Author: Vlad Palcu

Hello everyone!

Happy New Year!

We wish you all a prosperous and
peaceful year!

Today’s roundup is an overview of
Christmas and New Year’s messages, which continue to arrive at our office in
large numbers, and for which we are very grateful.

We hope you’ve all had a lovely
winter holiday and charged up your batteries for the new year.

***

Amir Jameel (Pakistan)

I and our club members would
like to extend our heartiest greetings, best wishes and congratulations to the
staff and management of Radio Romania English Service, listeners of Radio
Romania and people around the world on the eve of Christmas.

May you have the gift of faith,
the blessing of hope and the peace of the Lord’s love at Christmas and always!
I hope you receive one blessing after another this coming year.

May your days ahead be as vibrant
as this festive season. May you shine as bright as the Christmas lights because
you deserve it all, Have a great year and a wonderful life ahead.

On Christmas, people wish each
other Merry Christmas and pray that the day takes away all the negativity and
darkness from people’s life. Christmas is a festival full of culture and
tradition. The festival entails a lot of preparations, Preparations for
Christmas start early for most people.

***

Malik Allah Bachaya Khokhar
(Pakistan)

I hope you will be very well and
we are also very well. The Heald Club recently organized an enlightening
exhibition to promote awareness of our Radio Programs, specifically focusing on
the English Service Literature post-200 words. This captivating event showcased
the rich tapestry of literary content that has graced our airwaves in recent
years. From thought-provoking interviews to captivating storytelling, the
exhibition highlighted the diverse array of programs that have become an
integral part of our English radio service.

Visitors had the opportunity to
delve into the world of literature through interactive displays, audio
snippets, and engaging visuals. The exhibition aimed to celebrate the power of
language and storytelling, emphasizing the impact our programs have had on
fostering a love for literature and language.

Attendees were treated to a
journey through the evolution of English Service Literature post-200,
witnessing the convergence of traditional and contemporary themes. The Heald
Club’s commitment to fostering cultural and literary awareness was palpable,
and the exhibition served as a testament to the enduring influence of our radio
programs on the local literary landscape.

As we continue to champion the
art of storytelling through our English Service Literature, the Heald Club
remains dedicated to fostering a community that values the enriching experience
of radio literature in the 21st century.

Looking forward to hearing from
you.

***

Abid Hussain Sajid (Pakistan)

Christmas and New Year are best
friends, so they come together. We love them for it. It’s such an exciting time
around the world. A whole week of festivities and celebration.

To help you save time and enjoy
these events, here are some wonderful Merry Christmas and New Year 2024.

When you are weak, may Christ be
your strength. And if you are sad, may His love bring joy to your heart. When
you are in despair, may you find comfort in the love of Jesus. Merry Christmas
and Happy 2024!

***

Reginaldo Naldy (Brazil)

*Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year!

***

Bidhan Chandra Sanyal (India)

Human, nature, universe are
bound in these three cycles of past, present and future time. The future comes to the present and the
present becomes the past. Then one day
it is lost in the abyss of the past.
What is lost in the past cannot be recovered, but the future can be
remembered in the present. It is
possible only if the future is planned and implemented in the present. Some events, some history are in the past but
remain eternally present. Like our
language movement, independence movement and freedom are never lost in the
abyss of the past. Everlasting Present. In personal life also there are some past
actions, some initiatives, some words, some love, which affect his present and
future. Makes life beautiful. In fact, today’s beautiful present is
tomorrow’s beautiful past. Today’s
planned successful present, tomorrow’s bright future. Therefore, whatever is beautiful, whatever is
good-welfare should be done now. Last
Sunday night

2023 AD passed immediately after
12 markets. And the arrival happened in
2024 AD. January 1 is the first day of
the new year. International New
Year. Many people mistake it as English
New Year. The Egyptians were the first
to discover the method of keeping time, but it was mainly during the Roman
period that calendars for counting days began to be used. Later, after various revisions and additions,
the current calendar was introduced by Roman Pope Gregory in 1582 AD. Hence the name Gregorian calendar. Later this latest version of the calendar was
adopted by all countries.

The British also adopted this
Gregorian calendar by passing a law in their parliament. The Gregorian calendar uses January 1 as the
first day of the year when the year begins at different times. From that time in 1582, January 1 is the New
Year. Since 1752, America and Britain
officially started celebrating New Year on January 1. Although the lunar calendar and some regions
have their own calendar, the Gregorian calendar has taken over the whole
world. So the appreciation and ceremony
of this New Year is worldwide. The
calendar is just an attempt to capture the ever-flowing time. And the flow of events, which we call
history, gets stuck in this table. The
world welcomed the new year with fireworks at the first moment of the new year
as soon as the clock crossed 12 o’clock on December 31. Rejoicing lasts till late night. Thousands of people dance and sing in the
streets. The whole world, especially
Europe-America-Australia, organizes many grand events. There is no dearth of celebrating the
Thirteenth Night festival in our country.
What is the reason for this new year celebration, so many
arrangements? The reason for this is to
welcome the new year with new dreams and new hopes without thinking about the
joys and sorrows, joys and pains, hopes and disappointments, achievements and
non-achievements of the old year.

