This festive station is great fun ? especially when the children take over
There are dozens of Christmas radio stations lurking online. Many operate year-round, playing well-known festive tunes for those peculiar souls who crave them beyond December. Some pop up just for the season, working like a mainstream yuletide jukebox; they're not exactly gripping listening.
Radio Christmas is attention-grabbing, though, albeit for some of the wrong reasons. This is a teensy festive set-up, broadcasting through December each year from Amersham, and run entirely by volunteers to raise money for street children in South America. Its heart is in exactly the right place, and its playlist is too, with a mix of current tracks, carols, classical music and festive favourites.
It can be a bumpy listen, with some interludes far more amateur than others, and it's a sobering reminder of how hard radio is to do well. I've found myself thinking kindly, though, as some of the shows are presented by children, especially as stopgaps when regular presenters are delayed by the weather. These slots can be unintentionally hilarious.
On Monday, two boys tried to stir up some listener interaction, begging for facts they could read out, and encouraging callers to phone in and vote for a particular song. "We have no votes," one of them said, "so your vote will count." They then ran out of music: "We have no other songs."
They handed over to an equally hapless duo, only one of whom was at the microphone. "He's eating a biscuit in the other studio," he said of his co-presenter. There followed lots of shambolic kerfuffles, giggles, audible breath sounds and snuffles. "We don't have anything to talk about," they conceded.
It's all wonderfully slapdash ? though the regular shows are better ? but it's heartening to hear young people who have clearly got the radio bug. For a good cause, and at this time you year, you can indulge the fluffed lines and clunky moments, and forgive their rough edges.
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