The Frozen North and technology

So we drove from Wadebridge in Cornwall to Ribchester in Lancashire yesterday.  This was a journey covering about 360 miles, and a temperature drop of around twelve degrees.  We had a little light rain, but most of the journey was in torrential rain.  However taking it easy at 60mph max and stopping for an hour every two hours made it quite easy. 

Today’s technology is amazing.
I have a fairly cheap phone - a Moto G5.  Before the journey I used the packing list stored on the phone to check off all items for packing.
On the journey I used it to navigate using Google Maps, and also listen to the radio via the GPS signal which is far more reliable than either DAB or FM or any other signals. We listen via the vans sound system by coupling via Bluetooth.   Also we could listen to radio Cornwall anywhere we like. Indeed I have listened to Radio Cornwall while driving over a mountain range in the Andes in Peru.  We also listened to a selection of DJ Linda's music from her iphone via Bluetooth.

On the stops on the way and after arrival I used the hotspot on the phone to connect my old Lenovo Thinkpad to the internet to catch up on what a dog's breakfast Boris is making of the Covid situation (744 deaths today and still rising), and Brexit (about to sell the fisherman short after pretending he was never going to do it all along). I also read my emails.

When we arrived I used it as a torch to read the instructions on the parking meter.

Then this morning I Skyped for an hour and a half with my son in Australia.

All of this on a phone that cost me around £150. (Although my phone and wifi bills for the lifetime of the phone will completely swamp this amount). We take this all for granted.  If I could go back in time and try to tell my Dad about this he would not have believed me.  This has all came about in the last thirty years or so. I wonder what the next thirty has in store.