Graduations are coming thick and fast in our family. Last (calendar) year, we had Carole's MA graduation ceremony. This year my eldest daughter, Maxine, has got her PGCE, and I'll get my MSc. Next year my "eldest middle" daughter, Pippa, will get her degree in Criminal Psychology.

Maxine's graduation ceremony was in Sheffield at 18:30 last Thursday night, so I left Cardiff at 09:30, thinking that I'd be there in plenty in time to meet up with Maxine on the Sheffield City Hall steps at 17:15, as we'd arranged. As it turned out, part of the M5 was closed and so I saw a lot more of Droitwich and Bromsgrove than I ever wanted to, and finally made it to my hotel at 16:30 having not eaten or stopped at all on the way up. There was just time to throw on some smart rags and dash down to the rendezvous. It's lucky I booked a hotel within a 20 minutes walk of the City Hall.

We had a good meal afterwards. I've seldom eaten better. So that's two meals in the space of two weeks that Maxine's had off me. I was in London last week on a course and met up with her, since she teaches in Hackney, to let her spend some of her father's money.

Whilst I was up in Sheffield, I took the opportunity to visit my mother, who is still in intermediate care in a Rotherham Nursing Home. She's still in quite a lot of pain, and can only walk with the aid of a Zimmer frame; but at least she is up and about. The home, which is very good, is currently assessing the extent to which she can look after herself. My guess is that she will be home in a week or two. Certainly she was talking about going home, which can only be a good thing.

She is still quite forgetful, but I imaging that, at eighty-six, this is to be expected: but beyond that, she seems to have most of her marbles at least. I was quite pleased to see the improvement in her, and I guess if she can get back home, in the company of her friends, she will improve some more.

Pippa's graduation won't be until next summer. So I've a chance to save up! She's thirty-two now, and has always been a very bright girl. She lost her way a bit after GCSEs and didn't really achieve as much as I think she could have. I think she knew that as well. So she never went to college at eighteen. Instead she attended the University of Life, living for some time in Peru (and picking up Peruvian street Spanish at the same time), and then having a series of jobs in which she did very well, but which never quite suited her.

Two years ago she got taken on as a trainee in the Probation Service. Part of her training has been to complete a Criminal Psychology degree in two years. That's why the graduation isn't until next summer - when all her classmates who took three years will graduate. She's a fully qualified Probation Officer now, with a full case load. It's a very difficult job, with considerable pressures; but I think she's found what she wants to do.

And she got a first. So she can always go and do research if the job gets too frustrating.