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!

📻

Season 2016/17: The Season So Far - Part 7

GOOD evening and welcome to the final evening of February 2017, an evening of League football. 'Midweek Final Score' is being carried on the BBC Red Button service on television, it is half time in this evening's fixtures - No Carlisle United spoilers, as the results for February and fixtures for March will be the main point of this post. This evening's headline fixture in the Championship is Brighton + Hove Albion against Newcastle United - In the second half, Albion lead the Toon Army by one goal to nil - Former Carlisle United hero Glenn Murray scored a penalty on fourteen minutes.

The time has just passed 2100 (sorry, 9pm - I expect to bring you a radio post in the next week or so), so I shall begin bringing you the Carlisle United results for February:

Saturday 4th: Sky Bet League Two: Leyton Orient 1 - United 2 (Attendance: 4306)
Saturday 11th: Sky Bet League Two: United 1 - Blackpool 4 (Attendance: 6170)
Tuesday 14th: Sky Bet League Two: United 2 - Doncaster Rovers 1 (Attendance: 4527)
Saturday 18th: Sky Bet League Two: Wycombe Wanderers 1 - United 2 (Attendance: 3858)
Saturday 25th: Sky Bet League Two: United 0 - Portsmouth 3 (Attendance: 7197)
Tuesday 28th: Sky Bet League Two: Cheltenham Town 1 - United 0 (Attendance: 2433)

The League Two table this evening (28th February) shows United third on fifty-eight points, after thirty four games played.

March 2017 brings five Sky Bet League Two fixtures:

Saturday 4th: Away at Plymouth Argyle
Saturday 11th: Home v Cambridge United
Tuesday 14th: Home v Luton Town
Saturday 18th: Away at Mansfield Town
Saturday 25th: Home v Crewe Alexandra.

That concludes the update for February. One loose end - Full time in the Championship: Brighton + Hove Albion 1 - Newcastle United 2. NUFC are top of the Championship tonight.

⚽

Springtime is coming!

Wallpaper of the Week: 19 February 2017

Blencathra, as featured on BBC Television this week.

Image dates from 9 March 2016.

January + February 2017 on air

MID February and it is a Six Nations Sunday, a tournament which this blog has reflected upon (briefly) over past years. Spoiler alert: Ireland and England won on Saturday; Scotland v France is underway, five minutes played, no score.

I have had a couple of evenings listening to the Roberts R881 over the first six weeks of this year, here are the logs of what I heard on Short Wave and, to begin, Medium Wave. Notes: Time in UTC (GMT), frequency in kiloHertz (kHz), power in kiloWatt (kW) or MegaWatt (MW).

January 2017: Medium Wave.

• 25 January: 1812 UTC: 540 kHz: MR Kossuth Radio, Hungary. Good to strong reception, 2 MW via Solt, Hungary. 'Sports World' covering a Women's volleyball Cup match.
• 25 January: 1906 UTC: 549 kHz: Jil FM, Algeria. Good to strong reception, up to 600 kW via Sidi Hamadouche, Algeria. Music and speech, French and Arabic services.
• 25 January: 1935 UTC: 567 kHz: RNE Radio 5, Spain. Moderate to poor reception, up to 100 kW via Murcia, Spain. Male and female speech, Spanish.

• 25 January: 1958 UTC: 585 kHz: BBC Radio Scotland, UK. Good to strong reception, 2 kW via Dumfries, Scotland. Football! Heart of Midlothian v Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup - GOAL Hearts 0 - Raith Rovers 1 (Deflected goal). Also playing: Celtic 0 - St Johnstone 0.
• 25 January: 2018 UTC: 585 kHz: RNE Radio Nacional, Spain. Good to strong reception, up to 100 kW via Madrid, Spain. MORE football! Celta Vigo v Real Madrid - Male commentators mention Bale, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, referee blows his whistle. Isco. [Full Time: 2-2]
• 25 January: 2036 UTC: 603 kHz: BBC Radio 4, UK. Good to strong reception. 2 kW via Wrekenton, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England. 'Future Proofing': How sport plays its part in society. Link into the 'Four Thought' programme.

