6 ms·

As a child in the 80s I remember my family being scared of this van even though it probably never existed. Because of this my mum got a pay TV instead which we

As a child in the 80s I remember my family being scared of this van even though it probably never existed. Because of this my mum got a pay TV instead which we had to put 50p coins in periodically that paid for both the TV rental and the license fee.

exhilaration 7y ago
You had a coin-operated TV...? At home...? Did someone come regularly to collect the coins? I'm genuinely fascinated by this.
- scandox 7y ago
  I still know people in Dublin that have coin operated electricity, though I think nearly all of them have been moved to card based systems.
  - radicalbyte 7y ago
    They had that in the mainland too. It was something which was forced on poor people and resulted in electricity prices considerably higher than they otherwise would have been. My grandparents were forced to have one. My late grandfather had PTSD from fighting in WWII and could basically never hold down a job or make a good financial decision.
  - JackFr 7y ago
    I've been to campsites where the showers are free, but the hot water requires coins. You really want to get your money's worth, but the fear of being lathered up and it going straight cold motivates you to be quick.
- Balgair 7y ago
  I also remember the coin operated tellys. Yes, every 6 months or there abouts the coiny-telly man would come about to collect the coins. It was a real hassle, as you had to be at your flat all that day. Otherwise, the coiny-telly man would just pass you up. Thing was, the little bin that the coins fell into would fill up every 9 months or so. So, if the coiny-telly man passed you up, you'd have to ration when you could watch TV. I remember the first time my mum made this mistake and the bin got filled. My pa was so angry that he didn't get to watch Emmerdale Farm and Whizz-Bizz that night as no more would fit in the machine. Well, we never made that mistake again.
  - gambiting 7y ago
    I honestly can't tell if this is satire or not.
    - celticninja 7y ago
      It sounds a bit four Yorkshire men but these TVs and this service did exist.
    - dylan604 7y ago
      Black Mirror is amazing because of this. I absolutely love British humor or is it humour?
    - soneil 7y ago
      I've never seen a coin-op TV, but "back when I were a lad" we had electricity on the same principle. IIRC (and this is dark & distant memory) it started off coin-op and transitioned to cards you had to buy from local stores.
    - coldtea 7y ago
      Not sure about emptying them, but the TVs with coin slots where a thing in the UK: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/methode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fe1b0e302-960e-11e6-9cf8-8194c22ea509.jpg?crop=1470%2C827%2C15%2C8&resize=685 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/methode%2Ftimes... Not for the BBC license though: it was when TVs where expensive (in the 60s and 70s) and so some people could just rent one. Probably sounds alien to US people, but UK was much poorer country, especially in workers areas...
      - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
        They were originally a US innovation that were imported and duplicated in the UK! See my sibling link. First thought of by the US International Telemeter Corporation in the late 40s or very early 50s.
      - nmstoker 7y ago
        You're right to highlight the point about the UK's former lack of wealth (as it's not obvious), but I was amused by the reference to "workers areas" - presumably "working class areas" as people have worked in pretty much all populated areas of the country since time immemorial.
Bluecobra 7y ago
Wow, I never heard of this before. I found the following article and it was an interesting read: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2010/oct/30/pay-as-you-view-debts https://www.theguardian.com/money/2010/oct/30/pay-as-you-vie...
Theodores 7y ago
The Thatcher years were harsh. I imagine you also had free school meals as your main meal of the day. The TV rental business was very much like mobile phone contracts. For this reason I am not one of those people that buys a mobile phone on contract with the 'upgrade' every two years. The 'contract' your family were on for the TV was 'pay as you go' and I shudder to think how often your family could have paid for the TV, probably ten times over! The fear of the TV detector van kept people tuned in to what important stuff was being disseminated on the state broadcaster that pretends to be independent. Sure there were home computers, VHS/Betamax and 'the wireless' back then but screen based entertainment was limited. The TV had four channels (if you were lucky), so that meant news every night about the latest Cold War tensions, the misery of the Miner's Strike, the joy of the Poll Tax riots, the obsession with inflation, the latest dole figures, what privatisation was being flogged, 'Protect and Survive' and messages about how heroin screws you up. Remember there was no such thing as society, you just had to hide behind your door and rely on the 'neighbourhood watch' signs for security. Crime really was a thing then, burglary a fear far worse than it should have been. The BBC very much reflected this but we remember 'Life on Earth' and tell ourselves how wonderful the BBC was. Icing on the cake for this miserable era was the actual BBC. Radio 1 was 'Smashy and nicey' DJs that were quite depressing and BBC children's programming had presenters that have invariably been prosecuted in recent years for child abuse related offences. But at least we had a national conversation. Remember 'who shot JR?'. Nowadays people would be saving the box set to watch later so you can't have this shared conversation, if anything it is anything but.
- tangental 7y ago
  > Remember 'who shot JR?' All was revealed by Father Ted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq4_c-_r0K4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq4_c-_r0K4
- repolfx 7y ago
  The Thatcher years were harsh That's not really fair is it? They started harsh because the country was a wreck when she was first elected. The miners went on strike because they were used to being able to topple governments by doing so. The obsession with inflation came about in contrast to the previous obsession with employment figures, yielding a country with full employment but sky-high inflation. Thatcher argued that was wrong and you could have full employment with low inflation: several boom economies since then have shown she was correct. After Thatcher had won three elections Britain was a first world country again. You don't see many people pining for Britain in the 70s with all the strikes, electricity outages, bailouts and 3 day weeks. Blame her for the poll tax, sure, but even then those riots were by people who wanted unfair taxation: they defined "fair" as some people having to pay more for the exact same services than others do, something nobody tolerates in the commercial world. Remember there was no such thing as society You're selectively quoting Thatcher here, as her ideological enemies do so often. She was pointing out that when her opponents said "society will pay for it" there was no such thing as an abstract, disconnected, third party entity labelled "society" that would magically inject money into Britain - that what such people really meant was "my neighbours will be forced to pay for it". http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/106689 http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/106689 Here's the full quote: But it [people living on benefits/blaming society for their problems] went too far. If children have a problem, it is society that is at fault. There is no such thing as society. There is living tapestry of men and women and people and the beauty of that tapestry and the quality of our lives will depend upon how much each of us is prepared to take responsibility for ourselves and each of us prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate. Doesn't sound so bad when you realise her alternative to the word "society" was "a living tapestry and men and women and people", that this tapestry is "beautiful" and that the quality of our lives depend on "how much each of us is .... prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate". It's ironic yet totally unsurprising that her argument against imprecise socialist double-speak is now usually referenced via a selective quote designed to make her look inhumane.

