Mark Banf ord, Somerset

QFollowing a recent accident I need more assistance around the house. Could any voice-activated gadgets help me with cooking and cleaning?

ABecca Caddy replies: Absolutely, Mark, and it all begins with a smart speaker. The Amazon Echo (£89.99, amazon.co.uk) enables you to control your connected home devices by speaking commands to Alexa, your very own AI assistant. You can also kit out other rooms with an Amazon Dot (£49.99, amazon.co.uk) so that Alexa is never more than a few feet away. For cleaning, the Neato Botvac D7 Connected (£799, amazon.co.uk) is one of our favourite voice- controlled robot vacuum cleaners, thanks to its speed and navigational skills.

For morning coffee or tea without the hassle, use the AppKettle (£129.99, myappkettle.com), a voice- enabled smart kettle with Alexa. You can turn it on/ off, as well as specify different temperatures for different drinks, wherever you are in your home, either via the app or via voice command. Also, leave the cooking to the Bosch Serie 8 Single Oven (£1049, bosch-home.co.uk), designed with Bosch Home Connect. This smart home system syncs up to your Amazon Echo, enabling you to set timers and start cooking, all controlled with your voice or via the app if you’re on the move.

The TP - Link WiFi Smart Plug (£ 29.19, amazon.co.uk) is a handy device for connecting old, not-so-smart devices to your home network, as well as to Alexa, so you can turn them on and off with your voice. If opening and closing the blinds are a challenge, check out Thomas Sanderson’s PowerView Alexa- enabled blinds (£ POA, thomas-sanderson.co.uk).