Ticket time!

Zeus, in his Olympiad, tipped us the wink yesterday.

At the click of 11.00 the computer behaved and I applied for tickets. A short wait informed me that I hadn't been successful (there's a ticking clock in our national colours, the design of which is, I think, meant to be avant garde, but can be mighty annoying after a while). Undaunted I tried again, and again, and again. Copying cryptic lettering that with one pair of glasses, then another, still remained obtusely blurred, I felt that I must be on the home strait. 15 minutes or more to wait and then I'd be told whether or not the tickets I'd like would have been reserved - the dutiful red, white and blue clock told me.

I won't bore you further, suffice to say that I managed to edit half a chapter in between waiting times (if you're not successful, you have to go right back to the beginning and start again, no quick flicks between dates, times or sports) and learned that it doesn't do to get too excited when the clock tells you there's only 2 mins to go before you find out; it reserves the right to flick straight back to informing you that there's still 9 minutes to go. Cups of coffee can become cold!

Once an efficient schedule type page tells you that you have met with success there comes a daunting few minutes when you're invited to pay, all set against the clock. A stop-watch at the top of the page tells you how many minutes and/or seconds are left for you to input the relevant debit card number and then later security card nos etc. Easy under normal circumstances, unnerving when you know that the previous 45 minutes of cat and mouse with a computer screen might come to naught should you input an incorrect digit (that could sound dodgy!)

Some of us are off to watch basketball in the morning of the appointed day and others to watch diving the same afternoon. Although it would appear that I have paid for a further two basketball tickets (to enable all of us to see one event together), my friend the ticking clock has yet to see fit to confirm that purchase. I haven't decided at what stage I'll be brave enough to enter the labyrinth that will undoubtedly be the query system!