GGGRRR!!!

I am very pleased that I have a technical specialist living in the same house as me, and I am also pleased that he has patience and an investigative turn of mind for techie problem solving.

My current technical issue is being unable to purchase books on my Kindle.

One of the fab things about my Kindle is that I can buy books at any time of the day or night and have them be downloaded to my Kindle in less than a minute. Bliss to an insomniac avid reader.

But that bliss came to an abrupt end in September and has not yet been restored.

The end to my late night shopping habits occurred because, along with about 4000 other Global Plus Mastercard holders, our accounts were compromised (we suspect a database hack) and our cards cancelled. That was a bit of a problem in itself as were still on the boat and needed to have an emergency card provided. The card was obligingly sent to our friends Richard and Emma in Market Harborough and Emma delivered it to us at Foxton. It was a temporary card valid until shortly after we got back to NZ when new cards were to be issued, and it was only in David's name. Accordingly I didn't bother updating my Amazon/Kindle account and put shopping on hold. It wasn't a problem as I have 267 books on my kindle and happily read them more than once.

But now I want to buy more - there are three in particular I wanted: the third Cormoran Strike book by JK Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith, the third in the Jane Smiley trilogy and A complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews. I had just finished re-reading All my Puny Sorrows by MT, a lovely and moving book, and wanted another by her. And the first two I had had on pre-order but because of the credit card hassle they could not be delivered.

So, the new cards are here and have been activated and tested for their efficacy as spending mechanisms. My card details have been updated in my Amazon account, but can I buy books again? NO!!!!! Can I troubleshoot the issue? NO!!! Am I happy? NO!!!

Is David going to sort it for me? Yes. Has he brought me breakfast in bed to soothe my frayed nerves? Yes. Will I keep him on? Yes - as long as the troubleshooting occurs quickly enough ...

In the meantime I am having a rant here and will resume reading False Colours on my kindle. If I can face more technology interfacing, I will apply online for the National Superannuation which I qualify for on 4 December when I turn 65. I am already intimidated by the letter inviting me to apply - on reading the instructions (not my strong suit, following instructions with more than 3 steps that I have to remember) I had to have a lie down ...

I have just read the above to David - he recommends that I apply on paper. So tomorrow I will go to pick up a form. Sometimes you just have to take the advice of people who know you well.