshuffle. Other news: Military plane crash. Chinese passenger plane returns to Sydney airport, following discovery of engine casing damage. Weather: Hong Kong gale warning. Feature: Paul James presents 'Chinese Theatre', touring China, looking at a Chinese television series. To 2012 UTC.
• 12 June: 2037 UTC: 8700 kHz: Spurious broadcast from Radio Romania International! English language, male speech, Romanian ties with US President Donald Trump - The Romanian President visited Trump at the White House. To 2042 UTC.
• 12 June: 2056 UTC: 9420 kHz: Voice of Greece [ERT / Helliniki Radiophonia], Greece. Strong to moderate reception, 170 kW via Avlis, Greece. Greek language including female speech, music - A Zither! Female vocals. Male and female speech, music. Male speech. To 2120 UTC.

A QSL from ERT The Voice of Greece.

Until the next time, enjoy!

📻

A Somer Holiday.

Lost in paradise ↠ @somerfieldswim

A post shared by RENEE SOMERFIELD (@reneesomerfield) on Apr 3, 2016 at 2:33am PDT

Renee Somerfield

Lost in paradise

for Somerfield Swim.

Season 2016/17: The Ups and Downs

THE 2016 - 2017 Football season has finally come to a close, with the UEFA Champions League Final in Cardiff on Saturday evening.  Here are the placings that matter throughout the divisions, as well as the teams that lifted the trophies this season:

Premier League:
Champions: Chelsea (pictured above)
Relegated: Hull City, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

EFL Championship:
Champions: Newcastle United
Promoted: Brighton and Hove Albion
Play-Off Winners: Huddersfield Town
Relegated: Blackburn Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United.

EFL League One:

Champions: Sheffield United (pictured above)

Promoted: Bolton Wanderers

Play-Off Winners: Millwall

Relegated: Port Vale, Swindon Town, Coventry City and Chesterfield.

EFL League Two:

Champions: Portsmouth

Promoted: Plymouth Argyle and Doncaster Rovers (pictured below)

Play-Off Winners: Blackpool

(Carlisle United finished 6th; Losing on aggregate to Exeter City in the Play-Off Semi-Finals)

Relegated: Hartlepool United and Leyton Orient.

Doncaster Rovers celebrate promotion.

National League:

Champions: Lincoln City

Promoted via Play-Offs: Forest Green Rovers

(Barrow finished 7th)

Relegated: York City, Braintree Town, Southport and North Ferriby United.

Trophies (in chronological order, throughout the season):

EFL Cup: Manchester United

EFL Trophy: Coventry City

UEFA Europa League: Manchester United

FA Cup: Arsenal

UEFA Champions League: Real Madrid.

Real Madrid, 2017 Champions League Winners.

⚽

Ten Years On: Elton John at Brunton Park

BRUNTON Park, Carlisle has played host to Olly Murs and Louisa Johnson this [Saturday] evening, the second night of music, as UB40 and Level 42 performed on Friday night. Other recent concerts at Brunton Park have included Rod Stewart, but Saturday [3rd June] marked the tenth anniversary of Elton John at Brunton Park.

For the Elton John & His Band setlist, thoughts, memories and reflections on an evening attended by over eighteen thousand, take a look at the original Elton John at Brunton Park post on Reporting From The Fox Tower, by clicking here.  Enjoy.

🎶

An Amazonian Princess meets an American Pilot...

... And brings us the cinema event of the Summer.

DC Comics Superhero Wonder Woman reaches the cinema screen this summer, courtesy of Warner Brothers, with Gal Gadot in the lead role.

This motion picture also appears to be breaking new ground; It is the first Superhero film to be directed by a female, with a female in the lead role. That is the only researched knowledge I shall impart about the movie; You will find out the story when you go see it.

There are a number of screenings in the North West, beginning with 'first look' preview screenings, courtesy of Vue Cinemas in Carlisle, Barrow in Furness and Lancaster, at 00:01 on Thursday (June 1). Showings will continue throughout Thursday at Vue Cinema Carlisle [eleven showings], Lonsdale Alhambra Penrith [two showings] and Brewery Arts Centre Kendal [one showing]. Other screenings will, of course, be scheduled at those and other cinemas following release on Thursday.  Enjoy.

Season 2016/17: The Season So Far - Part 10 (The Finalé)

THE forty six League Two matches had been completed. Carlisle United Football Club finished the season in sixth place. Carlisle United qualified for the League Two Play Offs, which were scheduled as follows:

The first leg was United v Exeter City at Brunton Park, Sunday 14 May, 6:30pm.

