Holy Tuesday today and here in Greece we count the days for Easter which this year is on 24/4. I also count the days for my leave that will start on tomorrow, probably, that means if the world does not turn upside down. (I'm well known for my pessimism, especially when it comes to days off and vacations)
Today, among other things, I am preparing the radio show that I present every week for the last seven years. This week, though, for the first time, it will be broadcast pre-recorded and I am very anxious if all goes well.
Photo of the handwritten schedule -the beginning of it-for Thursday's radio show.
You see, I have been used for so many years to operate the audio console myself, to be in control, so that if something happens I can fix it, intervene and change it.(Don't get me started about the time that the microphone buttons didn't work properly and I had to manually open each microphone).
I remember the first time I sat behind the microphone, as if it were today. A friend, who unfortunately is not with us any more, called me on his show to "see" how things are on the other side of the radio, not of the listener, but of the presenter. I did not intend to speak, but this friend was convinced that I had a radio voice and he did a "trick" to me.
As he was presenting an issue, he suddenly turned around and asked my opinion on the air. I changed fifteen colors, turned crimson with shame, but at the urging of his then co-presenter, I was convinced and spoke on the air.
With this trick, then, began a journey for me that has lasted for seven years. And from my first radio shows behind the microphone, because of my natural curiosity I went to operate the radio audio console. Double, now the role for me and behind the microphone and to control the many and bright buttons.
When I first saw the console I was startled. I could not believe that it took so many buttons to adjust the volume. and believe me, I have not learned everything, but I have learned what is necessary to be able to make a (semi) professional show.
And this journey continues, Sometimes with its good, sometimes with its bad. I think if you ask anyone involved in radio either professionally or as an amateur, like me, if we are tired of the presentation routine, the answer is yes.
Sometimes the weight seems unbearable, you have no inspiration for what to present (so, sometimes it does not happen here in High, where you do not know what to post), you are tired from work and from the whole week and the last thing you want to be behind a microphone and pretend to be relaxed and happy.
But most of the time what gives us strength is either our co-presenters (and I'm lucky enough to work with a great woman in recent years) or the listeners themselves who leave messages in social media, call you and ask you for songs, as if they understand your sorrows and they try to cheer you up. And then the smile and the joy come naturally, and the two hours of your radio show pass without you even realizing it.
Usually we play music of all kinds. This is a photo of one of my favourite cretan lute players in a concert along with a Netherlands Ensemble. If you wanna hear Cretan music, search for them.
And radio is magic. It is your way, your speech that goes thrugh ears of hundreds of people that listen to you and maybe they sing the song you chose to play softly aong with you, maybe they even hold the hand of their loved one and whisper the lyrics in their ear. Radio is love.
And as I would say on the microphone, if I were to start the show: Welcome to our small, magical universe. Are you ready for our journey in the world?
Thank you for reading!
All the photos were taken by me by two different android phones.Also, I wanna thank 