Today has been a 1970’s day at our house. I worry during the holidays, because it becomes obvious how dependent my children are on the television and the internet. I do believe that children need to learn to deal with boredom, so I usually impose a tech-ban for one or two days a week. We are all only allowed to use technology which existed in the 1970’s, when I myself was a child.

In this way, I can do the washing, listen to the radio and use my sewing machine. The children are allowed to read, play outside, use the landline telephone, draw and squabble. No television, because there was nothing on in the daytime during my childhood. They both hate it, but I persist. Ted grumbled, groaned, made a mess with his Lego then played outside. Isobel slept late, read, took a phone call from a friend and then walked for miles to meet her at the park.

To complete the picture, we had Heinz tinned tomato soup and cheese sandwiches for lunch.

I kept busy with my quilt for a little boy and Milka tried to help. In this picture he had fallen asleep in a patch of sunlight and I had just woken him up.