I have survived the madness of the sales by not attending them.

I did however make an appearance this Wednesday after the crazy people had gone home.

I was on the lookout for a new TV but realised after a couple of hours of strolling through the shops that we the customer are being duped.

Yes, they have got us just where they want us and there is nothing we can do about it.

When we had a black and white TV everything was fine.

Then they made it colour and decided to make them bigger.

Back then 28 inches was all the rage.

I can honestly say I was happy with the size of my telly back then. Now it has become almost impossible to know what the hell is going on.

And the worst thing is we have to buy all these silly little add-ons because the TV people have got together with the cable people who have got together with the disc people and so on and so forth.

Together they are stiffing us out of every single last penny we have.

Did you know they don’t use scart sockets any more? You have to buy something called an HDi cable. And the DVD player was described as ‘extinct’ by one sales person.

Every single time I think of buying something new, the powers that be have made it their business to create these little ‘extras’.

I can imagine taking all this stuff home one day and then realising I have to hire someone to come and watch the TV with me.

Unsurprisingly this person will be on the payroll of the very company that built my TV.

I saw one elderly lady being told the latest blue-ray player would do wonders for her and maybe she should also consider something called a ‘sound bar’ for extra quality.

‘I only want to watch this DVD my daughter sent me for Christmas,’ she exclaimed.

Just when I had decided that a 3D, HD, LED, Smart TV with wi-fi built in was for me I got told that will be rubbish within a year.

I was seriously depressed for a few hours and have decided to stick with the big box I have at home.

There’s nothing to watch on the blasted thing anyway.