About three months ago, I was on a call with my friend Amy, and another friend, Emma. After our usual catch-ups, Amy told us that she was thinking of buying a new radio. She’d done the research, compared reviews and had selected an old-timey model that had Bluetooth and a speaker built into it. Amy, a textile designer, is the friend that I trust completely when it comes to taste-based decisions, so it was only natural that by the end of our call, both Emma and I had followed Amy’s lead and bought the same radio as her: a Roberts Revival RD70. I bought in Leaf Green, Amy in Charcoal Grey, and Emma in Pastel Cream.
I don’t usually spend over £150 whilst still on the phone to my mates. But working from home has meant that I’ve been quite lonely. I’m not a big fan of the quiet at the best of times – and I missed chatting to colleagues about clients or the latest celeb news. At my desk in my bedroom, I found that headphones closed me off too much from my surroundings, and having the TV on was too distracting (I always find myself watching what’s on, instead of working). I needed something in between the two. I needed Amy’s radio.
When the radio arrived, I knew my trust in Amy had paid off. It was utterly gorgeous. The soft matte green complimented the (subconscious) green theme I’ve got going on in my room. And the gold hardware even matches my favourite vase my mum gave me, which it now proudly sits next to.
As for the sound quality – it’s incomparable. I could be downstairs making my morning brew, and I’d still be able to hear the clear, and very distinguishable, sounds of Radio 1 coming all the way from my upstairs room. I can turn the radio on with one button or connect it to my Spotify with Bluetooth and use it as a speaker. You can have it either plugged in at the wall, or, with four AA batteries, it becomes portable. It even has a foldable handle, so that clumsy people like me don’t just drop it down the stairs.
But, most important, the radio makes my working day a little less lonely. It sits on my chest of drawers like a co-worker, and keeps me company in a noninvasive way, from 9 in the morning to 5 in the evening. I start my day with Radio 1, and then move on to catching up with The High Low and Aurelia podcasts on Spotify after lunch. Normally I like working alone, but with the lack of office interactions, I’d forgotten how nice it is to have another voice around. And unlike a busy office, I can just turn my radio off when I need to concentrate.
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