Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Scribble Picnic. . . . . . . . . Radio


For this fun theme I wanted a special radio. I searched for a vintage looking radio, 
one that reminded me of my childhood as I LOVED listening to the radio from a very
 young age. I discovered many online but this was my favorite for several reasons - 

  • It's the cover of a vintage English annual, books published usually around Christmastime for gifting. I always loved receiving them when I was old enough to read
  • The date - 1946. Doubt I was reading quite yet as I would have been just three, but I would within a few years and I always asked for books at Christmas and Birthday - or cash to go into town to W.H.Smith Booksellers to buy them. I really loved to pick my own usually about ballet, ice skating, horses, and nature
  • The radio itself is similar to one we had, big, bold, Bakelite, and tinny sounding
  • The mention of the BBC - in the illustration. The British Broadcasting Corporation is the world's oldest national broadcasting organization, and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees (35,402). It was probably the only station I listened to as a young child - I recall the Listen With Mother program with the famous words from the daily storyteller. . . . . . . "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin".
  • Later I recall the huge radio favorite, 'Journey Into Space' (1953) and would often listen to that crowded around the radio with friends and neighbors - always a big night each week.  But perhaps my real favorite was 'The Archers', a farming/countryside program which started in 1950 and is still active. It's the world's longest running radio soap opera with 18,400 episodes!
  • . . . . . . and once into music, from the pre-teens onward, RADIO LUXEMBOURG brought listening to American pop music/Rock 'n Roll late into the night, often under the blankets to muffle the sounds from the parents!

Photo of book cover changed to a sketch, colored with watercolor pencils.


~ Original vintage book selling in England on eBay for 15.00 pounds ~

Radio

Radio Memories

Radio Fun

. . . . . . . those were the more simple, but still exciting days before
 television, computers, mobile phones!

OK, you know the theme for this week, RADIO.
I'm excited to head over to Michael's SCRIBBLE PICNIC soon to 
see what our group has come up with. We'd love to have you join us - 
all info is on Michael's blog.




18 comments:

  1. Hi Mary :) What a lovely post to read! And a beautiful sketch! :) I love it. I'm very much into "old time" radio and I still listen to radio shows through the internet! Nice memories!

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  2. Beautiful look back at the past Mary and a lovely antique radio piece.

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  3. I imagine I would have devoured these books. I was always captivated by any "end of the year" compilations. You might have sent me on and ebay quest...

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  4. A very enjoyable post, Mary! Lovely take on the theme too. I remember old radios as a child and also the black and white television sets. They were good times...slower paced and more peaceful than the fast-paced world of today. Technology sure has its perks but, sometimes, I yearn for quieter, more relaxed, times.

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  5. Many of the scribblers have reached back into their past as, if you are vintage enough, radio was a big part of our childhoods. This is wonderful and interesting that the BBC Radio was the largest in the world. Those were fun and much less complicated days. I have truly enjoyed venturing into our post. Love it, Mary ...

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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  6. Scribble picnic is always fun to see what you come up with. Good job!!!

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  7. Mary,
    This is so lovely. And it looks like so much fun. Listening to a story on the radio always led to more imagination I think.
    Blessings
    Janis

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  8. That looks like it would be a fun series. Something to look forward to each holiday. And it certainly is a great take on the theme this week - so colorful and fun!

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  9. Good choice for your contribution to the radio theme!

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  10. Wonderful fun! I love it. Oh, how nostalgic for those good old days...wish we could get them back!

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  11. Mary, I absolutely LOVE this! I love how you transitioned an old postcard to b/w and then colored it in yourself. It's perfect and I really like your own color choice. SUPER fun!!! :)
    x

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  12. What a great way to celebrate this theme. I love the details of how each one is reacting to the radio. Really, really cool.

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  13. Mary, EVERYTHING about this post sets my heart a flutter, my countenance to beaming and my wonder to new heights! I love what you've done with this, as Alex noted above, and the story to go alongside it. That is why I so love that you've joined our art co-op and play along, finding your own niche. you make these picnics that much more lovely. I can sooo picture you waltzing off to WH Smith to buy your books or, later, listening to Radio Luxembourg which, amazingly, I listed to too as a teen!

    Ahhh....how idyllic and simpler life for children then and you own, so magical in its own way, surrounded by the beauty of Devon! Whislt you've been blessed with a rich tapestry of life and a wonderful long marriage, I am sure there are many days you whistfully yearn for those simpler times.

    Isn't it amazing about "The Archers?" Do you think anyone out there has listened from the early days to now and kept up with the ark of the story? Same thing with Coronation Street? Amazing!

    you mention of BBC radio reminds me of my Aunt Sally who in the 50's moved ith her Journalist husband from Singapore to Addis Ababa where they started a radio station, the only English speaking one of its kind in Africa, and it went out to millions of people in that region and beyond. Ha, Aunt Sally had THE most beautiful proper English voice and was quite the looker - she would receive fan mail from all over the world! In fact, she was the first woman broadcaster in radio in the whole world! I should have added that to my blog post! She would do a gospel hour as well as a lot of news stories form the region and actually translated Moby Dick into a long running radio broadcast! incredibly, my cousin found a recording of her signing off for the night. It was truly step back in time. Ahhh... those were the days indeed! As a side note, they ended up having their children born and raised there and their daughter, Arabella, has since moved back to Addis, running her own charity for school supplies there. My male cousin, Alexander, also goes back regularly as a lawyer for some Ethiopian expat (in DC). The older people still recall that voice of Africa radio programme!

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    1. Michael, that is so very interesting about your aunt! Glad I came back here and saw your comment to Mary.

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    2. Gosh Michael, what an amazing story about your famous Aunt Sally! Thank you so much for sharing this with me and the bloggers who have the luck of coming here to read! To locate a recording is fabulous, and as you say, "those were the days indeed."
      Mary x

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    3. I need to post her radio intro and signing off one of these days..if I can get it from my cousin. :)

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    4. BTW, I love your new Torquay poster you got as a gift, now on yor sidebar. IT is so pretty adn perfectly describes your beautiful roots.

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