The seeds of new dreams should be
sown in the new year. Between the
infinite future and the infinite past, the present is absolutely finite. Only the junction of two periods. The duration of the present is a moment or an
hour or a day or at most a year. So use
every moment. We plan for the current
year. Just as there is a plan of action
in the office and court in the state, so we need to have a plan of action in
our personal life. Many times in the
life of the family, one gets bored.
Nothing feels good for no reason.
So in the new year action plan, things to make life diverse, joyful and
enjoyable should be taken care of. Don’t
chase any unrealistic plans or dreams.
It’s good to dream. Because life
without dreams is not life. Therefore, a
sky-high dream that cannot be implemented should not be accepted. This will increase frustration. It is essential to have a budget for every
family, like a state budget. This budget
should be planned at the beginning of the year.
It can be yearly, monthly or weekly depending on the income. This budgeting is convenient for jobbers as
compared to traders or other professions.
The potential cost of children’s education should be kept in mind at the
beginning of the year. Funding for Eid,
Puja or any other scheduled festival should be given importance in
planning. For this the source of money
must be identified. Health care or
treatment is always neglected. We think
we will understand the situation and take action. But in danger many times that arrangement
does not become. So budget should be
kept in this sector. Besides, there are
some unexpected events or festivals where big expenses come up. So every family needs to create an emergency
fund.

A couple of trips in a year
should be kept in mind to diversify life.
It is necessary to have a list considering the importance of the
essential things of the family, so that he can implement them in stages
according to the list. Planning is not
the essence of life. There is no reason
to think that just by planning everything will go according to plan. But planning will take any work a long
way. Ultimately, the bottom line is,
whether it’s a moment or a year, every moment of the present should be utilized
properly. Shake off Alsemi. Today’s work is not tomorrow’s. Create a mindset of doing today’s work
today. No more time wasted on
negligence. Only then will the future be
beautiful and it will become a once glorious past. Any beautiful dream of the present, any
beautiful plan, any beautiful initiative will be realized and bring a beautiful
future – this is our wish. Happy New
Year-2024 AD. I hope that my
relationship with you will deepen in 2024.

***

Beth Kirkdoffer (USA)

Merry Christmas, I just wanted
to let you know that I really enjoyed your Christmas broadcast last night. It
was one of the nicest ones I have ever heard.

***

Last week we got a message from
our listener in China, Lu Dacheng. Here is what he wrote:

Lu Dacheng from China. I am
Chinese. I am working as a translator of English and Spanish in a trading
company in Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, China.

In this Email, I want to introduce Macao City
of China. Macao is a special region in China. Macao has its own currency and .
The official languages are both Cantonese and Portuguese. It is close to
Guangdong Province in China. It is famous for casinos. It is the biggest
gambling city in the world. So it is one of the richest city in the world. And
there are the most luxury hotels locating here. Macao attracts many tourists,
charming for its food, buidling,firework car racing and performance. I want to
visit Macao City in the next year. I want to enclose some Photos of Macao in
the letter in this email, please check them. Welcome to Macao!

We hope you enjoy your trip to
Maco, Lu. Thanks for the update!

***

Hiroshi Katayama (Japan)
wrote to us at the end of last year, enclosing a reception report and adding
the following:

I cannot listen to your station
every day, but I receive your programs every chance I get.

I used to correspond with
Romanian people, so I am very grateful to be able to learn about the culture of
my home country through your broadcasts.

Among the various programs that
are included in the one-hour broadcast, song of the day is one of my favorites.

It is very rare to have a chance
to listen to Romanian popular music unless it is broadcast from your country.

Thanks, Hiroshi. We really
appreciate it!

***

Teruhiko Kachi (Japan)

I wish you a happy new year.

I look forward to listening to
more great programmes from your station in the New Year

***

Samina Gull (Pakistan)

I hope you all are doing well.
The year 2023 is going and the new year 2024 is coming. I pray to God that the
coming year brings happiness and prosperity to all of you. May you prosper,
flourish and be prosperous in the coming year. Stay healthy and energetic.
Enjoyed your programs in the year 2023. You have presented very good programs.
Hope you will present more interesting and informative programs for us in the
coming year and keep in touch with your listeners like last year. We wish you
all the best for the coming year from all of us club members.

