No need to set the video now writes Andy Mitchell

When I was a kid, my Dad was in charge of making sure everything was sorted ahead of our tortuous journey to the most Northern bit of Scotland..(you know, the bits that still read 7 Celsius on the weather map when the rest of the UK is basking in a Sahara drought).

In the old days of course, the argument was whether someone had remembered to set the video for Corrie, or whether we should really be setting it at all and trusting it to get on with it’s job unattended.

My Mother’s received wisdom in those days was to turn ALL the electricity OFF before we locked up and fled Bispham for a week. I’ve never understood why she’d trust the fridge to get on with it whilst we were all out each day, and yet she couldn’t risk the video working normally until Saturday, without setting the place on fire.

Now I find myself having similar worries. I commented to the current Mrs Mitchell that I didn’t want to miss Upstairs Downstairs a particular favourite at the moment on Sunday nights. “It’s not 1979 you know”, came the terse reply...”you can watch on catch up!”

My mind started wandering to those awful days when holidaymakers used have to pack into ‘TV Rooms’ if they didn’t want to miss a favourite show. I’m reminded of Bernard Cribbins’ wonderfully pompous spoon salesman character in Fawlty Towers when he asked if he could “reserve the BBC 2 Channel this evening, for the duration of this televisual feast” Fawlty replying in his usual style “No you may not!”

Thank goodness we’re not tied to the telly like we were all those years ago..and yes there’s the marvel of the BBC iplayer.

So the power will be off, the papers cancelled (sadly not the junk mail), which means we can worry less, and spend more time doing what we all do best on holiday. When holiday time comes... and I hope it’s soon.... I’ll see you in the bar...mine’s a G & T!

By the way, you DID lock the door didn’t you?

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