My new memory card is scheduled to arrive after Christmas.  In the meantime, Redg found one in a surplus shop, an additional 256MB to tide me over. Wow, did it make a difference!  My tablet was palpably faster.  The problem, though, was that after a couple of hours of use, the machine rebooted and then kept rebooting until we removed the card.

Argh!  Defective part.  We've been cautioned about buying tech supplies at surplus shops.  They're cheap, but buyer beware. 

Now I really have to wait until after Christmas.  In the meantime, I just have to be patient.