Kitchen Garden Forum

In another post Monika says that she doesn't have a TV. It's something I've toyed with but the other half likes to watch his horse racing. I don't find much I want to watch except for a few drama series. Can't stand soap operas, don't even watch gardening programmes any more, the news is usually depressing and repeats are interminable.

Why do we have TVs?

MW

Just have a computer - got a choice then!

Westi

Funny, I had exactly this conversation this morning with a colleague. He says he doesn't have a telly "because there's nothing worth watching". I replied with "I don't read any books because there's nothing worth reading". Both statements are specious.

I love telly. If I don't like a programme, though, I turn it off or turn it over. Mid-summer is always something of a slack time. Even so, I caught some gems these last few weeks, even if it meant having to pick my way through some fairly catastrophic tosh. Talking of which, Downton Abbey will be back in the autumn, then everything will be alright with the world.

I do like Downton and I'm hoping for another series of Silks and Vera. Summer is a slack time for good telly as you say. I watched one of those superscrimpers once but it seemed to be full of spending money to save money or wrecking something half decent to make something not decent. There also seem to be a lot of programs telling us how to live longer and not once have I heard them mention 'get an allotment!'

I'm an avid reader and the telly encourages me to try book versions of TV shows. I'm working my way through the Sheltland series by Anne Cleaves at the moment.

MW

I don't think it would bother me hugely if we didn't have TV. Hey, the house would be a lot tidier! But hubby likes to watch it. Or to be more precise...he likes to switch it on then fall asleep in front of it.

Downton Abbey? Oh, it's Magical!! Hubby has learnt to dissapear when that is on. I would miss that for sure.

We've been watching the French drama 'Les Revenants' ......gripping, last one this Sunday !

Mainly a load of rubbish and dust on ours, i will have to dicipline the daily.

I agree - sometimes there's nothing much on that we want to watch - so we just read. Usually we've recorded a few films for just this occasion but, at this time of the year, I'm usually out with the hens or pottering in the garden. I wouldn't miss it (much!) if it broke .

I actually like the TV but it has fond memories of 'being exciting' to me!
Lived out in the bush in Aussie & had no TV reception but once a year had to go to the 'big smoke' with my granny for her eye treatment! We stayed in a little hotel & they had a TV!! I think I was the first in the town to see one actually working! Several families had one - very optimistic!

Once the owners of the hotel took me to a show which I thought was the Mickey Mouse Club (well it was meant to be!) - they weren't there!! Devastated!! (OK I was only about 7!) But got a game given to me!! On reflection the owner must have had some 'connections'!

See the connection - it is a Pavlov's dog thing! Kept that game for years but didn't bring it to the UK with me - it was pretty rubbish - a model thing you stuck paper clothes on a cardboard cut out with a wax pen!

Westi

We used to have a TV until about 20 years ago when the storms brought down the arial and we realised that we had not watched it for some time. So we gave it away to a local charity and told the TV licensing people (still get a letter every two years!). We listen to the radio and CDs and read a lot, I knit, my OH draws and we don't miss the TV at all. Until recently, we could have seen programmes on BBC iPlayer but our ancient computer now no longer does that, either.

The funny thing is that the few times I have seen bits of TV in recent years (in hotels or whilst baby-sitting), I have found it quite intrusive to have unreal people move about in the room, so 'off ' it goes.

I thought they were status symbols these days. The bigger the better.
I am selective (on my small screen)and know where the off button is.

Beryl.

I like my tele. I hate soaps, don't understand hating soaps and loving Downton, I think of it as a soap with access to a big dressing up box. I don't pay for any channels but use a satellite dish as our version of Freeview has hardly any channels and our broadband isn't good enough for TV. I watch lots of documentaries including all the gardening programmes, even though we've been retired for a few years we have a bottle of wine on a Friday night while we rant at Monty. Watch some sport but not much is left that's free but the Tour de France was a real treat. Tonight was Tatton Park, Science Club and Beechgrove Garden - 2 hours is a bit much, often only 1 hour.