Thursday, January 19, 2012

Pointless Post


When I was a wee nipper, I could never get my head around the adult addiction to things like The Magic Roundabout.  Not for the seemingly obvious reason that it was a "children's show" but because of the time it was shown.  I remember hearing about it being a success because it was on before the news, meaning all the adults got to watch it.  But the news was on at 5.45 (only later moving to 6) and surely no grown-up was home from work by then?  Certainly my Dad never was, and what other standard did I have to judge by?

After I left college and found myself in the world of work, the same pattern repeated.  Having ended up in retail I was rarely out of the shop before 6 and always then had a significant journey home to face.  In fact I'm not sure now how I managed the two years I spent working in Newmarket - a 110 mile round trip every day from Felixstowe, having to be there for 8 and not getting home until at least 7 most nights.  Even when I moved to the Council and got into flexi-time I was still rarely home before 6 - often due to picking MrsB up from work (she is still in the business of selling things) but more likely just because of getting the required number of hours in per day after starting at around 9.

Since our recent office move, however, things have changed.  Because parking up here is a bit limited, I have to get in fairly early to make sure I get a space.  That naturally means I have reached my hours total earlier too so can head home.  And even though the new site is further from our house, I now drive straight here rather than messing about with Park & Ride buses so each trip is 15-20 minutes shorter too.  Plus MrsB has had her hours changed and now finishes at 4 so we are both early birds.

All of which is a long-winded excuse for the fact that we seem to have become hooked on Pointless.  The BBC1 quiz shown before the news with Alexander Armstrong.  Admittedly half the fun is wondering where on earth they get some of the contestants from, but still...  I always have been a sucker for a good quiz show, loving to shout the answers at the telly before the teams manage it but this one is a bit of a barrel scraper.

Is there a cure other than working more?

3 comments:

Rodent Control Austin said...
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Kolley Kibber said...

It's horribly easy to get addicted to the strangest things. When I was off sick just recently I got completely hooked on 'Nothing to Declare - Australian Border Control'.

It wasn't until I stopped that the shame caught up with me. You may just have to go cold turkey. But maybe not until the clocks go back and it stops being cold and dark.

Izzy said...

For years my Dad arrived home from work at 6pm, so perhaps your Dad was just unlucky, or had further to travel to work.

Many years ago I was unwell and, while I was off work, I started to watch this Australian soap that was on just after the 1 o'clock news. More years than I want to count later, it's changed time and channel but I'm still watching Neighbours. I am wondering if there is a self-help group I could join :-)