General Manager's Mailbag

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 44, 17 May 1929, Page 11

General Manager's Mailbag

Interesting Correspondence from Listeners . aE

Value to Farmers. "T HAVE just heard from 1YA that Kingsford Smith and party have been found," writes one keen listener signing himself "Te Pirri Hau." "As an old Australian prospector, I have seen some of the country they are in. On several occasions I have been miles from anywhere-at the back of beyond -in the Golden West, which, by the way, is my native State. An Australian is pretty resourceful. I have subsisted on ‘possum which I trapped. If one cuts out the flanks there is no taste of gum leaves, and the fiesh resembles chicken. Snakes are very good eating, provided one does as the Binghi does, kill him (but don’t let him bite himself). There are also swan berries, and other edible fruits in these tropical jungles which are full of marshes that would bog a duck. No doubt the aviators found something to eat-if Binghi was friendly, especially if one asked for some nalgo, which is aboriginal for food in the West. Anyhow, we’re very much rejoiced at the news. "J don’t presume to teach you your business, but I would like to suggest that the. news session should be ex- tended to enable us farmers in the backblocks to be up-to-date with the news. The farmers’ best hours to listen-in are at night. You give us market reports, races, etc., which cater for a lot of fans, but the silly idea of the racing clubs to exclude radio from their courses is a penny wise and a pound foolish one. The announcer saying he is broadcasting 1YA from somewhere in the vicinity of Ellerslie is very humorous in this utilitarian age, something like a comic opera in the racing world. Now, sir, farmers get

only one or two papers a week, and . radio is the only solace the cow cockie has when he has finished extracting — the lacteal juice from Strawberry and ° Company. Since we installed a Bet ° we are in touch with the outside world. ° (To-night the seven devils of statie are out on the loose, and the reception all round is very poor.) The farming community would go for more radio sets if New Zealand and Aussie news . were enlarged, for we can. hear the* YA’s where the Aussie stations are inaudible." Different Tastes. © "TN writing to thank you for your invitation to visit one of theproadeasting stations, I must thank you also for the enjoyment I and many others have derived from the possession of a receiving set," says a listenez. "JT had much trouble to persuade the rest of the family to get rid of an expensive gramophone and invest in a re« ceiving set, but I should have muchmore trouble to persuade them to revert to a gramophone. Having many" differing tastes for entertainment even _ in my own family, I find no difficulty . in satisfying them all by tuning in to’ one or other of the New Zealand sta-. tions, hardly ever bothering about Aus-° tralia at all, even though my set is capable of receiving them perfectly." Varied Programmes. "T think the R.B.C. is to be ecomplimented on the excellent varied... programmes that we have the pleasure of listening-in to, and also for the very generous way that they have cat‘ered for the license-holders outside. of the published programmes. Wishing the R. B. Company all success « nee. ‘xtract from another letter." EE TO TON, —