My little brother and sister are video-game addicts so, with a heavy heart, I sift through my collection of games and fillet out those I'm unlikely to play again. A quick visit to my local Computer and Videogames Exchange (www.cex.co.uk) and I've exchanged a stack of games for two very nearly new Nintendo titles I know my siblings are longing for. When it comes to my dad, a gadget freak of the highest order, I have a bright idea. Calling up a group of my techy friends, I suggest we have our own swapping party with bits of kit we've never used and, after giving up a wind-up radio – hardly used – and a set of miniature Óscrewdrivers, I'm left with a memory stick-cum-MP3 player that, unbelievably, has never been out of its box.
