A Times correspondent reminisces about owning an Acorn Electron.

Eventually we wired in the tape deck, started loading a game, made a cup of tea, had dinner, took a two-week holiday in Provence, came back and spent half an hour helping a frog jump across a road. That was the best the machine could offer � which was when the adults went to look at next door�s SodaStream instead.

Those were the days. I’m only very geeky. If I’d spent more time tinkering with our BBC B (the Electron’s big brother) I could be uber-geeky (but a lot better off).