Category Archives: “Radio connects us all”

Around the garden and SE23 this week

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s some mad pictures from a week around the garden and one from the locality of Forest Hill. The first (below) made us think of Wlad (US7IGN) and his good friend Sergiy (UT3UFD) in Ukraine who is growing a banana plant in his apartment (post here). We are sure that this is a banana tree growing outside in a front garden in SE23. God knows how it survives the winter here, we could be wrong but it looks very much like a banana with fruit on it as well. We love the flower as it looks like someone’s carved it out of wood or it could even open up and start talking.

And the other day we were complaining that we weren’t getting much action from the courgettes (zucchini) in the raised beds until we moved a leaf and found this giant in hiding.

And in the tiny bed at the bottom of the garden there is some sort of melon (we think) and some peppers and chillies. Now it looks like there’s a self seeded cape gooseberry in there too and it’s only a tiny bed as well. A good example of square metre gardening gone wild!

One radio show is never enough

Posted on by
Reply

This Sunday 3rd September 2023 the Imaginary Stations crew bring you two shows via the ionosphere on shortwave. The first transmission will be beamed to Europe via the services of Shortwave Gold in Germany at 2000 utc on 6160 kHz and it will be WTBR, tea and biscuits radio.

Expect a teatime assortment of tunes, some musical crackers (without cheese) and a urn full of the finest tea money can buy!

Then later at 2200 hrs UTC on 9395 kHz  via WRMI we bring you another episode of CTRN for all of us who love that wonderful mode of transport, the train.

So tune in, make yourself comfortable, please don’t put your feet on the seats, do have your tickets ready for inspection and enjoy a nice ride across the country by shortwave radio.

One for the Bank Holiday

Posted on by
Reply

Big thanks to Jesse Yuen for his last post here and for sending us this tune recommendation. As he says in his own words: “My last few months have been soundtracked by this release from Cousin. Downtempo, dubwise, low-end and percussive!” Sounds great and well up our street Jesse!

Around the world, around the world – Part 3

Posted on by
Reply

A recording of this evening’s Skybird Radio International is now up online on mixcloud. The show was beamed to Europe via the services of Shortwave Gold from Germany and features a mix of sounds from around the world and is a great listen if you want to hear some interesting international tunes.

At 9 seconds in is a mix from One Deck Pete in a worldwide style. Here’s the tracklistings:
Madtone – Diamonds in the sky (Excerpt)
Huamansara – Cazador Huanca/Orq. Ayllus Del Centro
The Yamasuki’s – AIEAOA
International Dub Ambassasadors – La Cascada dub
Wimeanacas Cambodian Band – Flower In The Lake
Frank Gutowski Trio – Night Owl Polka

So tune in and enjoy an hour of travelling around this world of ours without baggage or a ticket!

Around the world, around the world – Part 2

Posted on by
Reply

A big shout to Jesse Yuen from the excellent North of the River Swan radio show (which is on a sabbatical for the time being) from RTM FM  presently living in Bassendean, Perth, Western Australia. He sent us some pics of a job he did yesterday taking Frangipani cuttings that he’s been drying out over the last few weeks.

We don’t really know much about the plant (aka Plumeria) apart from it grows in the subtropics, has distinctive smelling flowers and the plant can only be grown here as a houseplant. Best of luck with the cuttings Jesse, they look like trees compared to the tiny cuttings we usually take over here, blimmim’ eck!

Also a big thanks to our good friend Wlad (US7IGN) in Kyiv for sending us some more excellent pictures from a Ukrainian countryside garden (below). Cheers Wlad, some great stuff and appreciated as always!

Why ain’t plant varieties named after punk bands?

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s some pics taken around the garden in a week that has has some varying weather to say the least! What was funny was that last Friday the night of a torrential downpour, a couple of hours before that we were meticuously going around the beds with a watering can. Exactly the same thing happened this week across the pond to our good friend Justin Patrick Moore (just before an almighty storm).

The tomatoes (below) we think are the San Mirzano variety we obtained a couple of years ago at a seed swap at Glengall Wharf Gardens SE15. They’re fine tomatoes and wish we had some more! Now these tomatoes appreciate water and also a regular comfrey liquid feed.

And at the bottom of the garden (below) there’s a small bed that has a right mixture of stuff in the tiny space include chillies, some mini-melons and these peppers that we think we may have been given when we swapped some plants earlier this year.

And in the wild bit down there you can’t forget those proud cardoons that are as spikey topped as you like. Punk ain’t dead in that part of the garden, it really ain’t. Why in the world hasn’t anyone named a variety of cardoon Charged GBH or Charlie Harper yet?

Around the world, around the world

Posted on by
Reply

This Sunday 27th August 2023 at 2000 UTC (that’s 9pm UK time) tune in your shortwave radios to 6160 or 3975 kHz via Shortwave Gold for Skybird Radio International featuring the Imaginary Stations crew who bring you an hour of great music from around this planet of ours.

At 9 seconds into the show there’ll be a mix from our very own One Deck Pete with tunes from Huamansara, The Yamasuki’s, International Dub Ambassadors, Wimeanacas Cambodian Band and the Frank Gutowski Trio. So tune in via a shortwave radio or by using the online SDR here on Sunday evening and enjoy the international world of radio!

 

Music is a can of worms, part whatever

Posted on by
4

We’ve just finished a mix for a forthcoming shortwave radio transmission which features this classic by Felice Taylor called “I feel love coming on” which was written and produced by Paul Politi and the great Barry White. We knew the Felice Taylor tune well but just now discovered the Barry White and The Love Unlimited version. We love the spoken intro, Barry White in fine style.

Talking of the great Barry White, it brought us to thinking of this classic by Love Unlimited “Under the influence of love” which is a top tune and available on Discogs for less than £4.

Little did we know that Felice Tayor did a version of it (love the Four Tops musical reference in it) and the legendary Radio Jackie used the instrumental version by the Bob Keene Orchestra as their theme tune. We do love these musical connections!

Friday night polka style

Posted on by
Reply

Thanks to the catalogue of the wonderful Canary Records out Baltimore, Maryland for the Night Owl Polka from the Frank Gutowski Trio. You’ll be clapping along and shouting “Hey” in the right places before you know it as it don’t get much better than this. Do check the rest of their releases for some very interesting tune-age.