Here are the match highlights, courtesy of Carlisle United:

Sunday 14th: Sky Bet League Two [Play Off]: United 3 - Exeter City 3  (Attendance: 9708)

Image of some of the 9708 crowd, courtesy of Carlisle United Football Club.

The second leg was on the evening of Thursday 18 May, 7:45pm at St James Park, the home of Exeter City. With the aggregate score of 3-3 from the first leg, this second leg would be a winner takes all match.

Here are the match highlights, courtesy of Carlisle United:

Thursday 18th: Sky Bet League Two [Play Off]: Exeter City 3 - United 2  (Attendance: 7450)

Exeter City won the second leg 3-2 and took the tie 6-5 on aggregate.

Carlisle United's season has ended; Exeter City will face Blackpool at Wembley Stadium for a place in League One. Blackpool defeated Luton Town in their Play Offs.

Thank you for following The Season So Far posts here on RFTFT.

I would like to thank everyone at Brunton Park for another rollercoaster season, the staff there through the week, the Blues store staff, the matchday programme and Golden Gamble ticket vendors (including Ewan and the Blues Lotto team too!), the ticket office staff, the stewards, the caterers, the turnstile staff, matchday PA - So proud to be a supporter of the Club, of Mr Curle and the playing staff, of the ground staff for once again being recognised for their work in keeping the playing surface one of the best.

To all the other unsung heroes that aren't in this post, thank you too.

Let's keep building together and do it all again next season - With a promotion!!

Medium Wave, May 2017

IT is a mid-May Monday and it is raining. So stay sheltered, put the heating back on (but only if you need to) and enjoy this post here on Reporting From The Fox Tower, as I bring you a list (or a log, to use the term in radio broadcast reporting circles) of broadcasts received on the Medium Wave band of the Roberts R881, throughout the day of Sunday 7 May 2017.
Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and transmission powers in watts or KiloWatts (kW).

• 7 May: 1113 UTC: 810 kHz: BBC Radio Scotland, UK. Moderate to poor reception, up to 100 kW via Westerglen, Scotland, UK. Football: Scottish Premier League: Partick Thistle v [Glasgow] Rangers. Update from the EFL (English Football League) Championship: Blackburn Rovers lead in their match. 'Sunday Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland'. Joe Garner is in the Rangers team. GOAL: Thistle 1 - Rangers 0. To 1135 UTC.
• 7 May: 1146 UTC: 837 kHz: BBC Radio Cumbria, UK. Moderate reception, 1 kW via Barrow in Furness, UK. Music: Eddy Arnold 'Make The World Go Away'. Music of the 1960s, presented by Joe Costin. Now playing: 'I've Put A Spell On You'. Speech by Joe Costin, ID (spoken by Richard Nankivell), music. Joe Costin gives telephone, text and email contacts. Music. To 1156 UTC.
• 7 May: 1214 UTC: 855 kHz: BBC Radio Lancashire, UK. Moderate to poor reception, 1 KW via Preston, UK. Constant broken tone, speech at an OB [Outside Broadcast] with crowd noise - Football? To 1228 UTC.

• 7 May: 1233 UTC: 882 kHz: BBC Radio Wales, UK. Strong reception, up to 100 kW via Washford, Somerset, UK. Actress Alison Steadman is the studio guest; Music: 'You've Got A Friend'. Ms Steadman talks about her acting career, the shows 'Little Voice' and 'Pride And Prejudice' and awards. Music: The Red Army Choir. I believe the male host speaking with Alison Steadman was Aled Jones!  Continuity weather update, traffic and travel update.  1300 UTC news and sport update: General election campaign news from the major parties. Sport: Blackburn Rovers have been relegated from the EFL Championship to EFL League One. Cricket: Glamorgan. Time check: "Three minutes past one".  On air now: 'Lynn Bowles on Sunday'. Now playing: U2 'Desire'. Contact details; Question: "Have you switched your heating off yet?' Music: Texas 'When We Are Together', Harry Styles 'Sign Of The Times'. To 1310 UTC.
• 7 May: 1338 UTC: 909 kHz: BBC Radio Five Live, UK. Strong reception, up to 200 kW via Moorside Edge, UK. One Day International cricket, England v Ireland at Lords. The England innings has ended on 328 runs. Football: Liverpool 0 - Southampton 0. Boxing: Tyson Fury issues a challenge to Anthony Joshua; The thoughts of Steve Bunce. Football: EFL Championship final day: Newcastle United are Champions (Brighton & Hove Albion are runners-up); Blackburn Rovers have been relegated to EFL League One. Horse racing news. Football: Live to Anfield: Penalty: Saved (Missed by James Milner of Liverpool). Liverpool 0 - Southampton 0. News update from the British & Irish Lions. Football: Preview of Arsenal v Manchester United. Golf update. Football: Live interview with Rafa Benitez, Manager of Newcastle United, winners of the EFL Championship.  To 1359 UTC.
• 7 May: 1405 UTC: 936 kHz: Dales Radio, UK. Strong reception, 150 watts via Brunt Acres Road, Hawes, UK. Community Radio for the Yorkshire Dales. Music: Denice Williams 'Let's Hear It For The Boy'. ID, time check, Rob Stevens, music: K.T. Tunstall. "Taking a look at the Dales Diary soon", music: REM 'Losing My Religion', Evelyn 'Champagne' King 'Love Comes Down'. ID "What's on in the Dales" Giggleswick Gliders. ID. Music: Robbie Williams 'Old Before I Die'.  To 1425 UTC.

