LAUNCHING OF A LINER

Radio Record, 22 July 1938, Page 18

LAUNCHING OF A LINER

hoe Christening ‘Ceremony Of Dominion Monarch-Rebroadcast . From Daventry-All Night Session From 3Z2B- Otago. versus Southland At Rughy-French National Day

EBROADCAST from the ' Empire Station, a descrip‘tion of the launching of the motor liner "Dominion Monarch" will be heard from Station 2YA at 5.30 p.m. on Thursday, July 28. Built at Newcastle-on- . Tyne for the England-New Zealand ; service, "the "Dominion. Monarch" is thé largest vessel to be constructed at the shipyards of Swan, Hunter, Wigham and Richardson’since 1907. Designed to carry 525 passengers, her 27,000 tons will be used’ to inaugurate a new service route direct | from the Mother Country to New. ‘Zealand, including stops at Teneriffe) Cape Town, Durban, Freemantle, Melbourne and Sydney. THERE will be no break in the | transmission from 3ZB.on. July 22-23-an all-night session im fact. This system ‘will operate once a" month for the benefit. of farmers, and others who have to rise before the dawn. Most wien on the-land retire so early at night that they have ° ‘Vitile chance of along and’ enjoyable ~ . Spell.at. the radio set. Now, once a "month they will have the: whole: day and © nigh ‘to set aside a. listening period... oo ‘THE big. -Guestin-to: Otago. -*. «people-is: will Otago, lift. the’ Shiéld: from Southland on July 3022. Station’ AYA will broad-_ east a-running..commentary ofi -the match from -Rugby :. Park, . Inver-’: cargill. Mr... Robert’ McKenzie will "whang" it "in his’ customary able ‘fashion. . THE, large. ‘number of ‘Hsteners to "episodes. of ‘Victeriana,".- the ; NBS: ‘production. or "-the-life ‘and. Yeign. of Queen’ Victoria, ‘will hear, the fourth épisode broadcast . from. 2YA at 9.5p.m. on Sunday, Tuly 24.° This episode, entitled "The ‘Fight: for: Peace," ‘covers the years 1848: 1851." It--has: special interest ‘to New Zealand, for. it.inclitdes the "departure of » ‘the four ships . that "brought the first settlers to ‘Canterbuty. Vivid pictures are given of industrial distress of the years and ‘of Prince Albert’s pursuit of a dream of International Peace taking.

concrete shape in the building of the Great Exhibition of 1851. There are glimpses of Balmoral Castle, of the Prince Consort deer-stalking, and of Palmerston, the bete noire of the court for his independent foreign policy. "Victoriana No. 5" is in preparation. —

, "- WAS ‘delighted’ ‘té wakeup on. Thursday. morning, in "this distant land of the Antipodés, to the .rous- . ing ‘strains of -the ‘Marseillaise,’ " wrote the French Consul for New -Zea-.: land to-Station 2ZB, ° "Many. French . citizens: and friends- of France must: ‘have.felt, on this French National Day, . that ‘they were not so far- away from the.Mother Country.’- The 149th an-' niversary of the storming of the Bas_tille in Paris was commemorated by ‘2ZB on Thursday with a.special programme of music from the France of .to-day and yesterday. The French’ theatre, grand opera, variety, and ‘famous: vocalists and performers. were’ drawn upon to provide the musical-por-tion of. the programme. At- Station ' 1ZB, a well-presented 15-minute cameo was broadcast. . It was ‘a smart piece of : continuity with the references. . worked. . out well. ‘and ‘all historically — ‘correct. . It led up to.a good. climax-_ the of F the Bastille. -Talks-On Music ‘O ‘sooner. had he. arrived -back in Christchurch .from..an. -extensive tour abroad, than Mr. Victor C. Peters, conductor of the Christchurch Harmonic Society and the Liedertafel, and well-

known musician, was besieged by secre‘taries asking for talks on everything from Gracie Fields to the use of bamboo flutes in English schools. The public en masse will hear Mr. Peters, however, from 3YA at 9.5 p.m. on July 28, August 1 and August 8, when his subjects, respectively, will be "Musical Activities Abroad," "Some Celebrities I Met Abroad" and "Pageants and Personali‘ties’ Abroad." Indian Visitors UAHIWI, : 12 miles frem Christchurch, will-be en fete on July 24, for the Prince of Manavadar will visit the: Maori settlement and talk about India, hockey and, possibly, the culture of the two famous dark peoples.: The Prince will be welcomed traditionally with speeches and songs. The proceedings will be broadcast by 3ZB at 2.30 a He Unbent NNOUNCER from 4Y¥O. introduced . an unexpected note into’ the stereotyped style adopted by NBS stations .the other day after that familiar * "re- . cording "A Holly wood Party" had been presented. In that particular recording, Florence Desmond imitates ‘several