***

Gordon Lyell (USA)

I would like to wish everyone at
RRI a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year and 2024. I also hope the budget
cuts that RRI has had to do on the shortwave broadcast can be resolved since
shortwave is still a very relevant and important means of communication.

***

Noor Al-Noor (Bangladesh)

I am a listener of Radio Romania
lnt. l am listening from many years ago. At present RRI is standing in a good
position. l hope and wish your success will be increasing in future.2024 year will
bring good luck for RRI.

***

Dewan Rafiqul Islam (Bangladesh)

Happy New Year 2024! I know that
this past year has been full of challenges, and I pray that the coming year
brings brighter days. Sending all My love and good wishes.

***

Andrey Novgorodsky (Ukraine)

I would like to congratulate you
on the upcoming winter holidays and the year 2024! May this wonderful time give
you unforgettable emotions and only a joyful, festive mood, and may the coming
New Year be the beginning of new achievements and be filled with exceptionally
happy moments and pleasant impressions!

***

From Italy, Ciro Ciaramella
wrote to convey his Christmas and New Year’s wishes

***

Kraig Krist (USA)

Happy New Year to all at Radio
Romania International! May 2024 bring happiness, health and prosperity.

***

Rob den Boer (Netherlands)

Happy New year to all crew
members of Radio Romania !

I hope you bring me a lot of joy
with good programs like you did last year!

***

Muhammad Aqeel Bashir (India)

I hope this message finds you
well. As we step into the New Year, I wanted to extend my warmest wishes to the
fantastic team at Radio Romania International. Your dedication to delivering
the best programs has truly made a positive impact.

Last year’s programs were
exceptional, and I eagerly anticipate another year filled with quality content.
The journalistic excellence and teamwork demonstrated by your team have
consistently resulted in an internationally acclaimed program.

I would like to express my
gratitude for the informative and engaging programs that not only keep us
updated but also bring Radio Romania International and the world closer
together.

May the New Year bring even more
success and joy to Radio Romania International. Wishing your team continued
achievements and looking forward to another year of outstanding broadcasts.

***

Our thanks to everyone else who
took the time to write, send their greetings and wishes for 2024: Amanat Ullah
Khan (India), Siddhartha Bhattacharjee (India), Chinnaiyan Manickam (India), Karobi
Hazarika (India), Niima Batali (Nigeria), Sandeep Jawale (India), Anand Mohan
Bain (India), Matt Francis (Australia), Chris Malboeuf (Canada), Jayce Gilbert
(Australia), Saiful Islam Thandar (Bangladesh), M.Ganesan (India), Nasir Aziz
(Pakistan), Sakae Onozawa (Japan), Andrew Kuznetsow (Latvia), Gary Paulson
(USA), Madhab Chandra Sagour (India), Amir Jameel (Pakistan), Hazifur Rahman
(India), Najim Uddin (India), Noor Al-Noor (Bangladesh), Jayanta Chakrabarty
(India), Norihiko Ide (Japan), Igor Belevich (Belarus), Christer Brunström
(Sweden), Tomasz Kotas (Poland), Richard Lemke (Canada).

73!

Ø Full name, age, country of origin, profession and other interests (photos are recommended, but remain optional)

Richard Lemke, 59 years, Canada

Ø Listening habits (your DXing background + a list of stations you monitor/listen to)

Radio Prague Int, Radio Slovakia Int, Encore, World of Radio, Radio Havana Cuba,

Voice of Vietnam, Radio New Zealand Int,

Ø Type of DXing equipment used (photos are recommended, but remain optional)

JRC NRD-535 HF, random long wires in the trees,

Ø Associations: DX clubs, federations, organizations, etc.

Canadian International DX Club, World Wide DX Club (Germany)

Ø RRI frequencies used

B – 22, A 23 season,

Ø RRI programmes of interest

Romania Without tears, Cooking Show, DX Mailbag, Listeners letterbox, Sunday Show,

World of Culture, In the spotlight, Names on the cover, All that Jazz, the history show,

