holiday Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

How To Have A Really Successful Family Holiday

March 2, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

Going on vacation with your family can be extremely stressful. It can be hard to not only get everyone on the same page, but the communication can lack in some places. Planning out the perfect holiday isn’t easy, and it takes patience and a plan. Preparation is key, and you’ve got to invest some of your time to plan a vacation that is successful.

Communication is essential

When you are planning a family vacation, communication is going to be crucial. You want to avoid a lot of drama caused by miscommunication and instead, make sure that everyone is on the same page right from the beginning. This means that you should sync up your flights, how you are getting to the hotel and even what you are doing throughout the stay. There are a lot of different apps out there that can help keep you organized and keep your family in the loop.

Be realistic with your money

This is another thing that can cause a lot of drama. Money can be tight for some family members, and that is why being practical with money up front is huge. While you are planning out what you are going to be doing throughout your holiday vacation, make sure that you incorporate some free things, as that will help offset some of the costs for those that have thinner wallets.

Pad your time

What this means it that if you are set off across the country with your family to check out different amusement parks or malls, leave a chance to explore. You might have a list of things that you want to see and a list of stuff that you want to do but pad your time. Leave time in the agenda for family-time too, that’s important, and it will help everyone bond and be a little closer.

Keep it active for the group

If you are not a keen conversationalist with your family, why not up the ante and plan something active? A sporting event is one of the best things to go to with a group. It also provides a lot of memories for your family, and it doesn’t require a lot of personal interaction.

Safety first

Whenever you are traveling with a bigger group, preparation is essential to keep the stress at bay and to ensure that everyone is safe. If you are going with small kids, you should keep a photo of them as well as the entire family on you at all times. The younger kids should also carry an identification card with their parents’ names, address and phone number of where you are staying. Safety first, especially when it comes to family holidays.

Have a packing party

Packing is probably one of the most stressful things when you are preparing for a trip. You have to make sure that you have everything and that is why coming prepared with a checklist and having a packing party is huge. Make a game out of it, see who can pack up everything the fastest. There are also packing hacks that you can use to understand how to pack for a longer trip without the stress.

WiFi is paramount

Finally, don’t try to fight it, WiFi is going to be vital when you are traveling. If it is a cost? Spring for it. It will stop a lot of fighting, a lot of drama and it will make the trip that much better. There are also a lot of ways that you can get WiFi for free and save a few bucks.

Now that you know some of the best ways to cut down on the stress and to have a fabulous family holiday, what are some of the tips that you have? Share them!

When was the last time you stayed at a Bed and Breakfast?

February 22, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

I have to admit, that for the longest time, I haven’t stayed in a B&B. There was definitely a time in my life, when I wouldn’t hesitate to stay in Bed and Breakfast over a Hotel, but in truth – several bad experiences has made me very wary.

One of the first strange experiences was at least ten years ago. My then husband and I, stayed in a Bed and Breakfast for one night, while having a very rare night away. The place itself was lovely, but the shower was in the same room as the bed! Now obviously I was with my husband so it wasn’t the end of the world, but imagine if you’d gone with a friend and had to shower (not much frosted glass!) in the same room as they were watching TV!

The very last time I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast was with my best friend Amy. I won a competition to stay in a beautiful hotel and have a trip to the theatre to see Grease. We decided to extend our stay and extra night, but couldn’t afford the same hotel and instead booked a B&B near Camden. It was, no lie, the most awful place I have ever stepped foot in. I won’t freak you out with the details but needless to say we slept fully clothed and we even tried getting drunk to help us sleep!

These days I tend to stay in a Travelodge or Premier Inn, as at least you always know what you’re getting, however I have been looking at a B&B for an upcoming holiday we might be having. Is it time I braved it again? Or will one more time be the sealing of the deal! Here is an interesting infograph by Toprooms I wanted to share with you, about all the reasons we should stay in Bed and Breakfast. What do you think?

Our Flying Visit to Disneyland Paris

January 30, 2017 by Bel 2 Comments

Last weekend (20th-22nd Jan) we took a flying visit to Disneyland Paris. I have to admit that it didn’t turn out to be our best trip there, but considering it was raining the last two times and freezing cold the times before that, I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much. In all honesty, the trip itself was enjoyable for many reasons – one, that I got to spend time with the girls – two, that I finally got to stay in a Disney hotel and – three, my best friend Amy and her daughter were there at the same time as us. Aside from that though, there was a bit of an epiphany moment where I realised I had been trying to fill a hole that Florida had left, ever since we visited two years ago. I also realised that DLP is unfortunately not that replacement for us. Anyway I’ll save all that for another time and just fill you in briefly on our trip.

