International Listening Update, March 2014

TEN MONTHS have passed since I last tuned the Short Wave band of my radio, to listen to broadcasts from all over the world. I took the opportunity to spend some time beside my radio on the afternoon of Thursday 27 March. The results of what I heard are here. All times are UTC (Universal Time Co-ordination, also known as GMT - Greenwich Mean Time); All frequencies are kHz (kiloHertz).

• 1615 UTC, 7265 kHz : Unidentified broadcast - Possibly China Radio International, broadcasting in the Russian language. Reception was fair. Male speech, female speech, news regarding France. Speech regarding President Francois Hollande, France. To 1620 UTC.
• 1630 UTC, 9410 kHz : BBC World Service - 'Sport Today'. European football: Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona. Reception was fair. English to South Asia via Kranji, Singapore. Premiership football in England: Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea. World reaction via social media. To 1650 UTC.
• 1650 UTC, 9435 kHz : China Radio International - Learn to speak Chinese, referring to phrases such as "I won't go to the company today" and words such as "supermarket". Reception was good. English broadcast worldwide via Kashi, China. To 1700 UTC.
• 1710 UTC, 9500 kHz : Radio Australia [ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation] - 'Daily Planet' music programme, referring to the band 'Tangalo'. Male host. Reception was fair. English to Asia and Australasia via Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. To 1730 UTC.
• 1755 UTC, 9500 kHz : Unidentified broadcast - Speech interspersed with intro to the track 'Puffing Billy' by Edward White! To 1800 UTC.

• 2245 UTC, 9575 kHz : Medi 1 Radio, Morocco - 'Album Story' programme. Speech, followed by clips of tracks by Dire Straits, Santana and Michael Jackson. Female speech in French. Reception was good. Male speech, music by Bob Marley. To 2255 UTC.
• 2310 UTC, 9855 kHz : Radio Australia [ABC - Australian Broadcasting Corporation] - Female host with round table discussion regarding sport in the community and history of cricket in Samoa. Reception was fair. English to Asia and Australasia via Al Dhabbaya, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. To 2325 UTC.

That concludes the log of broadcasts I heard Thursday 27 March. I hope not to leave it so long next time!

It's Shara Time!

THIS week, Wallpaper of the Week brings you another image from the Facebook account of the amazing Maria Sharapova. The image is a still from a video Miss Sharapova posted on Facebook and on her Social Channel, as she prepared for training on a Saturday morning in October 2013. Maria's official Facebook channel can be found here.

Enjoy.

Eden FM - Eden Country Playlist - 15 March 2014

PRESENTING the playlist of Eden FM's weekly Country music show Eden Country, as broadcast Saturday 15 March 2014:

Hayseed Dixie - Walk This Way

Scott Holstein - The Spell

Jim Reeves - Then I'll Stop Loving You

Lady Antebellum - Singing Me Home

Ricky Skaggs - Coal Minin' Man

The Steeldrivers - Blue Side Of The Mountain

Lindi Ortega - When All The Stars Align

Kenny Chesney - Me And You

Willie Nelson - Mountain Dew

Johnny Cash - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Lonestar - I'm Already There

Hank Locklin - Please Help Me, I'm Falling

Dolly Parton - Why'd You Come In Here Lookin' Like That

Nanci Griffith - Outbound Plane

Alison Krauss & Union Station - It Doesn't Matter

Dixie Chicks - Everybody Knows

Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy (Live)

Elvis Presley - I Forgot To Remember To Forget

Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton & Loretta Lynn - Silver Threads & Golden Needles

Tim McGraw - Something Like That

George Jones - I'm Not Ready Yet

Taylor Swift - The Other Side Of The Door

Nanci Griffith - From A Distance

Eric Brace & Last Train Home featuring Charlie McCoy - Stone Fox Chase

Elvis Presley - That's All Right

Charlie Rich - I've Got Mine

Patsy Cline - Lonely Street

The Bellamy Brothers - Sugar Daddy

Faron Young - Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young

Willie Nelson - On The Road Again

Please give the Eden FM Country with Martin Facebook page a 'Like'. Thank you!

A Beautiful Sunset.

TAKING you back to September 1st, 2013, to a beautiful sunset in the Caribbean. The lady in the photograph is the magnificent Miss Maria Sharapova, and it is from her official Facebook account that I have shared this photograph as Wallpaper of the Week. Enjoy.

It's Taylor Ti- Oh. My. Goodness.

Taylor Alison Swift is FAB-U-LOUS.

It's Taylor Time!

TAYLOR SWIFT released the album Speak Now in 2010. The standard album cover dress was purple, the Deluxe Edition cover dress was red - But I just had to share this piece of art from the internet, in which the dress has been coloured blue, which I like. There is also a celebration of Speak Now on the internet, portraying Taylor in a green dress, but I wasn't so sure of that one.

