The Woolwich Leica story by Mike Evans last week reminded me that I, too, have a copy of The Leica Manual; in my case this is a 1937 edition which I keep on my iPad for reference. And to add a bit of spice to the story, I recently acquired a full set of original user manuals for most Leica LTM and M models.

After a month or so of using Apple Pay with my Apple Watch I am astounded by the general ignorance of retailers. I would say that in probably 80 percent of cases when I ask if they accept Apple Pay the answer is a firm no. But experience tells me that any swipe terminal  can also accommodate the Apple Watch (and, I have no doubt, the iPhone). So far I have never been disappointed when presenting the Watch to the card reader. Retailers are usually amazed and want to know how it works. Every time I tell them that the next customer who asks about Apple Pay should be answered with a firm yes.

What do the current Leica 50mm Summicron, 50mm Noctilux and 75/90mm Apo-Summicrons have in common? They all lack a focus tab, something that I find near essential, especially in a smaller-diameter lens such as the 50 Cron.

Everyone loves a bargain. Earlier this year I tested one of Leica Mayfair’s D-Lux (Typ 109) contacts and thoroughly enjoyed the process. I took it to the Bièvres Camera Fair, near Paris, and it showed its mettle as a compact, thoroughly competent travel company. Since then I have been lusting but refusing the get out the credit card. I rather fancied a used example although, it has to be said, such are as rare as rocking horse manure. The D-Lux is extremely popular.

From an early age I had a compulsion to keep a diary, admiring famous diarists such as Samuel Pepys, although I suspected (rightly as it turned out) that I would never have anything to say that would be very interesting to others. No chance of Mike Evans's Diary in twenty volumes. It would be an exercise in vanity publishing and I would surely be the only reader. I never ceased trying. Every year I would buy a one-page-per-day annual journal and start out in good heart on January 1. Yet I believe the longest I survived was a month; I cannot remember which year.