Mailbox
In this week's edition of Mailbox, we introduce a new member of the Radio Prague team and reveal the name of last month's listeners' competition.
Many of you have noticed a new voice on the air. Our colleague Brian Kenety just joined us some two week's ago. So, to give you a proper introduction, I've asked Brian to tell us a little more about himself:
"I grew up on the east coast of the United States and I first came to Prague in 1995 during the Zlaty Golem film festival. I saw an add for an apartment exchange from a Czech pianist looking to move to New York and so I did the exchange. It was kind of out of the blue."
And why are you still here?
"I was here for about 1.5 years working as a journalist. I started at CTA, which was the first private news agency in the country. That didn't last too long. Then I was also stringing for a couple of local papers. Then, I moved to Bulgaria and reported from the Balkans and got a job in Brussels as the EU correspondent. I was gone for a stretch of five years but had the same Czech girlfriend the whole time. We eventually got married and I moved back. That was in early 2002."
And you also have a little boy?
"Yes. His name is Oskar, or 'Oskarek' as the Czechs call him, and he's sixteen months old."
We have a lot to say about our Radio Prague competitions this week. We've received quite a few entries to our annual competition. To enter, send us a few lines (however, two or three are too few) on what Czech music means to you. Some of your responses have been a true pleasure to read... It's worth taking part as the main prize is a week in Prague. Of course, there'll also be a number of attractive runner-up prizes and you have until June 15 to get your answers to us.
And we're in the first week of May, which also means that it's time to announce the winner of last month's competition. The question was: "On May first, the Czech Republic joined the EU. What other big event did Czechs celebrate, however, this time as part of the Year of Czech Music?"
The correct answer was "the one hundredth anniversary of the death of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak" and almost all of you got it right!
The lucky winner for the month of April is Mr Eduardo Marques, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Congratulations, Mr Marques!!! I must say that you really are a lucky person because when I pulled your name out of our bowl filled with entries, there were two answers stuck together and the one that stayed in my hand was yours. The one that had slipped out of my hand was from India, I'm afraid. ...so, Mr Marques, a CD is on its way to you.
And finally, we have the question for the month of May:
"May 12th marks the 120th anniversary of the death of the famous Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. Where was he buried?"
Send your answers to the Radio Prague English Section, 120 99 Prague 2, the Czech Republic or by e-mail to [email protected]. Since we've giving you the new question a week late, you have until June 8 to get your answers to us.
