Her Grandad bought daughter a mobile phone when she started secondary school, so she could get in touch in any emergency.

Also, being the overprotective parents we are, it took a few months for us to feel comfortable with her travelling to and from school on her own, so were glad she had an additional way of contacting us.

Her mobile phone is of course the very latest model.

I was rather jealous as mine, bought some years ago, is a large suitcase-sized chunky model.

I don't know why we worried about her travelling to and from school alone.

The first time she got the bus home alone she delightedly reported "there was a really cool fight and the bus driver had to come upstairs and stop it".

"Oh well, that's me reassured," I thought. "As long as the bus driver knows where his responsibility lies, I can stop worrying."

The mobile has been costing me a fortune in phone cards each week.

I get phoned every morning with a 20-minute commentary of her journey, which costs meabout 70p a minute, that is of course unless she has met a friend in which case she forgets to phone at all and I get to worry.

Then I get phoned in her lunchbreak to be asked can so-and-so come round at the weekend.

She spends the evenings exchanging text messages with people she has been at school with all day, or phoning my brother.

The whole thing is getting out of hand and I have said she can pay for the extra cards herself.

Maybe then I can save up for a newer model myself, although as I've only used mine about three times in the last year I don't know if its worth it.

Then again perhaps I should phone on my way home to say "Get the kettle on".