Cliff Ton 10,488 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 We were didn't have a television at home until around 1967/68. My mum and dad always said "it's a waste of time and money, nothing worth watching, no point in having one, load of rubbish". By then everyone else I knew had one, so having no tv was a bit like being a social freak. Other kids I knew at the time couldn't understand the concept of "not having a telly"; how did we cope? what did we do? The other thing that seems amazing now is that back then there were only two channels ITV and BBC; BBC2 started in 1964 but very few people had a set capable of receiving it. When we finally did get one, it was an early 625-line model; one which could get BBC2, so we went from having no television to having better than anyone else I knew at the time. But it was only black and white (although colour was available then). and we didn't have our first colour set until the late 1970s. And no remote controllers then either; you had to press buttons. And nobody owned televisions, you always rented them. Our first was with "Rentaset". Great name. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hippo girl 1,995 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 My mum and dad rented one in 1959 .....can remember Popeye being the first programme .... I didn't have one until my eldest son was eight or nine,......I now have a second hand twenty five year old BANG and O, which I very rarely watch..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
.... 23 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 My parents bought their first TV back in the fifties before I was born so I don't ever remember a time without one. Renting a TV was something they never did, they always bought one. We had BBC2 and colour around the same time that everyone else in the area did. I remember it being novel when we had a new aerial, placed in a different direction and could get Anglia, and sometimes Yorkshire TV. Extra channels! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
StephenFord 866 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 My parents bowed to the inevitable in 1960 - a Sobel, also from Rentaset. But my uncle and aunt already had a set by the time of the coronation in 1953, and I seem to remember they had a thing that fitted over the screen and gave some sort of colour impression - but I might be wrong about this - I was only 4 at the time, and not over impressed with all the pageantry etc! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mgread1200 141 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Early to mid fifties for the first one in Radford, could only get BBC with the "H" ariel could'nt afford the "X" as well. then in Clifton we rented rediffusion with the wall switch for TV and radio. first colour set was when me and the wife lived in the granny flats in Clifton around 71/72 that was rented "Vistavision". When you look at the lightweight flatscreens now its amazing how the technology has changed since the fifties Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Mid 50's when my parents rented a TV, just BBC1 back then, then along came ITV and they went Redifusion. Of course when BBC2 came along we had the sound but a screwed up picture, they eventually paid out for the extra. I remember when colour came on the scene, mate of mine was a radio and tv engineer, he invited me around to the shop as they had one on the bench. Early colour sets had a nasty habit of overheating and catching fire, that was soon sorted, but the sets were very expensive at first! I had my first colour set around 1973 when we were moved from the Meadows under the reconstruction program to Clifton. That set was on HP. Contract was cancelled when we moved to North Yorks as the store didn't have an agent up there... As someone said, we kept fit jumping up to change channels, those old rotary tuners could be a pain......LOL Bigger those old sets grew the heavier they got too!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
piggy and babs 544 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 i think we had our first tv in about 1958\59 it was rented and had a meter on the back 2 bob or half crown for so many hours the man came to emty it took out the rental and amy extra you got back i surpose rental would have been about 10 bob a week and i think the first programs i remember on our own tv were childrens programs like blue peter and whatch with mother, the first program i remember seeing on nieghbors tv was the carol levis talent show in about 1956 when my sister was on the show only one tv on the terrace then every one piledin there living room to wathch it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Booth 7,364 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 This is a photo of my Dad in 1957. I can't remember when we first had a television but the photo shows how big and heavy the TV and radio (below the TV) were in those days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paulus 541 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Early 60's for our first TV, just after we moved from 21 Minver Crescent to 458 Aspley lane (posh double lol) so of couse we had to have a telly, Rediffusion complete with Bakelite wall switch................. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Compo 10,328 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Ours must have been about '57. It was always breaking down and I rememebr teh TV repair man used to come out and swap a few valves around to make it work again. Eventually, it was replaced by a new (almost certainly HP) set a KB queen Deluxe. The valve changer didn't have to come out so often after that. Horizontal and vertical holds................... ARRRRRGH! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mudgie49 401 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Around 56/57,just the one channel. I do remember TV sets in the 60s, becoming like an item of furniture,rolling shutters,or folding doors to cover the screen and photo's in frames, and a potted plant or a vase of flowers on the top. Did anyone consider water dripping into the back of the 'telly'? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 When I saw this thread I immediately remembered this screen image Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Compo 10,328 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Share Posted July 9, 2012 Water in the telly was a common cause of breakdown. There were two aerials: an H or an X for BBC and a multi element horizontal for ITV. BBC X and ITV aerials A nice TV set A tw*t that went on his roof to play at aerial riggers with his stupid arm bird: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,488 Posted July 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 i think we had our first tv in about 1958\59 it was rented and had a meter on the back 2 bob or half crown for so many hours the man came to emty it took out the rental and any extra you got back I'd forgotten about those. We never had one but I knew people who did. The meter always ran out at the wrong time and everybody was suddenly running round like idiots trying to find the money because they were missing the programme. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
.... 23 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 A tw*t that went on his roof to play at aerial riggers with his stupid arm bird: A shame then the bird was a flightless one... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mudgie49 401 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Never had a meter on the back of the 'telly',but we did panic looking for a 'bob' to put in the electric meter, "Those good old days". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
katyjay 5,091 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Our first telly was from Reddifusion around 1957. I remember as a kid looking at folks' aerials on their chimney, I'm pretty sure the BBC was the X, and if someone added the H, you'd think ooooh, they've got ITV. Reddifusion was good in that we also got the wireless channels too, all of them, which didn't add up to many! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bubblewrap 3,815 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Got ours about 1960/61 it all shut down at 10.30pm & there were "interludes" between programmes.( Remember the potter & his wheel?) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,488 Posted July 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 An interesting list of what was available back then.......... http://www.screenonl...1302/index.html 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 They missed Lassie, Cannonball and Highway Patrol, plus The Lone Ranger.....LOL Quote Link to post Share on other sites
loppylugs 8,429 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 Got ours around 1956/57 from Wigfalls rental. Wiggy's super service as the tech used to call it. He was quite a frequent visitor. Ultra 14 inch set. Seem to remember first program I ever saw on it was the Cisco Kid. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ayupmeducks 1,730 Posted July 10, 2012 Report Share Posted July 10, 2012 I "got up" my Ex for putting vases of flowers on the tops of TV's, some folks just don't think, and that's when we had two young kids running around the house........... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mick2me 3,033 Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 I remember as a kid a vase of flower water knocked over on top of the telly. No Flintstones for a while after that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bubblewrap 3,815 Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 No Flintstones............................ more Fireman Sam? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Booth 7,364 Posted July 11, 2012 Report Share Posted July 11, 2012 Cliff Ton's post (#19) brought back lots of memories as I looked down the list of old TV programmes. I can envisage Captain Dan Tempest in 'The Buccaneers' as though it was yesterday. I also remember 'Oh Boy!' with Billy Fury, Cliff Richard and Marty Wilde and the the American stars who appeared on the show. Strange how we never bothered about the screaming girls in those days as they added to the atmosphere. Quatermass would scare you to death but you could never wait for the next episode. So many great programmes on the list and so many memories. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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