Mailbox

This week in Mailbox: The programme’s signature tune, shortwave reception in England, Radio Prague’s coverage of modern Czech history. Listeners quoted: Mark Harper, David Christmass, George Scott.

Hello, this is Mailbox, Radio Prague’s weekly programme where we read from your letters and answer your questions.

Mark Harper, who visited Prague last year during a biking trip, tunes into our broadcasts in Canada:

“So I'm just a fella that was listening to the old Radio Prague broadcast on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. During the letters portion of your show, you used a small introduction music clip and the same music clip to exit that segment. That one single song reminds me so much of my trip to Europe, as it played everywhere, in every country. I personally heard it in a grocery store one morning in Prague. It made that particular experience of buying bread and margarine very pleasant.

“Do you think you could tell me the song title and the artist of that song? I would love to obtain it for myself. Also, I did hear your program while falling asleep last night, so I may be mistaken about which segment it was, although I'm quite confident it was letters. Prague was a really nice city. We visited in November and had some beautiful weather. I hope it’s treating you fine now.”

The weather is not all that nice at the moment but it being February, we cannot expect much else. But back to your query – it is a question we get asked quite often. The song we use as a signature tune for Mailbox is Manu Chao’s “Bongo Bong”, first released as a single in 2000.

While Mark in Canada heard us on FM, David Christmass from England is a shortwave enthusiast:

“On the 12th February I received Radio Prague with crystal clarity on shortwave frequencies... Having examined the choices in short wave radios, I can confirm that I have no intentions of upgrading my reception equipment for DRM digital technologies in the future. This is because a Short wave radio offers me flexibility and accessibility, and an Internet stream and DRM digital radio involves too much fussing about with too many bits and pieces of technical equipment, and because your team are excellent at what they do with the existing resources.

“Can I wish you well in continuing to broadcast to us using the existing technology which most people in the world are able to receive with ease. Thank you for your cultural broadcasts and news, your country’s views on international affairs, and developments are extremely valued by the world that is actively interested enough to hear your broadcasts.”

And finally, George Scott from England found out about Radio Prague on the internet. As he mentions in his e-mail, his father was a Czech soldier and was friends with the British-trained Czech paratroopers who carried out the assassination of the Nazi Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich in 1942.

“I happened to stumble on your site and have to admit was completely overcome emotionally by its contents. I was born in Prague in 1946 and came to England in 1948. My father who changed our name was Jiří Šnábl, one of the men on the list of trainees. As you can imagine his experience was always in the background to our lives... He was a friend of Kubiš and Gabčík and his army paybook number was close to theirs. I donated this together with other items to the Imperial War Museum in London.

Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík (right) in 1941

“I was an honorary member of the Czech Legion and attended many meetings and occasions. For a while I was also trustee of the Brookwood Plot where many Czech exile soldiers and airmen are buried. It now seems another world! So I was delighted to see that something was being done to honour the memories of these incredible men who gave so much. I am aiming at some time to see whether I could see my father's army record at the Prague military archives.”

Thank you for all the comments and questions you've sent us this week. Please don’t hesitate to drop us a line if you feel strongly about any of our programmes. Also, we are always interested to know how and where you tune into our broadcasts and what the reception conditions are like. The address to write to is [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099 Prague, Czech Republic. There we also await your competition answers to this question:

In February we are looking for the name of the outstanding Austrian-American mathematician, logician and philosopher who was born in 1906 in the Moravian city of Brno and died in 1978 in Princeton, New Jersey.

You have one more week to send us your answers and there will be small prizes for four of you who answer correctly. Thanks for tuning in today and until next week, take care.