• 25 January: 2108 UTC: 621 kHz: RTBF International, Belgium. Strong to moderate reception, 300 kW via Wavre, Belgium. 'Viva Sports' Male speech, presumably at a football fixture. Mentions of 'goalkeeper', 'El Classico', 'Anderlecht'. Full Time? Male in quiet studio reading football scores. Music: Clean Bandit 'Rockabye'.
• 25 January: 2148 UTC: 639 kHz: RNE Radio Nacional, Spain. Good to strong reception, up to 600 kW via various transmission sites. Football: Celta Vigo v Real Madrid - Male commentary. Full Time? Highlights package.
• 25 January: 2209 UTC: 639 kHz: CRo2 Dvojka, Czech Republic. Good to moderate reception, 1500 kW via Prague. 'Night Micro forum' with Marie Retková. Female conversation, music: Frank Sinatra 'Strangers In The Night'. Conversation continues.

February 2017: Short Wave.

• 2 February: 1201 UTC: 9430 kHz: FEBC International, Philippines. Moderate reception, 100 kW to Asia, via Bocaue, Philippines. Music, top of the hour idents in various languages, music. Chinese - Mandarin language.
• 2 February: 1240 UTC: 9560 kHz: Vatican Radio, Vatican City, The Vatican. Poor reception, 250 kW to Asia + Oceania via Philippines. Chinese language programme, female and male speech. ID signal.
• 2 February: 1312 UTC: 9645 kHz: Reach Beyond Australia, Australia. Moderate to poor reception, English language to Asia, via Kununurra, Australia. 'Hope for the Heart' programme with male and female voices.

• 2 February: 1345 UTC: 9740 kHz: BBC World Service, UK. Moderate to poor reception, female speech at length, male on telephone. English to East + South East Asia via Kranji, Singapore.
• 2 February: 1452 UTC: 9880 kHz: China Radio International, China. Good to moderate reception, 100 kW via Nanning, China. Cambodian language - Music, female speech, ID sequence, off air at 1457 UTC.
• 2 February: 1509 UTC: 9900 kHz: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran. Moderate to poor reception, 500 kW via Sirjan, Iran. Hindi language - Very muffled speech, heavy propagation. Music, female speech. [Online as 'ParsToday']

• 2 February: 1532 UTC: 9920 kHz: BBC World Service, UK. Good to moderate reception, 250 kW via Nakhon Sawan, Thailand. Urdu language: Female speech, translating an American English male, translating an English speaking female.
• 2 February: 1555 UTC: 11635 kHz: BBC World Service, UK. Poor reception. 250 kW via Kranji, Singapore. Urdu language: Female in studio, with male on phone. Music, female speech. Off air at 1559 UTC.
• 2 February: 1606 UTC: 11725 kHz: China Radio International, China. Poor reception. 150 kW via Cerrik, Albania. Arabic language: Flamboyant music, male speech, extended music.

• 2 February: 1617 UTC: 11735 kHz: Either Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation, Zanzibar [50 kW via Dole, Zanzibar, Swahili language] Or Rádio Trans Mundial, Brazil [50 kW via Santa Maria - Camobi, Brazil, Portuguese language]. Moderate reception, male speech, music.
• 2 February: 1632 UTC: 11815 kHz: Voice of Turkey, Turkey. Strong to moderate reception, 500 kW via Emirler, Turkey. Turkish language, male speech, music.
• 2 February: 1639 UTC: 11900 kHz: Voice of America, USA. Moderate to poor reception, English to Africa via Sentech, Meyerton, South Africa. Female and male presentation team of 'South Sudan In Focus'.

• 2 February: 1736 UTC: 11930 kHz: Radio Marti, USA. Moderate to poor reception, Spanish to Cuba via Greenville, North Carolina, USA. Strong speech from a male, with female speech too.
• 2 February: 1750 UTC: 11945 kHz: NHK World Radio, Japan. Good to strong reception, 250 kW via Issoudun, France. Music: Earth, Wind & Fire 'Boogie Wonderland', Japanese speech, music. Female speech, male speech, ID, time signal for 1800 UTC, ID. Male speech: News bulletin. Female speech.
• 2 February: 1828 UTC: 11975 kHz: BBC World Service, UK. Good reception, 250 kW to Africa, via Ascension Island. French language service, male speech, ID as 'BBC Afrique', ID set to music - Off air at 1829 UTC.

