Technology

There we were, motoring gently through the Ashdown Forest, when ping! on came the tyre pressure warning light.  On with hazard flashers and hi-viz weskit, and out with the pump, which has a pressure gauge.  It goes without saying that the problem was with the last tyre I checked, as the arthritic knuckles of the right thumb and forefinger bear witness.  The electric pump made shortish work of it, but when I checked it again five miles on, the pressure had dropped slightly.  We were trying out our new GPS map reading contraption (my Christmas present from Martyn) for the first time, and, once instructed, it navigated us to a well-known brand of tyre shop in Uckfield.  The tyre had picked up the steel tip of a high-heeled shoe, unfortunately through the shoulder of the tyre.  But for that it would have been good for at least another 5000 miles.  Oh well.  We were back on the road inside 45 minutes, lighter by close on £180.  But the warning light has stayed on, so that means a trip to the much-loved VW shop (if they ever condescend to return my phone call).  [Later: to its credit, the VW shop rang back inside the hour, and politely explained how I could reset the warning set-up myself.] 

Next techno-challenge was setting up Barbara's internet access in her new flat.  The flat is very smart and efficently laid out - except that her kitchen cupboards and bathroom mirror are set too high on the walls.  It's a bit of a mess of boxes at the moment, a situation I know well from so many removals.  Still, we've bagged up a lot of newsprint to bring away with us to the local tip.  That has gained her a bit of floor space, and a few more cartons are now flattened out ready for collection by the removers in due course.  The internet set-up was a very simple job, but since Barbara's new flat is not cabled for TV, she's had to change internet service provider - or has elected to, in any case.  This means, of course, that Branson and henchmen have closed down her email access.  We've set her up with a yahoo account that she can use independently of service provider.  I changed over to a web-based email account 13 or 14 years ago to avoid having to change addresses each time my employer sent me off to a new country, and it has proved a good move.  I probably have dozens of email addresses with various service providers, and haven't bothered to link them all to my yahoo address.  Since 90% of incoming email is deleted unopened, I don't feel the need to multiply the process.