It's Father's Day! And there's no better way to spend it than with my children. Which is why I've let my Dad have Amelie for the day.

My parents have been kind enough to take the girl off our hands for the weekend to allow us to pack for our holiday and fully brace ourselves for the week ahead. Which reminds me, I must pack my earplugs. As things stand right now, we haven't actually packed anything, but the time hasn't been completely wasted. We had a very nice pizza last night.

I've also cleaned my car inside and out, and shampooed all the carpets in the flat, so if we're burgled while we're away and then crash on the way home, we should impress all the emergency services. As long as I've got clean underwear.

Despite being one child down, I've been presented with a (rather small) Father's Day card and the gift of an Alison Moyet CD. To be honest, I'm more interested in her weight loss tips than her music, but I liked her last single, and we virtually grew up together (that's only a slight exaggeration) so it's a nice gift to get. Thank you, Toby.

In return, I've been planning the children's holiday itinerary online. I was tempted to book advance tickets for Paignton Zoo, not because they're any cheaper, but because they automatically add a £1.45 'donation' to every ticket to aid their conservation work, unless you specifically request otherwise. So if you buy online, it saves you the embarrassment of standing at the ticket desk and explaining that you just want to look at the animals, you don't want to save them.

I have, however, purchased tickets for the Woodlands Family Theme Park. Their slogan is 'Go Wild at Woodlands', which accurately describes my school days, and whilst they charge £17.10 for a day ticket on the gate, you can spend £15.60 online and get entry for a full seven days. Amelie is charged as an adult due to her unnaturally freakish proportions, but it does mean that she can go on all the rides, and with free entry for a week, we may not go anywhere else.

On the downside, we'll all have to wear Woodlands wristbands for the entire holiday, so I hope they're not day-glo pink and covered in glitter. As the crow flies, the park's only about 8 miles from where we're staying, but unless that crow will give us a lift over the River Dart, we'll probably have to go by road. Which is more like 17 miles.

It should be worth it though. If yesterday in St Leonards is anything to go by, Amelie quite likes parks...


I'm not sure seven days will be enough...