EMAIL really is the curse of the modern world. I know I sound like a Luddite when I say this, but I wish we could go back to the days of the quill pen.

I say this out of frustration after just barely half a day away from my personal computer this week. I took a break for an afternoon and returned to electronic mayhem.

My in-box was filled to the rafters with messages, some rubbish, some important. However, as soon as I opened up one of the attachments, it crashed my computer and I had to start all over again. The PC then insisted on doing a check up on itself, despite my attempts to over-ride it, and I had to wait another half hour before I was back in business.

I know I’m not alone in this, and it’s not just because I’m almost an old codger versed in the more ancient traditions of pen and paper. Everyone I know, apart from the super-bright geeks, has this same difficulty. Email never used to be like this of course. It was a marvellous way of quickly contacting friends and associates. But then it was hijacked by the type who insist on sending all their friends boring jokes.

And then the junk mail brigade – the firms with something to flog - took control and freaked out our in baskets with various sales pitches. A lot of this nonsense disappears into ‘spam’ folders but you have to read these in case something important has slipped in there by mistake.

Finally, you find yourself constantly told off for not responding within seconds to this unwelcome intrusion.

I’d scrap it all and bring back the carrier pigeon.