Save your energy darling!

Snoozing away on Friday morning, I felt an arm resting on my hip, followed by a kiss on my temple.

"You should save your energy darling!" I said. "You'll need to now that you're 40!"

And right on cue, the door burst open. Our two little boys bursting into song with a somewhat untuneful rendition of "Happy Birthday To You" filling the air with celebration.

"Happy birthday Daddy", beamed our eldest, as he handed over their gift.

"Now you're old, you need to save your energy." they said, as he untied the fabric wrapping.

By now there was most definitely a theme occuring. He was getting suspicious that something was afoot, while I was desparately hoping that he would not be disappointed with his present.

But before he managed to unwrap it, our little bin defender tripped over his words, and couldn't explain it fast enough....

"It's a thing that you plug into the electricity and tells you how much energy you're using and reminds you to turn things off."

"That's brilliant." came the reply, coinciding with the box being opened to reveal all its contents. "I've wanted one of those for ages."

Phew. The relief that an electricity monitor - all be it a snazzy one - could have been such a successful gift.

It was indeed a great start to the birthday celebrations that continued all weekend.

And yes, before you ask...we have played the game of turning on all the lights and watching the display go up and up and up and then turning everything off and seeing the numbers go back down and down and down. And we've been surprised at the difference it makes just by turning off a few halogen bulbs.

But if you think this present is to keep Mr A on his toes...trust me...it's not.

Remember, information is power. And now that he's in full command of such information, he can watch my every move. From his new control centre he's been busy keeping me on my toes, constantly demanding that I turn off the light in the downstairs loo and switch off the TV while I'm working on my laptop.

Blimmin' 'eck, I think I'm now officially on a low carbon diet as well as a rubbish diet.

At least now the celebrations are over, he's back to work where he can't keep an eye on me....unless he wants to monitor the historic data that is.

Well, just in case Mr A is looking in, the official line is that all the lights are now off and our house is currently using just 263 watts. Once I turn off my laptop we'll save another 30.

However when I load up the washing machine with the next round of pants, that'll be a different story! Just watch it spin out of control during the washing cycle.

So happy birthday Mr A. By the time you've got to 41, we should save some more money as well as energy. After all, we're both getting on now and with our retirement to consider, it's a good job we've started now!

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Of course if you're the efficient type - unlike disorganised and forgetful old me - you don't need an electricity monitor to remind you to turn things off. You can just save money by simply remembering to flick the switch.

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