Our English Adventure #5

One of the things that stands out particularly in my memory of the voyage and our first few days in Blighty was seeing a television set for the first time. Back home I think it was considered an unnecessary evil because we only got the gogglebox in SA in 1976 (19 years after Mongolia) and even then Dad waited a few years before succumbing. As the ship came within range of television reception (I suspect it must have been once we had cleared the tempestuous Bay of Biscay), a set appeared in the lounge and passengers could look at a rather poor black-and-white picture to acclimatise to in-home entertainment.

We watched again during our brief stay in the two hotels in Plymouth (Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men comes to mind). Although the house in Brandreth Rd was fully furnished (apart from heaters), we had to hire a TV and it wasn't long before we were rushing home to watch Blue Peter, Dr Who and Tales from Europe. I was so frightened of the Daleks (who wasn't?) and we used to play games where we would glide about silently pointing one arm in front of us and when we spotted an 'enemy' we would intone "I am a Dalek! I will exterminate you!" Scary stuff!

Tales from Europe I found particularly traumatic and I have never recovered from the series where the dwarf (poor man had been cast as a troll) lived under a ruined bridge. It has taken many years to get over that phobia. One forgets how impressionable children can be.

Although we probably spent a good deal of time in front of the gogglebox, which I attribute to the poor weather, I can't say I look too enchanted in the photo of us below!