exhilaration 7y ago

You had a coin-operated TV...? At home...? Did someone come regularly to collect the coins? I'm genuinely fascinated by this.

scandox 7y ago
I still know people in Dublin that have coin operated electricity, though I think nearly all of them have been moved to card based systems.
- radicalbyte 7y ago
  They had that in the mainland too. It was something which was forced on poor people and resulted in electricity prices considerably higher than they otherwise would have been. My grandparents were forced to have one. My late grandfather had PTSD from fighting in WWII and could basically never hold down a job or make a good financial decision.
- JackFr 7y ago
  I've been to campsites where the showers are free, but the hot water requires coins. You really want to get your money's worth, but the fear of being lathered up and it going straight cold motivates you to be quick.
Balgair 7y ago
I also remember the coin operated tellys. Yes, every 6 months or there abouts the coiny-telly man would come about to collect the coins. It was a real hassle, as you had to be at your flat all that day. Otherwise, the coiny-telly man would just pass you up. Thing was, the little bin that the coins fell into would fill up every 9 months or so. So, if the coiny-telly man passed you up, you'd have to ration when you could watch TV. I remember the first time my mum made this mistake and the bin got filled. My pa was so angry that he didn't get to watch Emmerdale Farm and Whizz-Bizz that night as no more would fit in the machine. Well, we never made that mistake again.
- gambiting 7y ago
  I honestly can't tell if this is satire or not.
  - celticninja 7y ago
    It sounds a bit four Yorkshire men but these TVs and this service did exist.
  - dylan604 7y ago
    Black Mirror is amazing because of this. I absolutely love British humor or is it humour?
  - soneil 7y ago
    I've never seen a coin-op TV, but "back when I were a lad" we had electricity on the same principle. IIRC (and this is dark & distant memory) it started off coin-op and transitioned to cards you had to buy from local stores.
  - coldtea 7y ago
    Not sure about emptying them, but the TVs with coin slots where a thing in the UK: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/methode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fe1b0e302-960e-11e6-9cf8-8194c22ea509.jpg?crop=1470%2C827%2C15%2C8&resize=685 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/methode%2Ftimes... Not for the BBC license though: it was when TVs where expensive (in the 60s and 70s) and so some people could just rent one. Probably sounds alien to US people, but UK was much poorer country, especially in workers areas...
    - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
      They were originally a US innovation that were imported and duplicated in the UK! See my sibling link. First thought of by the US International Telemeter Corporation in the late 40s or very early 50s.
    - nmstoker 7y ago
      You're right to highlight the point about the UK's former lack of wealth (as it's not obvious), but I was amused by the reference to "workers areas" - presumably "working class areas" as people have worked in pretty much all populated areas of the country since time immemorial.

