Maiden over!

The number of young adults taking a gap year is rising. So, too, the parents eager to join them. Ruth Corbett was one of them…

EXCITEDLY opening slatted wooden shutters, Evie stepped on to the balcony, greeting the day. Her delicate pink silk robe was barely fluttering in the warm breeze drifting in from the sea. She smiled.

BYE, Mum, Dad. See you later!” fifteen-year-old Ailsa called, heading for the door. Her mum stopped her. “Oh no, you don’t. Breakfast first.” “There’s food laid on. Trish told me,” Ailsa said. “You’re

PAM glanced up at the clock on the far wall of the classroom. Just half an hour to go until the summer holidays began. Six blissful pupil-free weeks, to be spent mostly gardening and binge watching pe

JOYCE felt a knot in her stomach as she saw Bryony start to scroll through the apps on her mobile phone. She knew what her daughter would see, because she’d been monitoring the situation herself for a

LESLEY patted her tearful granddaughter’s hand sympathetically and tried desperately to think of something to cheer her up. What could she say to a fourteen-year-old who thought her life was over beca