Plasma? We haven’t even got colour!

As regular readers of Nuts and Bolts will know, the team here are a little bit traditional, shall we say.

We remember fondly the days when police officers used to walk the beat, when the New Year’s arrival was greeted by the sound of exploding champagne corks rather than the screech of millions of fireworks being set off until 5am and when the January sales were held... in January.

So we were delighted to hear that there are still nearly 12,000 UK homes watching television on black and white sets.

But new figures released by TV Licensing reveal the number of diehard traditionalists has dropped a further 12% in the past year - with just 11,550 black and white licences remaining in force across the UK.

At the turn of the millennium there were 212,000 black and white licences issued, but by 2003 that number was 93,000. Three years later, in 2006, the number was less than 50,000.

According to this year’s figures, Gravesend leads the Licensing, said: “The latest figures show, even in the digital age, more than 11,000 homes still watch their favourite programmes on black and white televisions. We may be on the brink of losing black and white sets to the history books, but older technology will always be replaced by exciting new ways of watching.”

Iain Logie Baird, associate curator at the National Media Museum, Bradford, and grandson of television inventor John Logie Baird, added: “Despite over 25 million people opting for a colour TV Licence in the UK, it may be some time before the black and white television disappears completely from our living rooms. The museum has hundreds of black and white television sets in its collection and there will always be a small group of people who prefer monochrome images, collect vintage sets or just don’t want to throw away a working piece of technology.”

And long may they continue to remain stuck in this delightful time-warp, because there’s nothing worse than going to someone’s house where a giant television screen covers half the wall of the living room and you can hardly hear yourself talk because the surround-sound system (or whatever it’s called these days) is blaring out so noisily.

The cost of an annual black and white TV Licence remains frozen at £49 until the BBC Charter Review in 2016. A colour licence costs £145.50.

Are you one of the small number of people who still watch TV on a black and white set? If so please let us know by writing to the Kentish Express, 34-36 North Street, Ashford TN24 8JR or email kentishexpress@thekmgroup. co.uk

They may look oldfashioned – but black and white television is still the preferred choice of some viewers, over modern widescreen colour TVs