A BREATH of FRESH AIR: Radio

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!