2508. Off the power grid

We are very blessed to be rich. We do not want for much. We live in a rather well-admired suburb of a rather well-admired city. We have fourteen acres at the edge of the town surrounding our eleven bedrooms each with an en suite. It means friends can come and stay whenever they wish.

Being rich comes with its responsibilities. We are in a position to set an example to others, especially when it comes to care of the planet. That is why a good quarter of our fourteen acres (we removed the orchard) is reserved for solar panels. We are not even on the grid. It is an impressive thing. It’s like we are living out of the rat race that the rest of the world plunges headlong into. As one visitor put it: “Oh the silence! I had forgotten what birdsong was like, and the sound of the breeze in the trees!” Care for the planet is our motto.

It is a privilege to set an example. Of course, once the visitors go the thump of the diesel generators drives us up the wall.

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