According to this paper by Sir Digby Jones, the former Director General of the CBI and biggest dog in the world, it's important to expose children to risk and encourage their natural thirst for adventure, so that they can build confidence, courage and coping skills. As the study says, "Overprotecting our children – swaddling them in cotton wool – is bad for society, the economy and young people’s preparation for adulthood in a world full of uncertainties".

So I like to spend my weekends watching Amelie try to kill her brother...


To be honest, the only natural thirst Amelie has is for fizzy drinks, but the way Toby keeps shouting "Higher!" when he's on the verge of catastrophic injury does indicate that he's got the adventurous spirit. And no common sense.

In reality of course, that's what they call 'managed risk'. The ground is a lot softer, and my children's heads a lot harder, than they appear. I've also weighed up the risk-reward ratio of an appearance on You've Been Framed. So frankly everything's under control.

But on the subject of near-death experiences, here's an ambulance upside down...

If you think Toby was taking a risk on that swing, try taking a photo on your phone whilst driving past fifteen policemen.

That was the A23 just outside Brighton on Thursday evening, where an ambulance was doing an impression of a dead fly on the northbound carriageway. Fortunately, I was going south. According to The Argus, the ambulance was heading for The Royal Marsden, which is ironic as that's where I'd just come from. I'm glad I didn't ask them for a lift.

I had a meeting in Chelsea on Thursday with the head of something important, whose office is just off the Kings Road. It gave me the chance to stand here, and wonder how my life could have turned out if I'd been more like Tracey Emin...

Less tidy, probably. The circle line was up the creek, so rather than getting off at Sloane Square, I walked from Victoria, taking in the National Audit Office...

... which could clearly do with a clean, before passing numerous exclusive boutiques, and an extremely nice chocolate shop, which tempted me to open my mouth but not my wallet.

It's been a particularly productive working week, which included my first full Saturday, and has left today as a one-day weekend, but the pot of gold at the end of the traffic jam...

... has been the hiring of a potential superstar for my already glittering team. No one has had a more successful Saturday in Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova retired.

So I returned home yesterday evening on a high, impaled my daughter on a pole outside Asda, and did the weekly shop...

After which Amelie stole my iPhone, downloaded a McDonalds app she'd seen advertised on her Happy Meal, and took this photo of Toby...

He's lovin' it. And he's rocking the Dr Evil look. Which is appropriate, as he's currently destroying the world, one piece of furniture at a time.