• 7 May: 1440 UTC: 999 kHz: Rock FM 2, UK. Moderate reception, 800 watts via Longton (Preston / Blackpool), UK. Ad for insurance provider, ID, music: Human League 'Don't You Want Me', ID, Alannah Miles 'Black Velvet', ID, Lynyrd Skynyrd 'Sweet Home Alabama', ID, Kate Bush 'Running Up That Hill'.  To 1452 UTC.
• 7 May: 1508 UTC: 1053 kHz: TalkSport, UK. Moderate reception, up to 500 kW via Droitwich, UK. Football: Commentary highlights of Liverpool v Southampton, phone-in with Liverpool supporters. Live updates from the Emirates Stadium: Arsenal 0 - Manchester United 0. Promo, ID, ad break: Car sales, eBay, Just Eat app, Trade Point. Interview with Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool FC Manager.  To 1520 UTC.
• 7 May: 1528 UTC: 1071 kHz: TalkSport, UK. Moderate reception, 1 kW via Wrekenton, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK. Ad break, football promo. Conversation regarding Liverpool Football Club. Updates of the final day of the EFL Championship. Cricket update from Lords: ODI: England v Ireland. Interview with Arsene Wenger, prior to Arsenal v Manchester United. Further Premier League updates, contact telephone number for 'The Full Time Phone In', ad break.  To 1542 UTC.

• 7 May: 1549 UTC: 1089 kHz: TalkSport, UK. Moderate reception, up to 400 kW via Moorside Edge, UK. Football: Update from the Emirates Stadium: Half Time: Arsenal 0 - Manchester United 0. Telephone callers. Speech regarding Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool Football Club. Speech from Jose Mourinho (Manchester United), Arsenal update.  To 1555 UTC.
• 7 May: 1748 UTC: 1152 kHz: Metro Radio 2, UK. Moderate to poor reception, 1.8 kW via Greenside, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK. Music: Queen 'I Want To Break Free', ID, Duran Duran 'Rio'. Male speech, contact details, female speech, ad break. News at 1800 UTC: General Election 2017 campaign.  To 1800 UTC.
• 7 May: 1808 UTC: 1170 kHz: TFM 2, UK. Moderate reception, 320 watts via Stockton-on-Tees (Teesside), UK. Music: Kenny Rogers 'The Gambler', ID, Old Crow Medicine Show 'Wagon Wheel', ID, male host with link giving studio text number. Music: Robbie Williams. ID. Link to Country music show!  To 1820 UTC.

📻

Until the next time - Enjoy!

Season 2016/17: The Season So Far - Part 9

"The roller-coaster season continues..."

The previous Carlisle United Football Club post, Part 8, featured the fixtures for April - May 2017. Those fixtures are now results; They are as follows:

April:
Saturday 1st: Sky Bet League Two: Yeovil Town 0 - United 2  (Attendance: 3145)
Saturday 8th: Sky Bet League Two: United 1 - Notts County 2  (Attendance: 4361)
Friday 14th: Sky Bet League Two: Hartlepool United 1 - United 1  (Attendance: 5011)
Monday 17th: Sky Bet League Two: United 1 - Stevenage 1  (Attendance: 4572)
Saturday 22nd: Sky Bet League Two: Crawley Town 3 - United 3  (Attendance: 2003)
Saturday 29th: Sky Bet League Two: United 2 - Newport County 1  (Attendance: 5402)

May:
Saturday 6th: Sky Bet League Two: Exeter City 2 - United 3  (Attendance: 6774)

The forty-six League fixtures have been completed - Here is the final League Two table:

Carlisle United Football Club finish the League season on 71 points, with a goal difference of +1. The Blues are sixth in the table following the final fixture - United advance to the League Two promotion play-offs! Here are the fixtures for the play-offs:

United play Exeter City Home and Away, aiming to reach the Final at Wembley Stadium. Reporting From The Fox Tower will bring you updates on the play-offs.

