I have a hunch it will take Freddie a while to learn how to balance '“ Rick Jackson

After three days of dashing around visiting family, I've spent the past few days running around the park after my son as he learns to ride his big boy's bike.

It's one of those rites of passage: first steps, learning to swim and then riding a bike.

Freddie has used his balance bike for the past year or so, so I was hoping this would be a piece of cake.

Sadly, Freddie doesn't quite comprehend the need of pedalling for motion.

He pulls off, pedals a couple of times, then slows down to a wobble, which is when I then have to catch him.

I suppose in a way it's my fault as he's never really taken to anything that requires pedalling and, being male, doing two things at once is proving rather demanding.

Anyone walking around the park will hear me shouting '˜pedal, pedal, pedal' over and over again, to remind Freddie that's what he needs to do.

He also gets easily distracted: watching his younger sister on her bike, jealous of the stabilisers or saying hello to another dog he's narrowly missed as it dodges his path.

What's frustrating is Freddie can actually ride.

After only three attempts, he was riding and pedalling  by himself, with me running next to him just in case.

His confidence still isn't there. A s he slows, he starts to wobble, or if his wheels touch any grass  he thinks he's done wrong and gets upset.

I'd like to think he'll be confident enough to ride his new bike to school on Monday, but I'm not holding out much hope, as he cycles into a tree.

His bruises are matched by my sore muscles and back, having to run in an awkward sideways motion next to him, ready to catch him.

He's slowly turning into Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas while I'm slowly turning into the hunchback of Notre Dame!

 

Ferry farce could create a  tourism boom for the island

January is going to be a fascinating month for us in the UK. Will the prime minister get her deal with the EU through parliament?

It seems the government is preparing itself for that no-deal scenario as more than £100m is being given to ferry companies to bring freight in and out of the country.

It looks like the French will slow things down so don't be surprised if more ferries run to Belgium and Holland pretty soon. Summing this all up nicely is the £14m given to a company which has never run a ferry service before. How this farce will play out is anybody's guess, but a fortnight's holiday on the Isle of Wight seems far more appealing than sitting in a long queue at Dover or Gatwick.'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹'‹

 

How do you know the right time to have a pet put down?

When is the right time to say goodbye to your best friend? My golden retriever Harvey will be 16 in May, but we are at a crossroads and it's the hardest, most upsetting thing to decide.

He's slowed right down, struggles to get up and only lasts 10 minutes on a walk. Sadly he's lost the sensation of '˜when to go' and is accidentally messing in the house, which is not great with two small children.

But he still has all his marbles, still gets excited when I come home or we go for walkies. He still tip-taps those front paws with excitement and has a smile on his face. It seems he's telling me he's still not ready to go, even if his body is saying something different.