No TV for a while

[Wombat]

We've been doing up our place and the TV was inaccessible for a couple of weeks. I was surprised that i missed the braying, rainbow-hued SOB as much as I did. We have a Freeplay radio and I have been using that, and my library is almost set up, but it was a strange feeling not to have it going at night. Mrs Wombat couldn't do without her English football (Soccer). We do sit down together and watch "Wife Swap" on a Saturday night, I like the docos and some of the cartoons as well . We have cable TV but cut down the number of channels we access to reduce costs.

I get "thing" about it being on during the day, there is so much other stuff to do! but that doesn't happen now the other pair have moved out.

Well done Andy, it is good to see you have escaped its evil clutches!

Nev

[Flo]

My kids grew up without a telly - trouble was their mates all came round our house to get away from their telly :D

[sara]

Hello, When we first moved to London we were skint so never watched TV for a year (no licence) we did eventually get a TV licence but I still only watch about 1 programme a day.(gardening,property,DIY programmes being my favourite) My friends think I am mad but it is rather a running joke now that I have never watched big brother ! Good luck , you shall have to tell us what programme makes you crack!

[Andy Hamilton]

I doubt it will be one program that makes me crack rather just an urge to put the telly back on. I'm in the house on my own at the moment and will be until 31st August when Emma gets back will have to see if she puts it on first or if I do in the meantime.

Dave was round earlier and instead of watching telly we went foraging then came back and made rose hip syrup and Sumac-ade and chick pea and rocket humusy pesto thing. Nice.

Was that a first post Sara? Welcome to the forum!

[StripyPixieSocks]

On Friday morning I turned the TV off after watching a little bit of breakfast news. I have not turned it on since, not even watched TV on the net. It is a little bit of struggle when I walk past the TV but the house is tidy, I have spoken to loads of old mates on the phone including one I have not spoken to in over a year and I have rediscovered Radio 4. Going pretty well but being a little hungover I do feel close to cracking.

I moved to London 2 years ago to live with my OH and he didn't have a TV... I thought I'd go mad... now I think it's the best thing I have ever done and often find TV's annoying if they're on in someone else's house!

You soon find things to fill the TV time and infact I don't have enough time to do everything I want and you also find you notice how much people are effected by the media and TV in general... not that anyone will believe it when you point it out though :D

Don't crack... Freecycle the TV and get some hobbies... you will not regret it!

[Andy Hamilton]

Well I cracked tonight. Dave gave me a call to tell me that was a program about Culpepper on BBC 4, I watched that then turned over and watched Mock the Week. Still I turned off the telly after that and by tomorrow at 8 am I would have only watched 1.5 hours of TV in a week. Considering I have been known to watch that amount by 10am I have done a pretty good job so far so I am not going to beat myself up about it.

[Millymollymandy]

Before 10 AM?!!! I did read that at first as 10pm then thought, I watch more than that, then realised you're talking of watching early morning TV! Why not put the radio on instead, then you can just listen whilst you get on with getting up etc. If I'd put TV on in the morning it would probably take me twice as long to get ready because I'd be 'watching' something rather than just listening.

Says she who gets up, gets coffee then surfs the net every morning!

[Andy Hamilton]

The Radio has gone on this morning and all week actually, I think I have weaned myself off early morning TV over this week. It seem to stupify the mind.

[Jobi1canobi]

I'd love to get rid of the TV. I tentatively suggested that we do this to Jybson some time ago...I've left it hanging since then, and I was surprised that he mentioned it to me (as if it was his idea) last week. Excellent.

We've just got to carry it through now but I'm not too worried - we only switch it on if there's something specific on like a documentary that we want to watch, and we always switch off the cable box at the plug to save electricity if the programme is on terrestrial TV.

We often spend evenings just chatting though without switching it on at all - which is nice.

[Rosendula]

I once suggested we get rid of the telly. I said something along the lines of, 'there's never anything good on and if we get rid of it we save loads of money on the license and on electricity'. Richard listened carefully to what I said, thought about it, slept on it, and the very next day arranged for a satellite dish to be installed and subscribed to the biggest, most expensive Sky package.

Several years later, he has finally downsized the package after HE complained that there's never anything good on and if we get rid of it we can save loads of money. We got a new aerial so that we can get Freeview and a decent picture, then he rang Sky to cancel it. To try to win him back, they offered him the basic package for just £3 per month for 3 months. It sounded tempting, but we just don't watch any of the channels in the basic package, and persuaded them instead to give us the kids channels for free until mid-January. I'm happy with that. We're going to record as many of Katie's favourite programmes as we can before it all goes. Although I still don't watch telly much, there are times when putting on Maggie and the Ferocious Beast is the only way I can get the kitchen tidied and the next meal prepared.

[old tree man]

What Jane and i do is make a designated day turn off the telly and play games (steady) its amasing how the art of just sitting down and talking is fun, we play scrabble, cards and we also listen to plays on the radio just last week we listened to geoff waynes war of the worlds i had forgotten how great that album was.

Russ

[Milims]

Reading this thread has just made me realise that apart from a couple of episodes of CSI and a DVD, I don't think I've watched TV for a week! The weather has been so nice over the past couple of days that I've watched sky - the real one! It's been fantastic watching the house martins flying around, watching the colours of the sky change as the sun sets and then seeing the stars. I guess we are lucky here - there isn't any real light pollution so we can see everything. I'd happily get rid of the TV - or at least have it so that we can only use it to watch DVDs/videos - but there's NO WAY I'd get rid of the pooter - I'd miss you all too much!

[LBR]

Congratulations!


I've had bouts of watching television with breaks of several years in between. I watch about an hour a month now, if that. I do watch old videos now and then. I find I'm calmer, get more done, and am much better off without the television. I can't think of any benefit it's brought me, ever. I often think how calm and wise we'd be without all the convolutedness of pop culture tossing about and erupting in our memories, due to tv, radio, films, etc.

[johnM]

Is there anything actually worth while watching between 0830 - 1000 in the morning?

As Annpan has said we (I'm the OH) don't have one but do watch DVDs on the laptop, with that we seem to only have something on that we actually want to watch, instead of the monotonous droning on in the background that seems to go with a TV.

Have a trial without it proper, hide it at friends house.

[Annpan]

Congratulations!


I've had bouts of watching television with breaks of several years in between. I watch about an hour a month now, if that. I do watch old videos now and then. I find I'm calmer, get more done, and am much better off without the television. I can't think of any benefit it's brought me, ever. I often think how calm and wise we'd be without all the convolutedness of pop culture tossing about and erupting in our memories, due to tv, radio, films, etc.

Funny you should mention being calmer... thats how I feel too. I am almost certain that it helps with E (nearly 2) temper and behavior, she is nowhere near as crazy, hyped up, temper tantrum throwing, etc, as any of her wee friends - whose mums can't understand how I can live without CBeebies or the babysitter as they treat it