Hollywood stars,.concluding with a Gracie Fields impersonation. The Des-Mond-Fields voice had just died away in song when the announcer said, "After that little bit of imitation, perhaps you will also appreciate the real thing," and Dut on the real Gracie in one of her’ own rare numbers. . Listeners may have been surprised, but the remark seemed to herald a more human form of anmouncing. Vivid Sidelight "TINHERD goes the ambulance!" is a frequent ery in the city streets. Through 3ZB, Bob Pollard provided an interesting sidelight recently, when. he took the microphone and gear to the St. John Ambulance headquarters in Christchurch. Listeners were given full details of the working of the service, from first-aid to blood transfusions. The relay ended, dramatically, with a representation of a van going out to an urgent call. Feeding iZM HE NBS is now feeding 1ZM, Auckland, with some good recorded features, and at present the feature, "very Walk of Life," and the Coconut Grove Ambassadors Orchestra, are particularly well-liked. Station 12ZM has always had entertaining items.. for Mr. W: W. Rodgers, who started: the station at Manurewa years ago, is re cognised as one of the.best programme organisers in the’Dominion. « The new features now included make 1ZM’s offerings all the brighter, . . The Great "(GREAT Lovers of History," weekly _ ~~ 1ZB. broadcast, shows the influences (unrevealed in most ‘history -books). that played greatly on masters of men in the past. The domestic affairs, very often, were the greatest influences on their lives. Imagine Burns Without "Chloris"; Browning without Hlizabeth Barrett; Napoleon. without Josephine; Chopin without Georges Sands. History surrounds its heroes with a glamour that enshrouds the man within-a glamour which "Great Lovers .of. History" pierces to. create a series of fine stories. Accompanied by appropriate music, the.episodes are broadcast from 1ZB every Wednesday at 7.45 p.m. , Accident BEST radio joke of the. year in the south: The Dunedin Community Sing Committee entertained ‘Captain . Karl Karlssén, of the barque Penang, © at the last sing. When the skipper . had taken his seat, Leader H. P. Des-. moulins turned to the’ audience, "I want you all'to stand up now," he said. . "Alfie (Alf Pettitt, pianist) hag some-

thing special to play now." Everyone’ stood up. and even listeners-in could appreciate the respect and deep feeling | with which "Alfie" handled an unfami- "* liar air. At last it wag ended, and "Demmy" turned to the visitor, "That," he said proudly, "was, I think, the Finnish national anthem. iD The reply was. quick and devastating: "No." Captain

Karlsson ‘explained ‘that the tune was : not the- national: anthem--dnly & na-. tional air. . Suitable Wrrree has descended on the south.: .. With a vengeance, g@nd- perhaps ; that: fact has guided -Professor, T. D._ Adams: in hig selections from classical’ literatures to: be read. .before . 4YA's microphone next Friday. evening. Tak-. ing pride of place in a programme of . four readings-is Leigh Hunt's. "On.Get-.. ting Up on.a Cold Morning." : The other items are: Joseph Addison’ s "Sir Roger at the.Assizes," Dr. .John Brown’s "Jeames, the Door-keeper," and "Pic: ‘ture of Country, Life," fromi Oliver Gold: .. amith’s "Deserted. Village." | . Success In Sydney | Rovevrrs. are flying in’ Australia for Warren Barry (better .known. in New Zealand as Warren Toogood,of the Wellington "Thespians"), who has caught the critics’ ear with his per-". formance as Carver Doone in the new ° radio serial "Lorna Doone." . "Lorna-, Doone" is to be heard on ‘the. air in | New Zealang ‘shortly, and: the talented Wellington man will then be appearing: (on records of course) in no less than four serials on the air in this coun: — ‘Mutiny on the -Bounty," "Little

‘Women;"’ and : "ER by" (both ‘ot : which . are to be. heard from the: NBS). --and "Lorna Doone." He will alsa be. heard in one of the leading roles in" "The _ Queen’s Necklace," an adaptation from the Dumas story, when it reaches,the ‘air here." Warren Barry is undér. con‘tract to B.A:P. in: Sydney---one of Ause * tralia’s best-known ' producing .: irms_.where. he -is associated with ‘ Giwen ‘Munro, who was the winner of* Aus- ' tralia’s "Searéh for Beauty". contest, ‘~and has: toured New Zealand with J. 0. .. Williamson ‘productions, and. another . Wellingtonian, Lola Kelly. we of Echoes "ECROnsS of Stage and Scresr * heard every’: Sunday at ‘10. p.m. "from 2ZB, is an interesting: -presentae -: tom recalling. highlights. from: the en- _. tertainment, world of yesterday, inter‘spersed with. programme Hotes: "Of? ‘eure rent: productions" overseas. . ee Family. Matter \ Ts popularity of. "One Man's -Fam- ; -ily"-in. America, where: the famous . radio. serial has beén runnitig. for’ over six years on the air without ° a break. has now aroused’ the interest of-men of science, who felt. that there must be something about a serial that can retain @ devoted audience for so long. A

