Sunday, November 6, 2011

Carlisle United results: October 2011

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

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

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

GOOD LUCK to the Blues for the November fixtures!

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

Sunday, October 16, 2011

A (final) July Day in Whitby: #5


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

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

A July Day in Whitby #4


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

Sunday, October 9, 2011

A July Day in Whitby #3


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

Sunday, October 2, 2011

A July Day in Whitby: #2


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

Thursday, September 29, 2011

A July Day in Whitby: #1


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

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

A July Day in Haltwhistle: The Centre of Britain


JULY 26 in Haltwhistle, Northumberland: The Centre of Britain.
This fingerpost has the 'Haltwhistle - Centre of Britain' disc on the top, which has Haltwhistle marked on the map of the British Isles (if you look closely) and the fingers point to Bowness on Solway, Wallsend, Portland Bill, Orkney and Northumberland National Park via Haltwhistle Burn.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Carlisle United Results, September 2011

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

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

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

League: Saturday 10th: United 1 - Hartlepool 2

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

League: Saturday 17th: Chesterfield 4 - United 1

League: Saturday 24th: United 1 - Stevenage 0

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

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

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

September Short Wave Results

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


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


Sunday was a rather good day with the radio!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Midweek Wallpaper: The End of Summer 2011

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

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Carlisle United Results, August 2011

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

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

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

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

League: Tuesday 16th: Rochdale 0 - United 0

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

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

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

"Win or lose, come on you Blues!"

Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Sabbath


AS it is Sunday, The Sabbath, I thought I would post a nice photograph of a Church for your enjoyment.
This is St Theobald's Church, Musgrave, Cumbria, England.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Weekend wireless: August 2011

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunday, July 17, 2011

When Taylor met The Beatles!


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

Sunday, July 10, 2011

July 2011 Short Wave Listening

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

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

Sunday, July 3, 2011

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

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

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Carlisle United Fixtures 2011 - 2012

HOME GAMES IN CAPITALS

AUGUST
6 NOTTS COUNTY
13 Bury
16 Rochdale
20 BOURNEMOUTH
27 Leyton Orient

SEPTEMBER
3 MILTON KEYNES DONS
10 HARTLEPOOL
13 Tranmere
17 Chesterfield
24 STEVENAGE

OCTOBER
1 Walsall
8 BRENTFORD
15 Yeovil
22 Charlton
25 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
29 OLDHAM

NOVEMBER
5 Exeter
19 Sheffield United
26 COLCHESTER

DECEMBER
10 Scunthorpe
17 WYCOMBE
26 Preston
31 Huddersfield

JANUARY
2 SHEFFIELD UNITED
7 LEYTON ORIENT
14 Milton Keynes Dons
21 WALSALL
28 Hartlepool

FEBRUARY
4 CHESTERFIELD
11 Stevenage
14 TRANMERE
18 Brentford
25 YEOVIL

MARCH
3 Notts County
6 ROCHDALE
10 BURY
17 Bournemouth
20 PRESTON
24 Colchester
31 HUDDERSFIELD

APRIL
7 Wycombe
9 SCUNTHORPE
14 CHARLTON
21 Sheffield Wednesday
28 EXETER

MAY
5 Oldham

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

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Update for June 2011

WELCOME to RFTFT, June 2011, The Summer! Or so I would like you to believe, as the rain continues to fall. In this update:
  • Round-up of the 2010 - 2011 football season
  • Radio Logs for June 2011
The 2010 - 2011 football season ended at the beginning of May, so here is a round-up of Champions, winners, promotions and relegations, as well as a mention of how teams in their respective divisions finished their seasons.

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

Barclays Premier League :
Champions : Manchester United
Relegated : Birmingham City, Blackpool, West Ham United

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

npower Championship :
Champions : Queens Park Rangers
Promoted : Norwich City
Play off Winners : Swansea City (4-2 v Reading)
Relegated : Preston North End, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe United

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

npower League One :
Champions : Brighton & Hove Albion
Promoted : Southampton
Play off Winners : Peterborough United (3-0 v Huddersfield Town)
Relegated : Dagenham & Redbridge, Bristol Rovers, Plymouth Argyle, Swindon Town

Carlisle United finished their League One season in 12th place

npower League Two :
Champions : Chesterfield
Promoted : Bury, Wycombe Wanderers
Play off Winners : Stevenage (1-0 v Torquay United)
Relegated : Lincoln City, Stockport County

Morecambe finished their League Two season in 20th place

Blue Square Bet Premier League :
Champions : Crawley Town
Promoted : AFC Wimbledon (as play off winners)
Relegated : Southport, Altrincham, Eastbourne Borough, Histon

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

  • Radio Logs for June 2011
Listening using Hitachi TRK 5854-E, Lloytron N401 Galaxy and Roberts R881, here is what I heard on the Medium Wave (AM) band during June. Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and transmitter power in kiloWatt (kW).

