COMMENT
Business Buzz
with Harry Pearson
Googlie it ? What ’ s that supposed to mean ?
When cutting-edge technology was at its height
My dad doesn ’ t have a computer or a smartphone . Wifi , Bluetooth and email are as big a puzzle to him as they would have been to a medieval swineherd .
Ten years ago , Dad developed a lump on his head that turned out to be a symptom of Non-Hodgkin ’ s lymphoma .
“ The doctor said that whatever I do , I shouldn ’ t come home and googlie it ,” he told me during a telephone conversation . “ But why the bloody hell would I want to do that ?”
I pictured Dad taking the lump in a leg-spin bowler ’ s grip and giving a Shane Warne-style rip . It wasn ’ t beyond the bounds of probability . “ Not googlie it – Google it ,” I replied . “ What ’ s that supposed to mean ?” he asked . “ It ’ s a search engine ,” I said . “ On the internet .” There was silence on the other end of the phone . “ The thing on the computer that ’ s like a big library in the sky ,” I tried to explain .
“ Oh , that !” Dad said . “ Everyone ’ s always going on about it , but it ’ s just another fad , like that CB radio . Remember that ?” “ No ,” I replied . “ Well , there you are !” he said , with a note of triumph . My dad recovered from lymphoma , but his ignorance of the world of digital technology remains as deep as ever .
It ’ s hard to believe , but 60 years ago , Dad , a man who still says “ I ’ ve no idea why Blockbuster closed down ” and does telephone banking , would once have been one of the nominees at the Tees Tech Awards , taking his place alongside the 1960s ’ equivalents of SockMonkey Studios , Salesfire , Appamondo and Life Ninja Education .
You see , my dad was involved in setting up what was one of the most modern communications facilities in Britain . He had kept it to himself , mind . I only found out about it in August , when he phoned up and asked me if I
could send some DVDs immediately .
“ War or westerns for me and the proper All Creatures Great and Small for your mother – and nothing with that American who looks like the bloke who used to have the fishing tackle shop in Guisborough .” “ Tom Hanks ?” I asked . “ No , I think he was called Brian ,” he replied , deadpan . Dad said they needed the DVDs urgently as they had no television . When I asked why , he told me : “ Don ’ t you buy a morning paper ? The Bilsdale transmitter has burned down . We haven ’ t got any signal .”
“ It ’ s a bit sad ,” he continued , “ Because we built it . Well , it was some Polish blokes from Leeds who put it up , but we fabricated all the parts at Teesside Bridge . It was made of three massive steel sections .
“ When they began putting it together there was a problem because it started spiralling . So they sent me to sort it out . It ’ s over 1,000 feet high and it ’ s mounted on a giant ball-bearing , so it can sway in the wind . It ’ s a bit disconcerting when you ’ re up at the top and it starts blowing . A couple of times the pencil fell out from behind my ear .”
The Bilsdale Transmitter was built in 1969 to bring colour TV to Teesside , North Yorkshire and County Durham . Without it , we ’ d never have seen the yellow of Brazil ’ s shirts in Mexico 1970 . The vibrant canary tinge of Derek Batey ’ s blazer on Mr & Mrs would have been a mystery to us .
My dad and the engineers of Teesside made that possible . Now he is on the phone complaining about how many episodes of Pointless he has missed and wondering if I can order him The Repair Shop on DVD . Times move on . As the success of our local tech companies shows , Teesside has built on the region ’ s proud history of cutting-edge development . We have helped move the world from analogue to digital . Though obviously , there ’ s a small pocket of North Yorkshire that ’ s still holding out .
Harry Pearson ’ s latest book The Farther Corner – A Sentimental Return to North-East Football is out now .
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