Reading Radio 4RPH

Our Grevillea Banksii in the Garden 

The only thing in my calendar this week was going to the radio station. Reading Radio 4RPH. The day before I was meant to go I got an email to say the Radio Station had closed down in line with the government's measures. I was sad but not surprised. 

However the Radio's intrepid CEO Scott Black was not prepared to shut up shop just like that. He had been in the equally alarming situation in 2011 when Brisbane flooded and with the radio's studios in danger of becoming inaccessible he needed to think on his feet and be prepared to work from elsewhere. 

So this morning we read the morning papers (as we would do as if we were at the studio) but remotely. My good co worker John Couchman, Scott and I took to Zoom and managed to do the morning show with no bloops, hesitations or repetitions. It felt good to be able to to ensure that this community radio - the only Reading Radio in the city- could carry on for all its faithful listeners. We even managed the horoscopes and TV guide as they are great favourites! Then I hobbled out for a walk swerving out of the way to safe distances every time I saw someone coming. Interestingly no one swerved out of my way - have they been not listening to the news I wondered?

There is something deeply disturbing and dystopian about our current existence and Margaret Atwood might be agreeing, but that half hour of being out in the green under a cloudy sky made me feel as if we will become more creative and more productive as the crisis tightens around us. I washed my hands as soon as I walked in and entered my isolation once more, feeling as if I had achieved something today.

To listen to the Radio Station look for https://www.4rph.org.au/

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