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Trials of TV

The phrase, “It’s a simple job; it’ll only take a minute” must surely ring alarm bells with any householder. Perhaps the phrase has been cursed by some long-forgotten sorcerer with a grudge against DIY. Employ this phrase, and you are bound to invoke some form of calamity.

We decided to swap the downstairs furniture around, which also involved moving the TV from one corner to another. It all sounded so simple. However, in doing so we managed to “zap” the TV and wipe its memory. Could we retune it? No! We could get Sky 3 perfectly, but all other stations were half-hidden behind a dense snow-storm effect.

When we originally bought this TV, we tried to tune it in for an entire weekend. In the interests of P&Q (Peace and Quiet), I called out a local technician, a young guy who’s made a business from setting up other people’s electronic stuff – TVs, hi-fi, digi boxes, DVDs etc. So I called him again and, as before, he had everything running smoothly in ten minutes flat.

He also updated our digi box. Did you know that every six months or so, you’re supposed to update the software otherwise they’ll eventually stop working? This was the first we’d heard of it. I wonder how many people have thrown out digi boxes thinking they’re defective, when all they needed to do was press a few buttons.

If it was left to me, I’d be without a TV anyway. I went for seven or eight years without one, before Richard and I met. He enjoys watching films and concerts on DVD, though, and there are a few programs that he loves, like Dr Who, Torchwood and Top Gear.

I find TV gets in the way. Sitting still, while staring at a screen for hours, bores me. I don’t want to view the same films, even films I particularly like, over and over. I usually read – or design teddy bears! – while the tedious contraption is churning out its mind-numbing noise. Or I’ll be roped into a game of tug-o-war with the dogs. The rubber duck lost its head recently. The body went one way with Ygraine, the head went the other way with Emily, both dogs tumbling backwards in a heap. Much more fun…!

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