Can I have BBC for free?

9:08am Monday 21st April 2008

MY television licence has been renewed at a cost of £139.50 and I am determined to remember that figure in case it comes up in a pub quiz some time.

It would be easy for me to rant on about the injustice and tap into a seam of resentment that exists at all levels of British society.

In fact, I am happy to declare my love for the BBC and the wide-ranging service it provides. It can never be perfect. It irritates me that sports bulletins do not carry enough about cricket test matches now that the BBC has lost out to Sky, but a life without the corporation is unthinkable.

There is always the hope that the Government will one day extend the free licence for people over 75 to those who reach 63, say.

That's what it is, I suspect. Hope.