Mailbox
Today in Mailbox: heat in Prague, buying Czech produce, the Czech pavilion at World Expo. Listeners quoted: Colin Rose, Chun-Quan Meng, Charles Konecny, Xiu-Ping Qian.
“I live in the summer in just such an area as the people from Prague decamp to and I loath it when I have to go into Prague for some reason. Those who can decamp leave it to the tourists for the very obvious reason that it is an uncomfortable city in the summer heat. If it gets too much down here I just go for a swim.
“Czech farmers really do need to get there act together. I love carp and live amongst the ponds, yet I cannot buy it. I live amongst huge fields of cherries, black-currants, plums, apples, yet cannot buy them. The fields are full of sheep, yet I cannot buy their meat. I can get fruit from a roadside stall but that is the enterprising Moravians who bring it across.
“My internet connection is slow, yet the quality of your broadcast is excellent especially using iTunes. Likewise all of Český rozhlas is available to me via the same route. And as a p.s. why do the Czechs cook carp so badly?!”
That’s a difficult question – maybe because Czechs are not very good with fish in general?
“The summer vacation here is from July 19th until early September. I plan to travel to Shanghai to tour the World Expo in early August. You know, as a Radio Praha fan, I can't afford to miss your country's pavilion. It is said that Czech pavilion is very attractive to Chinese visitors!”
Thank you for letting us know and we will be very interested to learn what you thought of it – as it is unlikely that anyone from the staff here will get to see it with their own eyes. But our listener Charles Konecny from Ohio found a way round travelling:
“I see the Czech Pavilion is very well received at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. I took a tour of it on the internet and found it indeed to be a very interesting building. The lighting of the building exterior at night is very impressive.”
Xiu-Ping Qian also from the province of Xi'an has this question:
“As a loyal listener of Radio Prague, I've noted that you've currently broadcast globally in seven languages including Czech, German, English, Spanish, French and Russian. You know, China is the most populous country in the world. Actually, about one fifth of the population on the earth speak Chinese! I want to know if Radio Prague has a plan to broadcast to China in Chinese in the future?”
First a little correction: Radio Prague broadcasts only in six languages – precisely those you mention. As you may know, in the past year Radio Prague has been affected by substantial budget cuts in the aftermath of the economic crisis. As the new government proposes more austerity measures across the whole public sector, I dare say it is very unlikely that we will see expansion of any kind in the near future.
But our monthly quiz is still running and this time all you need to do is send us the name of the 19th century Czech-born American missionary and bishop who was canonized in 1977.
Please send us your answers by the end of July to [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099 Prague, Czech Republic and don’t hesitate to include your comments and questions regarding our broadcasts. From a hot and sunny Prague, good-bye and happy listening.
