Having cunningly managed to book leave just as the mini heatwave arrived, I was able to make the most of my time off and spend some quality time in the garden.

Him indoors and I decided to get it all shipshape ready for what we are hoping will be a long, hot summer and spent a couple of days weeding, cutting the grass, varnishing the garden bench and making up hanging baskets. Hard work in the heat but productive.

Daughter declined to help on the grounds that she had too much revision for next term's exams to do.

However, I think the real reason was that she was worried she might get her hands dirty or tire herself out doing a bit of physical activity.

Like most teenagers she sees exerting herself in any way as potentially dangerous.

In addition, these days she seems to feel that doing anything voluntarily with your mum and dad is too sad for words.

The exception is, of course, shopping, where Mum or Dad are always welcome as long as they bring their purse or wallet.

I noticed she soon reappeared once we had spent a hot and sweaty hour putting together our new hammock and then appropriated it for herself for the rest of the afternoon, leaving us to sit exhausted on the hard plastic patio chairs and watch her gently swaying in the breeze.

By the time she had asked if someone could just get her a third glass of water because she was too comfy to move and could someone please just fetch her new magazine which she had left in her bedroom and could somebody pleeeease just go and get her Walkman,we decided we had had enough.

She was unceremoniously dumped off the hammock on to the ground and I took over, having won the toss of the coin for the next turn.

We have also had days with the house full of teenagers as she and some friends decided they were going to make a pop video.

This involved spending hours applying make-up and dressing up before using our old video camera to record themselves singing along to her karaoke machine.

The end results were interesting to say the least.

Not being able to sing a note myself, I am probably not qualified to comment, but I did say I wouldn't advocate any of them giving up their day jobs just yet.

Still, an older friend once went to art college in Liverpool with the then unknown John Lennon.

He says the tutor said exactly the same thing to John Lennon so I could be proved wrong, although somehow I doubt it.