Reasons for having/not having a TV?

My sister has never had a television at her home in England and was sixty before she had one in her German home. The only problem my sister has is the detector van always rings her doorbell wanting to know where she is hiding the TV set. They seem unable to comprehend that it is possible to live without one.

Same problem! I now just chuck letters from the tv licensing authority in the bin without opening them. I wrote and complained about harassment when they kept sending them and they did stop for a while but they still send them occasionally. They've never sent a detector van anywhere near although, of course, they could.

I've always bought a TV License whenever we've had a set, so I think my history probably looks genuine on their computer system; but last year I did have a visit from the Licensing Authority and happily invited the chap in to come and see for himself - an offer which he declined, and I've not heard anything since.

Baggy, why don't you have a TV?

Too much rubbish on it not worth watching or paying a licence fee for and I like quietness.

a friend of mine did not have a tv and tired of the constant letters from the licensing authorities replied thus " I do not have a tv license for the same reason I do not have a shotgun licence, however if I get any more letters from you I may have to reconsider on the shotgun licence"

I do have a TV and at times am happy to leave it off, preferring to view selectively. About 18 months ago we signed up for Sky after years and years of resisting because I expected a zillion more channels of rubbish but I have been very pleasantly surprised. There are some very interesting programmes and my world has been expanded...I never watch soaps or 'reality' programmes but can always find something of interest... I could do without my TV if necessary but I admit that I would miss it...

Good for you, Mollie. The thing is, with DVDs and iPlayer, you can still watch the good programmes when they are released in those formats but you still don't need a telly. Ideal, I call it.

Baggy, are you my lost twin?
Now and again I find something that piques my interest on iPlayer and choose to watch at a time that suits me. For instance I watched and thoroughly enjoyed 'The Killing' on iPlayer. Did you have a TV when your children were younger?
grandmaagain

GA (grannyactivist — you don't mind, I trust?), yes we did have a telly when the children were pre-school and it was great for their wee programmes. My GS now watches CBeebies too, but my daughter has the telly off most of the day, as I did.

Happy to be GA. My youngest daughter puts Cbeebies on in the mornings for her 16 month old son before he goes to nursery and he loves it. She has three TV sets, but apart for an hour in the mornings she only watches at night when she's alone. (She was widowed last year and needs some distraction. ) Her siblings have all chosen not to have televisions.

When my DH was working away from home a few years ago, I actually found that most of the time in the evenings when DD was in bed there was nothing I wanted to watch more than reading a book, or having one read to me, as it were, on a CD recording while I did some craft work. I've recently finished a patchwork quilt that I started then. It has over 1400 small hexagonal patches, many of them cut from old clothes of mine and the children's. We gave the telly away five years ago and I don't miss it ever. If people ask me if I watched something, I just say no.

One very good reason for having a television set: in two words: David Attenborough.

We have all David Attenborough's programmes on DVD because we want to watch them more than once.

Baggy, I take the point about DVDs and iPlayer but occasionally there is the odd, obscure programme that really hits the spot and those are the ones that won't be shown on iPlayer or released on DVDs...but perhaps I've been brainwashed by the big black box in the corner of the room!!!

mollie, I do understand, but for me the advantages of not having a tv greatly outweigh the disadvantages, so I'm prepared to miss some good stuff for the peace the lack of them, and other noise, affords. If I were living alone, I think I would have a tv.

What about radio? I like Radio4 and would happily listen to it all day. There are so many little gems and it is of course possible not to listen to the interminable trails and adverts; just about. Does anyone remember a series called Just Plain Gardening on Radio4 by the absolutely wonderful Patrick Barlow and company? Now if I could get that on CD I'd be a happy bunny.

Dordor, I'm afraid I'm a quietness freak. I don't have the radio on either. There is just so much noise in the world today that when I'm at home I prefer just to listen to as much quietness as possible. Constant noise, even good stuff such as radio four (I have had periods when I've listened to a fair few programmes, though never all day), seems to set my brain on edge and before long I can't even think straight. Since I live where I can hear birdsong, a hill stream, wind and rain, and for so much of my life those noises have been blotted out, I just want to enjoy them while I can. I suppose I'm contradicting myself a bit here. What I should say is that constant mechanical noise (and I include tv and radio in that) frazzles me.

Baggythecrust you are very sensible to listen to natural sounds if that is what sustains you. I get a few hours of nature hollering and creaking at me every morning in my horse's field (and I love it) but I find it necessary to have something else to listen to in the house or I'm liable to start brooding on things that make me miserable. At which point a good Radio4 programme can distract and delight me. I not a slave to it any more - I could give it up any time . . . . . . . .

Like Baggy I don't usually have music playing (unless I'm actually sitting down with the intention of listening to it) nor do I usually have the radio on in the house, but when I'm driving I listen to Radio 4. My two sons are often plugged in to music on ipods or whatever, but in fairness they are both musical and play instruments and regard listening to music as part of their craft. I often can't think straight when 'background' music is playing. Visiting people who have the TV on all the time is torture for me and was a real nuisance when I was a social worker and had to try to conduct interviews in people's homes. Give me the sounds of nature any day!

Ever since TV came to Scotland when I was 11, I've been hooked on Wimbledon. Those were the days of 'Little Mo' Connolly and our house always seemed to be full of my friends wanting to watch this new phenomenon. So I'll be enjoying Wimbledon for the next two weeks, although I will have to take some breaks to attend to the garden and go to the gym. I am also rather attached to 6 Nations Rugby.

GA, we are definitely twins! I could have written your last with one difference: I'm musical but I still can't think straight if there's background music, possibly because I need to listen to it which requires concentration so I can't focus on something else. I can do several household chores/tasks alongside each other (multi-_doing_), but I can't multi-think, and if there's constant noise coming out of a radio or tv I can't even do chores without finding myself feeling frazzled. It's rather a nuisance really, given how most people don't seem to mind constant background noise, but I know I hear a lot of "little life noises" that most people are totally unaware of, just because I allow my ears and mind to be open to them.

Another 'problem' with being musical is that there's a lot of so-called music out there which I would not class as music. It's just racket.

Baggy

So true,lovely people,the constant unnecessary noise is so distracting.We "gave up" telly about 4years ago.Best thing we ever did!I do love my radio though,but still need to be selective.Classic F.M. is good,so relaxing.