Time for a change, watch this space!

  As my Facebook friends already know, a few days ago my faithful Timing wristwatch took its pension and retired and even the offer of a new battery failed to restart it. I took the opportunity of replacing it with this rather snazzy watch, vaguely reminiscent of a Rolex:  it cost me 29 Euros from Intermarché and if it does as well as  the old one I will be very pleased. That, too was from Inter and cost slightly less, yet ran accurately for four years or so.
   I made a rather laboured joke on Facebook, boasting at having saved 1500 Euros on the real thing and people seemed broadly in agreement though one lady rather wistfully remarked that there was a nice feeling about owning a good watch. However I beg to disagree, there are a lot of awkward feelings too.
  I am a somewhat frugal person (not to say mean, I hope) and I could never reconcile myself to spending a really large sum on a watch, even if I could afford it. And if by chance I did, think of the anxiety. Swimming at the lake I wouldn`t want to wear the thing in the water, yet would quail at leaving it in my discarded clothes as I do now. It would have to be left at home, but that destroys the whole point of having a timepiece! And say burglars broke in...
  Such an expensive item would have to be insured, and All-risk policies are not cheap. Plus, the Claims department do look a bit sideways at the unsupported loss of this type of item.I know I did, when working in the industry. One of our clients claimed for the loss overboard of a Phillipe Pratek watch or some such name at a couple of thousand pounds, lost overboard on a sea-fishing trip. He was curiously reluctant to declaring it to the Police, too, on the grounds it would never turn up... Possibly a scam though impossible to prove, people think that defrauding an insurance society is not a crime, but their consciences are strangely elastic. It`s theft, whichever way you look at it. I know of a most respectable person, who cheerfully admitted the `loss` of a gold necklace to raise funds when in difficulty...Very strange.
  But I digress a bit. The other point of not spending the earth on a posh watch is that modern, low cost  quarz watches work so well, keeping perfect time for months. The only real point of spending out is the famous name and the precious metal case. I am perfectly prepared to forgo both for peace of mind. After all, that is supposed to be beyond price!

  Bye for now, I see by my new watch that it`s tea-time!