New-fangled ideas

This morning was the chronological host to an event which surprised even me. My mother is a regular computer and internet user, and perfectly competent with it. It seems though, that the mental processes that go with this ability, and the intergration of this with normal life, still seem to be a little distant.

Scenario (I wonder where that word comes from - it doesn't look very, well, local.) - Mum has lost touch with an old friend who was her bridesmaid 25 years ago. These things happen. The thing is, now that she wants to discover her again, she begins to employ a rather strange method. It involves paper. Both in the form of a letter, and in the form of a paper - the Luton local press. The idea being that if this bridesmaid-from-yesteryear is still known in her local area, someone might read a note placed in the newspaper and be able to share her contact details. All well and good. Not a bad plan. Could even give some useful results, with a lot of luck, lots of paper, and several weeks.

Or. This beautiful beast which you are riding at this very moment. The internet. Yes, just before mother leaves to post her letter to the newspaper to get this manual process rolling, I enquire innocently whether she's tried Google yet? Seems not. So a quick search of the name of this, now not so young, lady. Guess what? She's got her name and current photo ( apparently quite recognisable after 25 years) on a website of a local (to her at least) Gilbert and Sullivan society.

Mum then had only the dilemma of whether Royal Mail's current self-adherent stamp glue would come off with steaming.