3 February

It's bad enough when goods you buy go u/s within weeks. It's worse when you bought them on behalf of someone else, and therefore feel almost responsible for letting them down. It's worse still that you have to spend ages on premium rate lines to service desks in the Philippines, answering each question three times over, to get them to accept that the contraption is faulty. (It's a projector for Magistrates in the Community presentations.)

Then add the fun bit: getting DHL to collect the bloody thing to take it for repair. We stayed home yesterday in a relay, since the best DHL could offer was a pick-up between 09:00 and 17:00. They failed to appear, of course. When I called some time after 5, they said the collection was still 'live'. When life remained indiscernible this morning, I called again, to be told that the driver had called at 20:15 to learn that there was nothing to be picked up. Inefficiency I can handle, almost, though when it's compounded by a truly mediocre call centre system, Deutsche Post and altogether, it's surprising. But downright lies I find altogether harder to deal with. They're briefed to collect tomorrow between 12:30 and 17:00. WTS.

Ah, well, comfort is not far away: four loads of laundry to keep me happy and smiling, grey skies and intermittent drizzle. But I did see a wren in the garden just now, and a song thrush earlier, so all things considered, la vita é bella. Discuss.