A whistling kettle was the sound of my childhood, too (although my mum was a coffee-drinker, made with hot milk). Now we have an all-singing, all-dancing Bosch electric kettle that does different boiling temperatures and keeps the water hot: the best kettle we’ve ever had.

(Incidentally, I read a biography of the sublime Betty MacDonald and learned that the family of the couple on whom she based Ma and Pa Kettle in ‘The Egg and I’ sued her over the portrayal - it was settled out of court. They then sued again for almost $1m - in 1951! - but this time it went to court and Betty McD won)