I'm at the bottom of that slippery slope and paddling happily in the mud...

I got mine after I started a new job that meant travelling for an hour to get to work. I use it as our emergency contact as I try never to leave the house without it. It acts as my phone, my clock, my calendar, my alarm, my notepad and, with a previous model, my composer. As I'm the only one of us who can remember the number without looking it up, it's used as the contact for various car rentals, hotel bookings and school outings.

I mainly use the text facility, my tarrif makes it cheaper than actually phoning, and my friends can respond whenever they want. When in meetings, church etc, I have it on silent rather than off, as I forget how to switch it back on. I try never to use it when driving, unless I'm sitting in a traffic queue, and then, only to tell the person I'm meeting I'm going to be late.

Manitas has a mobile phone too, but it's useless calling him, he never picks up and if he does, he can't hear you. You're better off e-mailing him because he's got one of those all singing, all dancing Blackberry things.

Have you ever noticed that if you put a mobile number down as 'number to ring if you want us to tell you more', no-one ever calls you back? Useful little tidbit, that.

LTS