The young Chinese woman on the ‘phone made it sound so very simple. “You will find it very easy”, were her exact words. A ‘phone call out of the blue from our internet provider informed us that, as we had Mark I of their hub, and this was now thoroughly out of date, they were offering to send us the latest model for free. I’m never particularly confident with communications technology, but she assured me that the installation process would be no trouble at all.
The thing arrived today, and we set about the process of swapping over the old and the new hubs. Let me put it this way, it could have been a lot worse. That is, until we switched on and discovered that our printer no longer functioned, and it was necessary to reinstall it. Having floundered about for some time we discovered that we did, in fact, still have the documentation necessary to do this. The only trouble was, at the end of a nerve-wracking hour we still had not managed to make it work. We are reduced to ‘phoning my good friend Simon tomorrow, who is one of the few people I know who actually can claim some real expertise in this area.
They do say “beware of what you wish for, because your wish might be granted.” I set out today determined to have a day that did not simply require me to sit around the place, painting. It started well, with a trip to the recycling centre to deliver some bags of garden waste. Another visit resulted in the purchase of fuel for the stove. We made good progress sorting out the family files. It was all going so well. Then this! I did indeed get the day of varied activity for which I had wished. But ….
I have no trouble in trusting women. I actually have no prejudice against the Chinese. When it comes to internet companies, however, that line from Leonard Cohen comes to mind. “You will find it very easy,” she said!
*Yes: Leonard Cohen again, I’m afraid.