– These days it’s dark when I wake up at 6:30, though the house is warm from the new Hive central heating controller which turns the boiler on automatically. It goes to 23 degrees Celsius, and if I wanted I could crank that up from my phone via the app connected to the wifi router.
– I could turn the heat up in my house from anywhere in the world, as long as I had internet access. Think about that for a minute.
– Actually I’ve unplugged it. Not much call for it, really. It seems neat, but the timer function handles our heating needs nicely.
– In the morning when we step out the air is cool and fresh in a way that reminds me of outward bound trips as a kid with my school in some remote corner of Wales, staying en masse in ancient old youth hostels on creaky bunk beds that smelled of Lynx deodorant and wet socks and sweat.
– In the morning you’d go for your shower in the freezing, barren toilets, but thanks to blazing central heating in 100-year old pipes, you’d be warm even with all the windows rusted open, and in would pour this gorgeous morning dew smell, rich with the sap of freshly ruptured clouds, vibrant grass, twigs and bracken and the calls of last night’s wild hunt still ringing in the air.
– I get a taste that from the park every morning, wafting over in waves. When it’s misty it’s gorgeous. I go to work. The Hive central heating controller is supposed to beep to warn me if I ever leave the house with the heat on – it has GPS too of course- but I’ve unplugged it so it never does. Why would I need it anyway, when it’s all on a timer?