For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
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By Rob P
#1667932
rikur_ wrote:Chris Evans had people phoning in on Monday...


You listened? :shock:

Rob P
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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1668059
The past few months have been a bit of a period of rediscovery of radio for me, and an eye opener to how much choice there is now.
Up until the Mayo show changes, the car radio just stayed on radio 2.
(until 3 years go I didn't have DAB in the car - and living between two places didn't make local radio an easy choice, so R2 was a simple middle-of-the-road option that the kids and grown-ups could all tolerate.)
It only been since then that I've really explored the DAB choice. So much choice, but still so little that seems to fit the need. New radio 2 isn't for me (they seem to have trashed the playlist as well as DJ's that aren't my taste) ... so back to Evans for breakfast (at least it's familiar) .... and still looking for new evening show listening.
#1668085
lobstaboy wrote:Radio 2? I haven't listened to Radio 2 since the days when 'Sing Something Simple' used to follow the chart show on Sunday evening...


I regularly listened only when at university. I recall following 'Waggoners Walk' as an escape valve from studies. It probably helped groom me for 'The Archers' soon after :) Both were useful immersions in UK culture.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waggoners%27_Walk

Incidentally, I see from that wikipedia page that Carole Boyd was in it, who now plays Lynda Snell ..
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#1680601
So how many of us have sampled Simon's new home at Scala Radio?

I listened to his opening hour on catch-up after we returned from Portugal, and nice it was to hear his relaxed and "speaking direct to you" presentation. The music was a very loose interpretation of "classical" and none the worse for that. But from my point of view dangerous listening as concealed amongst the good stuff there lurks the danger of opera tracks. There's nothing like a screaming soprano to make one's ears bleed.

I suspect that I'll end up listening to his show on catch-up in the evening when I'm on kitchen duties - the Drivetime slot in fact. Here at least a quick prod of the screen zaps forward by five minutes, at which point one would hope the opera has gone away.

Requesting Scala on Alexa gets you a nice station ident from Simon. Switching it off gets a polite thank you for listening to Scala from Alexa 'herself'

As for the woman on the R2 Drivetime show? She seems inoffensive enough, but there's nothing really that persuades me to listen. It's better than the awful awkwardness of the old show with Whiley shoe-horned in though.

Rob P
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By rikur_
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1680633
Rob P wrote:So how many of us have sampled Simon's new home at Scala Radio?

I listened to the first one on catch-up.
Nice to have the familiarity of Mayo back. I like the concept.
It felt like it might take a bit of bedding in musically. Perhaps the first show was intentionally showcasing the diversity of classical - but at the expense of flow. Will certainly will be listening again.
By Highland Park
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1680713
I certainly enjoyed his show. He is a class act and nice to hear chef Nigel Barden rejoined him yesterday.

As a previously ardent Radio 2 listener, I’m afraid I now only listen to Claire Teal on Sunday evenings (big band swing and jazz) and Liza Tarbuck on Saturday evenings (with wonderfully eclectic musical choices). Thanks to the incompetent tools in management (I don’t blame the presenters at all), it’s now Radio Bland and all the shows sound the same.

The variety of specialist programmes for which it was so well known and made it such an excellent station are slowly being marginalised or removed completely.

I’m still to settle on a breakfast show and for the drive home, I’m now listening to Andy Bush and Richie Firth on Absolute Radio who are both quite entertaining.

Ian
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1680855
Highland Park wrote:I’m afraid I now only listen to Claire Teal on Sunday evenings (big band swing and jazz)


Just been listening to that on the way home. Not bad.

Highland Park wrote:and Liza Tarbuck on Saturday evenings (with wonderfully eclectic musical choices)


I've said to others before, she's a sort of "Terry Wogan light" - no one can be as good as Sir Terry, but I think she's the nearest thing we have at the moment. I don't listen to the morning show these days, but I suspect this would be a good slot for Ms Tarbuck.

Highland Park wrote:Thanks to the incompetent tools in management (I don’t blame the presenters at all), it’s now Radio Bland and all the shows sound the same. The variety of specialist programmes for which it was so well known and made it such an excellent station are slowly being marginalised or removed completely.


Yep, they're trying to make it into Radio 1. And that's not a good thing.

Strange thing is though that after years of being completely unlistenable, Radio 1 is slowly starting to be something which I include in my channel hopping.
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By Rob P
#1680858
Highland Park wrote:
The variety of specialist programmes for which it was so well known and made it such an excellent station are slowly being marginalised or removed completely.


Of course the specialist shows have been pushed back further into the night to make way for Jo Whiley's consolation prize. But having lost Paul Jones's blues show that hasn't impinged on my listening greatly.

Rob P
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By TheKentishFledgling
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1680928
I'm enjoying Scala Radio a lot. Mayo sounds comfy and I like the "modernisation" of classical music radio: musical beds under links, some "features" are a good thing. Yes they sound slightly gimmicky at the moment but it's only been going a week...

Mark Forest and others still sound a bit "Classic FM" in style to me but I hope they'll change to fit what Scala are trying to do. William Orbit's show is superb.

I've discovered a lot of new-to-me music in the last week...my Shazam app has been in overdrive.