A FEW days ago sitting at my desk in Watford, Hertfordshire, a box popped up on my computer screen inviting me to download the latest version of a program I regularly use.

I've done this many times, so I confidently accepted and watched as the download began. Then to my horror another box appeared with an error message that the download had failed due to a missing file.

I'm no expert with computers but was reasonably sure I could fix the problem, but sadly all failed.

Despite the crash I could still access the internet but it was late Friday afternoon, I needed help!

Then I remembered that on one of my trips to Tavistock I had read a helpful article in a local magazine by a local computer company Chezvouspc.

I was not sure if they could help being 250 miles away but it was worth a try.

Despite the late hour they patiently listened to my tale of woe and to my delight suggested they might be able to fix the problem by remote access.

I then watched my screen for twenty minutes or so as magic took place, suddenly it was all fixed. Brilliant service and a big cheer for not so local business.

Mal Wake