Stuart and I have been together for 17 years have not yet sat on a plane together! Our children have never been abroad so our first holiday together overseas will be very special for us. We are a very close family but our lack of overseas travel is making us very unpopular parents!

We have in the past been near to going abroad but something has always come in the way – double glazing, mortgage, new babies etc, etc. But alas the children are becoming increasingly more embarrassed when discussing holidays within the classroom – there is only so long you can make Whitby, Wales, Scotland sound exotic and adventurous!

I ventured into my local travel agents and discovered I was in a alien world! We are a camping family, so if you need any tips on extreme survival, I’m your woman, but planes, hotels and transfers are all new to me! Weighing your bags?? What’s that about?!

After spending an hour with a very helpful but perplexed representative from the travel agency, she sent me packing (not literally!) with an armful of brochures and stories of great things to come – sunsets, warm sun and blue seas. What she didn’t do was allay my fears concerning unset tummies, heat rash and delays! Don’t even get me started on the ash cloud!

Oh dear – it was beginning to turn into another job on the to do list! Surely I should have felt excited and thrilled with the prospect of holidaying whereby we weren’t required to shower before setting off as we don’t know what the toilet block will be like when we get there! Not forgetting to pack the anti-inflamaritires as the air bed plays havoc with the old back, not to mention that lack of preparation required – no point having your hair done, painting toes and fingers when your camping!

You can imagine the state I was in! That’s where my wonderful TC came in – COUNSELLOR being the operative word! Jayne was wonderful, namely because she UNDERSTOOD me, something you would struggle to do in a travel agency. She gently emailed me options – not all at once but a couple of options every week. The price varied and she provided us with lots of options for every budget. She also offered us different ways to pay.

Jayne was so flexible – she called me AFTER 5pm! fantastic for a busy full time mum of 2, she emailed me – not demanding a reply, she worked within my time-scale, asked how the kids were, talked of other things and made me feel that it was as easy as organising a girls night out rather than a family holiday! Most importantly, she was patient, kind, understanding, amusing and supported and helped me make the most popular decision I have made for our family.

It will be a very special day for me and my family next year when we venture for the first time on a plane together! Sure me and Stuart will be holding hands! I have even booked myself in with a beauty salon to take care of my pre-holiday grooming!

Flight times, transfers, insurance, accommodation, destination and much much more have all been taken care of for me and I can’t thank Jayne enough!

I work within a medium secure unit looking after our most vulnerable members of society and Stuart works for a charity doing the same thing. Jayne has not only sorted our holiday out, but allowed us to keep focused on our careers by supporting the most vulnerable within our society and made our children the happiest in town! They can’t wait for the day when they are asked to talk about where they went on holiday!