1979 to Today: A New Home and a Growing Love of Technology
Moving into the house where I still live today marked a new chapter in my technology story. Beginning with an Alba music centre and a growing record collection, my interest soon expanded into VHS, computers, televisions and home cinema.
Around 1979 or 1980, my life entered a new chapter when we moved out of my grandparents’ house and into the three-bedroom house where I still live today. I was fortunate enough to end up with the largest of the three bedrooms—something that would become increasingly useful as my collection of technology gradually expanded.
One of the first pieces of technology I remember buying after we moved was an Alba music centre. Unfortunately, I can no longer remember the model number, but it marked the beginning of my record collection. I started buying singles and albums, although I cannot recall everything I owned during those early years. My musical tastes leaned heavily towards funk and disco, and this was also around the time I became interested in the music of Kate Bush.
That Alba music centre was only the beginning. Over the years, my bedroom—and eventually the rest of the house—became home to an ever-growing collection of technology. VHS recorders and videotapes were followed by computers, newer televisions, audio equipment and, much later, home cinema.
Looking back, this house has provided the setting for almost my entire adult technological journey. The equipment has changed beyond recognition, but my enthusiasm for discovering, buying and experimenting with new technology has remained much the same. What began with a relatively simple Alba music centre grew into a lifelong interest that continues today.
This feels like the right place to bring the continuous part of my technology story to a close. From this point onwards, my journey becomes less about where I lived and more about the individual pieces of technology I bought, used and sometimes struggled with.
Many of those devices deserve stories of their own. The Alba music centre was followed by record players, VHS recorders, televisions, computers, cameras, home cinema equipment and countless other pieces of technology. Rather than trying to squeeze everything into a single timeline, I will continue telling the story through separate articles about the equipment I owned and the memories connected with it.
The story itself is not ending. It is simply changing format—and, in many ways, this is where Technophilia truly begins.