Cut off from the world....or so it seemed

How can it take 20 days to unlock a mobile phone? Regular readers will recall that my last post was largely concerned with a nasty incident involving a Nokia handset, a car dashboard, an open window and a sharp left-hand turn into Mill Street, Tamworth. 

I had hoped to be reconnected within a couple of days, having bought a cheap handset from a well-known supermarket and acquired a replacement SIM card, but a cashflow crisis and then the fact that my new handset had to be sent away to be unlocked scuppered that.

But TWENTY DAYS? As anyone who has tried to contact me will know, at times I’ve felt like I was living in Outer Mongolia. Of course, there are times when it is useful to be incognito (the Friday afternoon of Derby Beer Festival, for a start!) but such is the nature of our all-pervasive communications world that not having a mobile can sometimes leave you feeling as if you have had your arm cut off.

Is anyone trying to contact me with offers of work? How many millions of text messages have I missed? How many of them were not viral jokes or cold calls, but actually important? Is there a problem with the switchover? Will I have to change my number? If I do, what happens to the £75 worth of swanky new business cards I have just had printed - which feature my current number?

It’s not been a fun three weeks, although I must say ‘Thank You’ to the man in the repair shop, who looked at me with increasing concern as my weekly visits became twice-weekly, then daily.

However, I’m now back in the land of the mobile phone and spent most of yesterday trying to fathom it out. It’s not a smartphone; it doesn’t make the tea, it just allows me to make calls, send texts, get on t’interweb and play games, should I wish. But it’s still complicated enough for someone who spent a few minutes trying to extract the SIM card from inside the handset to get at the authentication code. 

 And, of course, although I have been able to retain my phone number, I've lost everyone's numbers because my old SIM card was smashed. So if I haven't already asked and you think I had your number on my old phone, please PM me on Facebook or e-mail me with the details. It might help me feel as if I am back in touch with the world.