Unattended

It would untrue to say that having four older daughters has made me blasé about Dan and Abi's welfare but it would certainly be true to say that their mum worries about them a lot more than I do.

So I always knew that my suggestion that I send them back north on the train on their own was going to be a tough sell. But Dan and Abi were quite happy with the idea and their mum's partner, David, has a couple of older children, so he was also of the opinion that everything would be all right.

All the same, it was brave of Hannelie to give in; I knew it would be a genuine worry for her. On the day, then, we sent photos from Malden Manor, Vauxhall, and the concourse at Euston to reassure her that everything was proceeding according to plan.

After a quick shop in M&S to equip the little travellers with some lunch, I got onto the train with Dan and Abi to see them to their seats and suggested we should take just one more photo so their mum wouldn't worry so much. This was the result, the little goons.