Most of us elderly folk are suspicious of the internet with its scams and plots to defraud us feckless incompetents.

But that is not always the case!

Last week-end my friend lost his wallet in Llanidloes, in Mid-Wales — his real wallet, not a digital one. We rushed about the town telling everyone but in our panic not leaving any address. He cancelled his bank cards and the following day we drove to his home in Kettering, East Midlands.

On arrival his son from Stevenage phoned to say his wallet had been found in Llanidloes Co-Op.

“But?..” My friend hadn’t told his family. What was going on?

Sophie, the kind and conscientious lady at Llanidloes Co-Op, had received the wallet from an eagle-eyed shopper with a well developed sense of right and wrong, and then set about tracing him, from his driving license, on Social Media, which he doesn’t use. But in true Llani tradition (pop 2000), which was odd in Kettering (pop 70,000), his son’s mother-in-law’s friend spotted the Co-Op lady’s post on a Kettering community website. The rest, as they say, is history.

But it’s not — the following day — yes, the very next day, the postman rang the door bell. He proffered a parcel from the Co-Op, “I very much suspect that this parcel contains your wallet!” said the postie with consummate glee — seems he keeps his eye on the local website too.

“The posties know everything that goes on in this town!” say the Kettering ladies at my aqua-robics class.

Community is not dead — it is now electronically enhanced!