selfish

Mum Billie Van Der Walt and her husband Selwyn have given up their home in Manchester to see the world with their two young sons, Bligh, four, and two-year-old Rothko

A mum has ditched life in the UK to “give her boys the world” instead of sticking them in a classroom.

Last year, Billie Van Der Walt and her husband Selwyn, 35, gave up their home to hit the road with their two sons, Bligh, four, and Rothko, two.

The couple, who hail from Atherton, Greater Manchester, are currently in Vietnam – and have already made trips to Abu Dhabi, South Korea and Thailand.

It has meant that there were no ‘back to school’ photos from Billie and Selwyn; instead the proud mum took a snap of her little lad Bligh casually posing in his sunglasses with a huge travelling backpack.

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Billie, 36, said: “There’s a little bit of guilt at him not having the milestone of the ‘picture in uniform behind the door’ and occasionally we worry that he’s missing out but we know we’re doing the right thing – giving him the world!

“Bligh is actually a year or two ahead of where a school would expect him to be – which is amazing for us because all of the learning we do is child-led.

“We’ve [also] saved hundreds on uniform, equipment etc – that’s a couple of weeks’ living costs here in Vietnam! We get to spend time together, not worrying about all the stresses of back to school.”

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Taking to social media to share the reality behind her decision, the mum wrote: “Sad isn’t the right word, but I’m definitely in my feels today.

“We know we made the right decision and we’re SO lucky to be living this life… BUT there’s a small part of me that’s missed getting him his own little uniform, packing him a lunch he’ll love and giving him the biggest squeezes at the school gates.

“We know he’d smash it but he’s doing SO well and as someone pointed out to us last week, we LITERALLY are giving our boys the world, still, today’s a difficult one.”

Billie continued: “Sending so much love to everyone waving their whole hearts away this morning as they trot through the school gates and I can’t WAIT to see all of their beautiful first day of school pics all over my feed in a couple of hours time.”

According to Billie and Selwyn, before they left Manchester they were often struggling to pay bills and found it hard to fit “precious family time” into one weekend. And while they were happy and coping, they lived “paycheque-to-paycheque” and relied on credit cards for unexpected expenses.

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Selwyn worked long hours at a kitchen showroom while Billie stayed at home with the boys. Meanwhile, expensive nursery fees and the idea of being fined for taking their children out of school were all factors that pushed them to think differently.

Billie said: “In terms of the kids’ education, there are a few ways to describe it, but we definitely fall under worldschooling and unschooling.

“Unschooling sometimes gets a bad rap – people think it means doing nothing. But really, it’s just learning through life.”

The mum-of-two describes their approach to learning as a mix of museum visits and local experiences. While some days involve reading and workbooks, others are more spontaneous – like stopping to learn how sewer pipes are repaired or talking about history while visiting a landmark.

She said: “People have said, ‘You’re being selfish, the kids won’t even remember it,’ or ‘You’re ruining their education and future.’

“To the ones who say they won’t remember it, we always reply, ‘They won’t remember their first birthdays or Christmases either – but those moments still matter. These experiences are shaping who they are.

“I was truly happy before but now it’s as if my soul feels a little lighter. I didn’t even realise how much the weather in the UK affected my mood until we left and had more sunshine.”

The family say they have no plans to return to their old lives in the UK but hope to eventually settle somewhere with more sunshine and a slower pace. In the meantime, they have their next destination decided – China.

A British tourist has slammed holidaymakers as “selfish” after capturing crowds of people sprinting to reserve sunbeds at a Spanish hotel – and she never got to use one herself

A British holidaymaker claims the sunbed scramble at her Spanish resort was so ruthless she didn’t manage to nab a lounger during her entire week-long break.

Adele Gough, 35, watched in amazement as fellow guests gathered by the pool gates at 9am before sprinting forward and flinging towels onto sunbeds. She watched the frantic scenes at the four-star GHT Oasis Park Hotel in Lloret de Mar, Spain, last week,

Adele, a hotel cleaner from Great Shefford, Berkshire, found the behaviour so “selfish” she refused to take part – and didn’t manage to secure a lounger throughout her entire getaway. She said: “At first I found it all pretty funny and typical of holiday-goers. It was entertaining to watch. But I do think it’s a bit selfish, as most of the sunbeds just sat there with a towel on them all day.” Adele is speaking out after a couple watched a hotel worker come close to being trampled.

