Monday, 28th. September 2026

I am feeling in a reflective mood this morning. After the events of last week I feel I want to reduce my dependence on personal technology. We are all dependent upon technology to bring potable water and energy to our homes and to take away waste water and sewage. Which is fine. But I would like to reduce my dependence upon personal technology, which brings broadband into my home and takes away large sums of cash. Yes, I can watch films and TV programmes with high quality picture and sound, listen to high resolution music and podcasts and keep my website up-to-date. But the technology is expensive and does not work as well as it should. Furthermore, it fools us into thinking we can afford things that really we cannot.

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone built a town for humans? On a human scale. A town where we could walk from home to the shops, the library, the cinema, the doctor, the town hall. Where skilled people would make clothes, furniture, bread and sausages. Where farmers around the town would sell fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables. Where there was no need for cars or parking or traffic jams or road injuries. Where people could meet to enjoy a chat, a coffee, a beer or just to learn and soak up knowledge. Where the need for tech is minimised and human contact – and reality – once again becomes the norm.

Yes, I’m dreaming again, and I’d better stop before I get carried away. There is almost nothing within walking distance that I want or need and I can’t be arsed to walk to a bus stop. So I shall stay home in self-imposed isolation. Perhaps I might re-engage with one of my (too) many writing projects. Or perhaps I might make a start on reading the new Emily St.John Mandel novel. I don’t know yet. Whilst I am thinking about that I shall think about what to have for breakfast at lunchtime. Eggs again? Perhaps poached this time – I had scrambled yesterday. Must remember to take some bread out of the freezer. Oh, and Amelie is arriving in the post today, a movie I most certainly could not do without in the post-broadband age.