Listening to the Radio

Back in the late 1960s, when I was a little girl, the only form of home entertainment was the radio and black & white tv. In those days, there was only one tv channel in Cyprus - CyBC (Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation). The programme, however, started at 7:00 pm and ended at 11:00 pm. Of course I loved tv then! But I was only allowed to watch it for about an hour on school nights and 2 hours at the weekend or on school holidays. I still remember the long arguments with my parents who wouldn't let me watch Alfred Hitchcock Presents! So, in my free time then, I'd listen to the one and only radio station of the 60s - the CyBC - and, if I was lucky, to some English stations of the time. We had an old radio then.

In the early 70s that old radio gave way to transistors. I was so excited when I got a transistor radio for a birthday present in 1970! I couldn't believe I could carry MY radio anywhere. In the meantime, I also enjoyed my first portable vinyl player. But I had to buy records to use it, so the radio still remained my second best form of home entertainment after the telly! 

Despite the advances of technology today, I still listen to the radio online, at home or in the car. I also enjoy listening to my CDs as an alternative. But considering that I never download music for free from the Internet - it's illegal after all - I can listen to the same CDs over and over again. Listening to the radio is certainly the cheapest form of entertainment as CDs or downloading music from the Internet cost quite a lot these days.  I no longer enjoy watching tv despite the wide range of tv channels nowadays.

Comments

[Lakis Ioannou]

I never listen to the radio, I prefer listening to my CDs in the car or at home after work or watch a DVD - something which relaxes me greatly.

[Christina]

I don't really listen to the radio a lot. But I love listening to my mp3 in the car. I can play any music I really like. At home I listen to music all the time. After work, I kick off my shoes, lie in the couch and put my favorite playlists on the laptop.

[Andy]

I love that old radio!

[Constantinos T]

I have an old radio like the one in the first photo. It belonged to my grandmother who gave it to me a few weeks before her passing. It doesn't work, of course, but it decorates my study and makes me think of all the great entertainment my grandma used to have when she listened to the radio all day long. Of course I remember the transistor radios. I also had one myself when I was 11 or 12 and would listen to it all the time or carry it on school trips.

[Sophia]

As soon as I get up in the morning, I turn on the radio to listen to the news which is part of my job anyway! For music, I love Sfera!No need to download songs when they play the greatest hits!

[Marilou Kyriacou]

I love listening to streaming music radio online.

[Laura]

Radio is chosen as a lifestyle support system, to help people feel better as they go about their daily lives. Rather than the peaks and troughs that people have claimed to experience with TV and the internet, radio provides a consistent environment themed and shaped to suit the listener’s needs at any given time of day, and one that is generally upbeat in tone.

[Haruko N]

I really love listening to the radio and prefer it to watching TV.

[Jim]

I do enjoy listening to BBC 4 Extra online

[Andreas]

I only listen to the radio in the car.