Ah - come on now - you surely didn't expect more knickers today? Gimme a break!

I love my camera – probably more than is actually good for me. Since I bought it last February, I’ve carted it around in my handbag, day-in, day-out, ever ready to record something of my world for posting on my photo diary.

Over the time I’ve been doing this, it has come a number of croppers. In fact it now looks like something from a warzone – if it was being sold second hand the seller would probably describe its condition as poor or sold as seen or some such so no poor unsuspecting soul could feel they’d been sold a dud.

But what’s it for if it can’t be used? If I’d paid all that money then let it gather dust in the house would it have been a good purchase? No, I don’t think so. If I was so scared of damaging it that I didn’t take it out of my bag would it have been worth the money? No. If I spent all my time worrying about it would it have been worth buying? Definitely not!

So, I don’t even give it a second thought when I shove it into my bag, where emery boards, keys, coins and other sharp or abrasive objects lurk (as you have seen from my ‘handbags’ gallery). My only thought is ‘phew, it’s heavy, one of these days I need to get myself sorted with a bag that fits over both shoulders so I don’t bear all the weight on one’.

Unfortunately this somewhat cavalier attitude sometimes means my camera gets itself a few ‘love marks’ as DM has started to describe them – the paint is worn off its beautiful metal body in several places and the displays are scratched and marked. My sensor is frequently covered in dust (though I’m pleased to report that DM is a dab-hand at cleaning it), as is my viewing screen (which, unfortunately is a job he has no desire to tackle). David doesn’t know whether to be mortified at my abuse of my kit or proud of my willingness to use my camera all of the time. He kind of looks at me agog whenever he picks up my camera, scratches his head and sighs….but as I say to him, it’s my toy and I’ll do with it what I choose.

Sometimes it even gets so badly abused that it gives up the ghost – in fact, I have just had to buy a brand new 24-85mm lens because the one I bought last March in B&H died recently as the result of severe abuse……I had my handbag in the back of the car, with the camera in it and we came home from Cornwall with it on top of a pile of other stuff on the back seat. When we arrived home, DM wrenched open the door, the handbag tumbled out, disgorging my camera and lens on the way. Both landed up-side-down on the drive (block paving is hard!) My camera was OK (apart from another minor scratch) but my lens has never worked properly since.

If asked, I’d have said I use my 100mm macro lens much more but being without this versatile little beauty has caused me no-end of aggravation. So, yesterday I bit the bullet and bought a new one – urgently needed before Saturday’s wedding!

So, here is the dead lens along with some of the love marks! C’est la vie!

Last year I was bemoaning being on my own and two years ago, I was with Ginny in the pub and describing her man as her 'lover' - he'll be her husband in a few short weeks!