For the two nights we were away, we stayed in Hotel Santa Fe. It’s the cheapest of the Disney Hotels, having paid only £100 for 2 nights (no park passes included, but using discount from my annual pass) but actually it was pretty great. The whole hotel complex is themed around the movie Cars and we actually had our room in the row belonging to Lightning McQueen.

On our first day, the girls had decided to Disney Bound as Rapunzel and Flynn. Lily was Rapunzel and Megan was Flynn. This was actually my favourite of their two outfits for the weekend, but I definitely loved both. Lily’s “Best Day Ever” t-shirt was one she had already, so she only needed a pair of purple jeans and a new cardigan. Megan on the other hand needed all new bits, but I didn’t mind as I knew she’d get wear out of some of it. We did have a dilemma with the trousers though and ended up purchasing a boys pair from Tesco, the day before we left home.

On our first day in DLP, we spent the whole time in the main Disneyland park. We sorted out annual passes, went on loads of rides, bought Mickey shaped food (believe it or not, we’d never done that before), had our pictures taken in front of the castle (a firm tradition) and watched the parade. Of course we ate dinner, browsed shops and all the other things you’re supposed to do. Sadly, though we had intended to watch Dreams, it was definitely far too cold and we ended up heading back to the hotel early.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast in the hotel (this was included in the price). We also stashed a few croissants and pain au chocolat for a cheeky light lunch later. We got up early and headed into the park for EMH (Early Magic Hours) as this is something we have never been able to do before. It was amazing to be in the park while it was so quiet but I have to admit it may have been partly to blame for me not enjoying much of this day as I started out so cold and never really thawed!

During EMH we managed to meet both Stitch and Chip ‘n’ Dale. The girls were dressed as Mickey and Minnie for their Disney Bounding this day (which seemed to go down well with the character, plus Olivia was Daisy Duck which was so sweet) but sadly it was so cold that you never really got to see much of their outfits.

At 10am we headed over to the Studios as there were a few things we wanted to do there and this was our last day. We queued for Crusher Coaster for over an hour, only to end up feeling sick – and then got FPs for Ratatouille (our favourite ride by far) but not till 4pm that afternoon. We tried to meet Moana at 11.30am but her queue was already closed so we made an effort to waste time elsewhere. We went to the Armageddon special effects show, browsed the shops, ate lunch and saw the Art of Animation theatre show. After that it was time for a second wave of Moana queues so I joined the line while the girls played on the machines in the Animation building.

The queue for Moana seemed to take forever and even took a break right before it was our turn. However the girls seemed pleased to meet her as it was a character we hadn’t been able to meet before (being that she’s new and all). It was also the only time the girls actually got to show off their Mickey and Minnie Disney Bound so I was pleased to get a picture of that.

Finally it was time to ride Ratatouille so we headed over to that. The queue still took a while even on fastpass but it was worth it as always. After that we decided it was time to eat and ended up heading back to the other park and to Hakuna Matata as the girls had enjoyed it when we’d eaten there previously. We then did a little last minute shopping and headed back to the hotel.

As well as eating something Mickey shaped, drinking a Glowtini was also on my list of things I’d like to do, so with the girls in tow, Amy and I headed to the hotel bar and treated ourselves to a drink. It was actually really nice (I had red and Amy had blue) but it was expensive for what you get. The ice cube is funky though and at least you get to take it with you. After about an hour in the bar, we all headed back to our rooms and got an early night. I packed first as we were heading off early.

In the morning, we went for breakfast and then met up with Amy and Olivia to head to the park. We did a little more last minute shopping (for pins) and then said our goodbyes as they had one more day and we were heading home. Everything went perfectly to plan – catching the train, checking in for the plane, the flight etc. We were making great time for getting home — until I hit a barrier in the airport car park and completely broke my car. After a very long wait, a slow journey home and arriving back about 5 hours later than planned, we finally made it home. Sadly the last part put very much a dampener on the weekend for me and definitely made me think hard about whether or not our trips to DLP were worth it or not!

