I have a blender, and use it at least once a day to make smoothies. Dorje doesn’t usually like them. Too many failed experiments perhaps. An overly liberal dose of cayenne pepper, or the raw tumeric and amalaki powder (made from a fruit very high in Vitamin C and sour like a lemon) mix not proving as successful as it sounds.

But the blender does provide some enjoyment.

The blender is a high-powered monster, and when its dull roar takes over all conversation stops. At first, he made harmless “vroom vroom” sounds along with the engine. Although maybe he got that from me.

But recently he’s found a new expression of blender freedom. While the motor roars, he lets out a blood-curdling shriek to put any banshee to shame. The kind of shriek even babies can’t get away with before being plugged with a dummy or a bottle. With me standing next to the blender, and him across the room, I feel like a dentist’s drill is piercing my eardrum. I have to block my ears, and can barely stand to free one hand to top up the blender, or switch it off. When the blender stops, so does the shriek.

How many of us manage to find such a wonderful two minutes of freedom in a day?