The Middle of Lidl did well out of us today. We spotted a few things in there and – after I’d popped home and done some research to check that they weren’t getting outrageously bad reviews – I returned later to pick up a kettle, a vacuum cleaner and an air fryer.

The kettle was a Silvercrest “Premium Digital” one. The reason for looking for a kettle is that our long-serving one is beginning to show a few signs of leakage at some of the joints. We like having a kettle that doesn’t merely boil water but can heat it to a range of temperatures and the new one offers 5°C increments from 40°C upwards with both a digital display and LED lights to indicate how far it has got, so it is an upgrade on just having 6 preset temperatures and no progress indication.

Next up was a Beldray cordless vacuum cleaner. We borrowed a cordless one along with the dogs we were looking after and Jane decided it was going to be a useful tool for us to have for spot cleaning, taking up the stairs and keeping the car clean. Our previous cordless one was very compact but not brilliant when new. Over time it had become increasingly wheezy and so it seemed like a worthwhile improvement to replace it.

I hadn’t expected Jane to give the nod to an air fryer. I’ve been keen to get one for a while so I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. We now have a Silvercrest dual drawer air fryer which can cover a heat range from 40°C to 240°C in each drawer. I gave it a minimal test tonight, keeping some bubble and squeak patties warm while I finished cooking other things and then making sure the spare ones were cooked through while we ate. Tomorrow’s plan is a barbeque but I look forward to experimenting more in the weeks to come.