Overall though, it was a good weekend away, if not a little rushed. I truly wish it hadn’t been so cold as I know we all would have enjoyed it so much more.

Hello 2017

January 3, 2017 by Bel Leave a Comment

On New Year’s Eve I wrote a post reflecting on 2016 and so today I want to look forward to 2017. As it’s already 3rd January I’m sure it’s probably clear that a whole “new me” is not on the horizon. I think I’ve learned from previous years, that that’s not the best route for me. Instead little changes, positive attitude and a hope for better things, is the direction I would like to go.

This Year I will:

Get a better grip on my finances. As I’ve mentioned on my blog before, I have a lot of debt – largely from my time as a single mum (I mean, I’m technically still a single mum but I have a very supportive partner now). For a few years, I just buried my head and the debt got worse but then two years ago it all hit me and I had to stop avoiding it. 2016 was the year I finally started to get that debt down and while I definitely managed to stop adding to it and clear one particular lump of debt, I still have a fair way to go. I have a specific target in mind by the end of the year and that will hopefully lessen my debt by about a third.
Work hard on my business, Closet Geek. It would be a lie to say I don’t work hard on it already as to be honest its my main focus, after the kids. I have thoroughly enjoyed working from home this last year and despite how crazy busy it has gotten at times, I wouldn’t change a thing. This year I am aiming to add at least 6 more product ranges (don’t ask me what, I have no idea yet) and hopefully more variations of the products I already sell. That said, I must remember to take time out and relax (which is hard because I often get into a flow).

Weight Loss is something I want to focus on this year. I haven’t jumped into any kind of diet yet as there is still a lot of bad food kicking around the house. However I am trying to regulate myself and not eat too my rubbish and when routine starts over again and I start cooking evening meals from scratch, I aim to make healthy dishes and avoid any junk. Last year I felt uncomfortable in my skin and it stopped me from dressing up, cosplaying and even feeling like I wanted to make any sort of effort. Its amazing what a knock on effect feeling overweight can have to all areas of life. I also want to try walking more often, especially as life isn’t so hectic that I need to save every minute of time by hopping in the car.
Last year was a wonderful change to family life, working from home instead of feeling stressed in the job I had previously (I actually can’t believe I walked out on that job 2 years ago – I’ve honestly never regretted it). I managed to attend so many of the kids events at school and I’m sure I will be doing so again this year. That said I want to make time outside of those events, to do things as a family. The kids love to play board games (we had a day doing that during holiday), go swimming and play computer games (Lily and I have played Lego Harry Potter for most days of the holidays) so I want to make more time for fun, not just scheduled events. I also want to make more time for Chris as he often gets neglected, just because he “understands more”. On evenings when he’s not at work, I need to step away from my sewing or even my computer and just be with him – doing whatever it is we feel like doing.

This year I would like to:

Moving house is definitely top of the list for things I’d like to do in 2017. Sadly not a huge amount of that decision is in our hands, but we need to try wherever possible. From the house going on the market last April, till now, we’ve only had two viewings. I think there has been many reasons to that but largely the price recommended by the agents is too high. We do have another viewing tomorrow so we will see how that goes but at some point this year we will have to make some firmer decisions – perhaps to change agents, sell at a loss, or whatever other options there might be.
During January I have a weekend away booked with the girls, to Disneyland Paris. However as much as I’m looking forward to it, I’d really like a nice week away somewhere abroad. Top choice for this year would definitely be Italy and ideally during the warm weather. Chris booking holidays at work can be a pain though as he can often only get out of school holiday time. With Megan now at secondary school I am loathed to take them out of school for a holiday, so it’s definitely going to be a juggling act – and of course available money. If we can’t get away this year, I would definitely love to book something bigger for next year – maybe a two week holiday somewhere further afield like the US.

This Year I will try:

Yesterday I was in a position (as I often am) where one of the girls asked if we could do something (something they had been asking for a while and have been saying “soon” to) and my immediate answer was “yes, tomorrow”. Now although that might seen immediate to you, it’s really only because it was that day or tomorrow that we needed to do it, before it was too late. But my reaction was still the latter, not the actual immediate. However after I walked away, I thought “actually, why can’t we just do it now?” and so that’s what we did. Basically I really want to stop putting things off till tomorrow and just get on with them. Because tomorrow never really comes and before you realise it, you’ve been putting everything off and never getting anything done.

