I wouldn’t want to give the impression that I am a technophobe. It’s not that I am scared of electronic gismos and gadgets. It’s just that I really don’t understand. It’s like trying to do ‘O’ level chemistry when you can’t light your Bunsen burner. There are so many gaps in my basic knowledge that whenever someone tries to explain I sort of glaze over and then do that thing when you pretend you get it but just get further and futher lost.

I do want to learn. I really do so I have been trying to introduce things to my life gradually. Of course I can internet shop and send emails. I’m not a complete write-off but after that I wasn’t sure. I decided to start with a personal organiser.

After dropping a few hints, my husband who was clearly delighted that his wife was emerging from her post-birth fog, bought me a very basic Palm for Christmas. I spent most of Boxing Day inputting addresses and birthdays. It was all very encouraging and even the children were interested in it. It promised to make writing next year’s cards much less stressful and it even gives me a week’s notice of impending birthdays by beeping at me at regular intervals. I still get a little embarrassed when I have to make notes of dental appointments and the like whilst the receptionist hovers with a little card and it annoys me that I can’t really see a week’s worth of events all in one go but I have stuck with it. I’m in to my third year of a paperless diary. Perhaps there is hope for me after all.