• 2 February: 1835 UTC: 12075 kHz: Voice of America, USA. Strong to moderate reception. French language service to Africa, via Botswana. Male and female speech, with idents.
• 2 February: 1854 UTC: 12160 kHz: WWCR 2, USA. Poor reception, 100 kW via Nashville, Tennessee, USA. English language: Male voice with web address, music, female speech.
• 2 February: 1925 UTC: 15400 kHz: BBC World Service, UK. Good to strong reception, English to West + Central Africa via Ascension Island - Football! Ghana v Cameroon in the African Cup of Nations - Live commentary from the Stade de Franceville, half an hour played. Ghana corner, dispossessed, Cameroon corner - 30 yard shot on goal, Ghana 'keeper punches the ball out. 0-0 on 30 minutes in the Semi-Final. Ghana have a shot on goal - Wide of the post.

That completes the logs for January and February - Much more comprehensive than I thought! I hope you have found this post informative and interesting. Until the next time - Enjoy.

📻

When she was Calvin's girl.

Taylor Alison Swift

March 2016

💓

Season 2016/17: The Season So Far - Part 6

REPORTING From The Fox Tower ends January as it started - With Carlisle United Football Club's results and forthcoming fixtures.

United had five Sky Bet League Two fixtures in January; The results of which are as follows.

Monday 2nd: Sky Bet League Two: United 1 - Grimsby Town 3 (Attendance: 6865)
Saturday 7th: Sky Bet League Two: Colchester United 4 - United 1 (Attendance: 3525)
Saturday 14th: Sky Bet League Two: United 1 - Morecambe 1 (Attendance: 5524)
Saturday 21st: Sky Bet League Two: Accrington Stanley 1 - United 1 (Attendance: 2634)
Saturday 28th: Sky Bet League Two: United 1 - Barnet 1 (Attendance: 4547)

The League Two table today (29th January) shows United third on forty-nine points, after twenty eight games played.

There are six fixtures in Sky Bet League Two coming up in February:

Saturday 4th: Away at Leyton Orient
Saturday 11th: Home v Blackpool
Tuesday 14th: Home v Doncaster Rovers
Saturday 18th: Away at Wycombe Wanderers
Saturday 25th: Home v Portsmouth
Tuesday 28th: Away at Cheltenham Town.

That concludes the monthly roundup of Carlisle United Football Club.

⚽

Celebrating #AustraliaDay with Renee

THIS week on Reporting From The Fox Tower, we are looking ahead to Australia Day 2017, which is Thursday, January 26. Australia Day is Australia's National Day; More about which you can read here.

What better way to celebrate Australia's National Day, than with one of Australia's finest ambassadors, Renee Somerfield. The above image was posted by Renee on Australia Day 2016.

Renee has featured on RFTFT previously in the 'Introducing Renee Somerfield' post.

I shall close with another image of Renee.

Happy Australia Day!

❤️

#Kaylor

❤️

Introducing Facing West

... Or a post that should be titled Reintroducing Facing West, as the band have appeared on this blog previously, on February 7, 2016, in the post Now Playing: Facing West.

Facing West are sisters Caitlin and Sidney Powell. Caitlin and Sidney both grew up interested in music and learned to play guitars; They both started out as solo artists, but their father suggested they became a band, which they did. They named themselves '2Girls with Guitars' in 2013, when they began to write their own songs, which paid off.
In 2014, Caitlin and Sidney recorded 'Skyline', their first EP. They also discarded '2Girls with Guitars' in favour of Facing West.
In December 2014, Caitlin and Sidney recorded their full length album 'Long Way Home'.

Since then, Facing West have gone on to write more of their own music, as well as some outstanding covers, which included their cover of Coldplay's 'Adventure Of A Lifetime', which featured in the 'Now Playing: Facing West' post. Here is Facing West's acoustic cover of 'Adventure Of A Lifetime':

Facing West worked with Fifgen Films in Portland, Oregon, early 2016, where they recorded a new version of 'Adventure Of A Lifetime', with an accompanying video, which you can see in the 'Now Playing: Facing West' post.