Truly Romanian, think greener,

FULL NAME	Jayanta Chakrabarty
AGE	65 years
POSTAL ADDRESS (OPTIONAL)
PROFESSION	Ex-Director in Government Service
OTHER INTERESTS	Travelling, Music, Reading, Collecting stamps and coins and knowing other countries culture and modern economic development.
LISTENING HABITS	Active listener to Short Wave radio and sending contributions on various topics. Reporting as official monitors to KBS World Radio and Radio Taiwan International.
EQUIPMENT USED FOR LISTENING	Transistor radio and computer
ASSOCIATIONS (CLUBS, FEDERATIONS, ETC.)	Active member of SW listeners clubs like Indian DX Club International, Radio France International Listeners Club, Dx-India, Paribar Bandhu SWL Club, Bangladesh Listeners Club, South Asia Radio Club and active listener to Radio Romania International.
RRI FREQUENCIES USED	9850, 11620, 17760, 17790 and 21550 kHz
RRI PROGRAMMES OF INTEREST	Daily News, Current Affairs & Review, In the Spotlight, Leaving Romania, Mailbox, discussions on science & technology, Interviews, Sports Issue, Simply Folk and other Romanian Music programmes.
CONTACT (EMAIL / SWL CALL SIGNS)
OTHER INFORMATION	Sending regular feedback on RRI programmes.
COMMENTS	RRI is one of my favourite international radio stations. Its a pleasure to participate in the Listeners Online Survey. I am glad that it still broadcasts in the SW radio when most leading stations have stopped broadcasting in the SW. As an admirer of the wonderful country of Romania I pay my tribute to its industrious and talented people who have contributed much to the world in various fields of human endeavour. I am truly indebted to RRI in helping me to enhance my knowledge of Romanian history and culture and for keeping me abreast of modern events and development presently occurring in Romania. I have propagated the good news of RRI to many of my friends and acquaintances to tune in to your broadcasts or listen online for gaining entertainment and knowledgei. I hope RRI will continue to entertain, educate and inform listeners like me, in the days ahead with its quality programmes presented by friendly-voiced, efficient hosts. I wish and pray for good health and happiness to all the persevering members of the RRI team. Warm regards from India Jayanta Chakrabartyr

FULL NAME	Sakae Onozawa
AGE	60
PROFESSION	Computer system engineer
OTHER INTERESTS	Climbing, photography, composing, creating computer graphics
LISTENING HABITS	Traditional music and Pop
EQUIPMENT USED FOR LISTENING	Shortwave radio and Internet
ASSOCIATIONS (CLUBS, FEDERATIONS, ETC.)
RRI FREQUENCIES USED	9790 kHz, 7325 kHz
RRI PROGRAMMES OF INTEREST	SONG OF THE DAY, ALL THAT JAZZ, TRULY ROMANIA, SIMPLY FOLK
CONTACT (EMAIL / SWL CALL SIGNS)
OTHER INFORMATION
COMMENTS	I won “RRI Honorary Diploma 5 Years” in August 2015.. I have been sending monthly reception reports since January 2010.

Hello everyone & Merry
Christmas!

This will be the last roundup of
2023. And since apart from regular messages and feedback, we also got a large
number of season’s greetings, well-wishes and messages for the year ahead,
today’s post will be a tad longer than usual.

We were overwhelmed by the large
number of messages, wishing us the best for the year ahead: we are honored and
humbled!

On behalf of the entire staff at
RRI, we’d like to thank you for your continuous support, for your words of
encouragement, for every reception report you invested time and energy in
writing and sending and for being our loyal listeners!

Happy holidays!

Happy New Year!

***

Bidhan Chandra Sanyal (India)

May the twinkling lights of
Christmas fill your heart with joy. I
hope your year is full of happiness and joy.
May you and your family have a merry Christmas.

Best wishes for a happy present,
a well-remembered past, and a bright future.
May you have a merry Christmas and New Year in advance.

May this festive season be
bright, may all your wishes and dreams come true and may you feel this
happiness throughout the year. Merry
Christmas!

May you and your family receive
gifts of happiness from Santa this Christmas, May your days be filled with joy.

Let all the sorrows of your life
fall away like the leaves of Baisakh,

And at the touch of the new, let
the heart be revealed with joy,

Happy New Year friends;

New arrival, new sun,

New light, new dawn

sweet smile mischievous eyes,

As many dreams as your heart

May it be fulfilled in the new
year.

***

Siddhartha Bhattacharjee
(India)

May the good times and treasures
of the present become the golden memories of tomorrow for your lovely family,
just as our childhood memories of holidays past are such happy recollections
now. Wishing you lots of love, joy and happiness. Happy New Year-2024.

HAPPY NEW YEAR -2024 to everyone
of your radio stations.

***

Mark Combs (USA)

Happy holidays. Wishing you a tranquil time of year.

***

Eric Bronner (France)

I wish you a Merry Christmas and
happy new year 2024!

***

Dost Muhammad (Pakistan)
sent us the following message:

I have been a radio listener for
35 years, especially international broadcasts on shortwave.

I came to know about your
frequency from a member of my organization and since then I have been listening
to your programs regularly and also sharing the reception report in my
organization’s WhatsApp group.

