Saturday, February 23, 2008

A New Dial

Somehow, in the course of a very brief chat on Radio Derby this morning, I announced to the world that I want an old-fashioned telephone with a dial rather than buttons. This is true, and it's been on my mind since I found to my delight that there is one, and a working one at that, at Dundee university. So when Sally Pepper mentioned them in the interview, naturally I felt it necessary to expand at length on how cool they are.

You see 'retro-style' phones for sale in gimmick shops, but those are very tacky things with buttons arranged in the style of a dial. Very phoney and tasteless, and I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

I just said 'phoney' in a blog about telephones, and didn't realise that there was a pun there.

Anyway, my current phone isn't tacky at all - it's a very stylish transparent plastic one with coloured LEDs that light up when it rings. But I would cheerfully dump it for one with a real dial if I found one lying around.

I won't go looking for one just yet, though. If I stay at home and don't do anything else all day, I could finish my book tomorrow. That's the plan, anyway.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I shall only remind you to write your book. I won't tell you that there are dozens of old style dial telephones on eBay - the old, black, bakelite phones, although some will be modern reproductions. I won't tell you that if you search for 'antique telephone', you'll find the old candlestick dial telephones and the even older, wooden, crank phones. Write your book :0)

SamT said...

I am pretty sure that I have an old style telephone in a cupboard from the days the business had a pbx switchboard.
But these are compatible with the digi revolution and the ones you see in the shops or at Uni in Dundee are adapted.

And as Ace said get on with the book!!! DEADLINES!!
Remember what you said at that interview, you are good at deadlines!!

Ian said...

I know what you mean about the old style phones. I used to amuse myself for hours (or so it seemed) on our old one. You can't beat the classics! But anyway, enough about that, get on with the book!