Where did RUSC get its name?

Have you ever wondered where the RUSC Old Time Radio web site got its name?

Could it possibly stand for Radio United States Corporation? That sounds rather grand, doesn't it? Alas, it isn't anything so pompous sounding and it comes from the other side of the pond altogether. It actually came from the catchphrase of British actress Daphne Oxenford who died at the age of 93.

During the 1950's and 1960's millions of young children from the United Kingdom would regularly tune in to BBC Radio’s popular afternoon show Listen With Mother. 

It was a wholesome mixture of stories, songs and nursery rhymes. Given a choice between Listen with Mother and an hour on their X-Box I'm pretty sure most kids these days would choose the latter rather than the former, but back then British kids would rush to the radio set (or wireless) at the same time every afternoon in order not to miss the show. 

And of course, whilst the boys and girls were listening quietly mother was in the kitchen shelling peas or peeling potatoes to make sure that the evening meal was on the table for when the man of the house returned. Those were the days!

Daphne Oxenford was a storyteller on Listen With Mother for 21 years. As the show began she'd utter those immortal words in her calming voice ... 

“Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.”

She went on to appear in a great many British television programs and was a household name at the time.

Daphne Oxenford, who was born on October 31, 1919 and died on December 21, 2012, aged 93.

So, are you sitting comfortably?

Then... 

Happy listening my friends,