Have been back in Melbourne for a week and thought I should wrap this adventure up with a few last thoughts.
After all that, I still didn’t get to pick up Radio Caroline! Maybe it’s the Passat’s radio, but the 648 AM signal simply didn’t get out far enough west for me to tune in. However, I didn’t go away empty handed - picked up this pamphlet while at the Cotswolds Motor Museum (of all places!) which even had a small section dedicated to Caroline and the MV Ross Revenge
Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Being 600ft above sea level in an other desolate radio landscape makes for some interesting evening’s listening. There’s any number of BBC Radio 1-4, Radio Scotland and Radio nan Gàidheal frequencies to choose from, but I was more impressed with what I picked up from across the Irish Sea - RTÉ Radio 1 (88.2) and Today FM (100.0) from Truskmore, Ireland; and Q Radio (101.2) from Brougher Mountain, Northern Ireland.
Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England:
I may have been under the weather and sheltering from the rain (appropriately for an English summer), but that didn’t stop the 250kW flamethrower that is Wenvoe. BBC Radio Cymru was received with RDS some 141 kilometres from the transmitter. Not to be outdone, an unidentifiable classical music station on 88.7 turns out to be France Musique from Lille, France - a 400kW(!) signal easily covering the 336km journey across the Channel.
@Laoma No long wave I’m afraid - would’ve been keen to compare the cricket on Radio 4 LW to DAB, and of course the recently extended RTÉ Radio 1 LW service.
More jobs to go in the UK as Bauer begins to network across their Hits Radio Franken-network. Seven shows will end across Metro Radio, TFM, Rock FM, Radio City, Hallam FM, Radio Aire, Viking FM and Free Radio
The second launch from Global this week - Heart 90s launched yesterday on the D1 national multiplex, only made possible when more stations moved from original flavour DAB to DAB+. This Twitter account has been spot on so far. https://twitter.com/radiogoss/status/1165948634682273792
Smooth Country, for one, has existed as an online-only stream since March of this year, and these logos have also been uploaded to the website’s server:
I love how Absolute has a station for each decade from the 60s onwards. The best part is they manage to maintain their own feel in each decade by selecting music from each that reflects the Absolute ‘DNA’ for want of a better term.
Radioinfo reports Ugly Phil O’Neil has been made redundant from Fix Radio, which broadcasts to London and Manchester on DAB. His former content director, Graham Mack (ex-5SE, 2GO, BRMB) was let go in February according to this post on his blog
From 9am, BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, 6 Music, 1Xtra and the Asian Network will be joining forces every Thursday for the BBC’s Great British Singalong, a mass singalong designed to lift the nation’s spirits
The BBC’s five popular music stations will come together in a multiway simulcast for thirty minutes, with each station bringing along one song that they think the public will love to join in with, wherever they are.
Great isn’t it. I understand it’s not on FM in London though, only DAB and 1215AM nationwide. The FM station in London is just running some special VE Day news bulletins.
Graham Norton to leave his Saturday morning show on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 today announces that Graham Norton has decided to leave the network later this year. Ten years after presenting his first Saturday morning (10am-1pm) show for the station, Graham will present his last programme on Saturday 19 December 2020.
Graham says: “Obviously I’m sad to be stepping away from my Radio 2 show. I’ll miss being a part of the Wogan House family, as well as the listeners and their lives. I’d like to thank my producer Malcolm Prince and all the teams I’ve worked with for a great decade of radio. Happily with the chat show, Eurovision and Drag Race the BBC continues to be my perfect tv home.”
Charlotte Moore, Chief Content Officer says: “Graham Norton will be hugely missed on Saturday mornings on Radio 2, he is a first class broadcaster but I’m thrilled he’s committed to continuing to be a regular fixture on the BBC as the host of his hugely popular and award-winning The Graham Norton Show, the BBC’s coverage of Eurovision and Drag Race UK.”
Graham joined Radio 2 in October 2010 to host the Saturday morning (10am - 1pm) slot, taking over from Jonathan Ross. The show features an entertaining mix of music and celebrity guest interviews and over the years, Graham’s guests have included Kylie Minogue, JK Rowling, David Tennant and Tina Turner. Regular features include the Agony Aunt slot Grill Graham, with co-presenter Maria McErlane, and his pick of a cheesy song of the week, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better.
Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2 says: “For the past decade, Graham has made Saturday mornings his own on Radio 2. His sparkling interviews, as well as his brilliant shows from the Eurovision host city each May, have kept millions of listeners entertained each week. On behalf of the Radio 2 listeners, and everyone in Wogan House, we’d like to thank him and wish him the very best of luck for the future.”
New plans for the Saturday morning Radio 2 schedule will be announced in due course.
