Lakhasly

Television

Kobert Hansom taught at the local grammar school. He had taken his degree at one
Of the redbrick universities, had been asked tO carry on by some of his tutors, but
had taken up this teaching job to do Something useful, as he liked to call it. One
could not say that he was dissatisfied, now that he was thirty-five; of course he was
no tavourite with the boys at school, but he was fairly well liked, and had settled
down completely to the routine of his worK, the routine of his garden, and the
routine of taking his family of four out to the sea on Sundays. But he still liked to
think of himself as an intellectual whose possibilities had been-voluntaríly, no
doubt- thwarted by his decision to leave university, He iked talking, and he was no

pleasant man to disagree with.
One of the main targets for his sarcastic remarks and cynical attacks was
TV. Mrs Hansom wouldn't have minded having a set to watch some programmes
she had heard of or actually seen at her parents' home, but her husband was full of
indignation and scorn whenever she mentioned the tonic.
"Think of the children,"he would say."I dont want them to become
glued to the set for hours on end. Our family Iife would come to an end, and
instead we would all huddle round that box and watch cornflake adverts.
Actually I can't think of a single TV programme that is worth watching. All this
crime and American trash!
Mrs Hansom was ot teribly disappointed about her husband's decision;
she was a quiet woman and didn't like arguments. She had to admit that
Working in the garden, going to friends' parties, occas1onally going to a concert or
a performance by the sch0ol dramatic society was more enterprising than pressing
the same button day after day.
One April morning (a few days before Robert's birthdáy), a yellow van
stopped in front of the house and Mrs Hansom saw two men in overalls carry a big
Square bOx towards their door.
"This for you, ma'am?" the taller of the men said."Congratulations, lucky you!
Mrs Hansom didnt know what the two were on about. She wasn't sure

whether it was something for her husband's birthday or whether those two
men were trying one of those tricks on her she had read about in the paper.
They explained that she had won the second prize in a crossword competition -a
colour TV set. Oh, goodness!- she had never won anything in her life so far, and
now this! Mrs Hansom forgot all about her husband while the two men busied
themselves with fixing up the aerial- everything included. She had actually won
something. But when the two men had left in their van, she began to get worried.
How would her husband react to the set?

She was worried all afternoon until she heard her husband whistle in the

hall, a good sign. And indeed Robert was in a good mood. There had been

that increase in salary he had hoped for, and he even managed to smile when his

wife told him about the set.
Well, I bet we can get rid of it for a decent sum," he said.
Three years had passed. It was a fine spring Saturday. Mrs Hansom camee
into the sitting-room. She had been to the hairdresser's specially, because
they were wanting to go to this concert tonight. The London Philharmonic
Orchestra had conme to ther town, a treat they hadn't missed for the last
ten years, and they had enjoyed it all the more, knowing that the famous orchestra
came but every second year to play there during the regional festival. Entering, she
saw her husband Iying on the settee, a cup of tea in his hand, watching the News.
I say," he said, Tve just noticed that the fourth instalment of 'The Count
of Monte-Cristo' is on tonight. I don't want to miss that. Don't you think it
would be just as nice if we made ourselves comfortable at home, had a drink
together and watched TV?"
"Certainly, if you prefer that," said Mrs Hansom, walking out to the
kitchen to do the washing-up.