I can’t be the only old fogey amused by the recent report that Gen Z are so lacking in basic skills that they would pay someone to change a lightbulb, says Carol Midgley in The Times. How gratifying that the “AI generation” don’t know how to put air in a tyre, use a stepladder or identify the car battery under the bonnet. “See, we’re not obsolete yet!” I said, waving the newspaper under the nose of the nearest youngster, who was “staring at TicTac, or whatever it’s called”. But while it’s always entertaining to point out that youngsters “wang on about climate change” yet never switch the lights off or shut down their laptops, letting them “whirr for days”, I can’t deny that Gen Z have skills which make me feel like a “medieval peasant woman staring at a parcel drone”.

They can find one photo out of tens of thousands on their phone within a second, while I scroll, “tongue lolling”, back to 2019 before asking: “Is it in ‘the cloud’?” They can whip up a professional film of their “summer highlights” in five minutes, yet it took me nearly two years to grasp the concept of an “e-signature”. The other day someone sent me a “reel” of kids mocking their parents for using one finger to jab at the screen and pronouncing “WhatsApp” as “Whats-App”. “I do NOT do that,” I huffed, before remembering that I do pocket dial people daily, leaving long voicemails of me going to the loo. Still, at least I can change a lightbulb, Gen Z. “Stick that in your pipe and vape it.”

THE SCHOOLHOUSE This Grade II listed former schoolhouse in Shapwick, Somerset has retained many original features, including two fireplaces, exposed stone walls and wooden beams. Two en-suite bedrooms are on the ground floor, along with a spacious living and dining area, and a study and utility room. The kitchen, with a walk-in pantry, is in a wooden extension on the ground level. On the second floor are two more en-suite bedrooms. The house has landscaped gardens at the front and back. Bristol is a one-hour drive. £850,000.

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