If I were interested in the history of the wireless

I’d  make the effort to visit the Orkney Wireless Museum.
I’d marvel at the early crystal sets and cats’ whiskers
and admire the styling of the radios from the 1930s.

I’d applaud  the early ones made from Bakelite 
and laugh aloud at the novelty transistor radios
saved for posterity from the 1960s. 

If I were interested,  I’d  look in awe 
at the WW2 radio-in-a-suitcase and the one 
from the cockpit of a Spitfire aeroplane.

Oh, I love the radio, I listen almost every day,  
BBC’s radio 4 is my very favourite station. 
But I honestly can’t say I’ve ever have the yen, 

when visiting Kirkwall to see the sights 
or  go Tesco and and the butchers shop,
to spend any time at all in the OWM.

Tonnie Richmond has, since she retired from working in Local Government, spent her time either doing archeology in Orkney or writing poems. As the digging gets harder, she finds writing a slightly easier choice. She has had several poems published and is currently working on a collection of poems about Orkney.