Dead air
A room holding its breath. Kept in the archive on purpose.
The pips
Six time signals at the top of the drama hour. Five at 1000 Hz, one at 1500.
Live to wire
One session, one take. Corrections appended as letters, never edits.
The bench
The effects department: 1,400 props and Desmond.
Skip
After dark, AM signals travel far. Our midnight window to Iceland.
Lacquer
The discs. 42,000 of them. Ned counts them in his sleep.
Fog district
The part of the Reach where The Midnight Exchange happens. Also most of it.
Wool weather
Fog thick enough to knit, per Tide Tables.
Gullwrack Mean Time
UTC, or a state of mind, depending on the fog.
The stair
1908 fabric, F sharp, walked at full weight by policy.
Half tide
When the drowned bell rings. Allegedly.
Continuity
The announcements between programmes. Marguerite Ozan, since 1989.
Letters desk
Where the fiction receives real enthusiasm. PO Box 1948.
First Nights
Tuesdays at 9:30. The unsolicited pile, read aloud.
The kettle
Goes on at ten. Non-negotiable. Has outlasted three boards.
Relay
A rebroadcasting post up the coast. Four of them, plus the Net.
The Net
Inland farms relay on 91.7 FM. Named for the nets, not the internet.
After hours
The dark theme of this site, and the studio's natural state.
Crystal set
The free membership tier, named for the first receivers.
The Old Light
The lighthouse. De-lamped 1948, wired for drama.
Tide order
How archive requests are answered. The sea queues, so we queue.
On-air lamp
Burns from first pips to last. Red, because tradition.
Call letters
None. The board never chose any and now it is too late.
Encore
The Wednesday repeat. Same take, fresher fog.