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Good morning.  On the 3rd March 1966 the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ announced that it would shortly start broadcasting television programmes in colour. The public were promised an initial four hours of colour television a week on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2, making Britain the first country in Europe to offer regular programming in colour.  

Where would we be without colour? I still remember the joyful shock I experienced when watching the 1939 film of the Wizard of Oz for the first time, and the humdrum black and white world of Dorothy’s everyday life in Kansas suddenly exploded into glorious Technicolor in the land of Oz.   I was intrigued to discover that a paint firm had invested in research into the effect of colour on human emotions, and found that orange stimulates the appetite while blue can suppress it. This has led to the creation of very specific colour schemes for dining rooms in mental health facilities treating patients with anorexia. Similarly, the research found that yellow was more likely to make babies cry, so it is should be avoided in maternity wards and neonatal units, whereas the stimulation of red walls should be avoided in cardiac units.

In Wales, where I live, Cardiff City fans were not at all impressed when their club’s owner changed the Bluebirds’ strip from blue to red, most believing passionately that the team’s identity was tied up with the colour in which they played.  And a very non-scientific poll of my own family confirms that we all believe that the Welsh rugby team play best when they are wearing red.  It seems colour does indeed matter!

Father God, we thank you for the gift of colour this spring time, colours which lift our spirits and give life to the beautiful world which we inhabit. We pray for those for whom life seems grey or even black, who are struggling with depression and for those whose sight is impaired, who would love to see colours but can’t do so. We ask that their lives may be enriched by other sorts of beauty today, Amen.