We ain't half had a few curious emails come spilling through our e-letterbox in our time, but we was absolutely gobsmacked to recently discover a press release in our inbox. Real life people considering us the sane voice of reason? Blimey, that's a compliment and a half, so we're gonna run with it!
And this particular press release centres around the success of Downton Abbey in the old memorabilia stakes. Downton Abbey, despite being set over a 100 years ago is a pretty aspirational slice of British TV, so the good old guys and gals of UK (and much of the globe) have got engaged to the hilt with it.
We can't, of course, just jump in a time machine and head back to Edwardian Britain, but we can head to ebay.co.uk and pick up the DVDs or even a Lady Edith Crawley mask. Now, the latest series of Downton Abbeyisn't experiencing the vast viewing figures of previous series', but it's success on Ebay certainly ain't nothing to be sniffed at.
You see, in terms of sales volumes, Downton Abbey is currently the highest ranked period drama on ebay.co.uk as the following chart rundown testifies:
Period Drama Ranking (Sales Volume)
1. Downton Abbey
2. An Inspector Calls
3. Call the Midwife
4. Lady Chatterley's Lover
5. The Go-Between
It's this success which demonstrates - despite the drop in viewing figures - that the passion for Downton Abbey goes much deeper than just sticking on the gogglebox and getting entertained for an hour before switching off and eating a pork pie. The viewers, instead, are die hard sycophants and want to move themselves closer to the characters and world they've invested so much in.
And all this Ebay chatter got us thinking about how that wonderful old online marketplace has helped our beloved blog explore the shows we love that little bit deeper.
After all, just head to Ebay and type in "Radio Times" and you're instantly presented with over 5,000 listings which makes for pretty tasty research into the past of British TV. God knows we've blasted a few pennies into that crazy marketplace in order to get a rare titbit of knowledge about a forgotten show.
Then there's all the strange little offshoots of memorabilia that you never even knew (or could humanly contemplate) existed. Take Doctor Who, for example, where you can currently pick up a delightfully vintage Doctor Who Colouring Book or even a Doctor Who Board Game (we had this, we have no memory of how you played it).
So, yes, Ebay, bloody hell it's brilliant! And we ain't even being paid to say this! We're only incorporating the press release into the blog as it's led us to some amazing bits of TV memorabilia over the years which has helped stoke our passions for rare British TV, so who can argue with that?
And, finally, we'd LOVE to hear about some of the bizarre and intriguing British TV bits of memorabilia you've picked up over the years, so let us know in the comments!