As this post is celebrating Speak Now, here are the track listings of the standard and Deluxe Editions of the album:

Standard edition:

Mine, Sparks Fly, Back To December, Speak Now, Dear John, Mean, The Story Of Us, Never Grow Up, Enchanted, Better Than Revenge, Innocent, Haunted, Last Kiss, Long Live

Deluxe Edition content:

Ours, If This Was A Movie, Superman, Back To December (acoustic), Haunted (acoustic), Mine (US version), Back To December (US version), The Story Of Us (US version)

Video content: On The Set: Behind the Scenes of 'Mine' Music Video, followed by 'Mine' Music Video.

Taylor has also released an eponymous album, Fearless (also the Platinum Edition), Speak Now World Tour Live and RED (also a Deluxe Edition).

Please also click on Taylor's name at the beginning of this posting, as I have linked to Taylor's official website through that.

Finally, whichever colour dress you choose, enjoy!

Wallpaper of the Week, 16 February 2014

LADY LUCK appears to be smiling on Eden at the moment - Two dry days in a row! Whilst the sun is shining, I thought that this week's Wallpaper of the Week feature should also include an image of a sunny day. So I present an image looking out to St Bees Head, from Hartley's Ice Cream Café, on the coast at St Bees. The location is also the starting point of the late, great Alfred Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk, from where you head north, before turning east to conquer the Lake District fells, the Eden Valley, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors, before finally completing the walk on the shoreline at Robin Hood's Bay. Let us hope for more kind weather, if you are here in Eden, in St Bees, or participating in the Coast to Coast walk. Best of luck, whatever your plans are this week. Enjoy.

Reporting From ... The Fox Tower!

A WHILE has passed since I first started this blog - November 2005, I believe - during which time the only photograph I have published of the Fox Tower itself is the profile picture in the top left of the page. Here is a nice image of the Tower, taken by myself in May 2013, when the landowners allowed visitors to reach the Fox Tower and neighbouring Bluebell Wood. I am pleased it was a beautiful, sunny day, which was very enjoyable 'up Helbeck' and provided great panoramic views. I do hope you are enjoying the weekend too.

Welcome to February!

WELCOME to another Wallpaper of the Week. Following the post regarding Penrith last week, I'm posting an image of back home, Brough. On closer inspection, the image may be a little blurry, as I had to use the zoom to achieve the image above. This image is from 25 May 2013, taken from Helbeck, the farming hamlet to the north of Brough. The Castle stands in the centre of the image, with the distant Wild Boar Fell, looming large, behind in the distance. Hope you enjoy this image.

Discover Penrith

THIS post on RFTFT takes us up to the market town of Penrith, Cumbria. A town that has been going through a regeneration in recent years, which has included the building of the new Castle Park Retail site, on the A592, Ullswater Road, as well as the New Squares development, around the Southend Road area. I do like the metalwork which greets visitors to the New Squares, as seen above. A new website was launched in late 2013, on which visitors can learn more about the town, the website is Discover Penrith. There is lots more to Penrith than just the new retail areas; The Musgrave Monument in the Market Square, St Andrew's Church, the statue of the Black Angel in Castle Park (to commemorate the Boer War), the Band Stand in Corn Market, not forgetting Penrith Castle, as well as the sporting facilities in Castle Park. Regarding sports, Penrith Rugby Union is based at Winters Park, Carleton; Penrith AFC [Football Club] is based at Frenchfields Park. Learn more about sport in Penrith on the Eden FM Sport Facebook page. Eden FM is the Community Radio station based on Ullswater Road Business Park. Also based in Penrith is the Cumberland & Westmorland Herald (weekly newspaper) and Cumbrian Local (monthly community magazine). I do hope this posting regarding Penrith has been enjoyable. Do enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

Wallpaper of the Week, 19 January 2014

THE FINAL image of the series of photographs taken at Ullswater, May 2013, is of the stone steps which lead from the roadside down to the water. I like the low sun shining at an angle, showing the greenery at its best and giving good light on this shot. I do hope you have enjoyed these images and will continue to visit Reporting From The Fox Tower.

Happy Birthday Victoria Louise!

BEFORE the day is through, join me in wishing Victoria Louise Lott a very Happy 23rd Birthday.

Victoria Louise is better known as the British singer Pixie Lott, who will be performing her new single 'Nasty' at the 2014 Brit Awards. Happy Birthday, Pixie!

