The digital camera has been responsible for a mass premature obsolescence and it's time somebody pointed it out. In our family, the children who had the good fortune to be born before its invention enjoy the warm, treacly feeling of seeing their baby photos dotted about the house; the ones born after have so far lived without trace. The older ones can flick through an album of their early years whenever they so wish and laugh at their baby faces. The little ones? Probably blonde, possibly not, certainly looked like one of us, went on holiday once, sun might have shone… There's definitely a picture on an old phone somewhere, but it's broken, and… how do you get a picture off it anyway?  Summers have passed, Christmases have never happened. At a rough estimate, the British Library might like to know that, post-millennium approximately 90 per cent of our family's magic moments have gone uncaptured. The camera is so small it is generally missing. Once found, it is out of charge. Once charged, its wretched memory card is full. For some reason, they've done away with that sensible thing the viewfinder, so in bright sunlight one just has to hold it up and wave it in the general direction of your subject. If by some miracle the moment is captured, it is then downloaded on to your computer and never seen again. Digital pictures only last 10 years anyway. Archivists are right to worry. Due to the splendid advancement in technology, our photographic record is now on a par with The Flintstones.  Caroline Kennedy should be Obama's Ambassador to London  It was a shame to see the estimable Caroline Kennedy having to, y'know, withdraw from being, y'know, New York senator. She is an interesting woman, her presence enhanced Obama's election campaign and it was fascinating to watch this shadowy character from history come out into the limelight.  And see her at work, instead of just appearing at funerals. The President has to find a role for her in his new administration, and the obvious one is surely to make her his first Ambassador to London. She's clever, glamorous and a squillionairess, with impeccable party credentials. Her grandfather did the same job, in a similar economic climate (though we will gloss over how well he did it). Hello! magazine will love her.  We are all having a special relationship with President Obama now, whether he wants one with us or not. Such an appointment would make us feel a happy part of the brave new Washington world. Y'know?  It is kind of Chelsy Davy to let Prince Harry go at this time  Although no doubt a matter of personal sadness, it is kind of Chelsy Davy to let Prince Harry go at this difficult time. Prince Charles may not know it, but by being hesitant about marriage, and keeping himself on the open market throughout the 1970s, he offered hope to millions of women back then. Those were the days before the lottery and scratch cards became the common fall-back position in a time of crisis. Cocked up an exam? Got the sack? Well you still could (as was subsequently proved) marry Prince Charles. As employment plummets – especially, of course, for women – it is useful for a girl to include "Marriage to Prince" on her list of Possible Things to Do.
Archivists are right to worry that our history will disappear into a digital black    hole , says Gill Hornby.