8 feb

We have not seen a lot of television in the past five months. In Merlin, life is filled with unnoticeable events that pass by without noticing, but leave us no time to even think about something as forgettable as television. And then where would one put a tv?
Here in Chassenat life is orderly in an old-fashioned way again, somehow. A television could easily fit in the late evening hours, except there is no television. So we stare at the fire and live our Downton Abbey life without the need of a screen to represent it to us.
Ok, television is old-fashioned. Who needs it when one has a computer, an iPad, a smartphone and wifi. Claire understands these things better than we do. She was able to discover the first two episodes of the 3rd season of Borgen on the World Wide Web. But then she left and we are still searching for episodes three and later.
But then the Olympics came. The real ones with lots of dutch skaters raking in medals. I have always liked sports and I have always liked watching sports. Living in America I got used to American football – why do you call soccer football, mom asks, not realizing that it is the americans that are funny, calling organized warfare football – and was able to understand the game a little bit after a few years. Still think it is a waste of time; four minutes of action in four hours of television. I preferred to go to a golf course when Nebraska was playing, having the whole course to myself, playing four balls and always having the excitement of winning.
In England I got used to cricket. Even played it myself one time. It is more complicated than it looks, I found out, but exactly as boring.
But then speed skating. Americans call it watching grass growing, but to me it is fascinating. I remember being a small child, with black and white television – must have been early seventies – looking at Ard Schenk en Kees Verkerk and writing down the times that one square would take them. I think this was before the time that these times were officially provided. The excitement when one round would be at about the same time as the one before. Piet Kleine, Hans van Helden, Hilbert van der Duim, slipping over a piece of bird poop, oh great times of the past.
So I wanted to see some television, just to be able to be part of the heroics of Sven Kramer and Ireen Wust, the current dutch masters of speed skating.
I bought a subscription to Tellypass – dutch television being too difficult to receive. Tellypass wasn’t that straightforward either so Julie had to get involved. Until I found out that it was possible to follow dutch radio with a webcam on Sochi.
Wonderful, wonderful.
Something has changed. I remember the excitement when one of the skaters would be able to get around (400 metres, about 400 yards) in 36 seconds, 35 seconds even sometimes. Now it is 29 seconds, which seems like magic to me.
Holland got gold, silver and bronze medals on the 5000 metres. It was good. But I do remember the blurry pictures from Saporro, Japan. It was 1972, I looked it up. They still skated outside. Snow was coming down. There was only one camera. The mighty Ard Schenk would appear out of the fog. And disappear into it again, giving me plenty of time to figure out how much time this round took him. Although, being only six at the time, my memory and my fantasy are being mixed up here.
Anyway. It was good to see it happen.
Julie figured out the Tellypass too. Can’t wait for the next episodes of Borgen, and the House of Cards at the end of the week. I didn’t miss it one bit, television. But to have temporary access again is great.