C'mon ye BLUES!

Facing West: Facebook Live, 29 April 2017

REPORTING From The Fox Tower is pleased to bring you the Facebook Live video broadcast from Facing West, which was carried live on Facebook, Saturday 29 April.

Caitlin and Sidney have featured on this blog previously, when the first post they featured in was 'Now Playing: Facing West', which you can view HERE. Two further posts followed, one of which was New Year's Day 2017, which featured the 'Auld Lang Syne' video. You will find that post by clicking HERE - Scroll down the post (from the Carlisle United Football Club feature) to see the video.

The most recent post was January 8, 2017, titled 'Introducing Facing West', which you can view HERE.

The beauty of Facebook Live is that anything could happen - And usually does!

Enjoy the video.

🎶

What's Going On? Summer 2017

THERE is a lot going on this Summer! Let us hope the sun will shine, so that Summer is what it perennially promises to be. Reporting From The Fox Tower brings you a list of events, large and small, taking place over the next few months, for you to enjoy.

APRIL
Saturday 29th: Coffee Morning, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Orton Market Hall.
Sunday 30th: All Day Breakfast, Penruddock Village Hall.

MAY
Monday 1st: Penrith Lions May Fair.
Saturday 13th: Table Top Sale, Warcop Parish Hall.
Wednesday 17th: Mungrisedale Sheep Show.

Saturday 20th: Langwathby May Fair.

Saturday 20th: Shap Playgroup Dominoes.

Friday 26th: Appleby Golf Day, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Appleby Golf Club.

Sunday 28th: Plant and Produce Sale, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Bampton.

JUNE

Saturday 3rd: 20 Challenge, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, starting from Braithwaite Institute.

Saturday 3rd: Stainmore Sheep Show.

Saturday 3rd + Sunday 4th: Country Fest 2017, County Showground, Crooklands, Kendal.

Sunday 4th: The Yomp, Kirkby Stephen.

Thursday 8th - Wednesday 14th: Appleby Horse Fair.

Sunday 11th: Brough Hound + Terrier Show.

Friday 16th: Fashion Show, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Austin Friars, Carlisle.

Saturday 17th: Alston Sheep Dog Trials.

Saturday 17th: Cumberland Show (including the Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland Awareness Stand), East Park, Brisco, Carlisle.

Saturday 24th: Alston Gala.

JULY

Saturday 1st: Skelton Agricultural Show (including the Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland Awareness Stand), Hutton-In-The-Forest.

Friday 7th - Sunday 9th: Appleby Carnival.

Friday 7th - Sunday 9th: C2C Cycle Challenge, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Whitehaven - Tynemouth.

Friday 14th: Carlisle Flag Day, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Carlisle City Centre.

Saturday 15th: Penrith On A Plate.

Saturday 15th: Summer Serenade, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Newby End Farm, Newby.

Friday 21st + Saturday 22nd: Alston Live.

Saturday 22nd: Penrith Agricultural Show (including the Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland Awareness Stand), Brougham.

Thursday 27th - Sunday 30th: Kendal Calling, Lowther Park.

Friday 28th - Sunday 30th: Potfest In The Park, Hutton-In-The-Forest.

AUGUST

Friday 4th - Sunday 6th: Potfest In The Pens, Penrith Auction Mart.

Saturday 5th + Sunday 6th: Total Warrior, Shap Abbey.

Sunday 6th: Gilsland Agricultural Show (including the Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland Awareness Stand), Gilsland.

Thursday 10th: Appleby Agricultural Show (including the Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland Awareness Stand), Appleby In Westmorland.

Saturday 12th + Sunday 13th: The Lowther Show, Lowther Estate.

Thursday 17th: Brough Agricultural Show, Poppin Lane, Kaber.

Thursday 17th: 114th Vale of Rydal Sheepdog Trials and Hound Show, Rydal Park, Ambleside.

Friday 18th: Penrith Flag Day, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Penrith Town Centre.

Friday 25th - Sunday 27th: Wannasee Festival, Hutton-In-The-Forest.

Saturday 26th: Dufton Agricultural Show (including the Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland Awareness Stand), Dufton.

Saturday 26th: Patterdale Dog Day, King George V Playing Field, Patterdale.

Saturday 26th: Chilli Festival, New Squares, Penrith.

Monday 28th: Keswick Agricultural Show (including the Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland Awareness Stand), Pump Field, Braithwaite.

Thursday 31st: Crosby Ravensworth Show and Vintage Rally, Maulds Meaburn.

SEPTEMBER

Saturday 2nd: Alston Agricultural Show.