Facing West have a number of online presences, some of which are linked to here:

Facing West on...

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

I hope you enjoy the music of Facing West. I shall leave you with one of Caitlin and Sidney's most recent covers: Louis Tomlinson & Steve Aoki's 'Just Hold On'.

Enjoy.

Season 2016/17: The Season So Far - Part 5

I intended this post to be the final post of 2016, rather than the first post of 2017. No matter, I shall take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year.

This post is continuing the coverage of Carlisle United Football Club over the course of Season 2016/17. There were six fixtures in December: One in the FA Cup, one in the EFL [Checkatrade] Trophy and four in Sky Bet League Two. The results of the six fixtures as follows:

Saturday 3rd: FA Cup: United 0 - Rochdale 2 (Attendance: 4426)
Tuesday 6th: EFL Trophy: United 2 - Mansfield Town 3 (Attendance: 1126)
Saturday 10th: Sky Bet League Two: Luton Town 1 - United 1 (Attendance: 7953)
Saturday 17th: Sky Bet League Two: United 2 - Yeovil Town 1 (Attendance: 4646)
Monday 26th: Sky Bet League Two: Crewe Alexandra 1 - United 1 (Attendance: 4962)
Saturday 31st: Sky Bet League Two: Notts County 2 - United 3 (Attendance: 3825)

The League Two table today (1st January) sees United second on forty-six points, two points behind top of the table Plymouth Argyle and ahead of Doncaster Rovers in third on goal difference.

There are five fixtures in January, all Sky Bet League Two:
Monday 2nd: Home v Grimsby Town
Saturday 7th: Away at Colchester United
Saturday 14th: Home v Morecambe
Saturday 21st: Away at Accrington Stanley
Saturday 28th: Home v Barnet.

That concludes the monthly update of Carlisle United Football Club.

★

Happy New Year!

As it is New Year's Day, I present Facing West performing Auld Lang Syne. Enjoy.

More about Facing West soon. Until then, enjoy!

DX Notes: November - December 2016

MAY I begin this post by wishing you all a Merry Christmas, as I compose this post at 1620 UTC on Christmas Day - Sunday 25 December 2016.

For the final time in 2016 on RFTFT, a compilation of radio broadcast logs. Times listed are UTC (Universal Time Co-ordination, same as GMT), frequencies are listed as kHz (kiloHertz), unless otherwise stated in the log.

November 2016: Medium Wave

• 14 November: 1436 UTC: 1557 kHz: Mixture of signals, unable to identify, though the strongest most likely to be BBC Radio Lancashire (250 watts via Lancaster [Oxcliffe]).
• 14 November: 1516 UTC: 1566 kHz: Mixture of signals lost in the white noise and static, possibilities on this channel include BBC Somerset (1 kW via Taunton [Relays of BBC Bristol]), also Premier Christian Radio (800 watts via Guildford). Holland also broadcasts on this frequency; That broadcast was discounted.
• 14 November: 1541 UTC: 1575 kHz: Female speech started strongly, soon faded. Serious propagation. Logs show RAI Radio 1 (Italy) and SER (Spain) on this channel.

• 14 November: 1555 UTC: Log notes show the onset of dusk at this time; Birds beginning to roost.
• 14 November: 1600 UTC: 1584 kHz: Music, followed by female speech - News bulletin? Male speech too. Music: Huey Lewis & The News 'Power of Love'; The Mamas & The Papas 'Monday Monday'. Traffic & travel report identified BBC Hereford & Worcester, 300 watts to North Herefordshire, via Woofferton, Shropshire. Moderate to poor reception. Music: Culture Club.
• 14 November: 1731 UTC: 1593 kHz: This is not a UK channel, though it did sound like a broadcast trying to break through - Logs only state Romania. Discounted.
• 14 November: 1740 UTC: 1602 kHz: Music: 'Rivers of Babylon', Cliff Richard 'Power To All Our Friends', The Drifters. No speech or ID logged! Logs list BBC Radio Kent (250 watts, Rusthall), Desi Radio (70 watts, Southall), Thruxton (1 watt, Andover) as UK broadcasts, Seagull (Holland) and SER (Spain) as European broadcasts on this channel. Music continued: Thin Lizzy 'The Boys Are Back In Town'.

