Generic Google Images picture
As I may have already mentioned, we are currently working our way through an incomplete collection of Only Fools and Horses on video and have almost moved beyond the regular series that ended a lot longer ago than I remembered and onto the annual Christmas Day special episodes. Fitting in with the retro feel of watching videos rather than DVDs, today I found a true relic of the post-Internet era. Inside one of the cassette cases was a form to fill in asking where you bought the video from and your participation gave you a chance to win a pile of BBC videos. Once you've filled it in you fold it up in a specific way and the address was already printed with postage paid by way of a printed number 1 or 2 signifying first or second class post (does that concept still exist?). I had a choice; did I keep the form inside the video case as a time capsule of the days when life had a slower pace, or did I fill the form in and post it? One of the questions was where did I buy the video and Woolworths was one of the options, the closing date for the draw/competition was May 31st 2000 and it ended by asking me if I have access to the Internet. As someone old enough to remember when you asked if someone was 'on email' before asking for an email address (which would have been a complicated collection of numbers and symbols), this was a blast from the quaint past in much the same way that you would in the late 1990s ask if a person's mobile phone 'had texting'; two things we take for granted that everyone has.
Of course I filled it in and posted it to the free post address and fully expect nothing to happen with the only reminder of this daft moment being presented to me should I ever have the need to come back to this blog entry. These slips often appeared in videos and CDs and sometimes formed part of the cover that had to be detached using the perforated line. The idea was to get people on their mailing list and I always used to send these off to occasionally be informed of a new album coming out or a band's latest single, what a shame you can get this information nowadays via the unromantic system of following on Twitter or liking a Facebook page.
I posted the form in the early hours of this morning while walking Jack and on the walk I started thinking about how we don't rely on the post anywhere near as much as we used to. Presumably the free address is no longer in use (it was a PO Box address) so what will happen to my form? As I was a postman once I kind of know the answer to this. If you receive a letter at home for the person who used to live in your house, the responsible thing to do is to write 'not known at this address' on the envelope and put it back in the pillar box. This will then be picked up and put back in the system for your postman to stick a sticker on it and send it to the address on the back. One of the reasons I advocate doing this is that it will eventually stop you getting post that you don't need which will in turn lighten the postman's load. If the PO Box once hired by the BBC is no longer in use then it will either be forwarded to a different arm of the BBC, returned to myself as a dead letter, or binned. What would be really cool is if every redundant address had to stay open, even if there is only one person in charge. Sometimes I will find an old comic or music magazine in a charity shop and am tempted to enter the competition to win a brand new Raleigh Grifter or top of the range cassette Walkman just to see what happens. Old music magazines often advertise fan clubs so what would happen if you wrote in to ask a question of a member of a long forgotten pop star? Somebody should be there to reply for you, the same as there should be someone in a lonely office somewhere waiting for some joker to enter a competition that closed fifteen years ago, if they have a sense of humour they could send a VHS tape out.
Incidentally, did you know that if you dial the phone number for Multi-Coloured Swap Shop you get through to the Banker from Deal or No Deal? Try it.
The Sunday Alternative Podcast #58 is available from here
===
October Housekeeping
Donations have slowed down a bit and this has had an adverse effect on filming plans. Ideas are waiting to become reality so please do consider making a donation using the PayPal button above.
In return for your gift I will make entertainment that I will put online to be enjoyed free of charge by everyone. Comedy sketches, documentaries, short films and podcasts are waiting to be made so dig deep.
You get 365 blogs a year, a weekly podcast and a forthcoming Nottingham music podcast (at Christmas) free of charge already.
Some ways to help:
You can have a kazoo cover dedicated to you.
Beat the 5p carrier bag charge here (and check out other goodies)
Download my audio books here.