Saturday 2nd: Hesket Newmarket Agricultural Show (including the Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland Awareness Stand), Hesket Newmarket.

Thursday 14th: Westmorland County Show, County Showground, Crooklands, Kendal.

Saturday 16th: Penrith Midnight Walk, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Penrith Town Centre.

Saturday 30th: Coffee Morning, in aid of Hospice at Home Carlisle + North Lakeland, Evergreen Hall, Penrith.

That concludes the list of events over the course of the Summer. Until the next time . . .

#Maria30Love

Happy Birthday Miss Sharapova!

💘

Hannah's London Marathon Challenge - Update

FIRST of all, may I welcome you to the four hundred and tenth post here on Reporting From The Fox Tower, posted on Easter Sunday (16 April 2017). I hope that you are enjoying the weekend.

★

Hannah's London Marathon Challenge

Reporting From The Fox Tower introduced Hannah Langton in the 'Hannah's London Marathon Challenge' post, dated Monday, March 27, 2017. This post today comes one week prior to the Marathon and, sadly, due to injury, Hannah is unable to take part this year, as confirmed on Instagram, Thursday, April 13:

It's with a very, very heavy heart that I have had to make the decision to drop out of the London Marathon due to an injury I picked up during training. It has not been an easy decision to make, however I'm currently unable to walk so running 26 miles in 10 days is an impossible task. I just wanted to firstly thank and apologise to everyone that has donated so far - i will still hit my target of £2,000 and it's all going to a fantastic cause. You will be in fact getting 2 for the price of one though, as I have already signed up for the Dublin marathon in October, and deferred my entry to London next year. Good luck to everyone that is taking part, I'll be cheering you on with a gin and tonic at the side lines - make the most of every minute, I'm very jealous! #londonmarathon #maybenextyear

A post shared by Hannah Langton (@hllangton) on Apr 13, 2017 at 1:52am PDT

Hannah's statement on Instagram was as follows:
"It's with a very, very heavy heart that I have had to make the decision to drop out of the London Marathon due to an injury I picked up during training. It has not been an easy decision to make, however I'm currently unable to walk so running 26 miles in 10 days is an impossible task. I just wanted to firstly thank and apologise to everyone that has donated so far - i will still hit my target of £2,000 and it's all going to a fantastic cause. You will be in fact getting 2 for the price of one though, as I have already signed up for the Dublin marathon in October, and deferred my entry to London next year. Good luck to everyone that is taking part, I'll be cheering you on with a gin and tonic at the side lines - make the most of every minute, I'm very jealous! #londonmarathon #maybenextyear"

You can, however, continue to donate to Hannah's chosen charity, The Heads Together for The Mix Campaign, by clicking HERE. Help Hannah to reach her £2000 target.

As Hannah has stated, she has signed up for the Dublin Marathon in October, and deferred entry to London next year, so it is best wishes to Hannah for Dublin in October!

And finally... If you want to see Hannah's appearance on The Chase, you will have to be quick - The episode, broadcast Tuesday, March 21, only has four days remaining (from today - Sunday, April 16) on the ITV Hub. Click HERE to see the show.

Until the next time... Happy Easter!

Short Wave: April 2017

BEGINNING this post with a QSL received recently from Laser Hot Hits [above], verifying a report I submitted following reception on 9 October 2016.

Moving on to Short Wave logs for April - Stations logged today, Saturday 8 April 2017.

Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and transmission powers in kiloWatts (kW).

April 2017: Short Wave

• 8 April: 0949 UTC: 15490 kHz: Radio Saudi [BSKSA], Saudi Arabia. Moderate to poor reception, 500 kW via Riyadh. Music with vocals, Arabic language speech from 10:00 UTC, male speech (news headlines?) with an audio 'stab' between spoken items. Short music clip, followed by female speech with music in the background. Music and sounds include a doorbell! To 1010 UTC.
• 8 April: 1031 UTC: 17490 kHz: China Radio International, China. Moderate to poor reception, 500 kW to Europe, Asia and Australasia via Kashi, China. Female speech, English, speaking about a fire. Very faint reception, due to QRM - Man-made interference, including a very strange 'clicking' noise... The interference is the kind produced by 'plasma'-type televisions. Reception improves slightly - To 1038 UTC.
• 8 April: 1051 UTC: 17710 kHz: Deutsche Welle, Germany. Poor reception, 250 kW to Africa via Meyerton, South Africa. Very faint speech, male and female speech in the Swahili language. The 'clicking', as reported on 17490 kHz, continues across the band. Slight uplift of signal at 1055 UTC - Off air at 1100 UTC.

