Thanks James!
I did have Hive Keychain and Hive signer, and a long long password.
No idea where that short one came from.
I might revisit an old laptop - it seems the trouble may have begun when I replaced one laptop with another.
I really really do need to regain access and delegate again and donate prize money for contests - it's been so long since I did any of that.
Thanks again. Tomorrow I will hunt out the old laptop....