IN BRIEF

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 32, 6 August 1936, Page 28

IN BRIEF

NOTES FROM NEAR AND FAR

Olympic Games.

The OlyiHpic Games are receiving due prominence in the Empire shortwave broadcasts, commentaries and eye-witnesses' accounts being broadcast almost every, day. It is also possible to hear comments for the following day's games, at 10.5 a.m. daily, on 19 metres. These broadcasts are intended for America, but are being picked up by many New Zealanders. Malcolm Sargent Concerts. The first of the" three concerts to be conducted by Dr. Malcolm Sargent, the eminent English musician, will be broadcast this evening from the 2YA main studio,' when a choral and orchestral programme will be presented. On Tuesday Dr. Sargeno will conduct the Wellington Symphony Orchestra's concert in the Town Hall, and on Saturday week he will conduct the Royal Wellington Choral Union's performance of Mendelssohn^ "Elijah." Although these concerts will be broadcast, music-lovers will no doubt want to see this great: conductor in action. So dynamic is his conducting that one of the leading' 'London illustrated journals recently devoted a full page to reproductions of characteristic hand movements of Dr. Sargent when conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Wellington Tenor's Success. Mr. W. Roy. Hill, the well-known Wellington tenor, left for Sydney by the Wanganella last week to fulfil a series of engagements for the Australian Broadcasting .Commission. The Cayman, Islands. It is the claim of the Commissioner of the Cayman Islands, Mr. A. W. Cardinall, who will broadcast a talk in tomorrow's Empire short-wave session, that he knows by sight" practically every coin in circulation in, his territory! That is. because barter is the basis of most transactions among' the islanders, and in consequence there is only a limited supply of currency available. In number the Cayman. Islands are three—Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brae. Columbus discovered them, and, from the turtles that abound in the surrounding seas, named them Tortugas. The inhabitants, numbering about 5000, have a unique title to. distinction: many of them are the descendants (mostly of British stock) of pirates, buccaneers, shipwrecked mariners, arid the like.' And. if seclusion spells contentment, then the Cayman Islanders must be a happy people; their country is completely off the track that steamships follow/and so is quite unknown to. the travelling public. It was only in November-of last year that wireless gave them a link with the world outside. Mr. Cardinally talk should be full of interest for overseas listeners everywhere. Apart from the richness of the material ■ upon which he can draw and with which he is so eminently qualified to deal,, he can speak with the authoritative voice of one who has had wide contact with the Empire. : "Pastoral.". \ There is an unending charm about the real countryside which has inspired many poets, artists, and musicians to give of their best. The Pastoral Symphony of Beethoven is perhaps the greatest work in music that owes its creation to the : influence of the country. But many composers of lesser note have "sung their native wood notes wild." A programme "in praise of quiet things" will be broadcast from Daventry tomorrow. Devised by William MacLurg, it will consist of extracts from literature,- and vocal and instrumental music by Alan Paul. Listeners will hear, among other items, the "Pastoral Suite" for string quartet and pianoforte that Paul wrote while under the inspiration of some of the quieter scenes' on the Island of Arran, which contains* in a small area some of the most beautiful scenery in Scotland, as well as some of the most impressive mountain spectacles. Broadcasting Rugby.. •; The broadcasting of Rugby matches at Lancaster Park (Christchurch) this season was very briefly discussed at a recent meeting of the Lancaster. Park Board of Control, when Mr. J. K. Moloney presided. A letter was received from Mr. 3: O. McGillivray, secretary of. the Canterbury Rugby Union, and was read*'by him as secretary., of the Board of Control. "I am directed by my union to' expjess our disapproval of your board's action in declining to grant permission for club matches to be broadcast," ran the letter. Mr. W. H. Winsor moved that the letter be received, saying that it was all that could be done. "They are only telling us what they think of us," he concluded. Visit to Daventry. On Tuesday next listeners to the Empire short-wave broadcast are to be taken on a tour of the Daventry Sta : tion, during which they will be introduced to the plant and the staff and will be given! an account, historical and descriptive, of the scene in which the Empire transmitters are set. The actual site df'the Daventry Station-is an interesting. example of a physical feature satisfying the special demands of two ages hundreds of years'apart. It stands on top of a hill 600 feet above sea level, and this is the highest point in the vicinity. Centuries ago this commanding position appealed to the invading Danes; they built v a iort where now stands a broadcasting station, and the remains of their entrenchments can still be seen surrounding the masts that carry the aerials from which programmes for the Empire are radiated. A visitor to Daventry gains the impression'Of being at the centre of the world. Tall masts carry arrays of aerials of intricate pattern, specially designed to meet the particular requirements of the countries served.: Two of the masts —those of the 8.8.C.'s former long-wave station at Daventry—are 500 feet high; at" frequent intervals riggers climb these with as little fuss as the average man makes over climbing a flight of stairs. It is hoped to interview one of. these men as he sits on top of his 500 ft perch—and so vividly demonstrate the .wonder of .wireless. For his voice will be taken' from Daventry to London, from London back to Daventry, 'and then radiated from the aerial over which, he is sitting. Within a fraction of a second it may be heard thousands of miles away. Telephonic Translator's. Considerable interest was evinced during the" League of Nations sessions in the fact that Emperor Haile Selassie, as he addressed the League at Geneva, was heard through a telephonic translator system, which enabled members of the League and the Press to have immediate translation' from Tmharic, in which he spoke, to various languages. They merely turned knobs to the language they desired and heard what HailS Selassie said in Amharic. It is explained that expert translators ■ behind the scenes translated the Emperor's talk as they heard it over a wire system. These experts in languages, rather than a machine performed the work. I