# No Ceefax mourning thread?



## purves grundy (Apr 18, 2012)

Any good Ceefax memories? Those interminable waits for the numbers to get around to the page you were after; finding cheap flights; having a quick fumble over some Ceefax porn (P.699)

My dad still used it to flick through the news in the morning, I think he could be the last.


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## Belushi (Apr 18, 2012)

I thought it had died years ago. It was useful in the pre-internet days.


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## peterkro (Apr 18, 2012)

I was watching news night and looked up to see ceefax,I did a wtf is BBC2 doing shutting down at 11pm.


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## lizzieloo (Apr 18, 2012)

(((mine and purves' dads)))


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## Onket (Apr 18, 2012)

Ceefax porn?!

I booked a holiday off there once and the company went bust while I was away. Basically ended up getting a few extra days over there but it was worrying for a while as the airline refused to take us home and they had to sort out an alternative flight.


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## OneStrike (Apr 18, 2012)

It's been gone for what must be the best part of a year here.  I'd made good progress but the outpouring of grief from Londoners losing it has brought it all back.  

I genuinely used it every day without fail, the digital version is no way near as good.


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## Gingerman (Apr 18, 2012)

Great for the footie scores


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## Pickman's model (Apr 18, 2012)

Gingerman said:


> Great for the footie scores


nice to see doncaster doing well


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## editor (Apr 18, 2012)

here's how me and my mate Danny would get our midweek kicks: a four pack and Cardiff City on the teletext.

Heady days.


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## Gingerman (Apr 18, 2012)

Always the first thing I used to do when I woke up,put on ceefax to see if the World blew up while I was asleep.


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## OneStrike (Apr 18, 2012)

Teletext went a long time back!

As an insomniac, i'd spend hours looking at all sorts on Teletext and ceefax, they had letters pages for news and sport discussions, with a 24 hour turn around (often longer over a sunday or bank holiday weekend). It was very sad as they were getting close to closing down the services that many pensioners used the pages to say farewell to their letters page friends. I imagine many would not have got around to reacquianting over the internet.


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## quimcunx (Apr 18, 2012)

Lawkes you've reminded of trying to use it to book a last minute holiday.  Even more tortuous than now.


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## Greebo (Apr 19, 2012)

I used to read ceefax when babysitting.  It says a lot about the lack of reading material and decent programmes in the small hours that I went through so many pages of it.


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## OneStrike (Apr 19, 2012)

Some personal Ceefax highlights.  Football scores, refreshing constantly for nearly two hours. The excitement of 2 pages jumping to 3, knowing someone, somewhere, had scored.  Having page 150 loaded and receiving news updates as though someone was paging me global news. 888, FUCKING SUBTITLES, AMAZING! Bamboozle, interacting with my tv, that Jeff Stelling prototype sending me back to the start, after a while it was just remembering which of the 4 colours i'd pressed.  Yep, i've got a trolling letter published on 145 again, i win. Fast-text, simply pressing red, blue e.t.c. and it zipped immediately to the destination. 

A few years back, when I finally owned a tv that loaded and remembered every page on a number and i could scroll through them at my leisure, that was a special day.


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## lizzieloo (Apr 19, 2012)

(((OneStrike, mine and purves' dads)))


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## Chemical needs (Apr 19, 2012)

I used it to check the surf...


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## frogwoman (Apr 19, 2012)

NOOOOOOOO they havent have they?? i used to read "backchat" when i was a kid and the zine as like an early version of urban.


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## tufty79 (Apr 19, 2012)

that was teletext rather than ceefax, wasn't it? i reckon they're interchangeable anyway 
i killed many hours with this, whichever it was from..


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## frogwoman (Apr 19, 2012)

I fucking loved Bamber Boozler, used to play it for hours as a kid. And no that obviously didn't have any bad effects on my psyche at all 

backchat was bbc, zine was teletext.


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## Ax^ (Apr 19, 2012)

must admit when i was a kid in 1993 channel 4's Planet sound teletext page was my eye opener to music... 

((pre internet days))


*edit* remembered the name


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## frogwoman (Apr 19, 2012)

the waits were a pain in the arse though. Sometimes the page would appear for a split second and then disappear!


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## Chemical needs (Apr 19, 2012)

Think I used to read a pet hates page on there sometimes.


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## tufty79 (Apr 19, 2012)

Onket said:


> Ceefax porn?!


again, don't remember it from ceefax, but..


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## kittyP (Apr 19, 2012)

I use to read the kids and teenagers pages when I was a youngster. 

The boys dad still was using it for footy and horse-racing scores last time we were there.


