Ban me from eBay please

I bought a Panasonic video camera with a hard disk in the summer of 2008 but just over a year later it started to give me problems (just out of guarantee) when sometimes the power doesn't transmit to the display. I think the problem may be caused by me using a second non standard battery. On a number of times I thought I would not be able to take video only for it to start working at the last minute.

I decided before Christmas to buy an identical camera on eBay to prepare for the day it wouldn't work. After getting outbid a few times I bought one for about £80 (compared to the £250 for my original one). But I got the bug and started bidding for more and bought a third one for £52 a couple of weeks ago!

True to form the original one took several minutes to get to work at the top of Snaefell today with the consequence that when it did start I didn't really focus it very well. It did produce a few extra clips. Number 2 was put to good use at the finish but again it was not focused enough on the finish line. Number 3, the hand held one (juggled with my SLR for the stills) was the main input for my filming.

The reality of course is that the extra enjoyment I can provide to others by having hours of film is not that great compared to just filming in one or two spots but to me it is natural to always try and improve.

It was my temper I needed to improve by the end of the afternoon. I left the house at 1.30 with the country's least favourite football team losing 2-0. When I finished editing the video at 6.40, the aforementioned team had won 4-2 and the team I support had been fortunate to scrape a draw against the team I used to watch.

And my first video cut was far too long for the music I had chosen and my second cut was too short.

So all attempts to leave the wine bottle alone failed. But now that it is empty things don't seem so bad but I need someone to block the eBay page. I don't need any cameras. I bought another one there recently too. It was a replica of my first digital camera (which cost £325 in 2002) but I bought it for £1.25.

It runs in the family.