Mailbox
In Mailbox this week: famous "Sudeten Germans", the Czech government crisis, ABC of Czech, Brain Awareness Week. Listeners quoted: David Eldridge, UK; Alex Zhu, China; Tony Prescott, Australia; Gordon Blom, US; Steve Kirby, UK.
Hello and welcome to Mailbox. Today we start off with a couple of responses to last week's programme.
Mr David Eldridge from the United Kingdom comments on last Sunday's music programme on Radio Prague.
"I enjoyed your 'Encore' programme this week, the one on Svanda the Bagpiper and Leos Janacek, I could go on listening to programmes like that for hours. That doesn't mean I am lobbying for longer programmes from you, half an hour is a convenient time for me to set aside to listen regularly, more, I feel, would break the habit. I shall just have to treat myself to a CD or two of Czech music."
Thank you very much for that comment, Mr Eldridge. And on the other side of the globe, in Sydney, Australia, Tony Prescott listened to last week's Mailbox. In the programme we listed famous German-speaking people who were born or lived in what is now the Czech Republic, in response to a request by our listener Alex Zhu from China. Mr Prescott writes:
"Dobry den Radio Prague. In your list of famous "German" Czechs you have forgotten Ferdinand Porsche (creator of Volkswagen and Porsche cars) born in Vratislavice nad Nisou, Bohemia in 1875."
Indeed we did. The list was in no way complete but Ferdinand Porsche definitely should have been on it. However, we did feature Mr Porsche in our "Czechs in History" programme, in August 2003. Those of you who are interested in finding out about his roots in North Bohemia, can still find the story on our website www.radio.cz/en/article/43763 both in sound and text.
In listing famous Sudeten Germans, we also shouldn't forget the German industrialist, Oskar Schindler, who was born in the Moravian town of Svitavy or Zwittau, and in the 1960s was honoured in Israel and declared a "Righteous" person for having saved more than 1,200 Jews during WWII.
If you can think of any other famous native of this country, who was either an ethnic German or a German-speaker, please let us know.
Moving to the present time, Mr Gordon Blom from the United States sent us this e-mail:
"I am concerned about your government. Would you consider it in crisis, pending a matter of Gross staying or resigning? Should the Christian Democrats leave the coalition government, would you have another election soon, and if so, what would the likely results be?"
Not much is happening at the moment - possibly a kind of calm before a storm. Everyone is now waiting for the outcome of the Social Democrats' national congress which is taking place in a week's time. Until then everyone can only speculate whether Prime Minister Stanislav Gross will remain party chairman and what will happen to his government.
Moving back to Radio Prague's Sunday programme, here is a letter sent by Steve Kirby, who lives in the United Kingdom.
"Hi at ABC of Czech! I've just discovered you and for the past two weeks have been working my way through your archives... and enjoying the experience. My wife and I live in Whitby, a small fishing town on the coast of North Yorkshire, England. Last year we visited Brno for a holiday, and so enjoyed our time there that we decided we should learn some Czech language for a return visit. So, your programme provides an excellent introduction to the language and its pronunciation. We also enjoy the humour of the programme. Our fear, (or joke), is that we will arrive back in Brno and speak in a stream of Czech 'sayings', which could be quite amusing, or a complete pain for the Czech listener. But still... a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!"
Thank you Mr Kirby - I'll pass your letter on to Heather Bowne, who has written and presented the latest series of the ABC of Czech. In a few minutes' time you'll hear the last episode in that series, but if you cannot live without your weekly dose of Czech - don't despair. We have a brand new series starting next Sunday, that is Easter Sunday, and continuing then on Saturdays. In the new series we'll be exploring Czech vocabulary concerning food and cuisine; so there should be enough food for thought for you, so to speak.
Speaking of thinking, let us read again from the e-mail sent to us by Gordon Blom for the US.
"One of the reasons I am a fan of shortwave radio is that I learn a lot of information from other countries that is not available here in the United States. This was again true today when you broadcast an excellent feature on Brain Awareness Week. To be truthful, I did not know such a week existed."
Thank you, Mr Blom. Some of the activities promoted worldwide as part of Brain Awareness Week are solving puzzles, brainteasers and answering quizzes. And here's one little contribution from Radio Prague - it's time for our monthly listeners' competition question.
"This month we'd like to know the name of the man who was President of Brazil in the latter half of the 1950s. A physician by his original profession, when elected President he launched an immense public works programme, including construction of roads, hydroelectric projects and also the new capital city, Brasília. (A clue: the international airport in Brazil's capital bears his name.)"
Please make sure your answers reach us by the end of March and if you have an interesting, or maybe even personal story to tell about the man we are asking about, please share it with us and all our listeners. The address is as usual: Radio Prague, 12099 Prague, Czech Republic or [email protected]
