Any parent with young children might be tempted to describe their home like that, but this is different. Five of Mary's six children, aged between three and 13, aren't just difficult and demanding - they are autistic. She takes it for granted that, every week, she must change wet beds, put radiators back on the walls, repair the loo, retouch the paintwork, explain the children's black eyes to teachers and apologise to other parents if her children have bitten or kicked theirs. The one thing she cannot do is relax. We meet while the children are at school, otherwise conversation would be impossible.
Nights are hellish, with the children bouncing off the walls and swinging from light-fittings.
But they do insist on escaping to the amusement parks and animal sanctuaries near their home in Hayle, Cornwall. Far from being someone to criticise, Mary Robinson deserves infinite sympathy. She allowed her case to be made public last week and now is at the centre of The Great MMR Scare. I could not believe it when I read that the Government is spending 3 million on a campaign to make out that MMR is 'safe'. No one I know will allow their child to have the triple vaccine, and since single vaccines are not available, there will be epidemics of measles, mumps and rubella - and children will die.