And it's hello from him!

Here’s the thing I didn’t anticipate - the flood of comments, emails and Tweets asking me to reconsider my decision to quit.

It wasn’t a decision taken lightly, though perhaps in haste. I certainly felt a melancholy descend on me the moment I pressed “Send” to post my final blip. And your response almost had me in tears.

Today I received a long email from a founding member of the Blipfoto website, apologising for the way in which my post had been summarily removed without explanation or reference to me, and promising to review the “reporting” culture encouraged among blippers. I personally have no problem with reporting blippers who post obscene or offensive photographs, but a friendly “word to the wise” dropped into my comments alerting me to my error, might have been a better way to proceed in this case. Blipfoto themselves have now promised to review present practices, suggesting that “a system that encourages 'direction' rather than 'finger pointing' might be suitable as we go forward...”

I didn’t believe yesterday that there was any way I could go back on my decision to leave, but I have been so touched by all your comments that it would seem churlish of me not to. And as Barrioboy said, who else is going to correct his spelling?

So, gathering my dented dignity about me, and with a lightening of the heart, I am going to resume my blip life after all.

And if this bump, or blip, on the road has effected at least a review of the way things are done, then perhaps all that angst won’t have been in vain.

Today’s blip, by the way, is of an “electronic painting" of me based on a photograph taken at a bookstore in Ayr. It was done by an Australian artist whom I met in the virtual world Second Life while I was researching a book. She sent the high definition file to me on a CD, and my wife had it printed - ink on canvas - by a printer in Bordeaux. It arrived today, and I propped it against the TV to take a pic. Because it’s on canvas it has the texture of a real painting. Next step is to get it framed!