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The Sound Kitchen

Stinky French cheese, hot air balloons and a witch’s ball

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This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about Walpurgis Nacht. There’s On This Day, the listener mailbag, some great music, and of course, the new quiz question. Just click on the arrow in the photo, and enjoy!

David Franklin/Getty Images/A Terrade
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Hello everyone!

Welcome to The Sound Kitchen. You can catch the programme on-the-air every Saturday at 6:15, 7:15, 14:45 and 16:45 universal time. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you have grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and tune in every Saturday.

For our DX enthusiast friends: Our shortwave frequency is 13725 kHz on the 22m band, from 06.00 to 07.00 UT every day. We’ve had reception reports from Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Cuba, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Russia, Sierra Leone, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US, and although the frequency is “aimed” (or however that works) towards the African continent, give it a try. You never know … and be sure and send us your reception reports. Maybe we can get more time, which would be wonderful.

You can also hear our programs on WRMI (http://www.wrmi.net/) and WRN (http://www.wrn.org/listeners/). In Paris, you can hear us on World Radio Paris (http://www.worldradioparis.fr/) on DAB+. These broadcasters diffuse our programs out of the goodness of their hearts (and thank you thank you thank you WRMI, WRN, and World Radio Paris!), but unless you tell us how you heard us, we have no way of knowing … so do write and tell us how you listen to us.

Great news for the RFI Clubs: Chrystelle Nammour and Sébastien Bonijol in our Listener Relations department are organizing another round of football tournaments for all the official RFI Clubs. The first RFI Club Tournaments were in 2014 to celebrate the FIFA World Cup Football Championship and were so successful they’ve decided to do it again – this time, to coincide with the European Championship games this summer. 

The RFI Club Tournaments need to be played during the Euro 2016 games, from 10 June through 10 July. You can organize your matches any way you want – you can hold games between RFI Clubs in the same country, or games between members of the same club. Your RFI Club may choose to organize games for teams in your community, or games between your RFI Club and other organizations. In any case, RFI will furnish the team shirts, the footballs, and the trophies, and we’ll send RFI banners for you to use at the matches. I’ll announce match results – and you send us photos and videos for our Facebook pages. So don’t hesitate! Write Chrystelle, Sebastian and The Sound Kitchen today and let us know you want to be a part of the RFI Clubs / European Championship 2016 football tournaments.

thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr
chrystelle.nammour@rfi.fr
sebastien.bonijol@rfi.fr

So far there are 19 clubs participating. In Africa, there’s the RFI Fan Club, Kisii, Kenya, Mogire Machuki, president; Kemogemba Club, Tarime, Tanzania, Ras Franz Manko Ngogo, president; The RFI Listeners Club Gambia, Brikama Town, The Gambia, Lamin Ceesay, president; RFI Ducor Sea Breeze Club of Liberia, Monrovia, Liberia, Hyrum Karyea Mennoh, president, and the RFI Club Ain Kechera, Ain Kechera, Algeria, Ferhat Bezazel, president.

In Pakistan, there’s the Pak France International Listeners Club, Sahiwal, Shahzad Shabbir, president, and the RFI Fans Web Visitors Club, Khanpur, Amir Manzoor, president.

In India, there’s the International DX Radio Listeners Club, Murshidabad, Mr Najimuddin, president; RFI Natun Radio Listeners Club, Murshidabad, Kanchan KR Chatterjee, president; Golden DX Club, Murshidabad, Siddhartha Sarkar, president; RFI Listeners Club, Hyderabad / Miryalguda; Mrs P Sreelatha Reddy, president; Young Stars Radio Club, Sainikpuri / Secunderabad, Hari Madugula, president, and Metali Listeners Club, Murshidabad, Shivendu Paul, president.

In Bangladesh, there’s the Kaptai RFI Fan Club, Kaptai, Jahangir Alam Manto, president; RFI Club Dhaka, Dhaka, Wali Ahad, president; RFI Surfer’s Society Bangladesh, Dhaka, Ms Royeka Khatun, president, and the Friends Radio Club, Naogaon, Dewan Rafiqul Islam, president.

Both of our Cuban clubs will participate, too – the RFI Club Cuba, Ivan Carralero, president, and Cubans on the Radio, also in Holguin, Rommel Tamayo Gutiérrez, president.

To the fields! Be sure you send us match results, photos, and videos!

This week’s quiz: On 30 April, my colleague Aidan O’Donnell was in the Sound Kitchen, and he had a question for you about an ancient folk festival called Walpurgis Nacht, or night. Walpurgis Nacht is celebrated in the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Lithuania, Lativa, Finland and Estonia. Aidan asked you to write in and tell us what Walpurgis Nacht is, according to tradition.

The answer is: Walpurgis Nacht is the night before Saint Walpurga, an abbess, was canonized (that is, officially recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church) in 870. That is the official version. However, it’s not what is in the imagination of the people! Walpurgis Nacht is the night when witches meet on top of the Brocken mountain (in Germany), with their broomsticks, of course, and all fly together to Hexentanzplatz, the place where witches dance.

The winners are: RFI Club members Ralf Urbanczyk from Eisleben, Germany, Arne Timm from Harjumaa, Estonia, and Ferhat Bezazel from West Skikda, Algeria. The other lucky winners are Mohammad Idrees from the Jinnah DX Club in Layyah, Pakistan, and Abheraj Jaswal from Haryana, India.

Congratulations winners!

This week’s question ... you'll have to listen to the show to participate. You have until 11 July to enter this week's quiz. The winners will be announced on the 16 July program. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address in with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

english.service@rfi.fr

or

Susan Owensby
RFI – The Sound Kitchen
80, rue Camille Desmoulins
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then 33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win an RFI wireless computer mouse, click here:
http://www.english.rfi.fr/culture/20141218-sound-kitchen-essay-contests

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or to form your own official RFI Club, click here:
http://www.english.rfi.fr/culture/20141218-how-form-official-rfi-listeners-club

 

 

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