• 8 April: 1128 UTC: 17805 kHz: Radio Saudi [BSKSA], Saudi Arabia. Moderate to poor reception, 500 kW via Riyadh. Male speech, accompanied by music, peaks very briefly above the noise floor. Male Arabic speech, telephone callers on the air. To 1140 UTC.
• 8 April: 1201 UTC: 21505 kHz: Radio Saudi [BSKSA], Saudi Arabia. Moderate to poor reception, 500 kW via Riyadh. An upbeat programme, battling the noise. Male and possibly female speech, music, speech, fade out... Fade in. Male speech, Arabic, with background audio. To 1210 UTC.

That completes the log of broadcasts received from the 19-meter to the 13-meter bands. Until the next time, enjoy.

📻

Last Chance: The Olympian and 5 Gold Rings

ON Tuesday, March 28, Reporting From The Fox Tower invited you to Meet The Olympian! with nothing more than an Instagram post. The Olympian, featured in the Instagram post, is Katy Sealy, Team Belize Olympic and Commonwealth athlete. Katy is the three time Central American heptathlon Champion and Central American record holder. More about how Katy became an athlete, her achievements and targets, is planned for a future post here on RFTFT.

So where, apart from the obvious Olympic link, does '5 Gold Rings' fit into Katy's story?
On Sunday 5 March, Katy and her mother, Wendy, appeared on the ITV game show '5 Gold Rings'. If you want to see how Katy and Wendy progressed on the show, click HERE. Though please note - This blog post is titled 'Last Chance' for a reason - You only have TWO DAYS left to watch the episode on the 'ITV Hub' (That's two days from Sunday 2 April). This image from the show is the moment the Olympian was doing her hair on television: 😊

If you want to find out more about Katy, visit her website. If you would like to make a donation to assist Katy in reaching her targets, visit her GoFundMe page. Keep up to date with Katy via her social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Enjoy the show!

R♥xi's Birthday!

Happy Birthday

Roxanne Leah Townsend!

Meet the Olympian!

I am the least gymnastic person you'll ever meet so chuffed to be able to do this 😂💪#gymnastics #rings #Belize #Heptathlon

A post shared by Katy Sealy (@katybelize) on Mar 23, 2017 at 8:12am PDT

Hannah's London Marathon Challenge

INTRODUCING Hannah Langton!

Hannah stole the hearts of the nation when she appeared on The Chase, broadcast Tuesday 21 March. Viewers loved Hannah's feisty, sassy, fun attitude as she faced The Chaser, Jenny Ryan, after a successful 'cash builder' round. Viewers particularly loved Hannah's 'hands on hips' stance, which led Bradley Walsh to liken her to a 'superhero', and Jenny Ryan dubbed her 'Guessing Girl', due to her luck at the table. Hannah at the table:

If you want to see how Hannah progressed on The Chase, then watch again HERE.

Please note: To watch again, a login may be required and the programme will only be available for thirty days from broadcast.

Social media loved Hannah's appearance on the show, and Hannah has used this interest in her to highlight her forthcoming challenge, which is...

Hannah's London Marathon Challenge

I shall bring you the link to the website where you can sponsor Hannah for the London Marathon in a moment. The Virgin Money London Marathon, taking place 23 April, is the largest annual fundraising event on the planet - runners have raised over £770 million for good causes since the race began in 1981 (Quote from the Virgin Money Giving website).

The best appeal for Hannah's cause is a statement from Hannah herself:

"I am running the 2017 London Marathon for the Heads Together Campaign through The Mix.

Too often, people feel afraid to admit that they are struggling with their mental health. This fear of prejudice and judgement stops people from getting help and can destroy families and end lives. Heads Together wants to help people feel much more comfortable with their everyday mental wellbeing and have the practical tools to support their friends and family.

Please dig deep guys - it's a great cause.... and I will need all the help I can get!!"

Click HERE to sponsor Hannah's London Marathon Challenge.

(I asked Hannah for approval prior to this post; In return, Hannah has asked that, if you do sponsor her, please put your name on the sponsorship, so she can thank you.)

Good Luck Hannah!

Season 2016/17: The Season So Far - Part 8

"If you don't want to know the results, please look away now..."

Carlisle United Football Club's results for the month of March 2017:

Saturday 4th: Sky Bet League Two: Plymouth Argyle 2 - United 0 (Attendance: 10381)

Saturday 11th: Sky Bet League Two: United 0 - Cambridge United 3 (Attendance: 4427)

Tuesday 14th: Sky Bet League Two: United 0 - Luton Town 0 (Attendance: 4052)

Saturday 18th: Sky Bet League Two: Mansfield Town 2 - United 0 (Attendance: 4463)

Saturday 25th: Sky Bet League Two: United 0 - Crewe Alexandra 2 (Attendance: 4695)

The League Two table, on the afternoon of Sunday 26 March, shows United eighth in the division, having played 39 matches [More than a Premier League season, it has to be said], a goal difference of minus two and 59 points.

