“It was like a rollercoaster,” I said to my wife, waving my hands up and down violently in reply to her “how was your flight?” enquiry.

I’d just flown in to Limoges, in france, on a bumpy Flybe flight from Southampton.

It was the day after I’d watched small planes loop the loop at the Bournemouth Air festival, so I might have been exaggerating how exciting my journey was.

My wife gave me a look. I was puzzled.

Then I twigged that her friend, Ruth, who was going back to England on the return flight was listening to my description of the plane aerobatics and going greener by the minute.

Apparently she doesn’t like flying.

How was I to know?

I thought she was a seasoned traveller and used to travelling on flying machines, both big and small.

I quickly backtracked.

“No it wasn’t that bad,” I grinned.

“Just a little bumpy as we came through the clouds.”

Ironically my journey took place the day after the Air Festival was all but washed away by rain.

It was a bright but fine and that sort of weather continued for the whole of my visit to France.

I’m told you had it wetter and colder here in Dorset.

Good, I almost want to say.

After all there’s no point in travelling to foreign climes only to find out that it was nicer weather back home.

I haven’t got much of a tan, apart from where my sandal straps have left white marks across brown (possibly dirty) feet My kids have gloriously healthy tans, and fair hair from playing outdoors for the whole of August.

Now summer is almost over a survey reveals that children going back to school will spend, on average, only 37 minutes a day playing.

And about two thirds (65 per cent) of parents say schools are too restrictive when it comes to play time, limiting how and where pupils play.

The poll, which questioned 2,000 parents, comes as children across the country prepare to return to class after the summer holidays.

The findings show the majority of parents (74 per cent) believe schools are too concerned with health and safety to let children take part in traditional “rough and tumble” play.

I don’t know if that’s right or not.

My five year old seemed to graze, bump, cut and poke herself on all manner of objects during the holidays.

At one point she was wearing more plasters than clothes.

As she goes back to school today I suspect we’re in for more complaints from her that she’s got blisters on her hands from the school monkey bars.

And she’s not even big enough to reach them yet.

There must be a gang of small kids who lift her up to them.

Playtime always seems rough and tumble enough when I see it - gangs of little people running around at breakneck speed pretending to be aeroplanes.

It looks like a bumpy ride.

That’s life isn’t it?