Platform 3

Anyone else feeling the same? For 20 years, all the radios in the house & car (and latterly on my mobile phone) have been permanently tuned to Radio 3. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but the 10am-12noon and 5pm-7pm slots are when I listen most... and I've tried - I really have - to put up with the dispiriting and unilluminating (and actually, quite patronising) duo of Sarah Walker and James Jolly in the morning and the garrulous pseudo-literary blarney of Sean Rafferty in the evening (or occasionally his understudy the banal Petroc Trelawney).... but I can't face any of them any more. I've actually started turning over to Classic FM (sometimes one gets lucky for a few minutes with an interesting performance of something good).

However during the day the presenters there (10 times worse) and ludicrous adverts make that unbearable too. Hence (although I would ideally like to listen to music on my phone radio so as only to have to take one piece of kit with me), out has come the iPod... I'm trying to fill some more of its 80GB from my CD collection so I can be free of infuriating radio presenters altogether.

But I regret it massively, I love the randomness of Radio 3, the discoveries... of pieces, of whole composers' outputs, of performances. Rob Cowan is great, the enthusiastic Mr Swain too (why is he consigned to the Siberian wastes of the night?)... etc etc. I hope the four prime offenders referred to above get shaken out of the schedules over the summer and I can return gratefully to what has been, should be and can yet be the best radio staton in the world.

Incidentally and PS: Classic FM is actually more bearable at night (there are actually full performances of quite long pieces!), when I also flee the Mongolian nose-singers etc of the Radio 3 'world-music' output - but that is a different topic....

You're absolutely right caliban 172, but watch out - the devotees of each of these presenters will come rushing out of the woodwork and accuse you of being disrespectful, of starting a pointless argument, or of being quite happy with them, thank you very much, and what on earth do you think you're doing complaining about such wonderful, salt of the earth people, and why haven't you written to the Director General's dog if you're unhappy.

However, on the other hand, if you chose to criticise Charles Hazelwood you would gain top marks, because he's fair game.

But don't forget, that you and I are not in the privileged band who can see through these faults, and we can never hope to discover the hidden talents that are so obvious to these more superior souls - so shut up!

I never realised one could be " more superior" per all wind and water . You never stop learning on this board

However, on the other hand, if you chose to criticise Charles Hazelwood you would gain top marks, because he's fair game.

Quoted from this message

Oh no he isn't! You leave him alone. He's ok!

I didn't read the original post and diatribe about Sarah Walker because it had been removed before I could see it but for the record - she's ok as well!

The only presenters on here I don't like listening to are two with very pronounced northern accents. It isn't the northern accent I don't like, it's the harshness and brashness of both the voices - and no the two don't have to be synonymous. Northern accents can be very pleasant if spoken normally. Why they feel the need to shout all the time I've no idea.

Our tastes in presenters must be similar as I too have given up listening at those times - 80GHz MP3 players (about 900 hours of CD quality music) are readily available for less than £200 - whilst in France I also acquired an 18euro MP3 alarm clock (plays from a replaceable SD card) - if you rip a work as a single MP3 file then you can easily switch between items in some 6 hrs of music on a 1GB card - waking up to a Kalliwoda String quartet is considerably more pleasant than jazz.

The good Jonathan Swain has been banished to the middle of the night to keep the real Radio 3 alive, albeit hidden under a bushel.

Oh God - don't criticise Sarah Walker. You'll be excommunicated!

Erda_71,

Could you please tell me were I can find that online Polish station that you were talking about?

Best wishes,

Pim

Oh God - don't criticise Sarah Walker. You'll be excommunicated!

Quoted from this message

Only if you're willing to suggest that people with northern accents are thick, as you do. As far as I can tell on this board, criticism is fine. It's ignorant abuse that closes down threads.

Oh, quite, quite... here comes the self-righteous brigade again. You carry on listening to Sarah Walker and appreciating all those "wunderful" regional accents if you want to, but count me out. I'm certainly not going to be drawn into another pointless diatribe.