A TDK D C90 dropped into the cassette recorder, press play, a clunk, a whirr, the dry sound of the tape, the meters on the PC bounce and the I've started transferring the first of the cassettes.  The hiss in the headphones gets slightly louder and we're asked the question we've heard so many times. "Do you ever have difficulty finding a radio station playing music? Oh yeah. Well here's a tip: Tune to Thameside Radio 90.2 Megaherz VHF"

Sounds OK. A bit muffled but it still makes me smile.

So here it is: Vintage 1981 Thameside Radio 90.2 VHF. 120 cassettes worth. Week by week, show by show.  Now available as a podcast for download to your 21st century iPod.

What were you doing on Sunday nights in the early 1980s?

For those of you with kids: You do realise that they are now the same age you were then? Are they listening to pirate radio while doing their homework?