Up to his neck in the modern-day flood of bills, flyers, pamphlets and brochures, Grant Reid remembers being promised that it would all be so different.
It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were told to anticipate ‘the paperless society’ — a much-vaunted benefit of the onrushing digital age, you know the one that now engulfs all of us.
The only paper left in your house would be in the kitchen or the loo, screens would scream all the information at you that you would ever need, your Parker fountain pen would dry up, trees would hug people, all would be wonderful.
It isn’t though, is it? Paper still piles up regardless from all sorts of sources.
Bills for instance. Yes, we get electronic versions, but we also get paper ones, too. And inside the bundle of bills are several ‘helpful’ pamphlets urging us to sign up or send for something.
Every supermarket and DIY store punts its current offers via yet more handouts shoved through the letterbox, along with double glazing offers, ‘chop-down-your-trees flyers’, council ‘aren’t-we-wonderful’ newsletters, and, of course, boring political drivel from boring local politicians eager to cling on to their place at the trough.
The hands-down winner in our house is Saga, who send letters on an almost daily basis, sometimes addressed to me, sometimes addressed to Mr Yffgnzp or a Mr J. Sigarus, both of whom, I would imagine, have never lived in Broughty Ferry or, indeed, at all.
All this from one inquiry when I sailed past 50 and thought they might be a cheaper car insurance option.