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As most of you know I love Cornwall, I go camping there twice a year and have done for a number of years now.

This latest holiday was however, a little different… The South-West being one of the first regions to switch off analogue television broadcasting. We never really watched much television whilst under canvas, usually just the early-September camping trip where the dark nights start drawing in. This year we had no option but to leave the television at home.

I love my TV at home in all it’s flatscreen, Sky+, high definition glory. But I’ll quite happily go a week without it. Obviously having Sky+ helps – series-linking means nothing gets missed, you can even set it to record from your mobile-phone! Our camping television was a small 4inch portable that ran off batteries that needed changing what seemed like every other ad-break, again, something I won’t miss.

After some careful checking that it was available in the region, I treated myself to a digital radio. It is mains-rechargeable and solar-powered too – no more batteries! The radio certainly filled the gap left by the unavailable broadcasting; local radio for the weather (and surf) reports, tide-times and traffic news, Radio 2 in the evenings, comedy clips on Radio 4, and a whole range of previously unheard channels that broadcast digitally.

I didn’t realise until returning home that I have a radio in almost every room in the house; from garage to bedroom, bathroom to kitchen. Maybe staring at a screen all day at work has something to do with this?

Now this blog isn’t a ‘which one is better?’ debate, more of a ‘radio-appreciation’ story. The radio seems to make for better company than a television, it’s easier to have a conversation with the radio on in the background than having the television on.

Since returning from holiday, the television has been on less, the radio definitely more. Now if only I could receive a digital signal at home!