TV OR NOT TV? THAT WAS THE QUESTION

Watching the big TV screen in Brigg Town Football Club's Hawthorns HQ last night got me reflecting on how 'telly' used to be way back to the 1960s when supplier Ernie Taylor thrilled kids by arriving at their homes with a new set.
What did it matter to us the screen was tiny (by today’s standard), that it offered only grainy black and white pictures, and that there were just two stations on offer?
As children, much of our time was spent 'playing out' - and daytime TV was very limited, unless you liked the Woodentops. Mothers were also loathe to have youngsters indoors, under their feet.
We were very easy to please, in terms of viewing. Cartoons like Deputy Dog or Boss/Top Cat, Dixon of Dock Green, Blue Peter, and Saturday night’s late treat – The Avengers and Match of the Day.
There were also programmes made by Anglia TV – then our local station – including Romper Room. No, not some sort of explicit den the housemates on today’s Big Brother programme might like to try out, but a gentle offering for the very young and their mums.
TV reception 40 years ago in the Brigg area was often bad, especially in summer when the sound was interfered with by foreign stations, or so we were led to believe.
Now to return to Ernie Taylor. He had a shop halfway down Wrawby Street, roughly opposite Woolworth's.
His emporium also housed a decent supply of metal Dinky toys - at just the time Corgi was grabbing an increasing share of the market with its slicker models, some of which had turning wheels so you could steer the vehicle.
Ernie served on Brigg Urban District Council for some years, and later became a member of the newly-formed town council.