Moghrey Mie. I’m Ben, and that’s the last of the children safely in school, so I’ve time for a chat. It’s an early start, but it’s one of my favourite times of day, seeing them arriving on their bikes and scooters, and on the walking bus, laughing and chatting. Always a hello and a fist bump for me! 

I wouldn’t have fancied this job when my daughter was at school. I remember all those cars parked up with their engines running, with tiny tots being pushed past right through the fumes at nose height. Imagine that! 

I’ll admit, I was a bit of a petrol head when I was a younger man. I wasn’t keen on the changes on the roads at first, electric cars, more bikes and so on. Back in those days, give me a car full of fuel and the open road and that felt like freedom to me. Until it didn’t... 

We used to treat energy like a magic trick. Flick a switch, push a button, plug it in and it was just there. It was when the costs really shot up that we realised we needed to do things differently. I was a taxi driver back then, and my wife had a good job too, but the cost of the basics meant we often didn’t have much money left over for anything else. Keeping the fridge full and the house warm started to feel like a struggle. I’m proud to say this will be my 73rd Manx winter, and I can tell you, they’re not much fun without the heating on! 

We got a government grant in the end to make the house warmer, block the draughts and fit a heat pump. That made everything easier. And that’s what a home should be, isn’t it? Somewhere to feel safe and cosy, not a source of stress. 

The more the Island moved towards renewables and producing our own energy, the smarter we became about how we used it and the more the bills fell. It stopped feeling hopeless. Now that’s what I call freedom. 

Changing how we produce energy brought new jobs too. My son-in-law works in remanufacturing down on the quay, and my daughter is a renewable energy maintenance technician. She’s always up a scaffold somewhere in her hard hat, never been afraid of heights, that one! We used to ship energy all around the world, it was an expensive and risky business. The wind, the sun, the waves, they’re more reliable and a bit less eager with their invoices! Stable energy prices give us the freedom to be more innovative.  

We’ve learned to say thank you in our own way. To live a little more gently alongside nature, and to think differently about what we use and waste. They’re teaching that in schools now. Kids are so switched on. I read in the local news that one of the pupils I used to help to cross this road has just invented a running machine that powers the water cooler at their community gym to help to remind people how precious energy is.  

I look at my grandchildren growing up on this beautiful Island, cleaner, healthier and more able to depend on ourselves, and I’m glad we changed. I might have been reluctant at first, but I’m proud to have been part of it.