Communication or obstruction?

I spend a lot of everyday on the phone. It's to be expected, my area of responsibility is large! So the phone is a portal to my colleagues and a necessary piece of equipment that lets me do my job most of the time.

Recently it has become an obstruction for a number of reasons; firstly it rings every two minutes. It literally never stops, which is distracting when you've a piece of work to get in and a tight deadline.

Secondly the lines to our headquarters were down today, not a single line in or out; makes for a peaceful day but incredibly frustrating when you need to contact someone.

Gridlock in Edinburgh again tonight, this time a lorry shed it's load on the City By-pass.