What would you least like your child to do on the first night of the Holiday?

How about break her arm and need it in plaster for ...... six weeks? Yip, that's right, the whole holidays. Call it divine retribution for attending the HP launch party if you like (If you're that way inclined) but my daughter has indeed managed to get herself a greenstick fracture of the radius that means I can spend my hols looking after a plaster. You know, don't get it wet, don't get sand in it, don't let her stick anything down it...

I mean, you cannot be serious. I can barely look after myself & three kids let alone a plaster cast that can't even recognise its own name! It's better than a puppy, but only just.

There are advantages, though (Pollyanna, again) My Princess and I have spent more time together but unfortunately in hospital this week than for a while before. I have finally seen inside an X ray room, twice (boring) and in an effort to make her less completely freaked by this heavy & horrible plaster that someone slapped on her on Saturday (he was a really nice guy, but no little girl imagines something wet, white and slimy on her right hand. That's an adolescent dream, surely?) we had to get a doll that we may/may not care about and slap a plaster on her. Little Sarah (poor doll) has a broken arm and a broken leg, is dosed up on calpol, calprofen and ex-lax (it was the only empty medicine box I would trust the Princess with) and needed a full wardrobe including matching jimjams before she was allowed to accompany us to the hospital on Tuesday (for a replacement back slab after the Princess fell into the deepest & dirtiest puddle I have ever seen at a party on Monday) and then came with us on Thursday for the proper plastering, fortunately light weight but unfortunately not the lovely pink dream I had been hoping for.

The Princess is unfussed by this, has learnt to sleep carefully, has lost her swelling & most of the pain and now uses her hand just as per usual. I did keep her off the climbing frame at the playground, but otherwise it's business as usual. That is, until we go to Wales.

Wales is a seaside holiday.

We swim in the water.

We build sandcastles.

We climb on historic and probably irreplaceable castle walls.

We don't usually have a plaster to consider.

Fortunately, the hospital deal with lots of people like us. One quick web visit and we were sorted with a Limbo, a waterproof plastic cover that is a lot classier than the plastic bag and sellotape I had been envisioning. It cost about £8.00 but if it means that the beach is back on track and swimming not an impossibility, then it will be worth it. In the mean time, this weekend it must be Daddy's turn to watch the arm...... no, hang on, he was watching her last Friday when it happened.... oh, blow, perhaps I'll just keep an eye on her, too. Honey? Honey? Don't let her play with the play dough..... you know she loves sticking it in small places.. no, not the water slide... wait let me........

See you all next week. I'm the grey haired lady who twitches when somebody mentions water. Wonder if I'll feel better after a bottle of wine....

Also apologies to everyone out there.... I want to comment on so many posts but my machine is playing silly buggers....