Living by numbers

Boy and I went into Coventry so that I could dust off and exercise the credit card and get him some of the kit he needs for the next stage of his course. Naturally his feet are the wrong shape for the standard boots (German feet are wide) so he needed more expensive Italian ones which are made narrower. The trousers aren't cheap either, but then neither are his legs, so they too went on the list, topped off with a helmet with built-in visor and ear defenders. The sales-child told me the total price, and once I'd regained consciousness and stopped hyperventilating I inserted the card and did the pin. Which was rejected.

Eh? I was certain I had the right number as I'd made a very careful note of it. I checked it - yes, it was right - and retried. Again it was refused. If the third go was refused the card would be blocked so we had to do it as an 'over-the-phone' transaction without the pin. That was successful so off we went.

Once home I double-double-checked the pin and I'd been right all along. The credit card company are sending me verification of it, but I suppose it would be sensible to change it for another one for me to forget. It was much better when you signed.

A thought: perhaps the well-thumbed Bible beside the credit card machine should have given me a clue that perhaps things didn't always go smoothly.