... that a SIM card holds only 200 contacts. So when I decided to change the battery on my very early model iphone and found it had been super-glued together by the previous user, the exploded diagram I was left with was fit only for the dustbin and the other 100 or so contacts - the most recent and most used - were irretrievable, stored as they were in the phone's memory. But one thing I've always been in the habit of doing is downloading photographs to my PC almost as soon as they're taken so that's a bit of luck.

The new phone's camera is a terrific improvement on the old one and somehow seems to eliminate all the camera shake in low light. Anyway, the seat supports have been welded to the driver's seat frame and I have to say I'm really delighted with the stick welding facility on the TIG kit.

Considering that I haven't done it for 25 or more years (apart from a couple of goes with the new machine) I'm very pleased with the neatness of the weld. There's plenty of room for improvement though and perhaps I shouldn't congratulate myself until someone's actually sat in the seat and come to no harm.

I've had to make a small alteration to the backs of the seats; the hinges on the panels were set so that with upholstery, the two seats wouldn't fit in the cockpit side-by-side (something to do with that ruler I imagine). I've cut the hinge pins off, squeezed the sides of each rear panel together and will re-site the hinges on the outer faces so that the panels come within the area of the seat base. With the 2 seats effectively a couple of inches narrower (they were quite generous at the outset so they can stand it) there'll be plenty of room across the width of the cockpit and the seat sides won't rub against the side walls or each other.

And the other little job was to bend up the steering column steady. I thought it would be relatively easy with a bit of heat and it would have been but for the fact that I haven't got much in the way of equipment that holds and bends at the same time. The 'Kennedy' bender I once borrowed from a chum would have been ideal but he lent that to someone else about 15 years ago and he can't remember who it was - and the borrower hasn't returned it - I hope he's reading this.

So I'm wondering now whether or not it's worth me having a crack at doing the upholstery myself. I'd have to borrow my dentist's sewing machine again and source the hides and probably have to make do with a slightly less than perfect job but, do I want it to be perfect? I'd rather it had a bit of a 'lived-in' look. And talking of borrowing stuff; at our local VSCC meeting I was mentioning about getting a wheeling machine and Very Learned Counsel said,'Nonsense chap, borrow mine. All you've got to do is find a way of moving it'. Well, I can do that if I enlist the help of Learned Counsel, his truck, his trailer and his loader (there's a lot of borrowing going on). I wanted the wheeling machine to have a go at the Austin front wings and then the various panels and wings on the Hillman Special.

I'll soon get the hang of it, I tell myself....