Busy doing nothing...

New research has revealed that people check their smartphones, on average, every twelve minutes. That sounds credible. The default option, for people with nothing better to do, seems to be to stare at their phone, waiting for something to happen. It’s proving to be genuinely addictive. There are even apps which help users to monitor - and reduce - the amount of time they spend on their phones (though this sounds like trying to extinguish a fire by pouring petrol on it).

When we have an intimation of our own mortality, and we come to review the highlights and lowlights of our lives, we may eventually wonder, ruefully, why we spent such much time and energy on things that simply don’t matter. Will we come to regret the amount of time spent slumped in front of the TV, watching soap operas, game shows and celebrities eating insects in the jungle? The average Briton spends 24 hours of every week watching TV: that’s one entire day in every seven.

Just licensed: a new estate of houses, on the outskirts of Kendal, with solar panels on the roof of every house...