And the really exciting thing ? The site meter I put on the blog is now working . Well , one of them is and reports the correct figures ( such bliss , it is not after all just me reading it ) whilst the other sends a pompous report on a daily basis telling me I have had precisely nil hits . Even I know I look at it several times a day and I didn't dare exclude my own figures ......So something wrong there

websites etc

The excitement ! the website up and running and now including reference to the blog , and with some added words which might help us in the Search Engine Race ( is that how it works ?) .

It all seems to be going swimmingly for a few minutes then D , trying to improve matters even further , deletes the whole thing off the whole thing ( the website off the webspace ? Serious anyway .) What a blunder ! A series of e mails back and forwards from Fasthosts who are very helpful and who usually seem to start with
" I cant quite see what you have done but ....." and end
" So unless you have a back up copy locally you will need to start again from scratch .
And as the official webmasterperson or is it mistress , I have to forward all these e mails and am thus , again the harbinger of these unwelcome gems .

Not being particularly computer literate myself , I wonder later how it is that I find myself on the end of a phone later to my dad trying to explain " Cut and Paste " so that he can " click on the activation link " of something D put on his pc for him on our last visit . Anti virus software or something equally vital to his safety online which hasnt actually been activated since we were there , about a month , possibly .
" So Dad , do you know how to highlight something with your mouse ? "
"Yes " ( confidently)
"Ok so well get your mouse and click on that box in the corner saying Edit "
" Right " ( still confident . This can't be right)
" Then highlight the address line "
Silence
Silence
Dad ?
Yes
Have you done that ?
Silence
Very small voice " Well I have but nothing has happened . It hasnt copied anything .
No just hang on , now go to Edit again , down to Paste
Paste ?
( I picture him looking round the room for glue )
then ...
" What exactly are we trying to do now ?"

" Tell you what Dad , we'll come and have a look when youre back from your holidays "
Phew .
Now I know what the helpdesk feels like when I hang on the end of the phone tittering at my own incompetence and noting their extreme patience , not even an audible sigh . How do they do that then ?