Of course I don’t remember in what year the World Cup was held in Brazil. The “Golden Goddess” cup was being contested. Our beloved KVN television, first issue, was set in the hallway on a high nightstand right opposite the door to the toilet combined with the bath, at a distance of half a metre (the width of the corridor was 1 m). This was the only place where one could watch television, sitting on a little homemade stool, with one’s head thrown back.
Just then Aunt Zina (with her ample forms) and skinny Uncle Misha were staying with us, and besides they were passionate fans! How did they fit? Those reading these lines, switch on your imagination… well, one person remained sitting on the little stool, I think it was my papa, the door to the toilet remained open, there they put a kitchen stool (it was higher than the homemade little stool) and one more person settled on the toilet lid and …., as it were, watched TV, peeking from the side, “from the loo.” For those reading and not knowing the KVN brand of TV I will write the screen size: approximately 18 by 18 cm. Now it is a mystery to me how one could make out a football game there. But they watched, shouted “goal!”, and the rest had to hold their need until the end of the match, so as not to anger the fans!
Since I am telling about the first Soviet television, I want to remember those people who were shown on TV in that distant time. The first announcer of Ukrainian television was the wonderful, charismatic (as they say now) Olga Danilenko. Of course I remember well Tarapun’ka and Shtepsel — “regulars” of the Ukrainian stage and people’s favourites and …. Did Panas, who hosted the programme “Good night, children!” Each of his little tales ended with a wonderful little song in Ukrainian: “Let you dream, children, Grandfather’s tale, in which there is a happy ending. Let father’s strength and mother’s tenderness go to little hearts…”
Good night! To be continued….