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'Calling the Falklands' in 1984 By
Major Ronnie N. Spafford One of the most familiar tunes heard in the Falkland Islands is 'Oranges and Lemons', which is part of the signature tune 'London Bridge', introducing the BBC External Service programme 'Calling the Falklands', beamed directly to the Islands twice a week from the United Kingdom. The programme is now forty years old this year, and so it has become a Falklands institution. However, although most Falkland Islands supporters will be aware of the programme, only those who have been to the Islands will have actually heard it. In July I went along to Bush House, just along from the Strand in London, and I turned the tables on them: instead of their staff interviewing me, I interviewed the present Producer, Lesley Wingrove, for the Falkland Islands Newsletter. Up until 1982, the programme 'Calling the Falklands' was a once weekly almost exclusively record request programme, interspersed with messages of good wishes from friends and relatives in the United Kingdom. From time to time there were interviews with influential people in and around London, who had something to say about the rather remote Falklands, and, in recent years, there was always a report from the annual Lincoln's Inn Reception. A Rock For The Islanders The programme came very much into its own and assumed great importance in maintaining morale immediately after the Argentine invasion on 2nd April, 1982, when, from Sunday 4th April, broadcasts were increased firstly to three transmissions a week and then to daily transmissions. Peter King, who had retired from BBC service was persuaded back into action, and he presented about five of the subsequent programmes each week. His especially appealing voice and sympathetic manner gave great comfort to the occupied Islanders, so that he became almost a local folk hero. The programme content naturally became much more concerned with current political and military events and, being part of the BBC External Services, it was easy to use BBC staff resident in other countries worldwide, for example, Chile, to report news and opinion regarding the Falklands, which gave a wider spectrum. 'Calling the Falklands' was like a rock for the Islanders to cling to: essentially something British and familiar, broadcast directly from London, especially for the besieged Islanders, assuring them that they were not forgotten and to hang on. Local Radio At A Long Distance 'Calling the Falklands' is now broadcast for 30 minutes twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10.30pm, UK time, which with the present five hour difference between Stanley and London, means that it is received at 5.30pm on both days in the Islands, or, more correctly at 5.30pm in Stanley, but 4.30pm in Camp, since there is, by tradition, a local hour difference between Stanley and the Camp, in the summer. The transmission is made on the four frequencies 11.82, 12.04, 15.39 and 19.915 megahertz in the 19, 25 and 31 metre bands and is beamed in a very narrow arc at the Falkland Islands from a transmitter in the extreme south-west of England, which is the reason why it is difficult to pick up the programme in the United Kingdom. The Tuesday programme is written and presented by Peter King and that on Friday by Kathleen Cheesmond, who is a familiar voice on 'Calling the Falklands'. Both have visited the Falkland Islands and know almost everyone by name. Kathleen Cheesmond said it is rather like Local Radio at a long distance. Everything Being Said About The Falklands I asked Lesley Wingrove about the programme content and, as the BBC External Services are funded by a grant-in-aid from the Treasury, do they seek to influence what is broadcast? I was very quickly corrected about any thought that 'Calling the Falklands' might be used for propaganda purposes. The broadcast, which is described as a Current Affairs based Magazine Programme, adheres strictly to the BBC Charter, without any outside pressure at all, and it has neither a pro British Government nor a pro Falkland Islands Government bias. It reflects everything that is being said about the Falkland Islands worldwide, and this may include equally what is being said, not only in Stanley and in London, but also in the United Nations or, even, in Argentina. The Falkland Islands already receive the BBC World Service News broadcasts, so world news is not covered, unless there is some special angle concerning the Falklands Islands. 'Calling the Falklands' is specifically aimed at the Islanders, the British troops in the Islands not being considered at all - they have their own programmes from the British Forces Broadcasting Service. Record requests occupy less of the programme content these days, as there is very much more of interest to report. Too Little Comment From Islanders Answering my questions about 'feedback' from the Islands and contact with the Falkland Islands organisations in Great Britain, Lesley Wingrove said that, unfortunately, too little comment domes from the islanders. The names of Sally Blake, Tim Miller, Wallace Hirtle and Graham Bound, Editor of Penguin News, were mentioned, but they wished that more Islanders would write or call in, when visiting London. Liaison is maintained with the Falkland Islands Government Office on a weekly basis, when the Government Office will often suggest a possible person to be interviewed, but these days there is very little contact with the Association Office, although they do receive the Falkland Islands Newsletter. Perhaps the message which came over to me most clearly, is one for the Falkland Islanders. Please write in expressing your views to your programme 'Calling the Falklands'. If you are in London, please call in at Bush House, 'Calling the Falklands' would love to see you. This article first
appeared in the Falkland Islands Newsletter, Edition 21, November 1984.
The Falkland Islands Association is an independent organisation which
brings together those who support the continuing freedom of the people of
the Falkland Islands. Its Constitution states that its objectives
are to assist the people of the Falkland Islands to decide their own
future for themselves without being subjected to pressure direct or
indirect from any quarter. |
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