Thanks, Aunty Beeb, for that fleeting glance into the dystopian future of Britain.

Maybe I watch too many sci-fi films, maybe it's because I'm currently reading Do androids dream of electric Sheep? in which cities trudge on underneath a blanket of radioactive fallout, maybe I've just gone a bit odd out of boredom (I stare pointedly at the essay that is sitting ignored in another window). Either way, this tweet both chilled and excited me.

As a lover of futuristic fiction it excites me every time I see something that hints towards the future. Sometimes the robot, Akimo will pop up in a documentary or I'll learn of some crazy sounding new scientific experiment... then every now and then I see a Segway and yearn for the future where they're as cheap and commonplace as bicycles. Oh see how I yearn.

In spite of my love of dystopian fiction seeing a smog alert hashtag on twitter is still a little strange and disconcerting. Should I wear a mask out? Or a protective suit? Or maybe I won't go out at all, just stay inside with my hoverboard and self-lacing boots.