THINGS TO COME

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 82, 17 January 1941, Page 6

THINGS TO COME

A Kun Through The Programmes

F all these stories are true ] about the necessity for "faking" certain broadcast sound effects, there is a difficult job ahead when the Swimming Championships at New Plymouth are broadcast from 2YC on January 25. We will probably hear the sound of the starter’s gun, the roar of the crowd, and then the announcer may have to get busy with a teaspoon and a cup of water to give us the sound of the splash. On the other hand, of course. the sound of swimmers splashing may sound like the sound of swimmers splashing, which would help things a lot, especially for the announcer. It is quite a departure for station 2YC to broadcast from as far away as New Plymouth, about 200 miles from Wellington, but it’s just another example of the NBS service to sportsmen. Scots Wha Hae : When we were looking up something fresh to say about Bobbie Burns (2QYA ere broadcasting a Burns anniversary dinner on January 25) we had recourse to a couple of encyclopaedias, with surprising results. The first, incredibly, said nothing about him. In the second we were delighted to find even the Sassenach paying fulsome praise. One "Compact" Encyclopaedia, published in the Far South, in London, says "Burns’s poems have become part of Scotland; it is hardly too much to say they are Scotland. Every phase of Scottish life is mirrored in them; and he is

the national poet of his country in an even more intimate sense than Homer is the national poet of Greece." In view of that, who can deny the Scots their national "night out" on the anniversary of Robert Burns’s birthday? The fact that

it is broadcast only means, in the opinion of the Burns Societies, that the benefit of Burns’s verse is brought to a wider audience. Whether that wider audience listen or not, is likely, alas, to depend on its reaction to bagpipe music, It’s a pity. Attention, Cads We're not quite sure why they call themselves the Western Brothers, or if they are really brothers, but we expect to have both of those points cleared up when the Western Brothers are interviewed over 2ZB in the series of interviews with British variety stars which the ZB’s are featuring. The Western Brothers, of course, are those two caricatures of Englishmen who discourse, in rich, affected drawls, on building the Empire, on cads, on playing the game, on the BBC, on what constitutes a good show, and, since the outbreak of war, on "Lord Haw Haw the Humbug of Hamburg." They will be interviewed from 2ZB at 9.15 p.m. on January aks Good show, sir. Early History Listeners within reach of Station 4YA (those people who "just dote" on early New Zealand history, more particularly), should follow the series of talks by Douglas Cresswell on "The Cradle of New Zealand," which will shortly be given over 4YA. This is the first series of talks Douglas Cresswell gave, and he. collected both information and atmosphere on a special tour of North Auckland before the Waitangi celebrations. The talks deal with the pre-European Maori, the coming of the pakeha, old figures such as Busby and Marsden, and the early fighting. The talks have been given at all the northern stations, and 4YA is only now falling into line. Or Rather, Cornets We had heard of women lawyers, women swimming the Channel, and even women tram conductors, but until the redoubtable Grace Adams East turned up a year or two ago, we hadn’t met a woman trumpeter. It seems to be contagious, for Auckland now boasts of two women trumpeters, or, to be honest and

exact, cornet players. There’s photographic evidence to prove it, as you can see on page 24. They are the Church Sisters, cornet duettists, and they will be heard from 1YA at 9.48 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, when the Auckland Waterside Workers’ Silver Band also play. Just to confuse listeners, the Church Sisters will play the number "Two Jolly Boys," but it’s worth hearing all the same. Great Open Spaces Who doesn’t pine for the spacious life of the big sheep and cattle stations in the "outback" of Australia, where a "run" of a million acres is regarded as just a farm down the road. On these big stations, provisions are brought once a year, and though station life is the only life known, they have merry times neverthe less with their own race meetings and wool shed dances. R. D. Courtney, an expert wool classer, has been on some of these big Australian stations at shearing time, and has also worked on sheep stations in New Zealand. He has an interesting tale to tell of the differences

between Australian and New Zealand stations both in regard to size and organisation and the climatic differences. He will be speaking from 4YA on January 31 at 7.30 p.m. on "Station Life in Australia." Runholders in the " outback " of Otago will probably account themselves very small beer by the time he has finished. The most important question, though, is this: will Mr. Courtney tell us anything about the language Australian shepherds use when addressing their dogs? It’s Confusing It seems confusing, but we have taken refuge in the profound thought that there’s probably some reason for it. We refer to the fact that the vocal team 2YA used to know as " Mary and John" now turn up at 3YA as "Rita and John," with John as the only " constant factor," as they say in mathematics. John sings as well as ever, and the turn has the same neat finish and line of patter as it had at Centennial Exhibition time. "Rita and John" will be heard in their "Musical Romance" from 3YA at 8.0 p.m., Tuesday, January 21. Nightingales, Dogs Beatrice Harrison, you may remember, is the woman who played a ’cello in a hedge at midnight to make nightingales sing. But Nelle Scanlan in a recent talk

also gave us what is called in vulgar circles "the low down" on Miss Harrison’s little habit of- keeping dogs about the place, seven hounds, if memory serves aright, all of whom brayed loudly all night. So there may be another reason for Miss Harrison spending all night-in a ditch under a hedge down the road. Be that as it may, Beatrice Harrison is certainly an accomplished ’cellist. To hear her play Elgar’s lovely concerto for ’cello and orchestra (Op. 85),° accompanied by the New Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Edward Elgar himself, tune in to 1YA at 9.33 p.m. on Friday, January 24. The Guest Announcer The ZB stations have a quaint habit of inviting people to try their hand at compiling a programme, and then, if it is a good one, awarding them a smail prize and bringing them along to the studio to announce it. It must be an ordeal for anyone who has never faced a microphone in his life before, and we would like to think that the regular announcers stand by with smelling salts and brandy in case the guest announcer faints. We were once challenged to sub- mit an entry ourselves, but we hedged. What if ours was the best programme (we are sure it would be) and we had to announce it? By way of postscript we should add that at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21, Station 1ZB will be presenting another guest announcer. Your attention and sympathy are requested,