The seven remaining fixtures this term are as follows [All Sky Bet League Two]:

April:

Saturday 1st: Yeovil Town (Away)

Saturday 8th: Notts County (Home)

Friday 14th: Hartlepool United (Away)

Monday 17th: Stevenage (Home)

Saturday 22nd: Crawley Town (Away)

Saturday 29th: Newport County (Home)

May:

Saturday 6th: Exeter City (Away).

The next update will follow the fixture on May 6th.

6 Nations 2017: The Final Results

THIS year's RBS Six Nations Championship is complete - So here are the round-by-round results, with dates and venues:

Round 1:
Saturday 4 February: Scotland 27 - Ireland 22  (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Saturday 4 February: England 19 - France 16  (Twickenham, London)
Sunday 5 February: Italy 7 - Wales 33  (Stadio Olimpico, Rome)

Round 2:
Saturday 11 February: Italy 10 - Ireland 63  (Stadio Olimpico)
Saturday 11 February: Wales 16 - England 21  (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Sunday 12 February: France 22 - Scotland 16  (Stade de France, Paris)

Round 3:
Saturday 25 February: Scotland 29 - Wales 13  (Murrayfield)
Saturday 25 February: Ireland 19 - France 9  (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Sunday 26 February: England 36 - Italy 15  (Twickenham)

Round 4:
Friday 10 March: Wales 22 - Ireland 9  (Principality Stadium)
Saturday 11 March: Italy 18 - France 40  (Stadio Olimpico)
Saturday 11 March: England 61 - Scotland 21  (Twickenham)

Round 5:
Saturday 18 March: Scotland 29 - Italy 0  (Murrayfield)
Saturday 18 March: France 20 - Wales 18  (Stade de France)
Saturday 18 March: Ireland 13 - England 9  (Aviva Stadium)

At the completion of all the fixtures, here is the final table (compiled by me, as a Microsoft Word document):

So it is congratulations to ENGLAND, the Six Nations Champions for 2017!

🏉

6 Nations: Competitions within a Competition

THE RBS 6 Nations rugby union tournament has matches which have their own individual prizes - And this post is bringing you those results in the tournament and hopefully bring you a little bit of information about the trophies.

The first of these trophies was the Centenary Quaich, which has been presented to the winners of the annual Scotland - Ireland fixture since 1989. The 2017 holders of the Quaich are Scotland, who defeated Ireland 27-22 at Murrayfield, on the opening day of the 6 Nations tournament, Saturday 4 February. Here is Scotland Captain Greig Laidlaw lifting the Quaich after the match:

TWO more trophies were played for on the afternoon of Saturday 11 March: First, the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy (Italian: Trofeo Garibaldi; French: Trophée Garibaldi), which has been presented to the winners of the France - Italy fixture since 2007. Here is the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy:

The 2017 holders of the Trophy are France, who defeated Italy at Stadio Olimpico on March 11. The result: Italy 18 - France 40. Here is very short footage of France with the Trophy, courtesy of the FF Rugby Twitter feed:

#XVdeFrance Les Bleus remportent le trophée Garibaldi 👏 #ITAFRA pic.twitter.com/5quhiM2d1R

— FF Rugby (@FFRugby) March 11, 2017

FINALLY, the Calcutta Cup match also took place on Saturday 11 March. The Calcutta Cup is one of the oldest trophies, introduced in 1879, and is competed for every year between England and Scotland. The 2017 holders of the Cup are England, who defeated Scotland 61-21 at Twickenham on March 11. Here is England Captain Dylan Hartley with the Calcutta Cup, after receiving it from the platform party:

There is one final round of matches, taking place on Saturday 18 March, which will complete the 2017 RBS 6 Nations.

Thirty Years: The Joshua Tree.

TODAY, 9 March 2017, marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of the album 'The Joshua Tree'. U2 alluded to the anniversary on a social media post on Christmas Day 2016, which, in a darkened room, featured the band and a 'Joshua Tree' covered in Christmas lights.

The band have today announced a reissue of the album for the thirtieth anniversary, which will include songs never heard before.

This all comes prior to The Joshua Tree 2017 Tour, which takes place this summer.

Medium Wave: March 2017

ANOTHER Sunday afternoon, another selection of radio broadcasts I have heard. From the logbook, an evening of broadcasts heard on Friday 3 March 2017. Housekeeping notes for those new to these posts: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and transmission powers in watts or kiloWatts (kW).

