I’ve just taken a couple of weeks of well-deserved holiday and can highly recommend time away in March. It’s the second time I’ve taken an early spring break and it’s the perfect month to recharge your batteries – despite our group numbering 17!

And, to ensure true relaxation, I elected not to take my mobile phone.

This seemed an eminently sensible decision to me and I was confident family and friends would agree. But, judging by their reaction, you’d have thought I was chopping off my right arm and leaving that at home. In fact, not even my arm, but theirs.

Rather than showering me with praise and admiration, I was rebuked for such a thoughtless action.

It seems I was risking spoiling the entire holiday for everyone. Not only would I not be contactable every minute of every night and day but several planned activities were, I was swiftly informed, entirely dependent upon WhatsApp.

Sadly I’m old enough to remember a time before mobile phones, but my protestations we used to be able to make arrangements, meet up and even enjoy ourselves without such devices fell on deaf ears.

As if to make the point, my brother then proceeded to automatically set the seats in our hired van using an app on his phone.

Now, please don’t get me wrong, I completely understand and appreciate the miraculous advancements that have been made - mobile phones are an incredibly useful tool.

When asked recently what equipment modern reporters must have a colleague said: “A laptop, an iPad and a decent mobile phone”. The fact is, it’s the phone that’s crucial, the others might be desirable, but with the right phone they can do everything they need to.

So, as soon as I was back in Blighty I admit my mobile phone was firmly cemented back in my hand, but do I regret not taking it on holiday? Not a bit of it.

Two weeks away from a mobile does no-one any harm. In fact, I think it’s a good learning experience, even for youngsters i.e. those under the age of 20.

And, just for the record, being uncontactable on holiday suits me fine. I’m delighted we all agreed to ban them at restaurants and I can reveal the fact I wasn’t on the pirate ship outing was nothing to do with WhatsApp, it was purely the lure of a bar – I hope you enjoyed the choppy seas.