Without a doubt our most enjoyable family holiday was a Christmas trip to Lapland. We'd arranged to go with our daughter, son-in-law and four year-old granddaughter, but days before we were due to set off, I was admitted to hospital with dreadful heach blood loss. Very reluctantly, my husband and I were forced to cancel our trip, and the rest of our party flew off to spend the night in an hotel in Manchester before travelling to Lapland while I was in the operating theatre. Fortunately I had only an exploratory procedure, and was duly informed that I would be able to travel the following day, upon which my husband and the travel agent did their utmost to reinstate the holiday. My daughter and family were amazed to see us at the airport, and there followed a magical few days in the snow, riding on sleighs pulled by reindeer and searching for Father Christmas, all of us transformed into children again. That trip sustained me through what turned out to be a very difficult year of surgery. We were still singing the Elf Song that we'd learned during our trip for several Christmases afterwards, and we all agree that it was the best holiday ever.