Our organization is an
international organization with members from all over the world. Our organization is known as
International Radio Listeners Organisation IRLO and our
organization motto is Radio is not the past, it is the future.

I myself listen to your
broadcasts regularly, but at the same time I urge my friends to listen to them
to benefit from these broadcasts. Ah’s
broadcasts give me a lot of information about the Romanian culture as well as
the current state of affairs. I hope you
will be continue your broadcast in the future.

Thank you, Muhammad, for telling
us more about your organization. It’s a very fitting logo, as public
broadcasters have been gaining increasing visibility in recent years. We’re
very happy you are part of our community.

***

Sanil Deep (India)

Happy, healthy and prosperous
New Year 2024!

***

Paul Capewell (UK)

All the best for the Christmas
and new year period.

***

Teruhiko Kachi (Japan)

I was interested in the Radio
Free Europe journalist Monica Lovinescu’s story which could be heard twice on
this month’s broadcast. Once on The History Show and once on
People and Places. I sometimes used to listen to the programmes of
Radio Free Europe in the 1960’s when I was a high school student. Among them, the Romanian and Polish
broadcasts were heard relatively well, despite heavy jamming. Unfortunately, I could not understand either
language.

Now, I know that she was working
for Radio Free Europe at that time.

In any case, listening to the
programmes I was strongly impressed by her courageous behaviour.

I would like to thank you for
broadcasting these programmes.

***

Malik Allah Bachaya (Pakistan)

Hope you will be fine and I am
fine. I am Regular listener of your Radio programme. As the New Year
approaches, I extend my heartfelt wishes for a year filled with joy,
prosperity, and personal growth. May the upcoming year bring you abundant
opportunities and the strength to overcome any challenges that come your way.

In 2024, may you achieve your
goals and aspirations, reaching new heights in your personal and professional
endeavors. May each day be a step forward towards success and fulfillment.
Embrace the possibilities that the future holds, and may your journey be marked
by meaningful connections and memorable experiences.

May 2024 be a year of resilience
and positivity, where you discover your true potential and unlock new horizons.
May you find inspiration in every moment and courage in the face of
uncertainties. Cherish the relationships that matter, and may they bring you
comfort and support throughout the year.

Here’s to a year of growth,
laughter, and unforgettable moments. May you reflect on your accomplishments
with pride and look forward to a future filled with endless possibilities.
Happy New Year, and may 2024 be your best year yet!

***

John Morris (USA)

Hellooo Fellow
Persons of Planet Earth,

Thanks for sending the eQSL (just
printed it here @ the local library). So-you are most likely even More aware
(than me) of Our very own Sun spewing… electromagnetic KRAP!!! * at us &
thus messin’ with your xmit.s. Lately your signal intended for the east coast
is stronger (more-or-less) than the 0400gmt. In fact, often the 0400 isn’t
there, period! Who knows when the atmosphere will clean itself from the sun’s
diarrhea!

Anyway, I will be viewing Rick
Steve’s dvd 10 New Shows 2017-2018 which includes a visit to your
home country. Plus I’m also gonna check-out (for a second time) Cultures
of the World: Romania, Cavendish Square Press, 2016. Gonna give it a more
thorough look. If you got any book suggestions gimme a shout (You can see what
sno-isle.org has). Being in my mid-70’s & a cold-war survivor
I’m always reading history & paying attention to The Now! So to speak. Any
way, Happy Holidays to you & yours.

***

Alan Holder (UK)

I hope that everyone at your
radio is keeping in good health and no doubt you have already started to
prepare for the arrival of Christmas.
With the beginning of Advent, some people here in the U.K. have already
put up coloured lights and trees in their homes. Others wait until about two weeks before
Christmas. The shops have been selling
Christmas foods, such as puddings, mince pies and cakes already, and many
people have been out and about buying gifts.

Celebrating Christmas in Romania
because of the customs and traditions, is a little different to ours. It is unusual in that children open their
gifts already late December 5 or on the following morning. Carol singing takes place on December 24 as
it does here. When I was younger, we
often had singers call at our house on that day, but in recent years this
tradition is no longer as popular, which is a great pity.

I sure wish I could sample some
of the Romanian foods that are popular over the festive period. I am very fond of eating cakes and I think I
would really enjoy the many different varieties of cakes, sweets and desserts
that are produced especially for the holiday.

Listening to RRI has become
almost a daily routine for me, not only because of the quality of your
programming, but the reception is consistently perfect in my area of the world.

I wish you all a very peaceful,
safe and a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2024.

***

Matt Francis, Australia

With best wishes for the Christmas and New Year holidays to
all the staff at RRI.

