Speaking as someone who still manages her social life via an actual physical calendar on the kitchen wall and hadn’t downloaded an app until about six months ago, this week’s techie homes feature - available to view in our e-edition - is a revelation.

Apparently, smart homes are the sequel to smart phones, and soon we’ll all be inviting our fridges to join forces with our SmartSense Trackers to find out what we should be eating to ensure a better night’s sleep.

This all sounds a bit much to me, but I do come from a long line of technophobes. I can remember my grandma doing her washing with a washboard – this was the early eighties, long after the invention of the washing machine. My dad has followed in her footsteps, refusing to own a mobile phone or operate a dishwasher. I may mock him, but I know I’m the next generation equivalent.

My kids know nothing other than this brave new world of technology and have a far better grasp on our new fangled TV and its multiple remotes than I do. Telling them what cassette tapes are (were!) and explaining that we used to have just the one phone and it was plugged into the wall reminds me how far we’ve come in a generation.

The fact that we have Amazon Echo in our kitchen – my very techie partner’s purchase – makes me feel ever so slightly down with modern times, but that’s about the extent of my experience on the subject. I’m told that Echo can do all sorts to make your life easier, but our interactions are limited to my requests for top tunes while I cook (Glen Campbell helps in any situation, I find).

Echo’s new rival, Google Home, has just been released, and that’s also discussed in this week’s feature alongside the likes of the Firefox iKettle (a Teasmade, but jazzier). Prepare to have your mind boggled.