A: Let’s start this week’s Letter Box with an email from a young Bulgarian listener Georgi Bancov. 16 year-old Georgi reported listening to our July 20 broadcast from 20:30 to 21:00 UTC on the frequency of 9730 kHz and with a SINPO of 55455.
B: Georgi of Troyan, Lovech State, Bulgaria, said: “I enjoyed the news headlines and it was interesting to learn more about the developments in Vietnam and its relations with other countries. I love the traditional music from Asia, India, China, Vietnam, Japan and it was a real pleasure for me to listen to the beautiful female vocals of your country. Does Voice of Vietnam have a program about Vietnamese sport like football, cricket or athletics? It would be interesting to know about Vietnam’s Olympic delegation.”
A: We are happy to have loyal listeners like you and glad to know there are young people who still love shortwave broadcasting despite the dominance of digital technologies. About your question, we do have programs about Vietnamese sports but unforturnately these programs are broadcast in Vietnamese only. We are more than happy to brief you about the Vietnamese delegation to the London Olympic.
B: Well, The Vietnamese sports delegation of 18 athletes has left for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. This is the frist time Vietnam has ever earned 18 official qualifications for 11 events in swimming, gymnastics, shooting, track-and-field, and weight-lifting. We hope our athletes will bring glory to Vietnam and we wish them the best of luck.

This week we received a letter from Michigan City in the US just 2 days after it was sent. In a letter dated July 23, 2012, Stephen Zolvinski reported listening to us from 02:28 to 02:57 UTC on that day on the frequency of 6175 kHz with a SINPO of all 5s.
B: Stephen, who teaches cultural and anthropology at Indiana University Northwest in Gary, Indiana, said: “I really enjoyed your broadcast and learning about Vietnam. I served at the air bases in Phu Cat and Cam Ranh Bay during the Vietnam War. I came to Hanoi to study the language during my post-graduate studies. I don’t remember the language anymore, but I love to hear its musical quality. It is a beautiful language to hear…”
A: Actually, Stephen, the program you listened to was our June 23 broadcast, which included a memoir called “Family, Friends and Country” of our former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh. We’ll send you a QSL card to verify your report along with our program guide and frequency list.
B: From Fareham, Hampshire, England, our loyal listener Gerry Neumann emailed us again after his one-month trip to Hue city in central Vietnam to teach English as a volunteer. He wrote: “As I was very busy with the teaching work, I was unable to come to Hanoi this time, but I’m already planning a longer stay in Vietnam next year, so I hope to include a trip to Hanoi and also a visit to VOV”. 
A: Gerry reported listening to our July 16 and 18 broadcasts on 9625 kHz at 17:00 UTC with SINPOs of 54444 and 34333. He wrote: “It is difficult for me to pick out any single part of the VOV English broadcasts as my favourite, because they are all so informative and continue to give listeners a very comprehensive picture of Vietnam and its people. With more and more international broadcasters closing their overseas service, it is very welcome that VOV continues to be heard around the world - long may it continue.”
B: Thank you, Gerry, for your close monitoring of our programs. It’s a pity you could not stop by the VOV studio this year, but we’ll meet again for sure next year. Now, let’s take a short break with some music. Then we’ll return with more letters and emails from listeners worldwide.

A ceremony to hoist the Vietnamese flag at the 2012 Olympic London. (Photo: internet)

A:

A song: A lullaby for the nation

A: That was………..We’ll now continue our Letter Box with a letter from Essex, England. In a letter dated June 30, Grant Skimmer said he tuned in to our broadcast at 20:32 UTC on the frequency of 7280 kHz with a SINPO of 25332.
B: Grant said: “I greatly appreciate Radio the Voice of Vietnam Overseas Service’s continued presence on shortwave. So many radio stations have abandoned shortwave, leaving their loyal listeners with no alternative to learn more about their countries. I have learnt a lot by listening to VOV’s Overseas Service. I hope VOV will continue to use shortwave far into the future as I remain your loyal and devoted listener in England.”
A: Thank you, Grant. Of course we’ll send you a QSL card to acknowledge your reports together with cards showing places of interest in Vietnam as you requested.
B: This week seems to be a week of England. The Olympics in London will begin this Friday and we have received a lot of letters and emails from listeners in England. I’m holding a letter from Edwin Southwell of Hants, England.
A: In a letter dated July 10, Edwin reported listening daily to our 17:00 UTC transmission on 9625 kHz. He said: “It is with pleasure that I write to you to let you know I still tune in daily to the English language broadcasts of VOV and take a keen interest in the programming which is well-produced and presented…. Thank you for presenting Vietnam to the world via shortwave radio. Keep up the good work.”
B: Also from England, a nice postcard of Trafalgar square was sent to us by Richard King of Herts, Watford, who urged us to keep broadcasting on shortwave. We are delighted to receive such encouraging comments from our loyal listeners. Thank you all so much.
A: For the first time, Andreas Mueklich of Berlin, Germany, sent us an email and said she listened to our July 18 broadcast from 20:30 to 21:00 UTC on 9730 kHz with a SINPO of 45433. Meanwhile, her fellow countryman Peter Erich Boeck of Offenbach am Main, caught our June 19 broadcast on 12020 kHz from 15:00 to 15:27 UTC from Tanjungm Lounbok, Indonesia where he is spending time with some Indonesian friends.
B: Thank you for listening to us whenever and wherever possible. This week we also received letters and emails from Manikandt Lodaya of Karnataka, India, Bhaikan Hazarika of the Universal DX Club in Assam, India, Ian Cattermole of New Zealand, and Jack Wachterhauser of Australia.
A: Thank you all very much for joining us. We look forward to receiving more comments and suggestions from you. Our contact address is:
The English program,
Overseas Service,
Radio the Voice of Vietnam,
45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam
B: Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn.  Our program is also available on our website at: www.vovworld.vn.