Reminiscing - 1...the early days of TV and night soil

Everytime something happens - good or bad and I would reminisce. Distant memories would keep flooding back. Perhaps it is my way of recoiling myself into my own protective shell telling myself that things would get better again. An eternal optimist you might say.

I would have wishful thinking of the good old times, not sure if they were all good but at least what I thought were happier times for many at an age of innocence where television was essentially black and white and where life was much simpler since even toys were often home-made.

When TV was only black and white, the good guys wore white and the baddies wore black depicted in the countless ninja/samurai, cowboys, sword-fighting movies and even on Wrestling programmes. I was very young and my impressionist mind had thought that the soccer game has good and bad guys too. EPL was just plain old First Division and teams like West Ham, Stoke City, Coventry and Wolves were plying the trade. There was never any "live" telecast and you only get a once a week highlights of the previous week's games.

It was then known as Star Soccer (English League) and Match of The Day (English F.A. Cup) and the anthem or theme played at the beginning of these programmes still ring fresh in my mind. I truly begin to love watching soccer when I caught "The World at Their Feet", featuring highlights of the 1970 World Cup (black and white).

Then came the great invention, the grand introduction of the great colour television - something we all take for granted today even as our old CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) are being replaced by Plasma or LCD. Many poorer families in those days do not even have a TV and they would gather at some neighbour's house or they have to go to the Community Centre to catch a glimpse. I was a bit more fortunate as my dad must have saved up to buy a "Greatz" colour TV made in the Netherlands, the type where the screen was housed in a wooden frame with four legs and shuttle to close the screen and where you can place things on top on the roof of the TV.

It was just in time to catch the 1974 World Cup soccer finals. It was also a time where turn tables and cassette decks dominated the scene, B & W speakers and later Bose. A time where the Bee Gees reminded me that "I used to love when others used to play", teeny bopper Agnes Chan makes me feel all sentimental, Rediffusion and bell bottoms were all the rage. It was Rediffusion that taught me all the songs and the beats of the time as they are probably left switched on 24 hours.

Ditto for music programmes later when all your favourite singers and bands only appeared once a week in Solid Gold for an hour. No wonder at different ages in your life, you are reminded of each stage by the songs of the season - good times and bad, happy or sad. Music and songs are like a wonderful time machine transporting one through time effortlessly. But these days, you are bombarded by music, songs and videos 24/7 on radio, MTV, YouTube, etc. and the beats and songs are getting faster and more noisy.

Those were the days where very few families actually bought life insurances as few could afford it and nobody trusted such policies and investments anyway and yet we have come this far today. Those were the days where vehicles that has 36 doors would come around collecting night soil and your parents would warn you that if you do not study hard, you would end up working as night soil collectors and just picturing yourself carrying two buckets with a pole slung across your shoulders gives you the shudder which probably explained our very good grades in primary school. Unfortunately, with better hygiene management and improvement of sanitary conditions goes our results in secondary school for some of us together with the disappearance of the night soil collector.