I remember the sound of the WCBS news ticker on the radio next to the stove when I was growing up. Typically, the news went on when my father got home from work and my mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen. (Sounds terribly suburban and homey.) The news announcers came on – curiously all with alliterative names (Ed Engels, Pat Parsons, Harvey Hauptman – nod to my brother Harvey for remembering that last one) and the news seemed to change the levity of the afternoon to the gravity of the evening.
In the weeks before I left the states, I had anticipatory nostalgia when I heard the theme music to NPR shows like Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air. (NPR has its own alliterated announcer, Carl Kassel). I commented to Sarah that England would begin to feel like home to me when I learned the schedule of BBC Radio 4 and the theme music stirred up that same sentiment. Sarah, in her sweet way, had Radio 4 streaming on her computer the next morning in the kitchen when I came down to breakfast. Yesterday we bought a stereo for the kitchen to lend permanence to the ritual.
Radio 4 has great shows and is the guide to politics, culture and life here. I’m beginning to gain some familiarity with the announcers. It is, according to Sarah, more even-handed than NPR, though she guesses that the staff is probably Guardian (a left-leaning newspaper) readers. Speaking of papers, there does not seem to be an analog to the NY Times as a paper of record. There are papers across the spectrum, with none holding the mantel as premier. Sarah also ordered a subscription of The New Yorker in advance of my arrival. She was surprised that it came every week and wondered who had time to read all those long articles. In Northampton, she had noted my nightstand, coffee table and bathroom teeming with old New Yorkers. She said that it takes a steady effort to not let the magazine clutter up the whole house. I took issue with her calling it clutter.
As I continue to adjust and settle in to my new environs, I’m adopting new media, and holding onto some old media, to create a sense of home. Next I will have to find some “home” teams in football, rugby and darts(?).
Chip, I can totally relate. I was moved by the passing of Daniel Schorr this weekend. Although he lacked the alliterative moniker, there was always something so reassuring in his muffled avuncular voice. I already miss hearing him. Been listening to BBC News on the AM dial at 9am since Bill Dwight went off the air. There is something humbling about listening to stories of America in the third person. Trying to imagine how it is for you.
ReplyDelete