Remind me never to go to an auction. I have bought a few things on ebay recently; I am practically on first name terms with my postman! Although, to be fair, my change of health has led to a change of body shape. Fally-downy trousers are just annoying, so I am justified in these recent additions to my wardrobe.

I used to find that motorway driving was bad for me. After a few years' driving experience I left the secure feeling of the inside lane and started to overtake....and overtake.....increasing in speed, faster and faster, caught up with the adrenalin rush of speed. On one such occasion I heard a voice from nowhere telling me, with absolute certainty: "Slow down!" Fortunately, I heeded the advice of my guardian angel and put my foot on the brake. About a minute later I saw, in the distance, one of the cars that had sped by me collide with the barrier and spin in the road, where several other vehicles ploughed into it.

Bidding is, I find, much like overtaking. My eye is on the prize, and I recheck and rebid. It gets quite exciting, though I have now decided on a more sensible approach, entering a low bid, followed by the use of the "maximum bid" facility, deciding from an unemotional stance what I can actually afford, then resisting the temptation to revisit the site to see if I am still in the lead.

Life is like that, in many ways. There are things that I wish for- not necessarily material- that, if I wish for them once, turn up out of the blue. The things to which I form an attachment, however, may be delayed by my anxiety. Joy is the accelerator, Fear is the brake.

Happy Driving!