We’ve all got different ‘triggers’ for when ‘Christmas’ officially begins — for many, the first reminder is when the Supermarkets start displaying their Christmas lines! But that’s obscenely early, so how about… …your first Christmas lunch? …maybe it’s when the John Lewis Christmas Ad appears? …or receiving your first Christmas Card? For TV lovers, it’s probably when the BBC Christmas ident is seen for the very first time, and they start promoting their festive offerings!
For me though, it’s when the Christmas double-issue Radio Times and TV Times first go on sale. Normally it’s around the second week in December, although in recent years, that’s varied a bit. This year, normality returned, and I picked ours up right on cue at the local Tesco’s on the 8th! 😁
I think my love of these two fine magazines is a throwback to my childhood, when Dad used to bring them home after finishing work for Christmas. As a family, we loved Christmas TV (first, in black & white, then colour, just three channels, then four, then five – then hundreds!) Initially, there was no remote control, so Dad’s choice normally ‘won’. To add to the fun, in those days, there was frequent positioning and re-positioning of the aerial to ensure the best pic! 😂
With the magazines taking pride of place in the lounge, our first job back then was to frantically search through the schedules, taking it in turns to circle our favourite programmes.
It’s much the same now — except we use a highlighter pen or just go online… or just check our phones!!! What progress ehh!? Or maybe not! 😮
The ‘Double Issue’ Covers 2019
292 pages/£4.95 (Same page count, +5p price increase compared to 2018)196 pages/£4.00 (Same page count, +25p increase compared to 2018)
These days, both publications are massive (page count wise) mainly because they both list (more-or-less) the same information. Why’s that? Well, for younger readers here, back in the stone-age (up until 1990?) RT listed only the BBC stuff (including the radio) whilst TVT covered the commercial channels. Fast forward to the satellite age that we live in today, and you have both publications running into hundreds of pages. 😮
So, just like back-in-the-day, all that’s left to do now is to plough through them both, highlighter pen at the ready, and our Christmas TV preparations are sorted!
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!
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