The Children's Corner

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 7, 2 September 1927, Page 15

The Children's Corner

By

ARIEL

' Dear Rapio CHILDREN,- ; What a difficult task you set me this week to sclect a prize-winning "picture from several hundred paintings. Such a lot of them were beautifully done, too. Mervyn Jillings, Hastings, heads the list for all-round merit. He is only eight years old, and I am very proud of his success arnong so many older competitors. The prize for the writing competition goes to C. C. Meikle, Nelson. Nearly all the letterwriters were boys. What happened to my Radio-girls? Surely they are not going to let the boys have things all their ovn way, are they? I am glad you all take such a keen interest in broadcasting and appreciate the fact that you live in a very wonderful age. Those of you who make your own sets will perhaps be interested to know that ‘Gn the Science Museum at South Kensington, London, is a funnylooking collection of coils of wire and scraps of metal, and other apparatus, stuck together with sealing-wax, which looks as if it would be dear at five shillings! This is the very first wireless set ever made, and I’m sure you would all love to have a look at it. It was put together before any of the bits could be bought at a shop, and a good deal of it is hand madg. The man who made it was a humble electrician from Wales, named David Hughes, and he also made the very first microphone. And to think that it was twenty long years before anyone else in the whole world believed in wireless! All this happened about fifty years ago, and the story of how David Hughes tried to convince the great scientists of the day, in vain, is too Jong to tell you now. You see, ideas sometimes float around in the world of thought till they find an entrance into the right man’s mind; and often when they have found a home, that particular man has not the power to convince other great minds of the wonderful discovery he has made So with David Hughes -he had not the power of expression, and often called things by their wrong names;'so, of course, found it impossible to make other people understand him. Anyway, he lived to see wireless waves growing to recognition and usefulness und*r Marconi, and I expect that made up to him for his earlier disappointment. Quite a lot of notable work has been done by experimenters who make their own tools and instruments as they go along, so who knows what new discoveries any one of you may make when tinkering with your radio sets! Next. week will see our third Zoo animal, the "Krytik." Some children tell me they don’t know what he is, so I'll tell you again. A critic criticises, doesn’t he? He is a fault-finding, poke-a-hole-in-everything-kind-of-person beast. Now, do you know how he looks? A. "Faydout" is a pale, feeble, ghost-like creature. You must all know what he is like, because he so often puts in an appearance when we ate listening-in to our favourite music-it just fades out! In case any of vou are going to find these a bit difficult to draw, we will have some really easy ones to follow. All Wellington radio children will be delighted to hear Uncle > Vene.t once more at bed-time story hour. I think he will be a new Uncle for the much wider circle made possible by 2YA’s high power. Love-AnicL.