The Wireless Experience

Turn off your TV set, stay in, listen to the radio instead

I thoroughly enjoyed Janet Tilburn's article last month in which she brought up some of her radio memories. I could identify with all of them and many more as I have always been a "wireless" addict and much prefer it to television although I do, of course, watch TV.

My radio interest I had put down to a generation thing. But, no - many more people of all ages are now turning on their radios than ever before. BBB Radio 2's listeners rose by over one and a half million last year whist Radio 4 now commands an audience of over ten million per week! Even Radio 3 has improved its listening figures whilst Classic FM is the success story of the commercial stations.

Why I love the good old "wireless" so much is the great variety of programmes to be found on it - here I refer mainly to the BBC. Their research and presentation are excellent and an equivalent radio programme will always beat it's television competition. The loss of vision doesn't concern me because radio stimulates one's wonderful gift of imagination. And don't forget that so many television shows would never have happened without them first having been great successes on the radio.

So, I urge everybody to turn their "telly" off every now and then and turn on the radio - they will be pleasantly surprised.

Graham Forster