• 14 November: 1827 UTC: 1638 kHz: Music, which includes whistling! Logs list the Dutch pirate De Vrolijke Mijnwerker [The Merry Miner]. Fade out... Fade in! Logs state polka music...✔ I believe this to be the broadcast I am hearing. Fair to poor reception.
• 14 November: 1849 UTC: 1656 kHz: Music - Though logs state the closest broadcasts to this channel are De Vrolijke Mijnwerker (see above) or Zender Matrix (Holland) on or around 1670 kHz. Yodeling music. Polka music. Very faint reception.

December 2016: Short Wave

• 20 December: 2043 UTC: 6195 kHz: Voice of America, English to Africa via Botswana. Moderate reception. 'African Beat': English speech, music to close of broadcast. VOA ID: 'Yankee Doodle'. ✱ 2100 UTC: 6195 kHz now broadcast from Sao Tome: News headlines: Shooting of Russian Ambassador to Turkey. Evacuation of Aleppo. US President Elect Donald Trump meets staff. New electronic laws in Thailand. 'VOA1 - The Hits'. Music: Twenty One Pilots 'Heathens'. Ellie Goulding. Improved reception from Sao Tome: Good to moderate reception. English to Africa via Sao Tome.
• 20 December: 2142 UTC: 7285 kHz: China Radio International, English to Europe & Africa, via Albania. Strong to good reception. Male and female hosts of the English language programme 'Roundtable'. Topics include listener feedback online; Smog; The pace of life; Emojis and memes.

• 20 December: 2225 UTC: 9420 kHz: Music, with a Mediterranean flavour... Logs state Voice of Greece and a 2012 schedule does confirm Greece on this channel at this time. Upbeat music, male and female vocalists, speech from a male - In Greek? Music with female vocalist. Strong to good reception.

That concludes the logs for 2016.

RFTFT's Top 3 of 2016: Video Edition

Springtime with Sharapova

Roxanne Leah Townsend

This hair makes me feel so kinky - it's the curls... pic.twitter.com/PHSCnUgO4J

— Makeupby_ROXY (@roxi_townsend) April 12, 2016

Wallpaper of the Week, 1 May 2016

The above videos were included in the original Top 3 of 2016 posts, as refered to in the post dated Sunday 18 December 2016.

Three and a half hours have passed since I began to compose this post, so I shall bid you good evening and wish you all the enjoyment of your celebrations.

RFTFT's Most Popular: Top 3 of 2016

ONE week until Christmas Day; Two weeks until New Year's Day, so I am taking the opportunity to review 2016 on Reporting From The Fox Tower by bringing you the top three most viewed posts of the year, beginning with the most popular first.

Springtime with Sharapova

The most viewed post on Reporting From The Fox Tower during 2016 has been 'Springtime with Sharapova', which was posted May 28th and has had 1038 (One thousand and thirty-eight) views. The post anticipated the upcoming summer of sport, which included the Euro 2016 football tournament and the tennis season. It was relating to the tennis season that Springtime with Sharapova reflected on Maria Sharapova's 2014 victory at Roland Garros. Springtime with Sharapova was followed up a week later by 'Summertime with Sharapova', which did not fare as well.

To the second most popular post:

Roxanne Leah Townsend

The Silver medal for 2016 goes to Roxanne Leah Townsend, for the post 'Roxanne Leah Townsend', which was posted September 11th and has had 178 views.

The post was a celebration of Roxanne Leah Townsend, to show Rox continued love and support.

The third most popular post:

Wallpaper of the Week, 1 May 2016

The Bronze medal for 2016 goes to the 'Wallpaper of the Week' - A long standing feature, here on RFTFT - for May 1st, which has had 123 views.

The post reflected on the music video for 'Under Your Spell', which featured Eden based actress and model Abbie Steele. The image for the post was taken from the music video.

This blog has long supported Abbie's career, and will continue to do so.

Support Abbie by visiting her website, follow her Twitter updates and click 'Like' on her Facebook page.

Those are the top three most popular posts of 2016, Reporting From The Fox Tower will post over the festive season, so please do continue visiting!