Radio, suckers never play me

On Sunday 17th November at 1300 UTC there’s a new transmission from DJ Frederick’s Free Radio Skybird on 6070 kHz shortwave by Channel 292 and if you haven’t got a suitable radio it can also be heard on the SDR link on their site here. The show will be rebroadcast the week after on Sunday 24th November at 1200 UTC on 7440 kHz.

This month’s programme will feature: Justin Patrick Moore’s Radiophonic Laboratory, Steve with Mini-indie radio and our very own One Deck Pete presenting the Skybird Mailbag. They will also play Pete’s “Shortwave mix and match” that has new tunes from: .ihaveaface, Jazzy System, Dabey and Leaking Shell.

The programme will be available on DJ Frederick’s Soundcloud page a day or so before transmission date if you want to hear it in true stereo but we here prefer the show via by ground wave. Tune in and turn on! #shortwavesnotdead #madtone #freeradioskybird

Skybird on repeat

Due to poor reception over the whole of Europe the other week, Free Radio Skybird is rebroadcasting their October edition tomorrow at 1100 UTC (12 noon UK).

Tune in using your shortwave set on 7440khz in the 41 metre band, via the SDR on Channel 292 or failing that, have a listen from locations around Germany using the SDR site here. There’s a mix from Weeds’ One Deck Pete featuring a new track from Madtone an old feature about Numbers Stations and a Delia Derbyshire Radiophonic Laboratory special.

Fingers crossed for good propagation!

#shortwavesnotdead #freeradioskybird #madtone #deliaderbyshire

Last tango, ladies and gentleman please

Here’s a lovely slo-mo track by Dasya called Tango on the street on the Young NRG label out of Italy. If all goes well, this excellent track will be aired on the next One Deck Pete mix “Solar minimum but the music’s maximum” on Free Radio Skybird on Saturday 5th October at 2200 UTC (2300 UK time) on 6070 khz in the 49 Meter band if you love your shortwave radio or via www.channel292.de

Tune in and turn on to the sound of the remix

Tune in this Sunday to the special Free Radio Skybird Remixed show to be aired on Sunday 15th September at 1200 UTC (1300 UK) on 6070 Khz or at http://www.channel292.de/

https://soundcloud.com/djfrederick/free-radio-skybird-15-september-2019

Thanks to DJ Frederick for rebroadcasting One Deck Pete’s “Sounds of the shortwave” (at 25 mins in on the studio version above) featuring Jazz’min Tutum, Rephazer, Aljosha Konstanty, Jay Jay Johanson and Jay Jay Johanson. #shortwavesnotdead #freeradioskybird #jazzmin&madtone

Sunday’s programming today

Here’s the studio recording of this month’s Free Radio Skybird which will be transmitted on shortwave via www.channel292.de this Sunday 1st September at 1900 utc (8pm UK time). If you want to hear it via the ionosphere get those shortwave radios tuned in to 6070 khz or use the online software defined radio via channel 292 here.

https://soundcloud.com/djfrederick/free-radio-skybird-1-september-2019

The hour long broadcast features Justin Patrick Moore’s Radiophonic Laboratory at 6.57 and Steve with Mini-indie radio at 44.34. Our very own One Deck Pete presents the Skybird Mailbag at 22.00 and also The Soothing sounds of shortwave mix at 34.09. The mix features tracks by About: Forest, Sonmi451, Adam Maalouf and Advait. Big thanks to DJ Frederick for having us on board!

Most of them (radio pirates) are quite normal people

DJ Frederick’s Free Radio Skybird returns to the shortwaves on Sunday September 1st 2019 via http://www.channel292.de/ on 6070 kHz at 1900 UTC (8pm UK time).

With a mixture of features and music, the hour transmission will include One Deck Pete’s “Soothing sound of shortwave”, Steve with Mini indie radio and Justin Patrick Moore from Sothismedias with another episode of the Radiophonic Laboratory.

Last month we had listeners in New Zealand, Northern Canada and Italy (QSL and soundclip here) to name but a few places. Come on, what’s better than listening to a radio broadcast with audio that has fading, co-channel interference and sounds like it had a journey via the ionosphere rather than something that’s been streamed in crisp dolby stereo? Who said shortwave radio is dead? #freeradioskybird #shortwavesnotdead #madtone

Keep ’em peeled again

A big thanks to our long-time friend Mark Platts for sending us some pics of his novel gardening idea. He painted up some found-in-the-street old wheelbarrow’s and filled one with an alpine display and in his own words “the other is empty and just standing by watching at the moment”. That’s a great idea Mark, so we’re going to keep them peeled for those thrown out wheelbarrows down these parts!

Cheers for the other pics of the garden Mark. We’re loving your raised bed veg patch and greenhouse (that look like there’s peppers and tomatoes in there).

And we love the rhubarb rescued from some wasteland that’s gone a bit mad in the raised bed! Brilliant Mark, keep them pics coming!

Smells like teen spirit? No.

We here at Weeds swear by comfrey liquid used as a plant feed. Ours is made well out of the way at the bottom of the garden in a 1980’s Boots homebrew fermenting bin. A good few handfuls of the leaves of the plant are chucked in the bin alongside a few of borage and nettle and are left to rot in a small amount of water for a good few weeks weighed down with a housebrick, talk about simplicity!

It’s a brilliant feed used well diluted but what of the pong you may ask? Comments heard the last few times we’ve used it have ranged from “that smell is blxxdy awful!” to “that’s worse than the wiff of a thousand dirty ashtrays” to “urgghhh, that reminds me of body odour off a sweaty armpit stuck in your face on a tube at rush hour times ten”. Never mind the niff, it’s brilliant stuff, it’s cheap and works wonders! #comfreyliquidforever #comfreyplantfeediswhereitsat More comfrey info here.

Shaw Taylor was never a sailor

Found in front of Weeds HQ on St. Patrick’s day morning (below) this strange home-made hat stand/large cat scratcher is now in place in the garden for use later this season. What do you think we should have trained up it? A clematis, some sweet peas or runner beans perhaps? Let’s see how the mood takes us. To its left is the window frame we found years ago and to its right a mirror originally left out for the bin men. Isn’t it great what you find in the street?

 

Seedswapping, we’re seedswapping (and spud buying)

Here’s news of three interesting events (all FREE!) coming up in the forthcoming months. The first is the Incredible Edible Lambeth Seed Swap on Saturday February 9th from 12-3pm at The Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB. More details here.

The second is The Roots & Shoots Potato Day over Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th February 2019 from 11.00am-2.30pm at Roots & Shoots, Walnut Tree Walk, Lambeth SE11 6DN. More details at www.roots&shoots.org 

And the third another Potato Day on Sunday March 3rd from 11-4pm at The Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB. More details here. More details about Potato Days nationwide here.