From Small Beginnings...
In the great scheme of things it’s quite surprising how quickly some “new” ideas catch on. In the 1950’s there were the cities and towns – well, there still are of course – and villages. The villages of the 1950’s seem to be small towns now with supermarkets and superstores. They are connected by motorway junctions spread out like spiders’ legs or even, octopus tentacles. In effect there is the city with a motorway ring road and all these towns which have become self-supporting as technology, road infrastructure and even the internet - the global highway – marches ever onwards, swallowing up and then spitting out the bits that are no longer required.
Television became the great innovation which caught on in the 1950s. The Queen’s coronation in 1953 spearheaded a huge demand for the box which would sit in the corner of the living room. Wavy lines and crackling sounds were the order of the day. Screen size was much smaller in the day, some twelve inches at the top of the box with the speaker situated underneath. Everyone sat quietly, waiting for this new invention to warm up. Ten minutes later, everyone was still sitting in the same position, before eventually someone made a move and banged the top of the box. Exactly what it was meant to achieve, wasn’t sure, but sometimes it worked. A couple of splutters later and a fuzzy grey picture with the inevitable ghost lines all around every person on screen, and we were in business. The voice didn’t always match the moving mouth, however at that time, no-one particularly cared. A hushed silence came over the occupants watching any programme.
Suddenly the first TV rental companies started to appear. These companies always had the televisions switched on and when a potential customer went in there was always an eager shop assistant to show the most expensive model, although there wasn’t a large choice. At that time it made perfect sense to rent the television. They were always breaking down and repairs were included in the rental cost. The customer was given a payment book, and payment were required every week or fortnight, depending on the size of the rental company and also on how much they felt that they could trust their customer. A deposit had to be paid and the first four weeks rental cost. Once these items had been taken care of, the rental firm arranged delivery of this new box which was set up in the corner of the room. The box was normally polished wood and the homeowner took great pleasure in dusting and polishing this box at least a couple of times every week. How times have changed from the early 1950’s to the present day – a mere 60 years.