I checked Grannie-cam this afternoon and noticed a great deal of activity in the kitchen. 'Who is that?' I wondered. She was moving too fast for mum, and didn't seem to fit Rachel's description. For a minute or two I thought of calling the police to report an intruder. Then it dawned on me that today is the first day of our new cleaning arrangements. Alison is at the house while mum and dad are having an outing with Rachel.

So, next I called Rachel on her mobile to see how the outing was going. She was in the car and just about to park at Palm Beach, thinking of letting mum and dad out for an ice-cream. Apparently they had both been asleep on the way up, though dad denied this - as is his custom. He spends a lot of time 'resting his eyes'.

I asked how simple it had been to get both of them out of the house. The new ploy had obviously been successful, but had been touch and go for a while, Rachel said. She promised to give me the details of the story later.

When things go so well, there is little to report.