Please tell the governors to kill me if I ever do.)My VeinsThe varicose vein operation is one of the most common in the Western world but what do we really know about the exact nature of the procedure? Now, I would not wish this programme to get into the emotional debate, or into the anguish some people can feel after the event: the guilt of those who are tormented by thoughts of the veins they could have had and how big they would be today, or even whether they were right to do what they did just because, at the time, having the veins would have been an inconvenient burden - particularly if a career in hairdressing, waitressing or speed skating was in the offing. Computer systems have to be designed, programmed and operated They also have to be commissioned and supplied. All these things are done by humans, as were manual systems in the past. But systems design and programming both provide much greater opportunities for making serious mistakes, and this is made worse by ignorance on the part of those who commission systems.

The people who operate the systems are often ill-trained, and ignorant of the nature of information and its manipulation. He or she also needs to be sure that a capable deputy is responsible for the quality of the specification and the contract, is monitoring progress every day, is empowered to take corrective action and will be held accountable if the project does not deliver.I suspect that the CRB project may have failed all three of these tests. When people talk about "trusting technology" it is this complex of human activity that they are really trusting.To emphasise the mistakes which this and previous governments have made is not unworthy. Listening to the Public Accounts Committee examination of the key players, it was not clear whether senior Home Office officials were accountable for the project in the way I have spelt out.H R MANN London W8Sir: Trusting computer technology is not about trusting the machines themselves. At the very least, the chief executive needs to review progress and risks every month: and for more than just five or ten minutes.

Holly doesn't like getting its feet wet, said Julia, and the iris "likes to bake". I feel as though our family of five - 20 including the animals - is now a family of more like 80, and that the newly arrived toad lilies must be fed, watered and cherished no less than the children But plants, like children, can be over-cherished. "Don't mollycoddle them," warned Julia, sternly.She also warned me that a handsome plant called six hills giant gives off an aroma that "makes cats randy". As we have a rabbit who spends most of his day trying to mate with the hens, we already have more randiness than we need round here. She not only gave me the names of all the new plants, but even talked me through their personalities. Unless the chief executive of an organisation is known to be wholly behind the venture it is likely to fail.