There was a time that the expression “self-catering” put the fear of God into me. Why would I want to self-cater when I’m away? I may as well stay home and cook.

Yet it seems the older we get the more our priorities shift and change. These days “self-catering” no longer gives me the shivers. In fact, on the odd occasion, I quite enjoy it.

Mind you, this isn’t exactly slumming it — we were booked into a stunning Grade II listed Elizabethan manor deep in the heart of the historic village of Pulborough in West Sussex.

Its previous guests include royalty — it was once used by Queen Elizabeth I in 1591 — making it fit for this queen (yes the definition of my name Raj is “the one who rules”).

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