When we went swimming, the girls and I, I was reminded of how much I enjoy it and, that despite not going very often, I’m still pretty good at it. While I don’t always want to go when they suggest it, I did realise I could take them and just watch (they’re both old enough now), but also I could go when they’re at school and just swim lengths. It would be a great way to make time for me, get fitter and even find time to shower! I don’t want to set myself a frequency but I would like to swim more.
As I mentioned last year, our friendship group is a little bit fractured now and so in the past 12 months I haven’t thrown any large group events. I think its probably easiest to just see each group of working friendships, by themselves, whenever there is time, rather than force everyone to get together. Last year we did enjoy a meal out as a group of friends, a cinema trip as a double date and a few times having friends around for dinner. I would like to continue that this year, making more of an effort but hopefully making time for everyone.
Finally I should probably give my blog a mention. At this time of year it’s always easy to say “I’ll post more”, or “I’ll post frequently” but the truth is when life gets busy, my blog takes a backseat. I also often find that I lose inspiration for what to write at times and it can become just one big life update that people probably aren’t that interested in. I’m ditching Project 52 (as I did towards the end of last year) as I always forget to take pictures weekly). Instead I might do something monthly, as I did with my round-ups (which definitely suits me better so I will be sticking to those). I’d like to keep updating about books I read (which maybe should have been another bulletpoint as I really should read more) and movies we see at the cinema but past that I’m uncertain of the direction my blog will take. I am considering various options though so watch this space!

Now is the Time to Plan Your Family’s October Half Term Holiday

September 3, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

You may only be just starting to think about sending the kids back to school in September, but whether you’ve had the chance to take a family holiday or not these summer holidays, now’s the best time to start planning your break for the upcoming October half term. Putting together your plans now for your half-term break will mean for a more relaxing, less stressful and even cheaper time. There are many great reasons why being savvy and booking your October getaway as soon as possible is a great idea, and we’ve listed just some of them here.

Get the Best Deals

The longer you wait to book your October half term getaway, the less deals you’ll have to choose from as you’re in with a bigger chance of losing out to parents who’ve all had the same idea. Booking your half-term stay from awaywiththekids.co.uk means that you’ll be one of the earliest to book, giving you a better selection of choices and perhaps even reduced prices due to a lower level of demand. The longer you wait, the more in-demand your holiday destinations will be – meaning you’ll have less of a selection.

Save Money

Planning and booking your October half-term family break in good time rather than at the last minute also means that you could save money in the long run. Even though it’s widely believed that you can often get the best deals by booking at the last minute, this isn’t always true and you have to run the risk of paying increased prices instead. Along with that, if you’re not going down the package route and are booking your flights and hotels separately, you may find that you get a good last-minute price on one, but not on the other.

Less Stress

The longer time you give yourself to plan your holiday, the less stressful the whole process will be. This is especially important for busy mums and dads who have a lot to think about anyway especially with the upcoming new school year. By planning your October half term family break now, you’ll be able to get it out of the way and focus on getting everything done for a successful holiday, such as exchanging money, booking transfers, and buying luggage.

Get Better Deals

Booking your half-term family break sooner rather than later means that you will be in with a better chance of getting more for your money. Booking early not only means that you’ll have access to more choices and deals available, you may also be able to take advantage of special offers and deals that travel agents and booking companies may not hold later on in the year.

Although the summer holidays are barely even over, it’s definitely a great time to start thinking about booking your next family break during the upcoming October half term. Booking now gives you more time to make sure that you have an enjoyable break and can also save you money on a better deal.

Camping trip number 2 – Chichester

August 20, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

Last weekend we headed off on a very last minute camping trip down to Chichester. We were loaned a brand new tent (a Vango Airbeam Evoque) which we needed to pick up on the way and didn’t arrive until 10pm. We had huge amounts of fun, putting up this brand new tent, in the pitch black, with only my car headbeams to light the way. However the tent is awesome – did you know you could get fully inflatable tents that don’t require poles?!

Anyway after pretty much arriving and going to sleep (it was midnight by then mind you), we woke around 7am the next morning and got ready for a day at Chichester Marina. The girls grandparents have a boat there and they had invited us all down for the day. I have to admit I always feel at home with Bob and Andrea (the grandparents) even though I’m separated from their son. After nipping out to the nearby village and getting some cash out (to pay for camping), we arranged to travel to the marina and meet Bob and Andrea. We parked the car and boarded the boat for the day.

