The kitchen shop at the end of our road has closed for business. I guess everyone already has a kitchen. It’s autumn and I am standing in the kitchen of a house we’ve owned for two weeks. I guess the previous owners had no space in their car to take it when they left. Either that or the new build they moved to already has a kitchen. I’m preparing some broccoli to roast in the oven and I can see fingerprints on the handle that don’t belong to me or my wife or our son. It’s nice to have a hand when cooking. I’m not someone who needs to be alone in a kitchen, but I need to hear the water boiling of the tick tick of a gas hob telling me it’s ready. I’ve never owned a kitchen before. The boiler didn’t say hello when we moved in, but my wife and I nodded at the fact it’s not hidden in a cupboard and discussed future layouts of units like we are grownups.

Carl Burkitt 2024