KELLY BROWN Mum's the Word...Twinkle, twinkle, munchkin, still time for yet another chorus

That was the burning question this weekend when I drove to Yorkshire to visit my family.

With my husband in Kent, I took the wheel and drove 612 miles in three days to visit my nan, uncles, cousins etc in a quick trip up the M1.

Luckily my younger brother decided to join us for the journey, which was a massive help.

Long gone are the days when we used to sit in the back seats and squabble for hours over the tiny and stupid things which kids argue over.

No, this time round my little brother helped to keep my little man amused on our trip up north, including singing ‘twinkle, twinkle little star’ for 20 minutes.

I think it was all in the planning.

We left 45 minutes before munchkin’s nap time, meaning he was suitably sleepy and had a lovely long sleep for a massive chunk of the journey.

When he woke up we had a little chat, waved at lorries and had another little sing-song until it was time to stop for lunch and have an hour’s break from the car.

So with a full belly, and 20 minutes in a playground, we piled into the car again and continued our journey which began with activation of the genius invention of the portable DVD player.

If only they had been around when I was little, it would have saved my parents hours of grief.

So Peppa Pig helped to keep my son occupied for another 40 minutes until he got bored and insisted we again sing ‘twinkle, twinkle’. How could a nursery rhyme be so annoying?

Time for another quick stop, I thought, to stretch the legs and relieve boredom. And then back in the car...

So a journey that could have been done in four-and-a-half hours took about five-and-a-half. And we had to do it all over again two days later.

But my little man was as good as gold despite the repetitive singing requests which make me lose the will to live.

‘Again mummy.’ Twinkle, twinkle little star...

* Posher kind of soap?

Anyone else watching Downton Abbey? I can’t decide if it is serious drama or a bit of a glorified soap?

Don’t get me wrong – I love it and it is essential Sunday viewing.

But a part of me thinks if you had Ken Barlow or Stella Price in period dress (and a posher voice) they would fit in perfectly.

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