I managed to pack up my flat and move all my things down here without too much hassle. It seemed like it would be hard but it all went without a hitch. The only casualty was a bottle of soy sauce that lost its cap and spilt in the removal van. Most of my stuff had to be stored in the garage – it all fitted in easily. My furniture fitted into the spaces where I hoped it would fit. Everything went smoothly – until I tried to connect my broadband.
As I made my plans to move in with mum, I thought I’d be able to cope just as long as I had the internet. I planned a virtual existence, an e-life that would give me a connection to the outside world – and help keep me sane. But – when I plugged in my broadband hub, nothing happened. No internet. I phoned BT. After hanging on for 20 minutes I spoke to someone who suggested I check a few things. I did those checks but – still no internet. I began to worry. I phoned BT again and spoke to someone who suggested some other checks. Still no joy. I started to get a bit panicky. I phoned BT again and after another long wait – it was third time lucky! A young woman asked me a series of questions and – bingo – the mystery was solved – though not resolved. Mum’s emergency button, which works through the phone line, was blocking my broadband.
Our lifelines were in conflict! Mum needs that button. She’s had several falls recently and if she has another one when I’m not there, she can summon help even if she’s stuck on the floor far from the phone. But I need the internet. I rang the emergency button people in hysterics. They were quite unfazed. Oh yes, they said, it happens all the time. You just need to plug the ADSL lead into a different socket.
The next morning, at 9 am a car pulled up outside the house. A young woman came bounding in, threw herself down on the floor by the plug, pulled one thing out, put one thing in and – hey presto – everything worked perfectly, no problem at all.
I was so exhausted by this crisis that I couldn’t switch my computer on again for days!