READING the letter from Barbara Woodley (Letters, September 6) about a disabled man who enjoyed listening to his favourite music programmes on the radio took me back to my days in the Merchant Navy.
A great favourite, among we Jolly Jacks, was the overseas service of the BBC, with one programme, The Merchant Navy Programme, being a huge favourite on Saturdays as an announcer would read out that day’s football results.
Our ship, SS Maskeliya, had a communal aerial to enable us to listen to the BBC etc on our radios.
A slight drawback with this communal aerial was the fact that, should you be listening on a particular wavelength and someone was tuning their radio into the same wavelength an unearthly yowl would emanate from your radio as they crossed your wavelength until they had tuned their radio in successfully.
I hatched a fiendish plan.
I knew that Everton were the favourite team of Jim the electrician and they would be playing Liverpool, the favourite of Pete the second steward.
Came the announcement “Liverpool 2, Everton yowl”, as I violently twisted the tuning knob on my radio.
I heard the yowl from Jim’s radio followed by a scream of anguish.
Very shortly afterwards there was a knocking on my cabin door.
I rapidly realised that football was not a simple game but verged on being a religion so, in true Tyke form, I said nowt.
Philip Roe, Roman Avenue South, Stamford Bridge
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