For nearly 3 years my Ricoh CX3 has mouldered in a desk draw. On a walking holiday in Spain, it dropped from my rucksack and was no longer operable. Instead it just zoomed in and out relentlessly and the LCD screen did not register.

Back in the UK, I took it to a renowned camera shop and was told it would cost more to mend than to buy something new, with no guarantees that it could be fixed.

And so clearing out my drawers today I finally felt ready to dump the camera Switching it on with the vague hope that it would have fixed itself but no, the same persistent in and out zoom happened. So with nothing to lose, I fiddled with the lens casing- more fiddling – and then suddenly the lens stayed still and open and the LCD screen lit up.

I was reunited with the photos I took at the time though most I had managed to download but here is one for old times sake

I quickly took a couple of shots but then the battery failed (not surprisingly after all this time). Somewhere there is a charger!

Now I can only hope that Ricoh CX3 has truly revived. I am especially pleased too because my husband Martin had bought this for my birthday present in 2011. He would be happy to know it is working again – hopefully for some time yet to come.

Of course I’d already moved on to something bigger and better (Panasonic G6) and the quality of this point and shoot does not compare but it’s pocket poppable and I love its ease of use. I will have to get to know it again and for my own reference have located the online manual

And the moral of this story is that with nothing to lose we should try our own fixes, and maybe have a little faith in miracles.