For some bizarre reason I think all of us choose to decorate during the holidays - I mean all the other folks do it in Spring (hence the name 'Spring cleaning') but I think we are becoming notorious for changing everything whenever we get a couple of days off.

My home for one is included and had to undergo a reluctant transformation earlier this summer. I came back from University thinking that I would be given the opportunity to rest, but instead was given a paintbrush and my dad's highly attractive painting clothes and told to paint the ceiling.

Two weeks and nine tubs of paint later we still hadn't finished and had an unexpected party of seventeen guests visiting us from abroad for the weekend.

Yes my thoughts exactly 'oh bother' - or something similar!

My mum being the perfectionist that she is was in a state of panic as the only piece of furniture in our living room was her new found love - her cream carpet. She insisted on covering everything with old sheets (something which I personally thought was rude but after seeing my 11-month-old niece christen the carpet with her vomit I was glad to have the ancient rags beneath my feet).

I know it's not nice but sometimes guests can bring the worst out of people. There are those who welcome them with open arms and others who pretend they have to go somewhere five minutes before the doorbell rings.

Whenever we have pests, sorry guests, visiting us I inherit the title of 'Tour guide', so often I end up taking my new friends (aka long lost relatives) to yes you guessed it Blackpool and the Trafford Centre. The number of photographs that they take usually puts the paparazzi to shame.

Shopping, something which I usually adore seemed somewhat like a chore and I was relieved when we went to Blackpool, only to be put to misery when I was happily thrown into the sand just missing the sea.

It seems the colder it is the better for my relatives. Never mind the rain, sleet and wind...we have to walk to the tower.

To my horror I glanced across the darkening skies to spot my relatives attempting to go into the water knee high, it was my fault I'd forgotten to mention that (to put it delicately) there have been water pollution problems there. But it wasn't that bad, I just made sure the 'infected' people didn't sit in my car!

By the next morning my relatives were loaded into their cars preparing to go to London and I was left with the remnants of their visit to clear up.

I did actually miss them all after they had left (with litres of our tap water as it tastes better than London water and is 'good for you' or so they claimed!) - but not to the extent that they should book their one-way flights back!