I’d been searching for a mini tripod that would give me a good strong support for my camera but get very low to the ground and couldn’t find anything I felt was strong enough available in the UK market. I checked out the websites of all the well-known manufacturers and came across this little Slik Mini-Pro. That’s just the job I thought. I clicked on ‘UK dealers’ and went to all of their websites and none had this product. I Googled Slik Mini Pro and its code number and got not a single response. I contacted Slik UK and asked them where I could buy one. They said, simply and to the point, I accept, ‘not here, we don’t sell that model in the UK.’

How irritating that was. No ‘if you really want one why not try a US dealer and buy by post?’ or ‘we can get one for you, even if it’s not a UK line, I’m sure we can find one for you’ or ‘no problem, we have an international order line where our entire catalogue is available’.

When we went to the States in March there was no such problem, I walked into B&H on 33rd Street and there was the exact tripod I’d invested all that time and effort to find here in the UK. Not hiding in the background or under the counter. It was there, proudly rubbing shoulders with lots of Manfrottos (Bogems) and all sorts of much more expensive gadgets. It was PROUD to be a part of that extensive gathering of the best things available in the tripod market. Its immediate response was to start whispering and calling to me, and that's some feat given that I am not a 'shopper' and am normally impervious to the callings of things in shops. It twinkled and shone, it whispered ‘don’t you want me baby’ over and over again. In the end, I simply couldn’t resist its small but perfect form and so it found its way into my basket along with some other stuff that was much more expensive.

A few minutes later the little tripod was mine and although it’s not used every day, it is used regularly by both DM and myself. I’d been using it for my feet shots last weekend and it sat there on the dining table looking like it would appreciate a beer on the patio.

I wasn’t doing much, just waiting for supper to finish cooking so I gave in to the needs of the tripod and took it onto the patio for a nice glass of Stella Artois, straight from the fridge. While the tripod was enjoying its beer, I asked if it would mind me taking its photo. ‘Not at all’ it said. How about that? It was so much more happy to be my model than some I ask! Don’t you think it’s a rather beautiful little beast? What is out of this frame is a fourth leg that comes out of the bottom and has a suction pad on it so you can stick it to the floor or the table for added stability. Cool.

Have I stepped off the platform of the sanity bus (Routemaster of course)and onto the pavement of madness? Yes, probably but its been a stressful week and sometimes you just have to have a few silly times to counterbalance the seriousness of the rest of life. My silliness is a few moments thinking of a little piece of metal and plastic as a sentient being.