***

Thomas Witherspoon (UK)

Have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

***

James O’Brien (UK)

Your English transmissions are still very much as ever an
essential source of news and information that I rely on everyday in order to be
kept up to date with what’s going on in Romania. Bucharest has a lot to
offer that is jammed packed with history along with some incredible
architecture that would appeal to any visitor. The palace of
parliament I find still very eerie, but in a fascinating way, if that
at all makes any sense. Everytime I catch a glimpse of it here in the UK on television
I just stand and stare as I find it so captivating, I think about the time and
cost that went into building it, to equally what had to be removed to make way
for it which saddens me. In the summer months I have enjoyed viewing the
performance of lights that seem to go in sequence at the Bucur fountain in
Piata Unirii while listening to Radio Romania International
in the background, a perfect way to end the day. I wish all your
listeners as well as you all in the English section that make it all happen,
and make it sound so easy even though I know it is not, good health a very
Merry Christmas, and a prosperous new year!

***

Fred Waterer (Canada)

All the best to you
at RRI for a Happy Christmas and a Great 2024!

***

Rob den Boer (Netherlands)

Happy Holidays for all of
you!

***

Gary Readore (USA)

I was listening to
your station programming and really enjoyed it. I think your programs are
very interesting and educational and I like learning about new countries and
cultures.

***

Adrian Micaleff (Malta)

***

Debashis Gope (India)

Happy New Year 2024 to all!

***

Hari Madugula (India)

This is Christmas-the season of
perpetual hope. Christmas is doing a
little something extra for someone.

***

Jayanta Chakrabarty (India)

I would also like to wish all
the wonderful members of the Radio Romania International a Merry Christmas. May
this Festive Season and Holidays bring joy and happiness to all. I also
appreciate RRI Team for the unflinching support you have given towards listeners’
interests with your hard work and perseverance.

As the year comes to an end, I
happily recollect the value of information and entertainment provided by RRI
over the months to its listeners. They are comparable to the best in
international radio broadcasting. I hope you will continue to educate and entertain
us on the various facets of Romania’s vibrant cultural life, its economic &
technological development and socio-political aspects in the coming year. This
is to assure you that I remain an ardent and faithful listener to the
multifaceted RRI programmes.

***

Akiyoshi Teraoka (Japan)

A little early, but here’s a New
Year’s card from me as well!

Have a good New Year’s Eve and
New Year’s Day! Have a great year! Have a good radio life!

***

John Brewer (USA)

Many thanks for all the great
programming and for keeping your station on the air. I really appreciate you
and a very Merry Christmas from a listener friend in North Carolina USA

***

Peter Reuderink (Netherlands)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year!

***

Rafael Gustavo Grajeda Rosado
(Mexico)

Happy holiday’s RRI

Gerard Gorman (UK)

Have a very Happy Christmas and a
great New Year from North Ireland!

***

John Cooper (USA)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year to you also. Your RRI English Shortwave programs continue to be a valuable
resource of information on news, history, and culture in Romania. Keep up the
good work.

***

Lu Dacheng (China)

I feel so happy. 2024 is the
Year of Dragon in China. So Happy 2024 and Dragon’s Year

***

Timothy Marecki (USA)

Please accept my warmest wishes
for a safe and blessed Christmas and New Year!

***

We also got greetings and
well-wishes for the year ahead from Francisco Braccini (Brazil), Lawrence Cohen
(USA), María del Carmen y Jorge Roberto (Cuba), Ciro Ciaramella (Italy),
Mohammad Aslam (India), Dave Thomas (USA), Jon Collins (UK), Roger Young (USA),
Fotios Padazopulos (Greece), Ch Faheem Noor (Pakistan), Tirsa García Rodríguez
(Spain), Mark Elford (Canada), Aldo Solimando (Italy), David Harden (USA), Karyono
Wasmin (Indonesia), Ataur Rahman Ranju (Bangladesh), Chris Malboeuf (Canada),
Dr. Thamminana KR (India), Tony Morilla (Spain), Jayanta Charkabarty (India), Jeurgen
Wagner (Germany), Bijohn Das (India), Joandric Ávila Fernández (Costa Rica),
Frederick Duncan (USA), Radhakrishna Pillai N (India), Soutik Hati (India), Ian
Cameron (Scotland), Lars Wieden (Sweden), John Wright (Australia), Ernest
Dempsey (Pakistan), Arshad Ali Biswas (Bangladesh), Phil Royce (USA), Eric
Bronner (France), Lee Mitchell (USA), Ciro Ciaramella (Italy).

Thank you all!

73!

