Switched on

MORE than 80 years after John Logie Baird stunned the public with his demonstration of moving images, the analogue switch-off will mark the end of an era. While the technology and range of channels will delight some, there must also be help for those who find such change bamboozling.

For elderly people who live on their own, television can play an important role in keeping them in touch with the world and, for those a long way from their loved ones, it can mean they hear the sound of other human voices.

The changes may seem daunting to some and Digital UK, the body leading the switchover, should ensure vulnerable people get all the help that they need. The broadcasting of Welsh programmes in parts of England earlier this year, after thousands of households had re-tuned their set-top boxes, shows that the process can go wrong.

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Television coverage should be uniform across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and people need to know what is happening. Despite living in the age of advanced technology, an old-fashioned public information campaign is the right way to get the message out.

Engaging Ian McMillan is certainly unorthodox, but

if anyone can help, it is the Bard of Barnsley.