It brings a lump to the throat

So, I put the cables back together, twisted their original little wire around them and put them back in their original little bag. I took the battery out and put it back in its original little bag. I remembered to remove my wonderful sister's memory card and retain that in the little compact carrying pouch she had so generously donated when she passed on the previous Sony to me. Everything was returned to its rightful place within the original little box complete with its original packaging wherever possible.

A slight difficulty was caused by the fact that the lens remains extended and its eye wide open, so I couldn't encase the camera in its original little white bag, but I did lay it over the exposed lens as though it were a shroud. I had to cut a circular hole into the original little cardboard box so that the extended lens could poke through and keep the camera securely in position whilst in transit. This meant that the original little manual no longer fitted into the box but I doubt that the Sony Corporation has any use for that. I have kept it as a memento :-)

I included all available documentation to prove place and date of purchase, along with a nice little letter, which, amongst other pleasantries, said; “I trust that you are as disappointed as I am that a product with such a good reputation has failed so catastrophically and I hope that you will not hesitate to send me a replacement.” etc. etc. blah blah blah

Sadly, the smartphone was not available to illustrate the full procedure today.

Fingers crossed! Updates when available :-)

PS to SaraEvans; I have discovered that if I upload an image which is very black (28th April) or very white (this one) my thumbnail option is completely blind. Though of course, if the image were totally black, or white, as you suggested, and illuminated only with words, choice of thumbnail is totally beside the point. Room for exploration :-)