I was flicking through the TV channels the other day, wondering whether to watch a concert from Australia, a quiz show from America or a cricket match from India, when I started getting bored with it all and reading an old newspaper instead. The newspaper was from one hundred years ago (Halifax Courier, Wednesday 10 January 1923) and a short article caught my attention and reminded me just how much has changed in 100 years. We may have just celebrated the centenary of the BBC, but back in 1923, listing to the radio (or as we used to call it the wireless) was still a technologically challenging occupation. One Halifax wireless enthusiast had actually managed to hear a concert broadcast from New York on the Monday, whilst “Hansel and Gretel” broadcast from Covent Garden on Tuesday was spoilt by “the old trouble of fading”. I have to say, however, with some of the things on offer on our multi-channel entertainment platforms of 100 years later, a little “fading” wouldn’t be a bad thing!
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