Families squabbling on the beach: Brits.In Italy every meal in a public place reinforces just how radically different we are to our continental neighbours.Children are part of the extended family, where they are not spoilt and then punished and slapped, but included and expected to conform to certain rules of behaviour. Granny sat at the end of a long table in a pizza restaurant, took out her false teeth after eating her lunch and stowed them in her handbag. A baby in a pushchair sat next to a teenager.I do not want to paint a rosy picture of middle-class bliss, but I can imagine that from his holiday in Italy and France the Prime Minister will have brought back many similar experiences (albeit not in pizza parlours) and will feel a sense of despair about the problems the family faces in Britain.Each night in the hotel I stayed in, a touching scene was played out. The family in the next room would prepare for dinner: dad, about 35, mum about 30, and son, about eight. The son would emerge on to the hotel terrace where dad was waiting and the two of them would sit down with drinks, a coke and a glass of beer, and have a conversation about the day.The father gave that boy his undivided attention and the bond between them was obvious. Family life has to be worked at, and as a nation we seem to have given up.I do feel that my generation, born directly after the war, must carry a lot of the blame.

We left home as soon as we could, regarded relatives as people you were inflicted with, and the gap between us and our parents seemed a yawning chasm Of course these are all sweeping generalisations. But the rise of the me-culture did not help fragile family ties. Friends replaced family as the pivotal relationships in our lives.To me, the closer our links with Europe the better. We have a lot of work to do in recivilising whole sections of our society, and that can only be accomplished via strong family bonds. I’m sure Mr Blair will have returned home realising that the euro is a necessity, but not for economic reasons.
More from Janet Street-Porter. Airline chiefs from around the world have been called to an emergency summit next week to address the growing impact of aeroplanes on the Earth’s climate.

Airline chiefs from around the world have been called to an emergency summit next week to address the growing impact of aeroplanes on the Earth’s climate.
There is now overwhelming evidence that international air travel is the fastest-growing and most polluting form of transport, yet governments have so far exempted it from the treaty to combat global warming. Yesterday, American scientists announced that the area of thinning ozone above Antarctic is now three times bigger than the US, thanks to the presence of polluting chemicals in the stratosphere.The meeting of regulatory authorities, which takes place in Seattle, will recommend ways of controlling the emissions of gases including carbon dioxide – the main cause of the climate change.Air travel has been doubling every eight years since 1960, growing two-and-a-half times as fast as the world economy. Planes now emit more carbon dioxide worldwide than all the cars, homes, offices and factories in Britain put together.Their emissions are expected to triple between 1990 and 2015, counteracting attempts to cut pollution elsewhere. But aviation fuel is exempt from taxation, and the industry is estimated to receive £30bn each year in direct and indirect subsidies in Europe alone.Though countries must control pollution from domestic flights under the Kyoto Protocol – the treaty in fighting global warming agreed three years ago – international aviation has been excluded.Next week’s meeting – under the auspices of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation – is designed to counter growing protests at this special treatment, by drawing up the organisation’s own scheme for controlling emissions. If approved by the organisation’s governing body next year, it will be presented to a meeting of the parties to the treaty in November 2001.Britain wants a worldwide tax on air fuel. In March, the European Commission supported the principle of having one for flights within and between its member countries – but then concluded that it would not be “practical or desirable” as it would put European airlines at a disadvantage.The industry vigorously opposes any suggestion of a tax, and is instead pressing for a “voluntary agreement” to curb emissions.