You may give children your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls.

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which

You cannot visit, not even in your dreams - wrote Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931), Lebanese-US mystic, painter and poet, in 1923.

A profound philosophical observation, when it was written. When most young people were eager to get married and leave the family home as soon as they could afford to rent or buy a place of their own; more often than not without the help of their parents.

But things are different now, many young people are no longer anxious to get married, they have no need to. They can enjoy the unrestrained pleasures of a nuptial union without the traditional marriage commitment.

After a brief departure from the family nest, to get "their own space", many of those in their late teens and early twenties are glad to return to the family home, where they usually pay little towards their keep, and have a place in which to entertain their friends at no cost to themselves. Thus enabling them to save money for their future homes and to spend the remainder of their disposable income on cars, computers, clothes, entertainments and holidays.

When they eventually leave home, it is often with the financial help of their parents. But even then, 20 per cent of young adults still expect their mothers to provide a free shopping and laundry service, until they settle down in a "permanent" relationship with a live-in partner.

With the cost of house buying now outstripping average incomes, it is almost always necessary for both partners in a relationship to work to pay for their home, and all the other "essentials" now needed to sustain a modern lifestyle.

This means that their children need minders (which are costly), if not to care for them during the working day, at least to take them to and collect them from school. And look after them during school holidays and when their parents want to "get away for a few days on their own." But isn't that what grandparents are for?

"Oh, but we enjoy seeing as much as we can of our grandchildren," some will say. But how long does it last? Come a change of job and a move to the other end of the country for your children, and you'll not see as much of them, or your grandchildren, as you might wish.

Never mind, the value of your home is soaring, so when you move up to that magnificent mansion in the sky, your children will inherit your property and be able to sell it at great profit, so all your struggling, stinting and saving will not have been in vain.

So the Chief Constable of Norfolk thinks that in order to reduce speeding there should be more speed cameras prominently sited on motorways. Yes, seems reasonable enough; motorists usually slow down when they see a camera, only to speed up again when they are out of its range. But wouldn't it be less costly to the public, and a lot safer for all road users, if people driving motor vehicles were aware of the speed limits applied to the roads on which they drove, and made a habit of glancing at their speedometers to ensure that they were driving within those limits?

It was good to see that a "lodge" is being built on the former nightclub site in Blossom Street, and will be opening in October. It might help provide a much-needed improvement to this fast-becoming-seedy approach to York.

But at £50 a night for a room, you won't hear me cheering. I'd sooner stay in Brittany for half that amount and get dinner - with wine - for about £6.

Where do our hoteliers get their prices?