Time to learn about keeping time . . .

I haven't mentioned it before but quite recently I celebrated my 43rd 18th birthday (do the maths yourself). Spouse and offspring were all strictly instructed that mention of the numbers 6 and 0 together were strictly taboo! So they honoured my wishes and produced a beautifully appropriate birthday card. They also clubbed together and bought me a flying lesson! Joy of joys - it's a great feeling to be behind the controls of an aircraft, soaring through the clouds into the brilliant sunshine above and knowing that the craft is going where it's going because YOU are controlling it - even if it is under the strict control of an instructor.

They bought me a flying lesson ten years ago when I reached my half-century (oops - I've given my real age away!) and that has lived vividly in my memory ever since, especially as I was able to take the two kids with me in the passenger seats. This time I'm hoping we can again secure a craft capable of taking passengers so that my wife can share the experience and pure excitement.

Another thing I had listed as a possible present was a watch which showed both analogue and digital time.

Well, my wife's sister and her husband came to see us today and brought me a present of a super watch.

It shows both analogue and digital time.

Great! Just what I wanted and I'm very happy to wear it and use it.

It also shows the temperature.

Useful!

It shows the date.

Also very useful!

You can use it as a stopwatch.

This can have its uses.

It has an alarm.

Good for when I fall asleep in my lunch break!

It can also tell me the time in any part of the globe.

Just in case I want to telephone someone in Outer Mongolia without waking them in the middle of the night.

It tells me the phases of the Moon.

Like I can't look up and see what shape the Moon is?

It also tells me - based on all the other data - when is the best time to go fishing.

Fishing? I have never been fishing in my life! Neither would I ever want to.

Nevertheless, it is a beautiful watch. I would like to enrol in a University degree course on how to set the whole thing up so that I can make it do what I really need it to do - namely tell the time.

As I said I would like to learn how to set up the watch by taking a degree but - I haven't got the time . . .