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 19, 2012)

Personally I'm mourning the smooth jazz funk sounds of _Pages From Ceefax_


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## Maggot (Apr 19, 2012)

RIP Ceefax.  I hadn't used it for ages but it's still sad to see it go.   What are BBC2 gonna show after closedown now?



Gingerman said:


> Great for the footie scores


It was great for football scores.  I remember that some of the letters didn't appear due to bad reception and particularly enjoyed seeing  the score of a certain Notts C unty. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17745100


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## Santino (Apr 19, 2012)

I once followed England playing in Pakistan from a hotel room in Macclesfield via Ceefax. Ian Bell took a wicket!


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## purves grundy (Apr 19, 2012)

Onket said:


> Ceefax porn?!


'twas actually something I used to chuckle to myself about after I started using the internet in the late 90s. Sadly it never actually happened.

But our perverted continental cousins couldn't resist:


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## Lea (Apr 19, 2012)

I haven't used it in years. My dad (who doesn't use a computer) used Ceefax to check the weekly lottery results.


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## Kanda (Apr 19, 2012)

tufty79 said:


> that was teletext rather than ceefax, wasn't it? i reckon they're interchangeable anyway
> i killed many hours with this, whichever it was from..


 
Now available as an App on a smartphone near you....


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## purves grundy (Apr 19, 2012)

Actually this one is a bit rude too


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## King Biscuit Time (Apr 19, 2012)

Drinking a few tins watching Top of the Pops with the 888 subtitles on was a standard mid-90s precursor to trying to get into pubs. Coupled with a piss-poor TV reception this led to a number of quality new lyrics. Who could forget that Manics classic

*#You  tole the bun from my  ear *


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 19, 2012)

Yeah subtitles on 888 were great for top of the pops. Though not quite as comedy as music videos on T4 signed for the deaf.


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 22, 2012)

Hang on a moment... Pages From Ceefax is still on BBC2 as of right now (05:23 UK Time).

IT LIVES!


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## claphamboy (Apr 22, 2012)

skyscraper101 said:


> Hang on a moment... Pages From Ceefax is still on BBC2 as of right now (05:23 UK Time).
> 
> IT LIVES!


 
It doesn't totally close until digital switchover finally reaches the last area, which IIRC is Northern Ireland in Oct. 2012.


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## marty21 (Apr 22, 2012)

My Dad used to use it all the time, and the teletext service as well, it's the only technology thing he has really engaged with - used it for horse racing mainly - and betting. He would spend an hour or so going through all the races for the day to decide on his betting for the day. Mum has a couple of racing channels on sky now that he watches all day - At the Races is one of them, can't remember the other one - now he's retired, that is his day-time tv viewing


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## purenarcotic (Apr 22, 2012)

I didn't realise it had died a death.   My dad used it for footie / sport stuff and the stock markets.  He didn't have shares in anything, I don't know why he spent what felt like hours to me reading it all.


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## WouldBe (Apr 22, 2012)

I used ceefax last night to check todays weather and the lottery results.


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## moochedit (Apr 22, 2012)

purenarcotic said:


> I didn't realise it had died a death.


 
I think it dies out with analogue, (which we lost in the midlands about 6 months ago) so i guess they still have it in the north east and northern ireland as they have not switched analogue off yet?


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## purenarcotic (Apr 22, 2012)

moochedit said:


> I think it dies out with analogue, (which we lost in the midlands about 6 months ago) so i guess they still have it in the north east and northern ireland as they have not switched analogue off yet?


 
 My dad's in London so I guess it's gone.


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## moochedit (Apr 22, 2012)

purenarcotic said:


> My dad's in London so I guess it's gone.


 
London is one of the last places to switch but it's not THE last place.
The tyne tees and ulster regions and part of the meridian region are still to switch.
(I guess some of you cockneys might be able to pick up from meridian transmitters if you are getting withdrawal symptoms ? )

this says northern ireland and tyne tees still have it...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/04/18/ceefax_london/

personally i think it had been years since i last used it anyway.


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## GarfieldLeChat (Apr 22, 2012)

editor said:


> here's how me and my mate Danny would get our midweek kicks: a four pack and Cardiff City on the teletext.
> 
> Heady days.



I didn't tknow you were in motley Crüe


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## editor (Apr 22, 2012)

Cardiff Crüe, ackshully.


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## spliff (Apr 22, 2012)

indoor aerial, rubber plant and what looks like a lava lamp, those were the days eh?