The day was beautiful and the water was really calm, at least until we got out of the main marina area. We spent quite a few hours just “driving” around, before mooring up and having some lunch. Andrea made a fab spread and I was given a glass of prosecco and wine too. It was so relaxing. Next we moved the boat slightly and the girls went crabbing off a dock. Lily wasn’t really sure she was up for the idea but I persuaded her into it and both of them seemed to enjoy themselves. After what seemed like ages, Megan finally caught a crab and Lily freaked out and refused to fish for them after that. It was pretty funny. We named the crab Kevin and fed him bacon lardons, while trying to catch some more. However we were unsuccessful and in the end just placed Kevin back in the water.

Finally we headed back towards the marina to dock the boat and go for dinner. The girls both had a go at steering, as did Chris. However when we got near to the marina, Bob took over. Sadly there is a lock that you need to go through and there was a queue, so we ended up delayed for about an hour. In the end we moored up and headed to a place called The Boat House Cafe. Bob and Andrea had already told us it was there treat so it was lovely to enjoy a nice meal out. Chris, Lily and I all had burgers, while Megan had BBQ chicken breast. There was lots of wine flowing and it was such a pleasant evening. Lily ended up playing Pokemon on my phone, while Megan drew on the serviette. It was just very relaxing.

We headed back the campsite and relaxed for a while before grabbing an early night. The next morning we were up early again but this time we needed to pack up the tent and head home. It took quite a lot longer than we expected so it was around 10am when we set off. We stopped for food on the way home, but ultimately we were getting back for my sister’s house warming party so we didn’t have much time to spare.

It was a very rushed trip and a long way to go for the weekend but we had a great time. I’d love to go again next summer, but maybe for a week so we can see more of the south coast.

Life Lately (Summer Holidays)

August 5, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

I’ve been a little quiet lately and that’s partly because I’m busy with Closet Geek but also because the kids are off on Summer holidays. While we haven’t done much so far, we have been camping (last weekend) and we’re going to a Harry Potter convention this weekend (followed by a Yule Ball).

I have updates to make including my round up of July, our camping trip to Staxton (near Scarborough), of course the Harry Potter convention and maybe even a review of Curlformers. Please understand that it’s not because I don’t want to be here, its just that I want to enjoy my time with the kids and of course, complete my orders!

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Travel Diary – 17th June 16 – Paris Day One

June 27, 2016 by Bel 3 Comments

So a few weeks ago, I headed off to Paris once again! You may remember that I took a trip with my family back in May, but this time the trip was a Girl’s Weekend, partly to attend a convention and partly to visit Paris itself! I was absolutely dreading leaving Chris and the girls for 5 days and 4 nights, but I also had a lot to look forward to. My best friend Nat and I, were traveling from my house, while Amy was coming from hers. Though we were traveling separately, we were spending the whole weekend together – or at least that had been the plan until Amy was unable to make it.

On Day One of the trip, Nat and I took the girls to school and then drove to Retford to catch the train. From Retford we traveled to London (though ended up delayed), where we would then catch the Eurostar. Neither Nat nor I had traveled on the Eurostar so it was quite exciting, but also a little nerve-racking when we found our seats had been changed. Luckily we were upgraded to Business Class and this made the change quite exciting!

From setting off in the morning at 9am, to arriving in Paris at 4pm (French time), the journey was fairly uneventful (despite a slight delay on the original train). When we arrived in Paris, we already had our journey to Versailles figured out and so we went about buying a ticket and catching the RER to where we needed to be. It was pretty busy on the first RER B to St Michel, but after that the RER C was fairly quiet and the journey took us around 20-25 minutes.

When we stepped off the train at Versailles, we used my phone to figure out where we were going for the hotel. It was only a 10 minute walk and the weather was pretty nice, despite having rained most of the afternoon while traveling there. On the way to the hotel, we actually spotted the Palais Des Congres, which was where our convention was being held the next day. Registration was taking place so we decided to queue up and get our pass, before heading to the hotel.

