Will telly as we know it go by the board? – Helen Martin

REDECORATING our home meant unplugging and removing our TV with all its box connections, wiring and internet connection. That meant even another kitchen TV didn’t work. For four days we had no telly, furniture piled up in the PC study, no laptop and only an old, mini-volume iPad.
Helen was reduced to playing Scrabble as her life went back to the 70s. Picture: Jane BarlowHelen was reduced to playing Scrabble as her life went back to the 70s. Picture: Jane Barlow
Helen was reduced to playing Scrabble as her life went back to the 70s. Picture: Jane Barlow

News came only from a radio or social media. I cooked meals in silence. Missed the shows I liked, the dramas, quizzes, the current interviews and debates. It radically changed being “at home” and took me back to early flats in the 70s when I just didn’t have a TV.

Himself and I figured out we didn’t watch TV on holidays either. We would quaff in the sun and go out for a nice winey dinner, but I’m having an alcohol-free month.

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No, we couldn’t go to the movies because the tradesmen were here in the evening. Eventually we hauled out the Scrabble and board games to make the most of the night.

I phoned my son and moaned – and he laughed his head off. As a kid he watched it, but now a TV to him is an unnecessary piece of kit, a once necessary household object turning into an antique.

The techno generational gap is yawning. Phone calls are being replaced by texts and e-mails, Christmas cards are increasingly digital messages. How long will TVs exist? Will it all come on laptops or virtual reality stuff taking us into Coronation Street and Hollyoaks?

Crucially, will the licence be phased out?

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