I had a message from Matthieu. I pass it on without comment. If anyone out there wants to send him a message of sympahty after reading this, I'll pass them all on!

Matt says . . . "Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin... Saturday 14th December and the Microsoft Christmas Ball in the Roundhouse, London is well underway and I am resplendent in my new Dinner Jacket - all very James Bond etc... until my car is clamped outside our hotel and my dinner jacket goes mysteriously missing at the Ball along with £100 in cash that I had for taxis, emergencies etc... :o(

Sunday sees my car unclamped after a lengthy discussion with London officials and I spend the next 6 hours on the motorways of England dropping various friends home in Surrey and Berkshire before heading to Bristol to a dinner party...

Monday morning sees the rear of my car totalled by a speeding Transit who decided not to stop at the red light... where I was already stopped... this happens at 10:30am and it is not until 4pm that I am actually picked up by a Recovery lorry due to the insurance company, RAC and the garage where the car will be repaired, arguing over who should come and get me... so I kill time by doing all my Christmas shopping. When I finally arrive back in Reading and pick up the hire car I cannot be bothered to lug several bags of Christmas presents up three flights of stairs after the day I have had so I lock it all in the boot...

Tuesday morning I drive to my little village railway station and park the hire car under the CCTV camera... I go to {big important customer} at Clipstone Street for the day and then am invited to their Christmas Party... to cut a long story short, 4 am sees me in the spare room of one of their IT Managers somewhere in Pinner!

11am Wednesday morning and I return to Pangbourne railway station to find the hire car (only 450 miles on the clock!) with no windows or wheels... the glove box is open (there goes more cash and my 50 favourite CDs!) as is the boot (£several hundred worth of Christmas pressies!). Bugger !

Wednesday night sees me in bed with a horrible throat virus and there I stay until Saturday morning...

Saturday morning I head into town and putting my switch card into the ATM it is promptly swallowed... to cut another long story short (!) Halifax Head Office had suspended my account (currently £10K in credit due to my selling my house!) because of a £5 non-payment on my Halifax credit card... but rather than calling me to ask would I like to pay this - they suspend the account THE SATURDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND NOTIFY ME BY POST!

Today and the BMW is just back and Halifax are working to unravel the mess... however, I will have no cash card or cheque book (it was in the car!) until the New Year and have no Christmas presents... oh, and the insurance company have said that I am not covered for any loss of personal goods . . ."