First and nearly the last.

I'd like to say I allowed her, but as my daughter is twenty years old I can't really stop her from doing anything. So this week she went on holiday without us for the first time but with a friend, to Spain.

     As my passport expired last year and I haven't found the time to renew it I was hoping everything would go fine. In fact I took out so much holiday insurance that had a satellite with decaying orbit fallen on her head, she would have been covered.

    So you can imagine my fright when less than 36hrs after leaving she phoned to say she was on her way to hospital with breathing problems and copious vomiting. We used to have temporary passports in the UK but they don't exist any more. Nevertheless I was calculating ways of getting out of England (no problem technically) and into Spain without a passport and bringing her back, when four hours later she was out of hospital with the doctors words ringing in her ears. Don't, I mean Do not drink any more tap water - and lay off the booze.

     This last five days is going to be murder until she gets back. The other potential problem is of the monetary kind. Before she left I told her about a thousand times to turn off the data switch on her iPhone, because if she comes back with a £1000 phone bill then no amount of insurance is going to cover that and I'll nail her to her bed for the next ten years.