Something strange happened at work today. No, it wasn't the fact I arrived on time and actually did some work. There was a cable problem with our computer server meaning we had no access to the company's mainframe. Outlook Express was kaput (a Scots computing term there) meaning no e-mails could be sent or received and we could no longer look at everyone's on-line calendar. Meetings couldn't be arranged 'electronically', letters couldn't be saved, even printing couldn't happen as the printers are connected to the server.
All of which meant a revolution in communication. People actually spoke to each other...
When I lived in Aberdeen in the 1980s there was consternation in the offices of what is now First Bus when it was decided in 1985 that we would no longer send our data to Headquarters for 'processing' - we would be getting a 'personal computer'. There was outrage, not least from me. 'I'm not a computer operator', I fumed. 'There's now way they'll get me to use one of them'.
Now, a quarter of a century later, I can't work without one. And, having a laptop at home, I'd be lost without the Internet and all its contraptions. Our office slowly ground to a halt this afternoon. I even had a telephone call from someone asking when I was going to respond to the e-mail they had sent earlier. Yes, that old ritual of using the telephone to actually talk to someone rather than text, surf the Internet or listen to music.
We're hoping that normal service is resumed tomorrow. Work has piled up and there is a mountain of correspondence to do. So the pressure will be on.
God forbid we actually have to talk to each other again...