March 2017 : Medium Wave.

• 3 March: 1813 UTC: 639 kHz: CRo2 Dvojka, Czech Republic. Strong to good reception, 1500 kW via Prague. 'Radio Club Junior' with Klara Novakova and guest David Svoboda, a London 2012 Olympian. Music, speech including the phone-in segment of the show, various greetings in the Czech language, including the informal 'Ahoj'. Music, speech.
• 3 March: 1835 UTC: 639 kHz: RNE Radio Nacional, Spain. Good reception, up to 600 kW via various transmission sites. Speech from a female, brief speech from a male, female speaking at length. Male speech with ID: 'Radio Nacional Espana'. Music: Leonard Cohen?.
• 3 March: 1856 UTC: 657 kHz : Rai RadioUno, Italy. Good reception, 100 kW via Pisa. 'Zapping' - A programme dedicated to looking at the week's news in small segments: Male in studio, male on phone. Male and female voices.

• 3 March: 1924 UTC: 666 kHz: BBC Radio York, UK. Strong to moderate reception, 500 watts via Fulford, York. Music from George Harrison 'My Sweet Lord', female host - Georgie Spanswick, talking about what is coming up on the show and the topic of a 'free lunch' - Listener reaction with food and drink related stories, reaction from Simon with a red wine story. Text: 81333, Idents for Georgie Spanswick and BBC Radio York. Music: Jackson Five 'I Want You Back'. Traffic + Travel report - Call in on 0330... Music: Eric Carmen 'Hungry Eyes'. Call the show on 0345... [Notes: BBC Radio York was the dominant broadcast on the channel. The above QSL card, verifying reception in 1996, is from my collection.]
•  3 March: 1954 UTC: 684 kHz: RNE Radio Nacional, Spain. Strong to moderate reception, 600 kW via Seville. Strong, clear, male speech, music (a Zither!). Time signal for 20 UTC. Female speech - News headlines? Speech is TOO QUICK for me to understand the words! Brief speech from male, female continues speaking. News from France: Marine Le Pen. Feeds from the Friday night football fixtures. Female completes the bulletin, handover to new programme with males. Music: Fatboy Slim 'Praise You'.
• 3 March: 2016 UTC: 693 kHz: BBC Radio 5 Live, UK. Strong to good reception, up to  150 kW via Droitwich, Worcestershire / 50 kW via Stagshaw, Northumberland. The 'Friday Football Social' - Studio guest is Michail Antonio. Live updates from current sporting fixtures: Leeds United v Birmingham City; Cricket: West Indies 147-4 against England in Antuiga; Rugby League updates. Michail Antonio (West Ham United) talking about being called up for England and life as a Premier League player. 2030 UTC news update: Northern Ireland politician Mike Nesbitt has resigned.

• 3 March: 2048 UTC: 720 kHz: BBC Radio Four, UK. Good to moderate reception, 10 kW via Lisnagarvey, Northern Ireland. 'Test Match Special' - West Indies v England LIVE from Antigua. A West Indian wicket had fallen just as I tuned in, the next Windies batsman is now at the crease and the over has begun. Male commentator with female summariser.
• 3 March: 2116 UTC: 738 kHz: RNE Radio Nacional, Spain. Good to moderate reception, 500 kW via Barcelona. Male and female Spanish voices, female speaks of Casablanca.
• 3 March: 2137 UTC: 756 kHz: BBC Radio Cumbria, UK. Moderate to poor reception, 1 kW via Brisco, Carlisle. Music from Rod Stewart 'Maggie May', speech from Georgie Spanswick, speaking to a female on the phone about her plans for the weekend.

• 3 March: 2155 UTC: 756 kHz: Radio Romania Actualitati, Romania. Moderate reception, 400 kW via Sibiu, Romania. Male speech, folk music, male voice with ID, off air at 2200 UTC.
• 3 March: 2205 UTC: 756 kHz: BBC Radio Cumbria, UK. Moderate reception, 1 kW via Brisco, Carlisle. [BBC Radio Cumbria 'in the clear'] Two Beatles songs back to back: 'Please Please Me' and 'Penny Lane' on the 'Decades Show' with Joe Costin. Music: The Strawbs 'Part of the Union'. Val Armstrong with the lyrics quiz 😊 Music: Bonnie Tyler 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'. ["Joe Costin: The World's Oldest Man" - R. Nankivell]
• 3 March: 2230 UTC: 774 kHz: RNE Radio Nacional, Spain. Good to moderate reception, 20 - 100 kW via various transmission sites. Male conversation at length, includes a clear mention of Brexit!

That concludes the logs for March 2017.

Until the next time, keep listening!

📻