When storms and floods are forecast we’re often told to listen to local radio for news and updates. When floods hit Yorkshire in 2007 the first iPhone was just about to arrive in stores, and the intervening years have seen instant access to information through Twitter, both from fellow residents and official bodies, become the norm.
Reliable internet access can be hard to come by when excess water causes power and phone line outages, as it did for many in Yorkshire on Monday. Listeners contacted BBC Radio York to report problems with cash machines and credit cards whilst presenter Jonathan Cowap gave an alternative number to the police’s 101 service.
The station heard from a command centre, witnessed residents coming down their streets on rescue boats and heard from Archbishop of York John Sentamu as he reacted to the ‘power of water’.
In the last week of December a familiar collection of Christmas songs made up almost half of the thirty most played songs across UK radio. As Wizzard, Slade and Mariah leave us abruptly to take down the decorations and struggle through the left overs Chill provides a calming and comforting soundtrack. The digital station is best known in London, but can also be heard on digital radio in the East Midlands and online.
Chill-out music can trace its origins to separate spaces in clubs for dancers to take a breather from dance floor and its high-tempo music. Whilst the station does play tracks from recognisable electronic groups including Kinobe (that Kronenburg 1664 commercial), there’s also downtempo tracks from performers like Quantic and acoustic music from Damien Rice. One of the station’s programmes plays only acoustic music every Monday night, with previous editions of simplecity available for listen again online.
The last week or so has seen US soldier Bowe Bergdahl in the news as he attends his hearing at Fort Bragg on charges of desertion. Bergdahl is the subject of the second season of Serial, the hugely popular podcast which last year investigated a 1999 murder. The third episode was released on Christmas Eve and the very current nature of the story should make for an equally interesting series.