I remember the BBC’s “listen again” feature, where you could stream radio programmes that you had missed and listen to them on your computer. Occasionally they would make available programmes that you could save and listen to later. I realised that by changing the directory address for streamed programmes to the same as the downloadable ones, I could save any programme using Audio Stream Recorder, software that came with my soundcard. Recently this system has often not worked and now it never works, because the BBC have started putting everything through iplayer. Apparently lots of people had worked out similar tricks in order to save programmes. At the worst, even with iplayer,  you can just record the sound going through your soundcard in real time. At best… A bit like taping the top ten off the radio, but better quality.

I remember spending lots of money on a decent stylus, turntable, amp and speakers, so that I could get decent quality sound from my collection of LPs. I also remember listening to CDs on a decent system through decent speakers. The argument as to whether vinyl is better than CD, or analogue (valves) is better than digital (transistors) has become redundant when the youth of today are happy to listen to MP3s being played on tinny mobile phone speakers on the top deck of a 154. </rant>

I remember when people used to say “I’m glad I’ve got that off my chest.” Now they say “</rant>”.

I remember watching a boy playing the 2p machine on Bognor pier. One of those machines where you drop your coin in and it falls on a shelf which moves backwards and forwards and might push one or more coins on to the next shelf which moves backwards and forwards and might eventually end up pushing loads of coins into the winnings thingy but more than likely falls into the arcade owner’s secret stash. Anyway, I was watching him because instead of putting in one coin at a time and watching it disappear, he would put five or ten coins in rapid succession, and take out ten or twenty. Aha, I thought, a system!

I remember looking over a houseboat when it looked like that was all we could afford. I think it was near or even on Eel Pie Island.

I remember when Eliot fell over in the school playground. The good old school secretary Pat Pither, rang us and said she thought we should take him to casualty, just in case, which we did. He had hairline fractures in both wrists. It was Ash Wednesday 1992, but I only know that because I found an old diary.

I remember Jack Morrison (David Morse) in St Elsewhere had differently coloured backpacks depending on whether he was on a day or a night shift. He could just pick one up knowing it had the right stuff in it. I thought that was cool.

I remember “Got myself a crying walking sleeping talking livin doll, Got to do my best to please her just cause she’s a livin doll, Got a rovin eye and that is why she satisfies my soul, Got the one and only walking talkin livin doll.” It hit the number one spot 50 years ago today and I didn’t even have to look it up. And they say home taping is killing music.