Still, we’ve had a good run for our money. Though not literally, that would be far too sweaty. But we’ve had a lot of bloggy fun during the holiday.

So far, we’ve acquired a fabulous Philips Airfryer, and thoroughly put it through its paces. I must admit that, when the kind Philips folk rang up and asked if we’d like to have one of these lovely new thingamies, I thought it would be the size of an ordinary frying pan. Not so. It is about the girth of a young Dalek, and sits, squat and a bit forbidding, on the kitchen counter. Now as you know, I have a bit of a thing about appliances. I like them to be stuck in cupboards. So far I’ve put tellies in cupboards, stereos in cupboards, the microwave in a cupboard and, rather triumphantly, the bread machine into a cupboard. So every time I look at the airfryer, I think ‘cupboard’. Particularly as it is black, a colour I am not at all keen on. But that is my only quibble. The fryer itself is absolutely brilliant, which is really the whole point after all.

We are not a great family of fryers. My mother would occasionally, very occasionally, get out a mysterious black pan, full to the brim with oil, when she made chips. The whole thing was laborious, and fraught with danger. If the pan caught fire, we would all be in big, big trouble and the world would almost certainly come to an end. With this lurking in my memory, and with the health implications of frying in mind too, I’ve always tended to grill rather than fry.

The airfryer, though, is a closed unit, so no danger of the universe going up in flames. And it uses hardly any oil, amazingly. Half a tablespoon is enough when cooking enough chips for a family of four – yes, really – and they come out delicious.

So far, we’ve done the chips twice, with two different thicknesses, and I’ve also made chicken nuggets, with some breadcrumbs provided by Philips but jazzed up with my own combination of chopped coriander, Dijon mustard, a bit of paprika and some lemon pith. No fat at all, not one drop. Move over Colonel Sanders.

I’m looking forward to trying out fishcakes, and there are also recipes for all sorts of unlikely things, like brownies and cakes, which we’ll have a go at. It’s very easy to clean, with non-stick surfaces, and to use, with a simple timer on the front and a temperature gauge. Couldn’t be less scary, and it produces great results. We’re supposed to be scoring my culinary efforts and probably taking pictures of everything, but so far I’ve failed to have a camera on hand at any of the crucial moments – black mark there. I did ask for scores out of ten last night and was awarded 101 and 910, and you can’t say fairer than that, can you?

As well as all the exciting stuff coming out of the kitchen, our smallies were invited to Build-A-Bear Workshop to make their first ever bears. A proud moment. We arrived to find a bit of a hoo-ha as the stuffing machine had broken. Build-A-Bear devotees will know that the revolving drum of stuffing is an integral part of the bear creation process, and I felt very sorry for the staff as they had three large parties booked over the day. They were absolutely gorgeous with the small folk though, showing not a trace of panic or rush, and helped them create two very fantastic bears, Tabby, who is actually a cat and is wearing very natty high heels, and Bear, who has fetching camouflage markings and is wearing a Spiderman outfit. As you do. This year, as usual, Build-A-Bear is helping the BBC’s Children in Need, with its own Pudsey bear. Every Pudsey sold will add £5 to the Children in Need total. Pudsey also has a range of clothes, slippers, bits, bobs and fripperies which also contribute to the charity. TL was a bit taken aback by the oath of eternal fealty the children had to swear to their bears,but I pointed out that it was no bad thing that the smalls had agreed to take good care of their bears and, so far, they have stuck by their words.

As usual, I’m not completely sure why I’ve been asked – though I’m thrilled that I have – or why I’ve said yes – except that some of my lovely Disney chums Are We Nearly There Yet Mummy and Littlemummy are going, as well as fabulous bloggers Sticky Fingers  and Jo Beaufoix  . Plus, of course, my children are with Mr X and even I am a bit sick of gazing at my telly cupboard. I really need a breeeeak, and feel very, very lucky indeed to be having one. Thanks so much, kind Port Aventura people!

I also found myself delightfully mystified at the launch of new website supersavvyme this week. It’s full of useful bits and bobs about mothering and, along the way, has competitions featuring Proctor and Gamble products, as it is P and G running the whole thing. As contests include winning a year’s supply of Pantene shampoo, which we use by the bucketload at Divorce Towers (I’m always telling people the conditioner is absolutely brilliant to slather on when you shave your legs, leaves them lovely and smooth) I shall have no hesitation in going over to have a rummage. But is it what mothers are really looking for?

As I walked in, I was greeted with the old chestnut that Diet Coke is great at getting all the crusty bits off burnt saucepans (forgive me, lovely Rosie Scribble!). Later, the face of supersavvyme, Lowri Turner, presented us with a new chestnut – if you leave piles of conkers around your house, you’ll frighten spiders away as they don’t like the smell.  Frankly, I’m with the wonderful Potty Mummy  on this, I don’t believe it for a minute and anyway, there’s no way I could leave a pile of anything lying anywhere for more than two seconds, but I could listen to Lowri for hours – she’s very funny. She used to be fashion editor on, I think, the Standard when I was working on newspaper diaries and she had the reputation (I’m sure she’ll correct me if this is wrong) for being banned from various fashion shows for being unfashionably truthful. Then she was a brilliant frontwoman for DIY SOS (I’m a sucker for home makeover shows), then she wrote a novel and now she’s doing this. As she mentioned in passing that she’s seen off two husbands now, my respect for her just grows.  

And the lunch, with the lovely A Modern Mother , blog whizz Who’s the Mummy?, super Single Parent Dad, lovely Sticky Fingers , Bringing Up Charlie (with Charlie) and gorgeous Jo Beaufoix , was super-delish. It was one of those occasions when I was starving, and dying to shove everything within reach into my mouth – but I held back, because I simply can’t overeat in front of other women. Is anyone else the same? Men, I don’t mind so much – I kid myself that they’ll hope my hearty appetite is an indicator of other appetites to come. But women, no. I toy with lettuce leaves and pretend I never eat at lunchtime.

As a result, I picked at the yummy rare beef open sandwiches, I shunned the crispy crunchy chips (swoon) and even turned my nose up at a salad with a superbly peppery dressing, while my tummy rumbled away. I was highly tempted just to open up my big handbag and sweep a whole load of sandwiches in as I left, but I was boringly polite and held back.

Now, with an empty fridge as I’m off on my travels, I’m really kicking myself, obviously.

Hasta la vista, everyone!