Just bought 30 second class stamps and sent a parcel recorded delivery in the Post Office. The stamps cost £6.30 and the recorded delivery costs £2.25. ‘That will be £8.55, please Sir’. I hand over a 20 pound note. The lady gives me £8.55 in change, asks me to put the parcel in Santa’s overflowing grey sack and prepares for the next customer. ‘Sorry but I thought you said it was £8.55’ ...

Two things that are not immediately obvious about digital radio. Not all DAB stations are national. You may be able to listen to Capital Radio in Brisbane over the Internet but you can’t listen to Capital Radio on a digital radio in Inverness. This is because ’local’ radio stations are still subject to UK broadcasting regulations which means they must remain local, even with DAB. Consequently, the range of radio stations available on DAB isn’t (quite) as wide ranging as you might expect. The sound quality of FM radio is better than DAB. Tune the same radio station in on FM and DAB, turn up the volume and toggle between the two. The difference is quite marked. I used to think my ears? wouldn’t be able to distinguish between an expensive Bang & Oulfsen system costing 2,000 GBP and an Alba record player. I was wrong.

A few months ago, I was shocked and amazed to receive an email from Friends Reunited entitled ‘Janet Oldsgate has sent you a private message’. God, I was so excited, I could hardly contain myself. The adrenaline started flowing, I broke out in a hot sweat and clicked through like I had never clicked through before. Oh no. What is my darned password for Friends Reunited ? I looked it up on the Palm - nothing. I looked in Thunderbird under ‘Infrequently used Web sites’ - nothing. I tried a couple of the usual suspects but no joy. Then I remembered the password was in fact, ‘JOldsgate73!’. This password was a deliberate and incredibly secure choice to prevent a repeat of the unfortunate incident when my wife hacked my Friends Reunited account and modified my ‘Profile’ in an oh so amusing and hilarious fashion. My, how we laughed. ...

I am worried about those developers at WordPress. They have to eat food, drink coffee and wear clothes but how are they ever going to make any money ? There isn’t even a ‘Donate’ button anywhere on the site. WordPress.com provide me with a hosted blogging platform which I think it is very good; better than Blogger, better than Bloglines, better than Yahoo 360’, better than most of the competition. ...

The Glazer takeover was not the end of an era. Manchester United is a PLC not a football club. The departure of Roy Keane was not the end of an era. Players (even great ones) come and players go. The death of George Best was not the end of an era. Death and taxes. However, last night’s 2-1 defeat to Benfica in Lisbon just might be.