HELLO FROM HONG KONG: Dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century

Remember the olden days? Things were so simple when you returned from your holiday. Once you'd checked that the pipes hadn't burst, realised that the nauseating stench wasn't, in fact, the decomposing body of the cat, but the two-and-a-half-week old bottle of milk you'd left in the fridge, and consequently concluded that batty old Mrs Evans who was supposed to have been feeding Tiddles truly has lost her sense of smell, the next priority was to dig out your roll of film and put it by the front door so you could pop it into SupaSnaps first thing in the morning.

It was one of the most important parts of the 'readjusting-back-to-normal-life' process - rushing back to the shop, eagerly clutching the slip in your hand, not knowing whether that one on the beach at sunset was a bit too underexposed, or whether the curse of the red eye had struck poor 'Darren' again in the bar where he just _had_ to get on the floor to join the other drunken idiots in the 'Oops Upside Your Head' dance. (Click on the link if you don't have a clue what I'm on about.) There was anticipation, suspense, excitement, even a possible raised-eyebrows-while-tilting-head-down look of reproach from the sales assistant as she hands back your photos, as if to say, "I see what you've been taking photos of and I am not amused." And yes, there was also annoyance and a snippet of disappointment if you discovered only two pictures had come out well and you'd just forked over £6.99 to get them developed within the hour. But it was fun! And most importantly, there was only one (or two if you were one of those extravagant types) pack of photos to show everyone - 36 pictures at most. Done.

Thenceforth, the digital age arrived. (Do I sound like I'm 75 yet??!) With it, came cheaper and cheaper digital cameras with simple-to-use functions - no messing around, thank you very much. Gone was the need to remember to buy film before you left to avoid paying 'a bloody fortune' when you get there (though even digital cameras require you to find the charger, eh Mum & Dad?!) and no longer would you have to obsessively check the picture counter to make sure you had enough left for the sunset cruise to Playa de las Americas on your last night.

And that, is my major point today. (Phew - you weren't entirely sure I'd get there, were you?) All of this new-fangled stuff enables, nay, encourages us all to turn into Japanese tourists with the snappiest of snap-happy attitudes. If you can delete all the dodgy pics, either at the time or at a later date, then why not just take as many as the battery and your subject's (be it human) patience allows?

Don't get me wrong here. I'm as guilty as the next person for getting a twitchy shutter-release finger (think that's the technical term, Dad?) But unquestionably, the overriding problem with having a mountain of snaps, is that at some point, you're going to have to sort the good from the 'good-lord-what-on-earth-possessed-me-to-photograph-that'.

I guess you could call this a pretty lameass apology/explanation for why there's not been too many self-taken photos on this blog, but it's also a pledge to get better! So, starting today, we have some pics of our apartment when we'd literally just moved in (before you start worrying that we're too poor for furniture and start sending food parcels.) Apologies to everyone that's been to visit already, you will have seen it first-hand, but it seemed as good a place as any to start. Brothers one and two of the Pies family are visiting next week with their lovely ladies, so when I've tidied up sufficiently, I'll take some more snaps of what the place looks like now.

Other Hong Kong photos to follow once I've steeled myself for the big sort-through!