828 kHz : Radio 10 Gold, Holland

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

837 kHz : France Info, Nancy, 200 kW

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

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

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

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

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

945 kHz : France Info, Toulouse, 300 kW.

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

Thank you for visiting RFTFT once again!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Wireless listening, April & May 2011

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

26 April 2011 - Medium Wave :
  • 2040 - 2110 UTC, 801 kHz : Bayern Plus, Munich, Germany. 100 kW (kiloWatt) transmission. Music including Glenn Campbell 'The Wichita Lineman', Roy Orbison 'You Got It'. World News update at 2100 UTC.
  • 2115 - 2127 UTC, 810 kHz : BBC Radio Scotland, North or Central Scotland transmitter, 100 kW transmission. Political discussion programme regarding elections in Scotland.
  • 2140 - 2158 UTC, 828 kHz : Radio 10 Gold, Holland. Music including Norah Jones, Michael Macdonald, Jon Secada, Chris Rea, The Cars, Katie Melua.
4 May 2011 - Short Wave :
  • 1950 - 2010 UTC, 15610 kHz : WEWN Global Catholic Radio, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. English to the Middle East. 'Openline' programme, also to Asia after 20:00 UTC.
  • 2024 UTC, 15630 kHz : Voice of Greece, 100 kW transmission. Spanish language broadcast.
  • 2030 UTC, 15695 kHz : WYFR Family Radio, Okeechobee, Florida, USA. 100 kW transmission. German language transmission.
  • 2035 - 2050 UTC, 15825 kHz : WWCR, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. WWCR-1 English to Europe, Middle East, America. 'The Pat Boone Show'.
  • 21:11 UTC, 17560 kHz : Radio Havana Cuba, 100 kW transmission. Spanish language broadcast.
  • 21:17 UTC, 17595 kHz : Radio Exterior de Espana, Portuguese to South America. 350 kW transmission.
  • 2125 - 2128 UTC, 17605 kHz : Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, Dutch to South America. 250 kW via Bonaire transmitter.
  • 2151 UTC, 17680 kHz : CVC La Voz Cristiana, Chile. 100 kW transmission. Spanish language broadcast.
  • 2155 UTC, 17725 kHz : WYFR Family Radio, Okeechobee, Florida, USA. 100 kW transmission, French language to 2200 UTC, Portuguese after.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

That was the week that was

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

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

TELEVISION has played a big part over the last week or so - First, the BBC Red Button service has played host to video from the BBC Radio 2 'In Concert' programmes, including a set at Abbey Road studios, London, from Taylor Swift. Taylor and her band played the following tracks:
The Story Of Us / Speak Now / Fearless / Fifteen / You Belong With Me / Enchanted / Love Story.
Also 'In Concert' on the Red Button were Rumer and Friends, which I believe has also been very popular.
Cumbria featured throughout the week on television: Channel 4 had an early evening show presented by Fern Britton (rumoured to be axed due to falling viewer figures), who included Alan Carr as a guest. Carr insulted Barrow - In - Furness on the programme, though I would expect neither Britton nor the studio audience in London would know where Barrow is, so Carr's 'joke' (like all of them) fell flat.
THE BBC relocated to Easegill Head, Wharton, Kirkby Stephen for a week, to broadcast the 2011 series of 'Lambing Live', presented by Adam Henson and Kate Humble from the Marston family farm. The first broadcast was Monday 4 April, through to Saturday 9 April. Not all went well, as some of the Tuesday live broadcast was lost, as the BBC and outside broadcast partners Arena and Hyper Active battled with the stormy weather which caused the satellite links to be lost. The rest of the week went very well, producing a wonderful, interesting and informative programme, which gained over two million viewers on Monday night.

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

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


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