special grant has been made by theRockefeller Foundation to the School’ of Public and International Affairs at" Princeton University to enable its ex- _ perts to find out just what it is about the production that the public likes. No doubt radio playwrights all over the world will be anxiously awaiting the finding of the learned men of Princeton. The investigation is to be carried out by personal interviews among radi listeners. Other Days NEw ‘ession that is winning praise from listeners is "From the Silver Sereen of Yesteryear"-film hits of other days in song and story-broad-east on Sunday: evenings from 1ZB. Stories of the past are brought back in a way that allows listeners to create

their own scenes as they remember them. Little snippets . . . a song or two from the old ‘pictures. Good entertainment, | Sibelius GEVENTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD Jeau | Sibelius is the national composer of Finland, one of the most significant musicians of our day and one of the great symphonists of all tim> Within the last decade. Sibelius’s major works have attracted ever-growing audiences and their vogue rivals even that of the Brahms Symphonies. Beginning o:. Sunday, July 24, at 2 p.m., and continuing each successive Sunday afternoon until the complete cycle of seven hag } zen concluded, Station 2YA will present symphonies by Sibelius.

Stage To Radio HRISTCHURCH dramatic circies ~ are pleased with the work of the hew producer to the Canterbury Repertory Society, Miss Nancy Nicholson. Listeners will hear some of her work, through 3YA, on July 24, when Gran-

ville Barker’s "The Voysey Inheritance," specially adapted for bromdcasting, will be presented by the "Mercury Players." Continental FINE range of Continental recordings has been received by 2ZB, eovering a wide range of music. The recordings will not be used in miscellaneous programmes, but will be presented from time to time in special cameo presentations, Listeners to 2ZB’s Sunday programmes have already heard two of these "Continental Cameos." 1YA‘s Pianist QWEN JENSEN, 1YA’s pianist, will shortly have the opportunity to exploit the individuality of his playing, which, as a good accompanist, he must carefully avoid in the performance of his official duties. On Friday, July 29, he will be featured with the Studio Orchestra from 1YA during the concert programme, playing Mozart’s "Concerto in G Major.’ This work will occupy 30 minutes « the evening pTrogramme. A brilliant pianist, it is a pity he is not heard more often. Rising Totals URING .the five weeks Jack Maybury, of 3ZB, has conducted community singing at the Civic Theatre. Christchurch, on Thursdays, the contributions toward the relief of distress have been increasing steadily. The first sing brought £46, the next £62, the third £42-shocking weather-and the last two £68 and £69 respectively. The other day the Tuahiwi Maoris assisted. The leader has a different stage setting for each week’s session. Check-Up (SHECK-UP on mail received at 1ZB shows that New Plymouth and Thames write more letters to 1ZB than other towns outside Anckland. No doubt the reason is that 1ZB broadcasts local sessions to these places.

Hamilton, Dargaville, Whangarei, Tauranga, Ngaruawahia, Huntly, Te Awamutu, Morrinsville, Te Aroha, even to Te Kuiti and Whakatane, provide up to 100 letters a week each. The King Country, notoriously bad as an area for good reception, and Nelson, similarly situated, and the West Coast of the South Island also yield their own crops of correspondence. Surprisingly, over 2 week or more, a dozen fan-let-ters arrived for personalities from Australia, Tasmania, Norfolk Island, and Fiji. First Birthday "THE practice of calling children’s birthdays from the YA stations during the children’s hour seems as popular as ever. Every day many written requests are received from parents who enclose the names and ages of. their children for mention over the air. One day last week the station had a request from one mother to greet her son’s first birthday! The event was not "eovered" in the session, as the child would get little pleasure from hearing his name called. It would seem that some parents simply like theiy neighpours to know what is going on, Mention of children’s birthdays is limited to those children between the ages of four and 10 years. Readings R. D’ARCY CRESSWELL, whose readings of prose and poetry, with appropriate music, have been highlights of 1YA’s programmes for some months past, has been engaged to give five readings from 2ZB prior to his departure for England, These will cover a wide range of literature and poetry. Appeal AN annual appeal is made to the Christchurch public by the combined orphanages of the city. All artists give their help for the concert. The date for this year’s concert at the Radiant Hall is July 27, with 8YA doing the relay. The Cathedral Grammar

School Choir will take part, Mr. Foster Brown conducting. Soloists are Miss Vera Martin (contralto), Miss Clarice Inglis (soprano) and Mr. Rex Harrison (baritone). The Civic Plaiyers will present qa radio play and other performers will be Thelma Cusack (violinist), and the Christchurch Liedertafel-with Mr. V. ©. Peters, just back from A, world tour. eonducting,