Friday 1 November 2019

Jack Hargreaves & Southern Television





By "us", I mean my siblings. A younger brother Alexander, and my older sister Maria (Marie-Elaine). 

I think they have both personalised their monikers now, so don't let me define how they like to be called. 

We children ("us") were born before the internet, and as kids if you wish, were often bored at the available options on Sunday for example, but even the weekdays and evenings could be tedious from a child's perspective. Uneventful if housebound.

Sunday was largely commerce-free (shops including supermarkets were closed), which isn't the same as commercial-free. 

The local TV station (Southern TV, TVS (subsequently Meridian) often broadcast perplexing Television content like Jack Hargreaves' Out of Town program about the countryside. 

Internally, we knew it wasn't designed to be boring but it does take aging to appreciate how "slow", can be imbued with more value than fast.

Unexpectedly, a nine-year-old or even an eleven-year-old wouldn't ordinarily be interested in fly fishing, or agrarian seasonal activity. 

It pleases me that I can revisit the "Out of Town" content on the internet, and reassess my somewhat immature, youthful reaction.

I'm still working on the 11:11, 555, 333, etc post. 

Update: Barry at the Waterloo Arms tells me Jack was a complete wanker.