Television? No ta.

I have a rediscovered pleasure in my life.

I was born and bought up in a household who's very existence, by virtue of the fact that my father worked his entire professional life in television, relied upon the great God that stands in the corner of most of our living rooms and provides us with 'entertainment' at the press of a button.

This though, rather than making us slaves to it did the reverse. My parents where all too aware of the clap trap on offer much of the time and so as children our 'viewing allowance' was very limited and the television itself was relegated to a separate room in an attempt to prevent us from becoming 'square eyed'. We were encouraged instead to play, read, talk etc. etc.....and it worked for a time, until of course in my case, I left home and gradually became victim of the great God, soaking up hour after hour of one banality or another.

Latterly I lived in households where the television was 'on' as a matter of course for most of the day doing that infernal 'moving wallpaper' thing, and I like anyone am just as capable of becoming glued to it as the next person. Hell, there was a time I never missed an episode of Coronation Street or Casualty and even now it would take the strength of ten men to forcibly remove me from infront of the machine, should I happen by it at 7.30pm on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday!

Having returned temporarily to my parents house where the TV is still sited 'out of the line of sight' things have changed ...only twice have I actually sat and watched anything (Ok so it was Corrie but I'm only human), instead I have a rediscovered passion for books.

As a child and teenager I always had a book on the go, books were my friends, but as I got more able to access the ease of TV and unable to concentrate against it's background noise I stopped reading almost entirely.

My ability to read fast has diminished for lack of practice but recently, once again, I always have a book close at hand and I have actually read from cover to cover three novels in the last few weeks, rather than get a few pages in a give up.... The Da Vinci code, a Bill Bryson and now a particularly amusing 'beach book'. Ok, so the classics it ain't but you know what.... I don't miss TV one little tiny iota, I am a born again reader and added to that I actually converse with people instead of grunting at them in annoyance for interrupting my trance like state in front of the infernal black box.

Television? No ta!