I am getting ready for my daughter and her family to visit for four nights commencing 15th July. It might sound easy except that I need to prepare for a 3 year old and a 1 year old.

My daughter doesn't want them both in the same room so it means making space in my ironing/lumber room to put up a cot. Now putting up a cotbed on your own when you don't have long arms is a nightmare. There are twelve long screws which fasten with an allen key, they fasten into metal cylinders which are on the underside of the various parts of the cot and need to be held in place with a slot head screwdriver at the same time as fastening the screw with the allen key - ok perhaps with either two people or one person with long arms. Who needs to go to the gym when you can put up a cot?

Cots used to be so much easier to assemble when my children were babies, they had some long rods which you dropped into the holes then tightened, a five minute job even for a short woman like me.

I have found my son's electronic keyboard, my grandson will probably love it.