Abey, let’s kick off with you my littlest Doobs / Forest / Doosks. Your contented little footsteps reverberate through our home as you pitter patter from room to room, picking up books, shoes, hats, and most recently, the mop. Your current two real obsessions though are stacking magnatiles into high towers and rapidly flicking through magazines or books.

Hotels? Self-catering? B & Bs? What’s your favourite type of holiday accommodation? For me, and now that there are 5 of us, it has to be self- catering. Nothing beats a kitchen for preparing meals in, a living room to kick back in at the end of a day, separate bedrooms for adults and kids, and the possibility of our own outdoor space to run around in. I also love the idea of staying somewhere with character and soul, as opposed to a hotel room, which can often feel slightly sterile, cramped and commercial.

“Tough one for you guys tonight?” was the message I received from our neighbour one evening a few months back just after we’d taken the plug out. You see, our kids can eat breakfast at midday, travel 18 hours by car to Spain, camp out in cold temperatures – all without batting an eyelid. But have their hair washed? Forget it.