Text on Text

I havn't posted in about a month but now is timly return. As I mentioned before November is National Teletext Month, or at least it was once in 1980 something. Expect a full-frontal media campagin. It won't happen but it will give you something to look forward too.

OK just found out something rather irritating. National Teletext Month was in October, not November. So really I didn't post at all in the majorty of NTM and this is last day of it. I won't delete the early part of my post or any previous ones that mention NTM as I deserve to be punished for my idiocy.

Oh what a waste of time.

It has been a very long twelve days. I could of swore it had been about a month since I last posted. I'd like to think that was because I had cramped my life full of excitement but it's more likely because I rue every minute. Well, not really but I do love needless drama. And the word "Rue."

I don't like to criticism anything about teletext but there's a group of pages that truly deserve it recently. Every ITV teletext region is given a section of text around the 600's to make it's own. UTV, my own regional ITV franchise, use a grand total of two of those pages. And a dreay title page which hasn't been changed in at least six years. There are actually more pages not listed in the index. There's crime call which is currently mentioning 4 stolen quads. Then there's a host of pages about ITV shows, not at all specific to UTV or Northern Ireland but there still there. This Morning and GMTV takes 640-649, though funny enough not 641 or 642. GMTV2 also takes a few pages, quite odd as if your using an obscure teletext page you probably can't or don't want to watch GMTV2.

Not to be outdone This Morning has one page. Okay it is outdone. It's called the This Morning factfile, but that never appears. Also the top of the word This isn't visible. There is the chance to cook will Phil Victery though, no I don't know either.

The next page is once again entirely unadvertised and unrelated. It is an advert for a video and book to accompany the The Last Horseman, a sersis I assume was on ITV at some point. I have to recollection of it though. Nor does the IMDB, unless it's a actually a western from 1944. Not even teletext is quite that dated though. You do wonder if that advert will ever be cost effective. Not many people browse teletext. Fewer, I'm sure, browse particularly shoddy areas of teletext. And I can't believe any would be willing to pay around £32 to get a rathervaguelyy described "video and book," to accompany a sersis that they have never heard of.

Next page calls all Christmas party goers! It's new Sky One reality programme called Christmas Uncovered. I bet you didn't even knowChristmass was covered. Maybe they're going to reveal Santa Claus isn't real. Or maybe it will be a factualdocumentaryy about theactuall birth of Jesus Christ,examinesg the differencebetweenn myth and fact. Or not.

CITV text next. What wacky adventures are there forkiddiess her you ask? A logo, an emailaddresss, a phone number and anaddresss. The word only flashes though.

Thenthere'ss a thirty-one page gap. I'm pretty sure there used to be more pages but they seem to havedisappearedd. That meansnumericallyy the top page of ITV teletext is........


I'm not at all sure what a minicom is. It has alot of numbers anyway.

Well that concludes our jouney through theterminallyy dull world of regional teletext. Was it worth it? Probably not. But even if no-one reads this it will likely still double it's exposure.

Additional note:For those curious The Last Horseman was a six part sersis originally screened on ITV in 2001. After 4 years the advert may be cost effective. Or they can't be arsed bringing it down.