Radio Victory's wonderful world of wobbly wireless | Rick Jackson

It really did feel like the city had been stripped of its identity in a way when it lost its own radio station, replaced by the larger Ocean Sound, which also broadcast to Southampton and the Isle of Wight on extra transmitters.

Gone was Ted Trafficator and the Wonderful Wobbly Wireless Show to be replaced with a more polished service from Fareham with opt out local shows for Portsmouth and Southampton.

Soon though, Ocean Sound proved to be a success, helped by the fact former Victory favourites Chris Carnegy and Matt Hopper presented on it, but it never had the character of the station it replaced, nor did it find a place in the hearts of local people.

This was the sign of things to come.

Radio station’s broadcasting areas became bigger, with regional licences being issued in the 1990s. This was followed by deregulation, meaning stations could broadcast from anywhere it saw fit, normally outside of the area it broadcasts to.

But do listeners care? I think they do.

The frequencies on which we used to listen to the likes of Ocean Sound and Power FM still exist, but the services on them are very different. They also don’t command the audience figures they used to.

Maybe it’s a business thing, but do these services generate as much revenue as they used to? Maybe costs are saved broadcasting a national service locally thus helping profits?

This is certainly not a bad thing. Radio not only has to compete with TV but now the internet. There are so many ways to listen to music these days, so radio needs to stay relevant and fiscally fit to survive.

I still feel there is a place for excellent local radio though. Having the personal touch, communicating to the heart of a community providing information, fun and music. It’s an old fashioned ideal, but as Radio Victory proved, to keep the identity of our local cities, we need to keep our local media and press.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The perfect solution to those long queues for the ladies

Why doesn’t every handbag contain a she-wee? It seems to me to be the perfect solution when out and about and being caught short.

For we fellas, we just hop into a hedge, but for the ladies it’s a bit more difficult. Crouching down, risking a stung bottom on a nettle isn’t much fun. Then there is the unpredictability of direction! With a she-wee, that’s taken care of. Stand in the hedge next to your fella.

I’ve even known friends who have discovered the gents to be empty and gone in there and used the urinals.

If every handbag had one, maybe urinals could be fitted to female toilets. That would sort out those mega-long queues. Now I know what to get my wife for her birthday.

Poach your marriage back to life by getting... a hot tub!

Sarah and I just celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary. Marriage is a marathon not a sprint, I’ve been told.

What’s never mentioned is how the route of that marathon constantly changes! I’d say we’re at that tricky stage. We have two young kids. Tthey are our focus, they are what we talk about. They dominate our lives. They also cause friction. Our relationship is not about us, it’s about what the kids need, not what we need.

Can I recommend a hot tub? We’ve reconnected thanks to it. Going to bed early, just after the kids went, meant we didn’t spend much quality time together. Now, we have lovely long chats while poaching in 40C!