Ever since I was about 4 years old, Television has always held a fascination for me - not just the programmes of course, but also the less obvious aspects described on this website: two of the earliest images which stuck in my mind were the BBC Schools Pie Chart (and the one-handed clock which immediately followed it) and the ITA tuning signal now known as the ‘Picasso’ - both based around large circles. I wonder if a psychologist would make anything of this?
Anyway, from then on, I made every effort not just to watch interesting-seeming programmes, but also to watch (and listen to - the music often had an impact too) those fascinating bits before and after. I would soon be mentally noting the differences in style not only between the BBC and Independent Television, but also between the two Independent stations receivable in my location, Yorkshire and ATV.
Schools programmes were a particular area of fascination (my mother tells me that I learned a lot from these, including how to read) - and the ‘closedown’ times were also an area of intrigue. The testcards were often accompanied by music which, while neither recognisably classical or pop, was always entertaining, possibly more so because of its mystery - not to mention that there may be an undiscovered, unlisted gem just around the corner, such as Transmitter Service Information or a Colour Test Film. Of course, the period of about five minutes before the first programme on Yorkshire or ATV were also essential, but a wealth of material has already been written (not least on this site) about this particular subject, so I’ll say no more there.
This fascination was to remain with me over many years - even though no one else in the world seemed to share it: my peers’ interest in television didn’t seem to extend beyond the programmes, and there seemed to be very little if any information available about the subject. Rather than diminishing my interest, this just seemed to fuel it - an unnatural amount of my time during school holidays was spent in front of the box - especially during half terms when schools programmes carried on!
Holidays to faraway places also held out the promise of new delights from alternative regions - in between breakfast and about 9.30am, I could often be found in the hotel TV room checking out the local ITV start-up. Lasting favourites include Thames, which could be seen during weekdays in North Kent - although for a very long time I was puzzled that a London station would start the day with a tune which to me invoked images of rolling countryside - at the time, of course, I wasn’t aware of the history.
Predictably, as the years went on, my interest in this sort of thing waned - although even at 16 years old, I could still be emotionally impacted by a newsflash at around 6.00pm one Sunday evening, 28th December 1980, announcing that the days of ATV were numbered, and even as the years went on I found myself seeking out pre-1969 programmes in the hope of, just maybe, catching an old ident. However, I still believed that I was probably the only person around interested in that sort of thing.
Until one night late in 1998, when I happened to pick up a magazine which mentioned a website with lots of bits about old TV. A website called The Meldrum Home Page. Intrigued, I typed in the address, and was amazed to find that right there in front of me - on this site, and many others like it, linked therefrom - were many of the images which had so fascinated me all those years ago, vast amounts of audio and video files of material I thought I’d never see again, and to top it all, an amazing amount of historical information behind them (even down to the names of those long-unidentified but still instantly familiar tunes).
Obviously, others had not only shared my fascination but had made the effort to preserve all of this material so that future generations could appreciate it - something soon confirmed when I read Kif’s Story and realised that not only was I not alone, but that there was a whole organisation out there dedicated to the study and preservation of what so many didn’t even seem to notice, or want to know about. Soon after, I discovered the MHPchat mailing list and was able not only to learn more, but to share my own knowledge and experience with others too.
So thanks to all at MHP, Transdiffusion and the rest of the on-line TV Presentation Community - and to anyone reading this now, isn’t it good to know you’re not alone?
