"DiSAHster Dahlings!"

Just over a year ago I posted here about my attempt to embrace new technology by taking out a digital subscription to 'The English Garden' magazine. This came about from an urge to declutter as well as save some pennies.  Now a good year into this experiment I would like to say that it has been a great success, but this is not the case.  In the words of my favourite 'Strictly Come Dancing' judge, my verdict has to be it's been "a diSAHster dahlings!". What happens is that when the monthly email arrives to advise that the new edition is available online, I click and have a quick flick through of the contents but that is usually it. This happens even though there is always plenty that attracts my eye during that initial flick. I am ashamed to say that I have not read one single issue from virtual cover to virtual cover.

1 was always behind with hard copies of the magazine but only maybe by a couple of months or so never by a whole year! I think that the physical presence of a pile of unread magazines acted as a permanent reminder to make time to read them. Whilst they are floating about somewhere in cyber space it's not just the same! Sitting in front of a computer screen is just not as relaxing or as easy on the aging eyes as curling up on the settee with a favourite magazine. 'The English Garden' can be downloaded onto tablets which would go someway to perhaps making it more of a leisurely reading experience.  It is a shame that it is not working out as it's the cheapest way of reading the magazine. There are some minor minus points eg there are no free gifts with your virtual mag but the cost of subscribing this way is a big plus. I am going to make a determined effort to catch up with the backlog over the festive season and start afresh come the new year but I am not convinced. I have a feeling that come 2013 I will return to the traditional magazine format. Has anybody else taken out a digital magazine subscription? If so I would be interested to know whether you have fared better than me. Later this week more about my other venture into the realms of new technology which has left me with a big smile on my face.

P.S. I should say that you can browse in either single or double page mode and zoom in or out.