Greetings. I am Bidhan Chandra Sanyal and have been listening to radio since 1982 . Radio Moscow ,CRI, Radio Veritas Asia, Radio Tehran, etc. have been chosen and awarded as the best radio listeners. Awarded in various radio competitions – Such as Radio Moscow , CRI ,Radio Veritas Asia, Voice of Vietnam, KBS, Radio Taiwan International ,Radio Pyongyang , Radio Japan( NHK) , Bangladesh Betar , Akashbani( All India Radio) etc. Information about me is as follows: —

*Full Name :- Bidhan Chandra Sanyal

* Age :-54 years.

*Country :- India

*Profession :- Teacher

NAME: Syed Azhar Abbas Ain

COUNTRY: Pakistan

OCCUPATION: Oil Resources Searching

INTERESTS AND HOBBIES: Radio listening

LISTENING HABITS:

I’m listening radio from 1980 when I was
only 5 years old. My grand father my father and family listened Interational
radios Udru Pushto Hindi and English language services and discussed after
listening News and other programs. Even they had Television. In my village only
my grand father had a radio. All villagers listened radio together in our big
guest house. I started listening a lot of international radio services in Urdu
Hindi Pashto English services but not Correspondence with every service. But I
missed RRI Urdu Service too.

I’m also active member of IRLO Pakistan.

List Of Stations Monitor/listen

BBC

VOA

CRI

IRIB

TRT World

NHK

RRI

FEEBA

KBS

ABC NEWS

RFI

And many more

Hello everyone!

Another two weeks have passed and before long the Winter Holidays will be
upon us! Preparations are underway across Romania, with local municipalities
lighting up the streets and buildings, shopping centers getting packed on
weekends and traffic being an overall headache J

We’re keeping busy here at the English Department as well – as some of you
have noticed, we have started sending out eQSLs for 2023. Unfortunately, we are
unable to fill in the QSLs with the information this year. Let’s hope our
budget will allow us to print them next year and send them to you the
traditional way.

Meanwhile don’t forget about our traditional end-of-year quiz about the
Personality of the Year 2023. We’ve already received some contributions, but we’re
looking forward to know everyone’s opinion.

https://www.rri.ro/en_gb/personality_of_the_year_2023_on_rri-2694178

Also, don’t forget to check the Listeners’ Corner section for regular
updates.

***

From India, Dr. Thamminana Krushna Rao, who has been closely monitoring the
our DRM frequencies since we operated a number of changes, wrote to us in late
November to say taht signal is strong on 15260
kHz. He annexed the following snapshots:

***

Time now to look at some of the messages, comments, photos and other
materials we received through regular post.

Rumen Pankov (Bulgaria)

Many thanks for your broadcasts
and programmes

Dafydd Jones (USA)

I have been a regular listener
to RRI on SW for some years. Reception is usually good to very good here, but
sometimes affected by atmospheric conditions, of course. The telescopic whip
antenna is usually quite enough. I do not have Internet access at the moment,
but I do like the convenience of just putting on a radio. Your broadcast in
English is nicely varied. It is astonishing how many things you cover in a
single broadcast. Obviously, a lot of thought put into in. Thank you for this.
I wish all at Radio Romania International the best of health.

Grant Skinner (UK)

I thought I would try a
different frequency which was beamed to Europe, which I thought would work but
to no avail. 15180 had no signal, 13750 did try hard but to no avail.

Dablu Anwar (Bangladesh)

I am an old radio friend, my
club is from 1980 and comprises 15 members. I like and enjoy your station. Your
country is very nice.

Jose Luis Bianco (Spain)

Duncan Rosslair (UK)

Excellent signal strength and
overall rating

Chris Malboeuf (Canada)

Dear RRI, hope you’re well. I
send in my report by regular mail as I have been sending in my reports via
email for years since I have been listening to your station. As always, I will
keep writing.

Yoshihiro Toyama (Japan)

Greetings from fall season in
Hamamatsu. Thank you for your return to my letter. I am so happy to get it. I
like your traditional music.

Peter Ng (Malaysia) – sent
reception reports for July, August and October.

David Ansell (UK) – sent
reception report for November.

Raimo Rantanen (Finland) -
sent reception report for October.

Tomasz Kotas (Poland) -
sent reception report for October.

Ricky Hein (USA) – sent
reception report for November.

***

Steven Adler
(USA) also dropped a reception report, adding: I was listening into your
broadcast signal at 23:10 UTC on Sunday 11/26/2023 which was sounding great
from a readability, strength and tone perspective. Thank you for providing this
service to your faithful listeners around the world.

***

From France, out
listener Joe Bauer sent us a report for November 28, adding the following
remark: I always enjoy the RRI broadcasts. Thank you for continuing to
broadcast on shortwave. Thank you for your support too, Joe!