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## Orang Utan (Apr 22, 2012)

editor said:


> here's how me and my mate Danny would get our midweek kicks: a four pack and Cardiff City on the teletext.
> 
> Heady days.


did you use to be in the shamen?


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 22, 2012)

Those were the days when you could put stuff like Lava Lamps and plants on the telly.


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 22, 2012)

For anyone missing it, you can still get it on http://www.ceefax.tv/


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 22, 2012)

What I will quite miss in fact is the flight arrivals page on 440. Although you can still access the info on a smartphone or the web, it was nice to be able to just put all the info on a big screen which you could see from across the room, just like in the airport.


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## Orang Utan (Apr 22, 2012)

i only ever used it to see what was on the telly. i knew nothing of these holiday offers. i wish i had.


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 22, 2012)

The holiday offers was on teletext rather than ceefax I think (as in www.teletextholidays.co.uk which lives on via the web) - I remember my Mum going round the neighbours house to use their (teletext enabled) TV to browse the pages and get a good deal on flights to Ibiza in the mid-nineties.


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## Orang Utan (Apr 22, 2012)

I thought ceefax and teletext were the same things?


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## mauvais (Apr 22, 2012)

This thread cannot pass without the requisite reminder.


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## OneStrike (Apr 22, 2012)

Orang Utan said:


> I thought ceefax and teletext were the same things?


 
 Ceefax was via the BBC, teletext was on channels 3 and 4.


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## Greebo (Apr 22, 2012)

Orang Utan said:


> I thought ceefax and teletext were the same things?


Ceefax was the BBC version, teletext was the ITV version.  Or was it the other way round?


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 22, 2012)

tufty79 said:


> that was teletext rather than ceefax, wasn't it? i reckon they're interchangeable anyway
> i killed many hours with this, whichever it was from..


 
Yeah, I did bamboozle, there was also some sort of comic strip about a dog. I super dog I think.
Aw shit, this is really going to bug me now.

I used to hate how when they showed you pages from ceefax they sometimes did cool animation that didn't happen on the real ceefax. bastards.


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## Kid_Eternity (Apr 22, 2012)

mauvais said:


> This thread cannot pass without the requisite reminder.


 
Good stuff, I was going to post this. 

Digitiser was great!


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## Orang Utan (Apr 22, 2012)

OneStrike said:


> Ceefax was via the BBC, teletext was on channels 3 and 4.


So they were the same thing just on different channels


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 22, 2012)

skyscraper101 said:


> Personally I'm mourning the smooth jazz funk sounds of _Pages From Ceefax_




I once made a TV programme where I found a woman that had recorded boxes and boxes and boxes worth of tapes of ceefax music by sticking a tape recorder beside the TV.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 22, 2012)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Good stuff, I was going to post this.
> 
> Digitiser was great!


 
Ah yes digitizer, teletext not ceefax. Digitizer was on channel 4 wasn't it. I think Bamboozle was a part of that.


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 22, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> I once made a TV programme where I found a woman that had recorded boxes and boxes and boxes worth of tapes of ceefax music by sticking a tape recorder beside the TV.


 


I'm not sure which is more sad. The fact a woman recorded the music from Ceefax, or the fact I now want to watch that show about her.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 22, 2012)




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## skyscraper101 (Apr 22, 2012)

There was also 'Oracle' the precursor to Teletext. It even had its own soap opera _Park Avenue._ you can still read it here:

http://www.newmailbox.co.uk/parkavenue/default.asp


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 22, 2012)

skyscraper101 said:


> I'm not sure which is more sad. The fact a woman recorded the music from Ceefax, or the fact I now want to watch that show about her.


 
It was a show about obsessions.
Mostly great stuff, but ITV wanted me to add a serious angle about OCD and autisum, which - A - aren't really obsessions and - B - don't sit to well alongside the funny stuff.
She was absolutely nuts. She hated any music that wasn't TV music. She had just about every single of any TV theme ever made but was almost spitting with anger at the thought of music that wasn't made for telly.


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 22, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> She was absolutely nuts. She hated any music that wasn't TV music. She had just about every single of any TV theme ever made but was almost spitting with anger at the thought of music that wasn't made for telly.


 
She sounds like complete opposite of most people. I'd genuinely love to see that show.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 23, 2012)

skyscraper101 said:


> She sounds like complete opposite of most people. I'd genuinely love to see that show.


I probably have a copy somewhere, if so I'll upload it when I sort my new office* out.

*spare bedroom.


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 23, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> I probably have a copy somewhere, if so I'll upload it when I sort my new office* out.
> 
> *spare bedroom.


 
Cheers.


