Good news for a change. The offer for Lili stands, and the cash is on its way.

I've just heard this afternoon that mpb.com have now examined Lili, my Leica X-U, and have agreed that she is in excellent condition. They have stood by their preliminary offer of £895, and the money is now being sent to my bank account. 

I could ask for no better or easier outcome. There has been none of the faff, waiting around, and uncertainty that comes with an eBay auction sale. And none of eBay's delaying tactics as regards payment after a sale. Before the end of the week I expect to pop that £895 into a depleted savings account where it will stay. 

After shelling out big sum after big sum on the car and the caravan, and seeing my capital dwindle - and with it my sense of security - this successful disposal of a used camera for significant money is a most welcome change. I sense that a corner has been turned in my recent misfortunes. Lili has gone; but now I have more money again. I still have to pay for a new gas boiler this summer, and I'd like a new electric cooker before the end of the year, but those things are already budgeted for. I can do what I like with this £895. 

I have already been pointed in the direction of another camera to buy. But I will not. The little Leica D-Lux 4 is back in harness. A Leica made in Japan, and actually a posh version of the very well-regarded Panasonic LX3. A Panasonic with a Leica lens and Leica firmware, but essentially a Japanese product. And perhaps all the better for it. Certainly, the little Leica has been superbly durable and trouble-free, and can still produce very good results. And let it be said, this was the camera that chronicled an entirely new, fresh and independent period of my life. An important time. I feel it deserves the chance to report my future life too. That will also be an important time.

And I have learned a lesson about buying prestigious-name cameras. A big part of Lili's appeal was the fact that she was actually made in Germany by Leica. I wanted her fine lens and bulletproof build, but they were secondary, almost taken for granted. I desired above all a Wetzlar-made camera. But the magic of owning one did not last. I now wonder why I expected it to. 

I've woken up, emerged from the Leica Dream. When the time comes to replace the little Leica, I will look to Nikon, Canon, Fujifilm, Panasonic, OM Systems, and possibly Sony to fill the gap. Well-known names, certainly; and I can hardly go wrong; but none of them have the Leica mystique. And none of them will cost me nearly so much. I will make a rational choice based on personal needs alone, and not try to chase an aspirational chimera.