Dining room TV would help Horace and Doris

THE longevity of Horace and Doris so long after cartoonist Morris’s death can be ascribed to the timeless theme of the boorish husband and the hectoring wife.

The occasional anachronism such as the indoor aerial and chunky TV set doesn’t seem to matter.

However, setting aside the notion of the subservient wife always doing the cooking, younger generations might find the idea of Horace being summoned to the dining-room somewhat old-fashioned.

Sadly, the tray has now made the dining-table redundant. It gets worse: according to a survey, more than half of meals in cafes and restaurants are eaten with the fingers.

The cutlery industry is reported to be in such decline that it is projected that knives, forks and spoons will become almost obsolete.

My wife and I retain the quaint habit of eating, with cutlery, in the dining-room.

The problem of my rushing into the TV room when I think a wicket has fallen or a goal has been scored has been solved by installing a TV set in the dining-room. I got the idea from the French. Perhaps this could go a little way towards easing marital tensions chez Horace and Doris.