Bluecobra 7y ago

Wow, I never heard of this before. I found the following article and it was an interesting read: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2010/oct/30/pay-as-you-view-debts https://www.theguardian.com/money/2010/oct/30/pay-as-you-vie...

Theodores 7y ago

The Thatcher years were harsh. I imagine you also had free school meals as your main meal of the day. The TV rental business was very much like mobile phone contracts. For this reason I am not one of those people that buys a mobile phone on contract with the 'upgrade' every two years. The 'contract' your family were on for the TV was 'pay as you go' and I shudder to think how often your family could have paid for the TV, probably ten times over! The fear of the TV detector van kept people tuned in to what important stuff was being disseminated on the state broadcaster that pretends to be independent. Sure there were home computers, VHS/Betamax and 'the wireless' back then but screen based entertainment was limited. The TV had four channels (if you were lucky), so that meant news every night about the latest Cold War tensions, the misery of the Miner's Strike, the joy of the Poll Tax riots, the obsession with inflation, the latest dole figures, what privatisation was being flogged, 'Protect and Survive' and messages about how heroin screws you up. Remember there was no such thing as society, you just had to hide behind your door and rely on the 'neighbourhood watch' signs for security. Crime really was a thing then, burglary a fear far worse than it should have been. The BBC very much reflected this but we remember 'Life on Earth' and tell ourselves how wonderful the BBC was. Icing on the cake for this miserable era was the actual BBC. Radio 1 was 'Smashy and nicey' DJs that were quite depressing and BBC children's programming had presenters that have invariably been prosecuted in recent years for child abuse related offences. But at least we had a national conversation. Remember 'who shot JR?'. Nowadays people would be saving the box set to watch later so you can't have this shared conversation, if anything it is anything but.

tangental 7y ago
> Remember 'who shot JR?' All was revealed by Father Ted https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq4_c-_r0K4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq4_c-_r0K4
repolfx 7y ago
The Thatcher years were harsh That's not really fair is it? They started harsh because the country was a wreck when she was first elected. The miners went on strike because they were used to being able to topple governments by doing so. The obsession with inflation came about in contrast to the previous obsession with employment figures, yielding a country with full employment but sky-high inflation. Thatcher argued that was wrong and you could have full employment with low inflation: several boom economies since then have shown she was correct. After Thatcher had won three elections Britain was a first world country again. You don't see many people pining for Britain in the 70s with all the strikes, electricity outages, bailouts and 3 day weeks. Blame her for the poll tax, sure, but even then those riots were by people who wanted unfair taxation: they defined "fair" as some people having to pay more for the exact same services than others do, something nobody tolerates in the commercial world. Remember there was no such thing as society You're selectively quoting Thatcher here, as her ideological enemies do so often. She was pointing out that when her opponents said "society will pay for it" there was no such thing as an abstract, disconnected, third party entity labelled "society" that would magically inject money into Britain - that what such people really meant was "my neighbours will be forced to pay for it". http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/106689 http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/106689 Here's the full quote: But it [people living on benefits/blaming society for their problems] went too far. If children have a problem, it is society that is at fault. There is no such thing as society. There is living tapestry of men and women and people and the beauty of that tapestry and the quality of our lives will depend upon how much each of us is prepared to take responsibility for ourselves and each of us prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate. Doesn't sound so bad when you realise her alternative to the word "society" was "a living tapestry and men and women and people", that this tapestry is "beautiful" and that the quality of our lives depend on "how much each of us is .... prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate". It's ironic yet totally unsurprising that her argument against imprecise socialist double-speak is now usually referenced via a selective quote designed to make her look inhumane.