MOBILE phone users in Leigh had the last laugh over knockers like me this week.

At least they (and Cable customers) were able to keep in touch with the world as BT land users found their links with family and friends cut off.

Who'd think it was almost the 21st century?

Seventeen thousand clients have been hit following a blaze which wrecked communications at the Leigh HQ.

Businesses, and the lottery, suffered as engineers worked round the clock to put customers back in contact.

We don't realise how important Mr Bell's invention really is until we haven't got it.

I don't care if the phone never rings at home, but being out of contact has made life at The Journal twice as hard.

As one of the biggest members of the anti-mobile brigade, I was forced to bend just a little on Monday while battling with 20 other members of staff for one restored open line in the office. I soon shook it off. I'll hang on until the last moment until I'm probably forced through technology to have one. The horrid things still irritate me.

All I can do is apologise to everyone who hasn't been able to get through to us since last Thursday, and to readers we were unable to recall.

Let's hope it doesn't happen too often. THE BBC monster hit Walking With Dinosaurs has 13 million viewers spellbound - plus my little Westie.

For the last two weeks the incredible BBC programme has shown the wonders of life through animatronics. But, softie that I am, I keep having to be reminded they're not real.

What a fantastic piece of television it is.

On the subject of telly, Corrie's getting a bit obvious. Who couldn't guess that Emily's house was going to be set alight by the lovebirds on Monday?

And I'll bet a pound to a penny that the Baldwin's factory newcomer is Jim MacDonald's new lady.

CONGRATULATIONS to the graffiti artists who have daubed a Bradshawgate, Leigh, charity shop with a list of their names.

Animals could now suffer because the Bradshawgate PDSA shop will have to pay to clean away their scrawl.

I hope you're happy with your work Sarah, Joanna, Lisa, Tony, Gemma, Carla, Gov, Laura, Daryl, Vicky, Cur, Greg and Diane and others.

We'll never have a decent town centre while there's idiots like you about.

If you had any decency you'd go back and clean it up yourselves.

LITTLE Emma Lucas , of Tyldesley, grew a whoppa of an 18ft sunflower this year and wanted to know if anyone could beat her super specimen.

I can't get anywhere near that, but I've mysteriously got a 4ft one in a hanging basket. Anyone whack that?

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.