***

One of our
regular listeners from Japan, Norihiko Ide, sent us a monthly report, adding in
the comments section: For this month, in more days, I could not listen to your
program because the signal had been too weak. But this morning, I am happy to
report that the reception condition was not bad and almost stable during the
whole program. I did not know the bilateral relationship between Norway and
Romania has been close until I learned from today’s In the spotlight.
Traveller’s Guide made me visit Maramureș because it sounded like a wonderful
place to appreciate the nature and historical churches in Romania. Take good
care!

We’re happy you
enjoyed our broadcast, Norihiko! Thanks for your constant support!

***

Mohamad Haidir Hasim (Malaysia) wrote to congratulate us on
the National Day of Romania: Just find out that on 01 December is Romanian
National Day of Ziua Marii Uniri to commemorate unification of
Transylvania,Bessarabia and Bukovina into Romanian Kingdom on 1918. I want to
wishing you and all Romanian people Happy National and may the Romania will be
ever lasting until forever

Thank you,
Mohamad! That means a lot!

***

Another monthly
report arrived in early December (always like clockwork) from Halmstad, the hometown of our listener, Christer Brunström, who
writes:

I certainly
hope you had en enjoyable National Day.

After a rainy
and windy autumn here the weather has now changed completely. The past week has
been very cold and yesterday evening we had the first snowfall in our part of the
country. More to the North they have had a lot of snow which as always causes a
lot of problems. We plan to travel to Stockholm next week and hopefully the
weather will have changed for the better by then (I am not a fan of cold or
snowy weather).

With my best
wishes to all of you.

Thank you,
Christer. Winter has shown her teeth in Romania as well – we’ve had the first
significant snowfall in Bucharest this week too.

***

Our listener
from Germany, Karl-Heinz Bradtmoeller, who has closely monitored a number of
RRI frequencies since the start of the B23 season, has sent us a reception
report for late November – early December. All the details in the photo below.

PHOTO

***

A cordial
welcome to the family of RRI listeners to Prof.D.Md.Mostafizur Rahman from
Bangladesh, who sent us his first letter this week. We’re happy you joined our
community!

***

From the USA,
Larry Cohen sent us the following message, in memory of the December 7 1941 Pearl
Harbor attack:

Today is
December 7th, a Day that will Live in Infamy.

My own father,
Edward (1914-2009) was already in the U.S. Army before December 7th and was
scheduled to be discharged. However,
after we declared War on Japan along with the other Axis countries, all
discharges were cancelled and he remained in the Army until his honorable
discharge at the end of the War.

As it happens,
my mother, Ruth (1925-2017) was on her way to a Chanukah Party in 1941 along
with her father (1895-1954) a day which happened to fall on December 7th of
that year in 1941. When they arrived at
the party. my mother said everyone was in shock after hearing the news that
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Her father,
Benjamin, my grandfather, was a U.S. Army Veteran of Foreign Wars having served
in World War One (in the front) and my mother would say that he …was
never the same after that meaning
that he didn’t have much religious faith.
He saw too much she would add.

We must never
forget we are only free because of those that fought in our Wars against the
forces that would end our Democracy.
Given the chance, they, our enemies, would do it again. We must always be vigilant and prepared. We do not want war which is why we must be
prepared for War.

Finally, we must
also be vigilant and prepared for those that would threaten our Democracy from
within. Those forces come in many
shapes, designs, and disguises. However,
they can be even more dangerous, more insidious and more nefarious than the
enemy who comes wearing a uniform.

Thanks for
sharing this with us, Larry!

***

A big thank you to everyone else who took the time to write: James Clark
(USA), Malik Allah Bachaya, H.M. Tarek (Bangladesh), Anika Anne (Bangladesh),
Fariya Khanam Mumu (Bangladesh), Yaara Ahmed (Bangladesh), Jayanta Chakrabarty
(India), Debakamal Hazarika (India), Karobi Hazarika (India), Saleem Akhtar Chadhar
(Pakistan), Chris Malboeuf (Canada), Dave Strong (Canada), Kraig Krist (USA),
Teruhiko Kachi (Japan), Jahangir Alam (Bangladesh), Richard Lemke (Canada),
Alan Gale (UK), Igor Belevich (Belarus), Takashi Ogasawara (Japan), Bernard Grondin
(Reunion), Madhab Chandra Sagour (India), Hans Verner Lollike (Denmark), Rob
den Boer (Netherlands), Siddhartha Bhattacharjee (India), Ch Faheem Noor
(Pakistan), Mikio Kohara (Japan), Bidhan Chandra Sanyal (India), Muhammad Aqeel
Bashir (Pakistan), Andrey Pape (Russia), Liaqat Ali Awan (Pakistan), Ataur
Rahman (Bangladesh), Robin Miller (USA), Richard Woods (UK).

73!