It’s come to my attention that just the other week the last UK analogue signal was switched off in Northern Ireland. As I now rely on a certain satellite TV provide,r some of this passed me by, but what caught my eye in the news was that the digital switchover also entailed the end of an era for the services known as Ceefax (BBC) and Teletext (ITV). (Was there a C4 one?)

Now Ceefax et al did its job well, and I have something of a soft spot for it even if some of the graphics left a lot to be desired. Before the days of the Internet I remember it being used in our household for, in no particular order: weather forecasts, funny news stories, cinema listings, quizzes (Bamboozle anyone?), idle holiday browsing, lottery numbers oh, and some news and sport too. Picking up the remote control, muscle memory would kick in and you would reel off your favourite page number (for men like Barney Ronay at The Guardian, it was usually page 302). This in the days before text messaging had swollen the nation’s thumbs.

Farewell Ceefax, you served us well.

Lesley-Anne Crooks, Sales & Digital Manager