Hospital Radio – ever heard such a thing?

Pardon my ignorance, but I had never heard of hospital radio before. Until last week when I was in for an appointment and picked up a magazine entitled, what else but, "Durham Hospitals Radio (DHR). Apparently the Durham station has been going since the 1960s, and many hospitals in many countries have their own radio stations. I was a week in Addenbrooks Hospital in Cambridge way back, but I don't remember any radio on offer. So how many of you out there have enjoyed hospital radio?

The free issue of "Durham Hospitals Radio"
magazine, available at the hospital!

One of the articles in this magazine claims that hospital radio was initiated in the Walter Reed General Hospital, Washington DC, in 1919. The first hospital radio transmissions were then started in England in 1925 at the York County Hospital, using headphones and loudspeakers. Other countries stated to have hospital radio are Japan and The Netherlands.

In Durham at least, DHR is run entirely by volunteers and is a registered charity. It runs 24-hours a day with hourly programmes, such as Easy Listening, A-Z of Pop, The Breakfast Show, 50's Thru to 70's [sic], The Folk Show, Classical Hour, Musical Box [from musicals], Listeners Choice, 80's 90's and Noughties,* Late Show, Country, and Gospel. I note that "World Music" is absent from this list – maybe a volunteer is needed to showcase other countries' folk and court musics...

* Here in England, the 'Noughties' refers to the decade from 2000 to 2009; this is because the 00 are two 'noughts', i.e. zeros. What do you call this decade?

Famous Author on East Coast Trains

What an interesting idea! East Coast trains (now owned by the public since GNER was forced out of its franchise by National Express, who then defaulted on their payments) run from Scotland to London down the eastern side of England. GNER used to publish a bi-monthly on-train magazine with tourist options and descriptions of their local food providers along the way. Now however, East Coast have produced a volume of short stories commissioned from Alexander McCall Smith, the celebrated Scots physician who now writes very interesting and entertaining novels in retirement.

We have revelled in his series about the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency", set in Botswana with Mma Ramotswe as laid-back lady detective; the BBC TV series starring Jill Scott was a great rendition, too, now available through HBO online. But these are not his only achievements: he writes several series on "von Igelfeld" and on "Isabel Dalhousie, on "44 Scotland Street" and on "Corduroy Mansions". Prolific!

The train magazine entitled "East Coast Stories", published by The Scotsman, was written specifically for train clientele, McCall Smith says, as they "sit back and...feel the rocking of the train...hear the sound of its wheels on the rails...And sometimes there are conversations to be had." The five short stories – five contributions to a conversation between five strangers on their way from Edinburgh to London – are entitled:
Brief Encounter
Classical Landscape, With Train
The Way the World Used to Be
Train-Spotting
The Flying Scotsman

All very enjoyable indeed. Since this is a limited edition magazine of a famous author's stories, with restricted distribution, I'm keeping my copy just in case it becomes a collectors' item!

Rooibos Earl Grey Tea

Speaking of tea, as in my last blog, I think it useful to advertise the fact that we have found a wonderful new herbal, caffine-free tea: rooibos. But not just any old rooibos, EARL GREY rooibos!
 
In America, plain ole rooibos, or red bush tea, is just catching on as of last June, according to Jessica Grose. Here, it has been known at least since Alexander McCall Smith's publication of his series on The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency – where we became familiar with red bush tea through its being the drink of the day at the Agency.

McCall Smith, a doctor by profession, spent a year in Botswana and apparently fell in love with the place. His re-creation of the slow life and concerns of the occupants of Gaborone, the Botswana capital, are heart-rending. His book series began in 1998; several were also read on BBC Radio 4 between 2004 and 2008, then a television series followed in 2008, with protagonist Detective Mma Ramotswe faithfully played by the American Jill Scott. We really enjoyed both the books and the TV series (which we had to watch elsewhere since we don't have a TV) and recommend them to everyone: a new book title is still appearing every year.

Anyway, we were quite surprised to see the addition of bergamot oil to the tea and offered as Early Grey Rooibos! But it is good, and we recommend this, too, to everyone.