Mailbox

This week in Mailbox: Reception in Australia and New Zealand, comments regarding Radio Prague’s website, response to SoundCzech, special programming devoted to the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Listeners quoted: Michael Binz, Bob Boundy, Terry Nielsen, Barbara Ziemba, Henrik Klemetz, J. C. Lockwood, Kristina Pletková.

Hello and thanks for tuning in to Mailbox. You may remember that in recent editions I asked our listeners in Australia and New Zealand to let us know what reception in their area was like. In the past couple of weeks reception reports have been pouring in from that part of the world and among them this message from Michael Binz from Australia:

“I have been sitting at my computer doing my daily visit to the Radio Prague webpage and reading the Mailbox transcript. In it, amongst other things, you ask about signal reports from Australia and New Zealand. I decided to go to my radio room and tune in to Radio Prague's frequency to see if I could receive your signal. What a surprise. You were ‘thumping’ in! I recognised Daniela Lazarová’s voice straight away. For the first time I was able to listen to the Magazine (with Daniela Lazarová), One on One and SoundCzech (with Jan Richter) programs live to air. I am soo pleased to hear you on shortwave and am currently sitting here with a broad grin on my face! Warmest regards from Australia and a very happy Michael Binz. PS: you've made my day!”

Bob Boundy writes from Christchurch in New Zealand:

“Well, we changed to daylight saving this morning 27/9/09 and to my amazement I was able to hear Radio Prague for the first time in many months of putting up with no reception at all. I was able to hear but there was predominant fading so I know it will get better hence my reception reports will be flooding in once again from down here in New Zealand.”

Terry Nielsen also wrote in from “a cold rainy Christchurch”:

“Please find enclosed a radio report on Radio Prague's transmission. Also an mp3 record of one minute of the transmission. I do hope you find this report of interest and that you can verify it with your QSL. During the weekend I did see the TV pictures of Pope Benedict in Czech Rep. with the spider crawling up on him...!”

Barbara Ziemba from the United States sent in a comment regarding the new layout of Radio Prague’s website:

“I am really not liking this new format thing you have going on. Before, I was able to pull up an article and email the one article to a friend or relative that might be interested. This new formatting won't allow this. You have to send the whole page, and new readers are like ‘what am I supposed to read?’ Also, the way the page lines up and all the white space it is unpleasant and harsh to read. I know sometimes new takes some time to adjust to...but this one just is not working for me.”

Henrik Klemetz from Sweden was until recently very critical of the new format, too:

“I did not think I would ever go back to your website, which I disliked at first sight, but today I just had to in order to check out the spelling of a name, and so I found that you have apparently been working on it a bit. What happened was that I was taking a short walk outside my house today, Sept. 27, 2009, carrying my Lextronix E-5 receiver in a strap, when I bumped into this extremely interesting chat David Vaughan was having with the author of the book ‘The Economics of Good and Evil’, an interview that really caught my attention, and the other thing is that reception was excellent, SINPO fivers all along, quite amazing in fact, on 5930 at 1715-1727 UTC. So now I am going to read the interview in full via your webpage, and I am happy to see that when I am clicking on a feature, the full text will appear in larger print.”

J. C. Lockwood from Massachusetts comments on a recent SoundCzech programme, too:

“I'm writing to thank the SoundCzech staff for teaching me a new English word: gormless, which apparently means something like clueless. My dictionary says it's British informal usage – slang, I guess. Another example about how Americans and the English are separated by a common language. Anyhow, thanks. Love the show.”

And we are happy to know that we have listeners in the Czech Republic, too. Kristina Pletková tunes into our broadcasts in the southern town of České Budějovice:

“I have been listening to your programme for about half a year and I am very happy to have found a radio station where I not only improve my English but also get information about the events happening in the Czech Republic. I appreciate also the possibility that non-Czech speakers gain an approach to news about Czechs and the Czech Republic.”

Thank you very much for all those comments. Now, how would you like a chance to not only listen to our programmes but also actively participate in making them?

With the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution approaching, Radio Prague is asking you, the listeners, to share your memories of those heady days with the rest of the world. Do you recall the refugee crisis at the West German embassy in Prague, the mass protests in the streets of Prague and the election of dissident-playwright Václav Havel the country’s first post-communist president? Please, let us know where and how you heard the news and how you were affected by it. We will call you back at our expense and interview you over the phone and your memories will enhance Radio Prague’s special programming devoted to the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

If you’d like to share your memories with us, write to us at:

Radio Prague – English department

Vinohradská 12

120 99 Praha 2

Česká republika

Or send an email to: [email protected]

We are running out of time, so let me just remind you of our quiz question for this month:

In October we are looking for the name of the illustrator born in 1934 in Ústí nad Labem into a Czech-German family. He is probably best-known for designing the characters in the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine based on the music of the Beatles.

The deadline for your answers is October 31st and the address is [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099 Prague, Czech Republic. Those are also the addresses for your questions, comments and reception reports. Thank you for being with me today and until next week, happy listening.