Never mind dating apps, being ghosted by carpenters hits hard. As for trying to get a plumber - ha! Good luck. We were so close with one gorgeous designer; husband and I nearly felt we were in an open marriage, we were both utterly smitten.

"Making a new friend outside of school and local sports is so good for them too. It’s a little confidence boost, I think. It’s a chance for them to start fresh, from scratch, be whoever they want to be on that particular week."

“We get to spend the day together in Dublin!” Not an utterance you’re likely to hear too often out of the gob of a Cork woman but there you go. 

"He’s one teenager who won’t be given out to about having his phone on him all the time, he’s watching, hoping, for an unknown number, his bag is packed, ready by the front door. Waiting for the unimaginable to happen to another family, for their loss to be his salvation."

Here’s a little advice if you’re visiting Sanguli or Cambrils campsites in Salou

"...while I may have been meticulous about what made the cut for our onboard luggage (Michael O’Leary’s airport heavies and their scales of wrath ain’t getting a penny more outta me!) I still managed to bring all that pesky emotional baggage with us..."

I couldn’t stop myself tuning in for the first episode of season three. What can I say? I’m an optimist. I was hoping it might redeem itself, get back to the brilliance of the original

Esther McCarthy spots surprises for seafarers and a bamboo bonanza for birdwatchers

No such thing as a clean break-up

I got rescued by a helicopter, hospitalised, then moved to a rehab centre to adjust to life in a wheelchair, after breaking my back and my hip.