A Voice In The Dark
The mobile phone 'hands free' function was, in my opinion, designed by someone who was hard of hearing and had a strong sadistic streak - a desire to inflict as much inconvenience on the rest of the world as possible.

It all started at about 10pm last night when two mature adventurers were trying to get some kip. It sounded like there was a party or something taking place next door. The principle cuplprit seemed to be an Indian woman with a very loud monotone voice. Two hard thumps on the wall seemed to do the trick and the audible environment settled back to what
one would perhaps expect in a small quiet town in the Rockie Mountains.

At 12.10am it started again. Why can't people simply pick-up a call and hold the phone to their ear? Not doing so raises the decibel level about four-fold!

Anyway, fortunately the call didn't last too long and we were able to get some sleep (albeit a little stewed-up - well I was anyway).

At 5.30am I hear a phone ringing and yes, it was answered with the 'hands-free' function switched on. I was then subjected to about three quarters of an hour of guagerati (or some such) conversation. This would perhaps have been helpful had I been trying to learn the language, but I started to get a little cross. Flinging a few clothes on for modesty sake, I wandered along the balcony and knocked on the door. After uttering a few 'carefully chosen' words, the response was 'OK' from a little Indian woman.

As of now all is relatively quiet, albeit I can still hear a mobile phone ringing periodically, sounds of someone getting ready for the day ahead and of course I am well beyond any ability to get back to sleep (hence this Blog).

Technology is clearly making the world a more frustrating place to live in! Or perhaps I am just getting old!