• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

No More Time!

Share this page

Steve_S

Steve_S

Yoda
Offline
Tonight I called the old trusty time announcement number. You know the one - dial 853 and then any four numbers. Out of nostalgia I even used the old rotary phone still hanging on one wall of our home. However instead of the usual friendly woman's voice telling me what time it is, I was greeted by an announcement that as of September 19, the time announcement service has been discontinued. At least she was kind enough to apologize for the inconvenience.

I found myself very much saddened, as if an era had passed. In a sense I guess it has. Cell phones and computers now update automatically, synchronizing with atomic clocks. Still, I will miss the familiar woman's voice on the other end of the phone line each time I want to set the battery powered clock hanging on our kitchen wall.

I will never forget dialing all the possible combinations as a child, hoping to find one number that didn't work or perhaps another voice. I wonder if children these days even know of its existance. In all likelihood they wouldn't care even if they did know. Such is the way of "progress".

Farewell Ms. Time. You will be missed! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif
 
Wow, I haven't used that in years. I guess progress had sent yet another service by the wayside. I can guarantee that my kids have no idea that service existed.
 
I was just watching an episode of Fawlty Towers tonight that begins with Basil (unsuccessfully) trying to reach the “Speaking Clock” and is not having much luck. The line is constantly busy. Basil calls the operator to complain that the speaking clock has been busy for 20 minutes and laments “how is this possible, I mean my wife isn’t talking to it!”
 
Steve_S said:
...I wonder if children these days even know of its existance...
Click to expand...

When I got my first MG a few years ago, my son looks at the handle on the inside of the door and asks "what that dad" I could only smile & reply "That's how you "roll" down the window" He was amazed as he had only known power windows and never knew this existed.
 
Same thing happened with my albums... "Hey Dad, what are these round things"? Almost blew his mind when I showed him an 8-track.
 
Good friend of Horsemits is a High School science teacher. She was explaining to a class what an amazing thing it was to see the first moon landing "live on TV"... to which a "Little Johnny" type paps up and comments: "Well if it was such a big deal, why didn't you video tape it?!?"
 
Back
Top