storbarnsförälder

Every so often, when I am particularly pleased with my life or my house, I remember the NCT coffee morning in my front room, where everyone lamented having to go back to work, and when I said "It's one reason we bought such a small house, we wanted to be able to manage on one salary." The response? It would be lovely, but they couldn't cope with the drop in standard of living.

I've often wondered whether they'd have said it if we'd been in one of their houses, which were all slightly more than twice the size of mine, and considerably more, um, groomed, whatever the grooming equivalent for houses is.

But then I go and sit in the garden and eat bagels again. So that's ok.