Meet the newest member of my ever-growing Toshiba family… Anchoa!

This is my first ever notebook/netbook with an 11.6 inch touchscreen and weighing in at just 1.3 kgs. Plus lots of other cool specs that made me suddenly eschew all reason and splash out on this rather spontaneous purchase. I’d actually spotted her the other day in FNAC (for some reason gadgets are always either clearly male or female to me) and thought what a pretty new toy she’d make, but of course I couldn’t think of a good reason to buy her. But with a trip to Málaga coming up, and a few other trips planned over the next few months, it started to seem like a Good Idea to have a small travel computer. The last few times I’ve gone away I’ve taken Shadow with me, which left flatmate Peter using a now very slow and clunky Sexy Beast (sorry, nobody but me uses the Greyhound). But Shadow, although reliable, is quite heavy to lug around and so the thought of this sleek little number started appealing even more. Then on Thursday morning I got an email from FNAC saying they were offering members 12% off Toshiba products… and well, it was a sign, right? So off I went and bought the wee thing!

I’m still going through the throws of setting up a new ‘puter, which is never without a few glitches – like when I raced back to the store in a huff after spotting a nick where the screen fits into the lid. It was the microphone (duh!). And I’m not sure I like Windows 8.1, though I wasn’t ready to pay twice as much and have to get used to the whole Mac system. Also, since I won’t be needing Shadow anymore, I was able to remove all my files and programmes, which put the C-drive back into the Blue Zone, so that should improve things for Peter too. Win-win!

For awhile I was stuck for a name for the new arrival and then it came to me… small, shiny and silver just like a little fish. Anchoa! I almost went with Boquerón, which would have been very fitting as her first trip will be to Málaga (Malagueños are called boquerones, another name for anchovy) and I also love Málaga so much that my friend Victor calls me a media-boquerón. But to me Boquerón sounds like a boy’s name… so Anchoa it is.