To that it's almost inconceivable now that telly used to go off-air every night

[fishdishwish]

Even though I grew up in an age before 24 hour TV (I'm 38), it seems like a million years ago!

No need for a remote to change channel around ours. We weren't supposed to watch the muck on ITV.

BBC and NHS, cradle to grave.

As the youngest, I the remote control.

We owned a black and white telly but rented a colour one. And we only had two channels in ireland. (Until we forked out for the cable ie British channels in 1985).

I remember watching a Hammer House of Horror film on the BBC horror saturday night thing (used to be shown after MOTD if I remember rightly). The announcer did the usual goodnight announcement, I stood up to turn the TV off and just as I got to the set the announcer went 'Boo'!!!

YANBU and none of you are unreasonable if you are now also thinking things like 'kids today don't know they're born' 'it was so much better in my day' and 'it'll be the ruin of us all'

Warm welcome to the old gimmers club

Preciousbane I was reading somewhere recently (probably mumsnet) that the standing for the national anthem requirement is why people rush out of the cinema as soon as the credits start, as if you hadn't scarpered by the time it came on you'd have to stay for the whole thing

Yep Nancy. They had him, because you'd served your time.

I only ever watched TV to the end in my granny's. She'd switch it off, we'd say the Rosary and then off to bed, where she would read 2 chapters of Catherine Cookson, take a sip of Kali Water and slip into the noisiest, most irratic sleep breathing pattern I have ever experienced. While I lay beside her wondering if she had died if she was silent for more than 5 seconds.

Good days.

I watched TV to the end at my nans too, on a Saturday night we would stay with her, she would fall asleep in her armchair at about 9 and I would watch all sorts of unsuitable films!
The beeps as the tv went off for the night would wake her up and every week, without fail, she would declare "well that was a load of old rubbish and I've seen it before" she never had a clue what I had been watching.

We had a black and white telly rented from Rumbelows til about 1983 (I have no idea if Rumbelows was a north eastern thing or national). We were only really allowed to watch BBC and my mum banned loads of quiz shows (especially Blankety Blank).

Mind you DS1 has just got into Disney Junior after five years of CBeebies and I can't get over it being on all night! I came downstairs last night, switched on the TV and after several minutes realised I'd been doing the ironing while half-watching Henry Hugglemonster.

We had Rumbelows down here in Essex. Did my weeks work experience there in "88.

And the radio times only listed BBC programmes and the TV Times only listed ITV and channel 4. I can't remember anyone who bought both you either watched ITV or you watched BBC.

Nancy, are you my cousin?

radio and tv times finally started printing all channels in 1991.

Does anyone remember when the test card stopped and Ceefax used to start, pages of text of news, football scores and stock prices all night. I used to stay up - a night owl then and a night owl now - and watch it as it went through the pages and then start again. And again...

Dione not unless my nan had children we didn't know about!!

I remember ceefax, it was like a really crap version of the internet! there were games you could play on it and all sorts.

God we really were deprived

Nostalgia fix........

This website has Christmas tv listings and radio/tv times covers going back to 1936.

ukchristmastv.weebly.com/

BOFster - yes, until about 1957 they (well, the BBC at any rate), used to have what was known as the toddlers' truce - a hour or so break in the schedule for kids to be put to bed!

DoTheStrand - I think Rumbelows were national (they sponsored one of the football trophies in the 80s). What did your mum object to about Blankety Blank?

And did we ever find out who won the game of noughts & crosses?!!

Anyone remember Radio Rentals? We didn't buy a telly, we rented one - not entirely sure why, or how that worked, but it was the norm in the 60s/early 70s.

ok so Xmas 1985 was dream telly day - the littlest hobo, mr Ben and telly addicts in the evening, who needs sky and 3 million channels!

It was only ever Christmas you bought both the radio times and the TV Times

oooh xmas '86 ITV had super gran, I loved super gran

There used to be so many rules and regulations! I don't think it was by choice that RT didn't list other channels, it was probably illegal at the time! Only the daily newspapers were allowed to do that, and they could only list that day's programmes, they were not allowed to list future programmes.
I remember when it was deregulated. Suddenly there were these amazing new, cheaper, magazines that listed all 4 channels. We used to get "TV Quick" which was less than half the price of Radio Times.

we used radio rentals to rent a video recorder. it cost £12 a month and I had to beg and beg my parents to get it. couldn't believe it when they agreed!!

Getting the Radio Times and the TV Times at Christmas so we didn't miss any films.

I remember getting a video player with a remote, it was on a little cord. It was also the last video to be booted from our home, it just kept on going until we had no video to play