not take these enchanting people to your heart; if you do not spend delightful hours making sure that no detail of their adventures has escaped you; then you deserve to wear gloves and be kept off wet grass for the rest of your life." Quite

the whole time? Reading Hello? Shouting at my children? Or is she running around with them playing hide-and-seek, giving them lots of hugs and kisses and generally looking like the next best thing to Mary Poppins?But if I'm grassing up your nanny, how can I

, and flowers. Have little baskets for the kids to collect interesting stones, leaves, acorns, twigs, feathers, then make an al fresco collage on the grass outside the tent.12. Don't forget your basic first-aid kit: plasters, anti-histamine cream and tablets

child, they’ll be attending school where there are older, wise-guy kids to interpret your dress sense and body language.Talk to teacher Outside of parents’ evening such behaviour will have you marked down as a ‘grass’ and your child will never live

your own version of splendour in the grass  νThe Athenaeum, 116 Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 7BJ. Tel: 020 7499 3464; www.athenaeumhotel.com