Mailbox
Today's Mailbox includes: Topics: Radio Prague's listeners throughout the world, Czech families, Czech choir music. Quotes from: Stephen Hogan, Mohammad Pervaiz, Muhammed Abdul Hamid Maker, Junichi Nishikawa, Igor Grudev, Edd Bryan, David Hitchings
It's amazing how many countries Radio Prague can be heard in and where we have listeners. I suggest we start with this letter, all the way from Australia - it's from Stephen Hogan, who lives in Emmaville, New South Wales. And in the middle of winter it's nice to read of the heat wave they have been having in Australia.
It's also heart warming to read what he has to say about our programs:
A number of other listeners write that they now have all the 8 QSL cards in the 2002 series. One of them is Franz Schwartz Jr. from Wilmington, North Carolina, USA, who finished collecting last year's cards in November:
"I would like to thank you very much for helping me complete my collection of your 2002 series UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic QSL cards by sending me the eighth and last card for my last report."
Well, we do try to keep track of who has already received which of the cards in the series, but if you do want a particular one, it's best to let us know in your reception report, just to be on the safe side.
You can find pictures of the entire series on Radio Prague's web-site, on www.radio.cz/en/html/qslindex.html.
And, of course, that's where you can also find this year's new series, which features various Czech-made motorcycles. So, send us your reception reports if you want to collect those, too.
We mentioned that we have listeners practically all over the world. And the list of countries from which we receive mail is really long.
Many letters and e-mail messages come from Pakistan, where there are numerous listeners' clubs, organised locally. For example, there is one in Juharabad District, and Mohammad Pervaiz keeps us informed about its activities. He also adds
"Mail box, sports and news are my favourite programs on Radio Prague."
Bangladesh is another country where there are numerous listeners' clubs. One of them is called the Wave Hunters Association. It's in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and its president, Muhammed Abdul Hamid Maker, writes that they are holding a DX exhibition on January 26th.
Well, I hope it's a success. And just one more example of a listener from that part of the world. It's an e-mail from K. Thiagarajan of Coimbatore who writes
"I am your regular listener from India and I'd just like you to know that I do enjoy Radio Prague's programs."
And we mustn't forget our listeners in Japan. Junichi Nishikawa lives in Tokyo:
"I am one of the really distant listeners to Radio Prague. I listen on 11600 kHz. When I first heard your identification announcement - Hello, and welcome to Radio Prague - I was really happy and excited. I am writing to tell you of my great pleasure in listening to your programs."
All right, I think we've made our point about having listeners all over the world.
And I'll just add that that includes countries with no English traditions. Just one example, and then we'll go on to other topics. This report comes from Tyumen, Russia, and it's from Igor Grudev:
"Greetings from West Siberia."
All right, we have made our point, but I'd like to add that the bulk of our mail comes from the English speaking world.
Edd Bryan from Toronto, Canada, asks:
"I am interested in Czech family life - how big is the average Czech family, are many children born outside wedlock, has all this changed recently?"
Yes, there have been numerous changes in recent years. First of all, the birth rate in the Czech Republic has dropped dramatically. Only 90 000 children were born in the year 2001, while ten years earlier that number was 130 000, that's 40 000 more.
But not only that. Of those children born in 1991, 11 000 were born to single mothers. In 2001 that number was nearly twice as large and 22 percent of all children born that year were born to unmarried mothers.
It's a huge increase, even though the Czech Republic still hasn't reached the numbers usual in some of the developed countries - it's around 40 percent in Britain and France and 50 percent in Scandinavian countries.
But, nevertheless, it's taken us somewhat by surprise, especially since those changes have come about so fast. One of the reasons is that social benefits are much higher for single mothers, and there are numerous instances where the child's father and mother live together, without being officially married.
According to official statistics, 71 percent of all Czechs live in complete families.
But the general trend is to postpone weddings. People used to get married in their early twenties, but nowadays most brides and bridegrooms are nearly 30 years old. And there's a general decrease in the number of weddings - only 50 000 in 2001, as compared to 80 000 ten years earlier.
Young people are making full use of the - for us - still new chance to travel, and they try to build a career before settling down.
It's just one of the recent changes. Another change in everyday life is connected with the answer to this letter from David Hitchings from Maesteg, Mid-Glamorgan, Wales:
"I am deeply interested in learning all about your country, especially Czech choral music, for we, in Wales, have a very strong musical tradition, and I myself sing in our local Male Voice Choir."
Wales is famous for its choirs, and while Czechs are proud of their musical tradition, it's a bit different here. It's more a tradition of local bands, with a group of musicians in practically every village. They'd play at local week-end dances, weddings and funerals - and the usual instruments are the violin, double-bass and the dulcimer.
With, of course, some local additions: bag-pipes in Southern and West Bohemia, for example, or the accordion in some places.
But and that's the other recent change in everyday life: the tradition of local bands is not as strong nowadays as it used to be. Life has changed fundamentally since 1990 and there seems to be less time for local activities - including local bands, even though Czechs still do pride themselves in being musical. There's a saying: "Co Cech, to muzikant," (every Czech is a musician).
But David is interested in choirs, and there are a number of them throughout the country. And, of course, Czech composers have composed many well known songs that you can hear at concerts throughout the world. Bedrich Smetana, Leos Janacek...
...and, of course, Josef Bohuslav Foerster, the core of whose works were male choirs. Foerster had a long and very productive life. He was born in 1859 and died nearly one hundred years later, in 1951. He taught at the Prague conservatory, and spent many years lecturing abroad. His compositions stemmed from Czech folk music and in this sense he continued in the works of Bedrich Smetana.
So, let's end today's Mailbox with an example of Foerster's music for a male choir. I hope David Hitchings is listening, and that other listeners will enjoy the music, too. Here, then is a song by Josef Bohuslav Foerster, performed by Brnenske pevecke sdruzeni Foerster...
