Handwritten letters
A note written especially for you. By hand. A rare thing, except maybe, perhaps, at Christmastime.
Police boxes
In some ways, they started as refreshment kiosks and returned to their fate as refreshment kiosks.
IBA Engineering Announcements
Always a ghost programme to begin with, the IBA Engineering Announcements are now truly a ghost.
Untangling the spiral phone cord
It was the activity that kept you from murder and mayhem as you waited on hold, waited for your caller to dry up, or listened to Greensleeves for the 96th time.
The Y2K problem
In the popular memory, the millennium bug was something that failed to come to pass. However, that is only because an army of coders made sure it didn’t.
British Telecom
The name vanished in 1991. Except not quite…
The Millennium Dome
It cost too much money. It ruined political careers. It was a monument to corporate sponsorship. Welcome to the queue.
Phonecards
They were once a modern miracle. No longer did you have to have a pocketful of coins to make a phone call. Instead, you could reach for the magic card.
Finisterre
Every day in the UK, the Meteorological Office issues four weather forecasts for people in boats. Lots of people not in boats listen to the Shipping Forecast, too. So, when you propose changing it, the result is outcry.
01 for London
London’s been 01, 071, 081, 0171, 0181, then 020. No wonder so many people don’t know their own telephone number.
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