Wallpaper of the Week, 12 January 2014

WALLPAPER of the Week takes one final look - for now - at Ullswater. This image, as with the previous images in the series, was taken one evening in May 2013. I hope you have enjoyed this selection of images of the water and surrounding country. I still have one more image which will be in the next posting, then I intend to post a few more items closer to home in the near future. Until then, enjoy this week's image of Ullswater.

... and a Happy New Year from me.

JANUARY 1st 2014 has arrived, so I would like to wish you a Happy New Year and welcome you to the first posting of the year here on RFTFT. The image continues the series of photographs taken at Ullswater, May 14th 2013, at 6:15pm. I do hope you enjoy the picture and will enjoy 2014.

Wallpaper of the Week, 22 December 2013

SUNDAY afternoon, listening to Eden FM, the sun is shining, a nice picture from Springtime, so it must be the weekend before Christmas. Yes, welcome along to this latest post on RFTFT, I do try to remember to use the word 'post' or 'posting', rather than 'edition' or 'issue', or even 'release'. If you would like a one-off paper edition of RFTFT, I may consider it during 2014. I have also used italics quite a lot so far, so will move onto the subject of this post. Please enjoy this week's image of Ullswater, taken at 6:15pm on 14 May 2013, by myself. I was hoping that the Eden Valley may have been festooned by the snow by now, which would have heralded some traditionally festive images for 'WotW', but I don't think images of heavy rainfall would elicit the same wistful thoughts of Christmas and Winter, so that's why I am posting the nice blue sky images of Ullswater.

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Wallpaper of the Week, 15 December 2013

As CHRISTMAS draws ever closer, following the promise of the post a week ago here on RFTFT, we (in the northern hemisphere) are in the depths of the winter weather, which, apart from the torrential rain and winds, hasn't actually been too bad. We haven't had any snow yet. So following the 'WotW' post last week, we're not giving in to the scenes of snow as usually depicted all over the internet every December and continuing with blue sky scenes from spring and summer. The above image follows last week's post, as this is another image of Ullswater, taken by myself, on May 14th 2013.

Lots more nice images of the water (as Ullswater in not officially classed as a 'lake') to come, I also have some nice images of the Fox Tower itself I intend to share, as it is the monument after which I named this blog.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and have a good week.

Happy Birthday Taylor!

WELCOME to this latest edition of Reporting From The Fox Tower, brought to you on the evening of Friday the thirteenth, 2013. If you like numerical dates, then today is 13-12-13. The double presence of the number thirteen will no doubt be of great interest to Miss Taylor Alison Swift - pictured left - who regards the number 13 as her lucky number, as it was the thirteenth day of December on which she was born. Click the link featured in her name (above) to visit her official website, where you can read the line in her bio, where she states she 'was born in December on a Christmas tree farm'. So it is time to wish Taylor a very Happy Birthday, with lots of love for her magnificent albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Speak Now World Tour Live and RED. Taylor is currently on the RED Tour in Australia, which visits the O2, London, in February 2014. Details of the tour are also found on Taylor's website. This image of Tay is from the 2013 VS Fashion show. I shall close by saying Happy Birthday Taylor!

Wallpaper of the Week, 8 December 2013

I am pleased to announce the return of WotW (Yes, another italicised acronym) for the winter season. I don't want to dwell too much on the winter weather, so the first image is of Ullswater, the first of a series of photographs I took on 14 May 2013. I hope to post more images of blue skies from spring and summer 2013, which I hope you will appreciate and enjoy.

A Couple More Winter Birthdays!

FIRST is a belated Happy Birthday to Miss Karen Gillan, Who celebrated her Birthday on Friday 29th November. Miss Gillan, professional actress, is most popular for this role:

The role of Amelia Jessica 'Amy' Pond, in the BBC Television series Doctor Who, which recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary.

Celebrating their Birthday today [Monday 2 December 2013] is:

Miss Britney Jean Spears, who has a new album, tour and perfume for your delectation this coming Christmas. That's enough said about that for the time being.

I do hope Miss Gillan and Miss Spears enjoy their Birthdays. RFTFT will be back again soon with what you might call a 'Rear end special' - As it is the rear end of 2013, I'll publish some nice pictures from throughout the year, hopefully reminding us of the sunny days in the middle of the year. That's all coming up soon here on RFTFT. Until then, enjoy your Monday evening.

Belated Happy Birthday, Miss Brook!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Miss Kelly Brook, who celebrated her [34th] Birthday on Saturday. Kelly shares her Birthday with Miley Cyrus, who turned 21 this weekend.

Seeing as Miley is a bit of a nightmare these days, let's stay with Kelly. To mark her Birthday, I'm sharing this selfie Kelly posted on her social media sites on [Saturday] the morning of her Birthday, from her bed:

Kelly even looks good first thing in the morning - Enough said.

Happy Birthday Miss Brook!