Not the first or the last, but we got rid of the TV by free-cycling it to some needy students.

For some time the TV has been neglected. My partner was purged of any TV habit when we had a long-term guest earlier this year who just couldn’t stop herself watching TV and talking to you at the same time. I’m still rather traumatised myself as at the time one of those obscure Freeview channels was running repeats of Star Trek Voyager which I would watch but I found myself being constantly interrupted from my viewing by the guest. Also I had got into a bad habit of watching the endless repeats of Family Guy and movies like Under Siege & Cliffhanger when I should have either gone to bed or have done something more productive.

The children would only watch the bedtime hour on CBeebies and really it was only for Waybuloo which I have to say I’m rather taken by. In fact I think it’s better than In The Night Garden. Another favorite was Third & Bird.

The living room has been re-arranged and it feels more spacious (well we did have one of those old CRT types). To think that the TV was hardly ever used and was taking up a significant part of the room. And I’m beginning to like the idea of no TV – I’ve already started reading & listening more to the radio.

So now we don’t need a license! As you do, I Googled about TV licences and apart from finding the TV Licencing (TVL) website I found many sites devoted to the ‘guilty until proven innocent’ approach of TVL including sites that claim the BBC to be in league with the EU (European Union) in creating a super state that would rival & exceed the totalitarianism of the old USSR. Seems also that many people holding these views are UKIP sympathisers.

I try to do as much online as possible and I thought that I’d notify TVL of our new TV-less state. Getting to the online declaration part of the site wasn’t straightforward as it is buried in a menu link titled ‘Other TV Licensing topics’ (is that deliberate?). If these sites are anything to go by I might be in line for years of letters threatening legal action stating that to watch TV without a Licence is an offence. But according to the TVL what I can expect is a visit from them and then no contact for three years at which point I’ll need to make another declaration.