Well, the quiet weekend in the country went as planned and we had a lovely time.

Of course, we had to come back and resume normal life, including work and school, which is always a pity. The weather appeared to go grey and drizzly in sympathy.

Daughter went back to school on Tuesday so we had the usual rush to find essential bits of PE kit and ensure everything was ready.

It always amazes me how a track suit, which you have been assured has been put in the PE bag at the beginning of the holidays after being washed, can disappear out of it by the end of the holidays all by itself.

Even more amazing is how you can find it under a bed, having been slept on by the cats and needing last-minute washing all over again.

Then again, how can a new pair of school shoes, which daughter went shopping with her Grandma for, suddenly become too big?

Actually, I worked this one out. Number one rule in future when buying school shoes is to not go shopping for them while wearing a pair of thick woolly socks, because the same shoes will fall off when you've got tights on, which means Mum will have to give up her lunch break to go into town to take them back.

All this is good exercise, which helps my New Year diet.

I really have put on a lot of weight over the last couple of years, what with not smoking and sitting down more at work and, I suppose, just getting older.

I am determined to be slim by summer.

My usual diet is not a healthy one, containing far too much bread, crisps and biscuits etc.

I have been down the supermarket and bought in a stock of low-fat products. From now on, I am going to eat sensibly and healthily.

Cereal and dried fruit in the morning rather than toast and marmalade with at least four heavily sugared coffees.

Lunch will be a small salad rather than a large baguette. Snacks will be fresh fruit rather than bars of chocolate and dinner will be something grilled with vegetables rather than stews and pies followed by pudding.

Daughter and husband have been very helpful and displayed a range of forbidden foods each night so I know what not to eat.

They have of, course, kindly eaten them for me, both to use them up and also to remove them from temptation in case I give in.

They obviously know what my will-power is like.

Stuff they have got through so far includes the rest of the tin of Quality Street left over from Christmas.

Of course, this only held the ones in those shiny pink wrappers no one likes but they gamely managed to finish them off just in case I succumbed.

They have also managed to eat all the cheese.

You never realise cheese toasties smell so nice until everyone else but you is eating one.

I am also enjoying copious amounts of tea and coffee without sugar, which are like totally different drinks.

Still, two days into the diet and I feel thinner already.

I will let you know how I get on.