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## ATOMIC SUPLEX (Apr 23, 2012)

skyscraper101 said:


> Cheers.


 
There is a short clip here at 3.55 of another guy from the show.

He had too many good moments. Actually that clip seems quite tame.


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## skyscraper101 (Apr 25, 2012)

ATOMIC SUPLEX said:


> There is a short clip here at 3.55 of another guy from the show.
> 
> He had too many good moments. Actually that clip seems quite tame.


 
Only just got round to watching that. That guy is a just a bit odd. Love the edit to the woman at 4.44


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## Dr Alimantado (Apr 25, 2012)




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## skyscraper101 (May 14, 2012)

The last time that Ceefax will play out a final-day drama. Farewell, old girl...


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## skyscraper101 (Aug 15, 2012)

^^ that was a picture of football scores iirc 

Did a check this morning while I'm back in the UK for a bit... Pages From Ceefax still an early morning staple on BBC 2 complete with funky lounge jazz music


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## claphamboy (Aug 15, 2012)

skyscraper101 said:


> ^^ that was a picture of football scores iirc
> 
> Did a check this morning while I'm back in the UK for a bit... Pages From Ceefax still an early morning staple on BBC 2 complete with funky lounge jazz music


 
IIRC it will totally disappear once digital switch-over is completed on 24th October 2012, there's two ITV regions still to switch - Tyne Tees & Ulster.


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## skyscraper101 (Aug 15, 2012)

I'm still amazed how long it has taken to get this switchover complete nationally. It's like they just got one bloke doing it, taking 4 month holidays between each job.


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## DexterTCN (Aug 15, 2012)

editor said:


> here's how me and my mate Danny would get our midweek kicks: a four pack and Cardiff City on the teletext.
> 
> Heady days.


 
Aw that's nice.  You and your son. 

Colour's a bit off though, shouldn't that scarf be red?

Cefax didn't work on an hdmi so I've not seen it for donkeys.


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## shagnasty (Aug 15, 2012)

It was terrible back in the seventies news at ten rarely gave the football results and nothing on radio so you had to wait to buy a paper in the morning to learn the football results or a big fight.then came teletex and then the internet .Teletex must have been a forerunner of the internet .The signal of end of the newspaper ,it won't be a sad day when they go


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## claphamboy (Aug 15, 2012)

skyscraper101 said:


> I'm still amazed how long it has taken to get this switchover complete nationally. It's like they just got one bloke doing it, taking 4 month holidays between each job.


 
As there's thousands of transmitters (main ones & their various relays), I don't think 5 years from start to finish is that long TBH.

Besides, it wasn't just the transmission side of things, they had to sort out all the publicity, guides, helpline, and ensure they had enough 'engineers' to do the free upgrades for the elderly, disabled, etc.

Then, for example, the south-east had to wait for the French to sort themselves out to avoid interference and Northern Ireland is last because it's switching-over on the same day as the Republic.

Plus there was the adoption of the new superior DVB-T 8k transmission format in each area at switch-over, replacing the older '2k' format, which I assume only required a software update on newer digital transmitters, but total replacement of the older ones dating back to the ONdigital/ITV digital days.

ETA: Just had a dig around, digital switch-over involved extending the old Freeview service by using almost 9,500 new transmitters that needed installing on over 1,000 masts.   (source)


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## skyscraper101 (Jan 6, 2022)

It's back!

(sort of)









						Text appeal: Ceefax recreated by 20-year-old Northern Irish man
					

Nathan Dane spent six years honing his version of the BBC’s defunct text-based information service




					www.theguardian.com


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## farmerbarleymow (Jan 6, 2022)

skyscraper101 said:


> It's back!
> 
> (sort of)
> 
> ...


Sadly the link hasn't worked since I saw that yesterday.


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## skyscraper101 (Jan 13, 2022)

farmerbarleymow said:


> Sadly the link hasn't worked since I saw that yesterday.



Seems it was overloaded and had issues. Looks like its working now.

I'm quite tempted to get a raspberry pi just to have it working on my telly


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## DaveCinzano (Oct 20, 2022)

Risen from the dead!









						Ceefax is dead, long live Ceefax! Meet the fans resurrecting the ingenious service
					

101, 102, 103, 104 … It wasn’t fast, but it was breathtakingly revolutionary, and Ceefax still has its share of devotees, 10 years after it was turned off. They explain how they are keeping the newsfeed alive




					www.theguardian.com


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## farmerbarleymow (Oct 20, 2022)

We never had ceefax as kids - it was for posh people and we were too common.


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## Ax^ (Oct 20, 2022)

is planet sound Back


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