London isn't calling anymore

[sousrature]

The BBC has stopped broadcasting it's English shortwave service in Europe. Sigh. I understand that the internet made shortwave radio a quaint anachronism about 10 years ago but still, shortwave radio was once a beautiful, joyous thing. It was about people calling out through the distance and darkness (shortwave radio signals always carry better

Comments

[modlin]

I've never had a shortwave radio, but I did spend part of one summer working at a little tiny telescope in the mountains of Eastern Washington. There was an ancient shortwave in one of the rooms, and sometimes on long dark nights I used to see what I could pick up. It's strange and lonely and eerie, being alone on a mountaintop listening to voices from hundreds of miles away, mixed in with feedback and lost in static. The internet is an entirely different beast, and I could be a little sad about this too, even though it won't make the slightest bit of difference to me or anyone I know.

[twop_tjl]

The BBC World Service is still broadcasting, though. I listen to them from time to time on CBC Radio Overnight when I'm still up at 3:30. My favourites of the international broadcasters are Radio Netherlands followed by Radio Sweden, but I do like the BBC World Service. I miss Radio Finland which stopped broadcasting in English a few years back. They even had a portion of the program devoted to teaching Finnish.