Dear LPG,  

I like to think that, even in my late eighties, I can remember most things.  I still drive and feel that being able to do so allows me some serious independence.  I don’t travel very far but just being able to get to the shops, the doctors, and to have the ability to visit some of those friends that can’t get out as often as me gives me a feeling of purpose.    

I don’t think that there is anything particularly remarkable about that, and  we are always being told that there are more and more old drivers on the UK roads.  It all works perfectly until I get to that time of year when I have to renew the big three.  Those of us who are lucky enough to have children, or someone a bit younger to help with the sorting out of car tax,  insurance and that all-important MOT renewal, are very fortunate because getting the annual technicalities sorted so that you can stay on the road always feels like the price you have to pay for wheeled freedom.    

I am lucky enough to have a son who lives locally and deals with this for me.  Last year, when the time came, I thought I would justify all that paperwork by driving to him so that he could do the business online for me, but I had managed to lose the tax reminder letter.  

it is nearly always the case that you only remember little details like that until the very minute that you need to, and then remembering exactly what you did with it becomes a nightmare.  We called the DVLA, and they told us that all we needed was to look at the car’s ‘V5’ form (the log book), but I have mislaid that too.   

We did find it in the end, but for two days I was taxless!  However,  I am legal again now! 

Whether you still drive or not, there is a moral for us all which my story illustrates…    

Every now and then we still get asked for our important numbers.  I am talking about your national health number, national insurance number,  tax number, some hospitals need you to quote their version of your reference number,  your bank account numbers, your utility and phone bill numbers or even your passport number.  And although it is not an actual number, another thing we often need and have not got is a list of the medications we take daily.  

If you are anything like me, they will turn up on one document or another, but would you know exactly where to start looking if you needed to know one this very minute?  

We have all got them, but being able to find them when you need them is the biggest problem. It is also important that at least one other person that you know can find at least some of them.  Can you imagine being stuck in hospital for a couple of days and needing to remember your bank account number?  

After my two days without car tax, I would like to remind readers to know where those documents that hold those all-important reference numbers are… 

AR, Catford.