"The phone wasn't working again"

my caller told me. 

She was not referring to my phone - or I would not have been getting the call - but the phone of a group. 

The Secretary is supposed to have the phone. It's a mobile of course. Last year they changed the number for some reason. I assume they also changed the provider - although that was not a reason to keep the same number.

But people trying to phone to apologise for not attending a meeting would not have been able to get through if the phone was "not working". Was it turned off? That's possible. I must admit that I would find it annoying to answer multiple calls from people who had forgotten to apologise until the last minute. Of course it is the Secretary's role to do this but attempting to get ready for a meeting and being interrupted like that would be difficult.

It has made me wonder whether there aren't other solutions to the problem. I have never used the group's phone in that way. When I could not attend a meeting I always asked someone else to put my apologies in for me. All they needed to do was add my name to the list of apologies when they were signing in. 

Perhaps I am odd in that way. I see no reason for offering an excuse for not attending - although people usually have been aware of what has prevented me from attending. Most people, including me, do offer a reason but it should not be a requirement if the presence of an individual is not vital.  

I have attended thousands of meetings in my working life. Many of them have been "virtual" meetings of course. We don't physically sit together. I am well aware that one person almost always attends in his nightwear.  Why not? It is close to midnight for him on most occasions. It is usually about five in the morning for me - a reasonable hour. For most people it is somewhere between seven and midnight. We keep meetings short. If we can't "be there" for some reason then we can leave an email for the group. 

The person who phoned me does not have access to a computer so email is not an option for her. It would be for some people who phone in their apologies. Surely it would be better to send a quick email?