The Test Card And Closedown
The moment the telly told you to go to bed.
Broadcasting stopped. An announcer said goodnight, the anthem played, and the screen went to a dot.
Television was not on all the time. It started in the afternoon, stopped for an hour in the early evening so children could be put to bed, and finished before midnight.
The closedown had a ceremony to it: a short sermon on some nights, the national anthem, then a high-pitched tone and a white dot shrinking to nothing.
Cost back then
Included in the licence
Goes for now
Test card memorabilia sells steadily on eBay
