After The Noise

Everything Is Equal

Saturday 14 March 2026

Del Franklin – Within These Walls, Watton Radio, Friday 8 February (2013)

Saturday night at HQ. Waiting patiently for Match of the Day. Bowie sleeps after another exhausting day of being a dog.

I’ve had a busy day, but in a very different way. A fantastic meal out (thank you, Hawksmoor). Visiting relatives. Plenty of city driving. People not too annoying for a change, mainly because I didn’t let them get to me.

It’s my only day off for the second week running, so I was determined to make the most of it.

Earlier this week, I discovered a heap of my old radio programmes on Mixcloud. I had no idea they were still there.

All apart from one are Within These Walls on Watton Radio.

This particular show is of terrible quality. I’ve no idea why. But it somehow adds to the atmosphere as I sit here sipping a double Glenmorangie with sparkling water and ice.

Listening to this takes me straight back to my youth. Like listening to John Peel under the bedclothes. Only this time it’s me doing the broadcasting and playing fantastic music.

Spiritualized. A Flock of Seagulls. Then a Ride B-side.

This show was very much for myself. The featured album was the “new” My Bloody Valentine record. Considering there were 22 years between album two and three, we still have another decade to wait before the fourth if the pattern holds.

I love the tinny sound of the recording. I find myself critiquing my own broadcasting skills, just as I always did when I was actually on air. I used to listen back for two reasons: the music, and to appraise my own performance.

This was the final radio show I ever presented.

I put a lot of care and love into those programmes. I remember sitting up late at night, or early in the morning before work, compiling the playlists.

There was thought behind it. Links between songs. A sense of purpose.

Tunes I haven’t heard since I last played them on the radio more than a decade ago. Songs I’d completely forgotten about. The White Stripes followed by classic Buzzcocks.

N-Joi – The Void. What a blast from the past. I paid over the odds for The Drumstick EP on CD a few years after it came out.

These shows were an experienced broadcaster let loose with free rein and no pay. A good combination.

Occasionally, but not often, I miss broadcasting. In a weird turn of events, I sometimes compare my current employment to working the desk in a radio studio.

The near ten-minute thrill of Public Image Ltd – Theme (live from Paris In The Spring). Still my favourite live album of all time.

More importantly, Cambridge United won 5–0. Annihilated Gillingham, who, according to my spies attending the match, were lucky to get nil.

A statement of intent. Biggest win of the season.

And a rare thing. A comfortable afternoon.

I missed the entire thing. Not even the commentary. I was seriously considering going as well. Not to be.

A four-point cushion for automatic promotion.

Is the dream actually going to happen?

END OF LISTENING LOG

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