TBH I can’t even imagine a time without the real housewives

Just imagine it, a life with no reality television…

It’s something I love to whinge about but in the end, I couldn’t imagine a time where I wasn’t laughing out loud about something outrageous I just heard one of the Sydney Housewives say or a time when I wasn’t yelling at the screen bitching about a bitchy comment that Jen from The Bachelor just made.

Well strap yourselves in, because as my parents informed me, their first tv was

“a big box thing..”

“…a box with 4 legs…”

Denise and Jeffro (otherwise known as my parents) were both born in 1959. It was quite a year, or so I’ve been told. They both said they only ever had one tv as a child, because it was all they could afford… Well Denise, you’ve come a long way since you’ve now got one mounted to the wall in the bathroom.. 

Denise grew up in the Central Western town of Wellington NSW, while Jeffro watched his first television set in Balmain East, NSW. They both said that nothing would be on the TV until around 9am every morning, so they never watched anything before they headed off to school in the mornings.

The most significant event that they both remember vividly watching on television, which also struck up a friendly debate was when Neil Armstrong was the first man to land on the moon; July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind. Jeffro claims he was at school and remembers his entire class sitting on the floor watching this historic moment in history occur while Denise remembers being at her house watching with my beloved Nan & Pop. This goes back to the point Sue raised in the lecture about a “fake memory.”

I was so engaged with what they had to say that I thought I’d give my Grandpa a ring and ask him what his memories of television are. His response was: “I was having a nice relaxing night until you rang.” Cheers, G-Pa! Love ya too! 

He said that My grandmother’s father bought his first TV set in early 1957, when they lived in the bungalow at the back of her parents house in North Clayton, Melbourne, Vic. Where they often went in to watch programs at night. As a family my grandparents bought their first television set in late 1958 when again my grandmother’s father again came to the rescue and lent them the money to buy their first tv!

Nethertheless, they bought a TV like everyone else was doing and haven’t looked back. Dad says he can remember watching shows like the Mickey Mouse Club, PlaySchool and Tom & Jerry with Grandpa and his brother and sister. They only channels available were Channel 7, 9, 10 and the ABC.

In relating this conversation back to media and place, they both said the television was always in the lounge room so everyone could watch. They remember the furniture being situated towards the tv, as it was the central focus point. These points relate strongly to my first memories of television. I would remember watching cartoons with my dad and sisters on a Saturday morning (the good ol’ days when Saturday Disney was actually the best thing ever on television!)