Getting our passes took about an hour but we knew it would save us time in the morning. However the hotel was literally a minute or two from there so we crossed over in front of the Versailles Palace and checked into our room. At first glance, the room was pretty spectacular. There was a double bed and a single bed, a lovely bathroom and a separate toilet. However while at a glance it looked nice, on closer inspection it could have done with a little TLC. One of the lights on the wall wasn’t working, a drawer handle was missing and the tablecloth was dirty. However it didn’t really matter to us and overall it felt like a nice hotel.

We settled ourselves in the room, unpacked somewhat and I also FaceTimed with the girls. At first we had planned to head out and see some sights in Paris and meet Amy from her plane, but when ended up not being able to come, we decided to just stay local to the hotel. On checking in we were given a 15% voucher for the hotel’s restaurant but since we weren’t sure what we wanted to eat, we decided to go for a walk and see what was nearby. We went past the Palace, this time walking around it to see how beautiful it was, then down back towards the station, all around the restaurant area and finally back to the hotel restaurant.

In the restaurant we were luckily given an English menu as Nat and I are both poor at French. She ordered a burger and chips while I ordered an artisan tart (which turned out to be more like pizza). I thoroughly enjoyed mine, though Nat’s burger came far too rare for her. Despite sending it back and it being cooked more, there were still parts that were rare and she really struggled to eat it.

After finishing dinner and paying the bill, we just decided to head back to the hotel and go to bed. Even though all we’d really done was travel, we’d pretty much worn ourselves out and we knew we wanted to be up early the following morning for the Fairytales (Once Upon a Time) convention that we were going to.

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Holiday!!

May 19, 2016 by Bel 1 Comment

I’m not counting this as day one as we’re still in the UK, but technically we left the house today and are therefore on holiday!

I’m so excited about this weekend away, because finally I’m going to Paris. I can’t even begin to tell you how long I’ve wanted to visit for and even though we’ve been to DLP before (and even driven past the Eiffel Tower), I’ve never actually been to Paris itself.

Tonight we’re in a Travelodge in Maidstone, where we’re catching some sleep before heading off early in the morning. We will be traveling across the Eurotunnel and into Paris tomorrow, where we will check in to accommodation and then visit the Eiffel Tower! I hope to find time to update, even just a little, every day, so for now I will say good night and leave you with these pics.

Holiday Confessions

March 24, 2016 by Bel Leave a Comment

In association with alpharooms, I was asked to share a holiday confession! There were several people who participated in this campaign and you can see all the alpharoom Holiday Confessions here.

When I was 18, I went on my first holiday without parents. I had a fairly steady boyfriend and we decided it would be nice to take a trip abroad together. So after many visits to the travel agents, we booked a holiday to Menorca, for approximately 10 days. My birthday fell just before and I was so excited, especially as my boyfriend’s present was to treat me to a whole summer wardrobe. We shopped for a whole day, getting everything from clothes, to shoes, to a new bikini. My mum and dad bought me a new suitcase and I even got given some spending money too.

The whole adventure was both exciting and nerve racking – from getting to the airport, flying on the plane and making our transfers from the airport to the resort. Though neither of us drove, we’d booked a lovely hotel with plenty of transport to nearby attractions. Some days we just stayed by the pool and other days we trekked out on an adventure. We went fishing, on a banana boat and I even sunbathed topless for the first (and last time). We met two other couples who we spent some time with and since they hired a car, we occasionally all squeezed into it and went out for the day.

Since travel was limited, we did stay at the hotel a fair bit though and this meant we made friends with the couple who owned it. We ate breakfast and usually dinner as well, in the hotel restaurant. On our last night they offered us a complementary dinner – one that they would choose for us. When the starters came I was fairly horrified to see calamari and mussels, two dishes that I definitely didn’t like (though funny enough I love mussels now!). We tried both dishes and neither of us could stomach them. Since we didn’t want to look rude, we were worried about not clearing our plates. Right near to where I was sitting, was a huge big plant pot – home to a real plant rather than a fake one. Feeling like we had little choice, I emptied our plates subtly into the pot, covering it carefully with a layer of pebbles that were already there! Luckily, main course was paella and that we could manage, however three cocktails into the meal and something gross like gin inside it, my next cocktail quickly joined our starters in the pot.

To this day I have never confessed to anyone what we did that evening. I always wondered if it was discovered, if they realised it was us, or worse if the plant just randomly died with no explanation. I can hand on heart say I have never done it again since!!

Do you have a Holiday Confession to make?