Have you been swept up in a sunbed battle? We’d love to hear your war stories. Email [email protected]

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Adele, who was marking her birthday on the trip, said there weren’t any obvious regulations about bagging sunbeds, which she reckons sparked the frantic dash each morning.

Rather than waste her mornings queuing and sprinting, Adele opted to avoid the sunbed battle altogether. She said: “There weren’t any signs or rules posted anywhere around the hotel so all people could do was wait until the lifeguards opened the gates and then rush in. I decided not to bother so I didn’t end up using the sunbeds at all this holiday.”

Adele is not the only sunseeker who has found herself swept up in the sunbed wars.

Mark Hunter was shocked to see the chaos unfold from his hotel balcony. The 38-year-old watched on as determined holiday-goers raced for a lounger with their towels in tow as the pool gates opened.

One woman tripped over a chain barrier near the edge of the frame but quickly recovered, while others weaved past her in the dash. Mark was particularly surprised to see children pushed and jostled in the desperate rush for a prime pool spot. The madness unfolded after a tourist related their surprise at how empty the sunbed scene was at their resort in Spain.

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Mark, a corporate manager from Ireland, filmed the clip at Hotel Playas de Torrevieja at around 9.54am on Friday (2 Aug), while on holiday with his wife Tara and their son Jake.

“I was shocked to see grown adults reduced to scrambling for sun beds,” he told Luxury Travel Daily. “It is exactly the same every morning — there are grown adults pushing past children to get a sun bed by the pool.”

After watching the chaos unfold, Mark’s 12-year-old son asked if he could take part the next morning. He added: “My little boy did want to be involved in the chaos the next morning as he thought it looked fun. We did let him queue and he was the fastest to a sunbed!”

Mark shared the clip on TikTok, where it has left viewers stunned with over 2,400 likes so far.

A British tourist who reserved sunbeds on holiday before heading off for breakfast has hit out at critics who call her ‘selfish’, as she claims there’s nothing wrong with it

The debate over whether it’s socially acceptable to put your towel down on a sunbed before you’re ready to use it has been ongoing for years. Every summer, videos are shared on social media of tourists racing down to their hotel swimming pool to dump towels and bags on sunbeds at the crack of dawn.

Many of these holidaymakers then leave the pool to go back to bed, have breakfast, or even do some sightseeing, but staking their claim on a sunbed means no one else can use it. However, one British tourist has defended this practice, insisting it’s not “selfish” to reserve a spot by the pool.

Rachel McGuigan and her husband, David, were on holiday in Turkey when they decided to put towels down on a couple of poolside beds to reserve them while they went off and had breakfast in their hotel.

The woman, from York, posted a video of her holiday on TikTok and was baffled by the backlash she got for showing herself reserving the sunbeds.

One person had commented on her video: “Just throw the towels in the pool. It’s not allowed to do this in most hotels and resorts.” And another had written: “I just remove them if they’re full. I don’t care, and the hotel doesn’t care.”

Rachel, who was holidaying at a resort in Fethiye, west of Antalya, said: “I just thought it was crazy that people were so upset about leaving a towel for half an hour to go for breakfast. They accused me of being selfish and all sorts.”

To try to make light of the situation, Rachel then uploaded a second video that appeared to show her leaving towels on a sunbed at 5.30am before going on a series of excursions that lasted until bedtime.

The video was a joke, and Rachel didn’t really reserve a sunbed all day without using it. However, it highlighted exactly how divisive this topic is, as her comments were flooded with people who believed she really had kept others from using the beds.

One person wrote: “So you reserved the beds and didn’t use them, but wouldn’t let anyone else use them? Have you ever thought that you may be the problem?”

Another added: “You go on holiday for a rest, but end up getting up early like you do at home, just to put towels out. Hotels are not for me, that’s why I Airbnb. Not having a go, just saying.”

However, Rachel has insisted that people are taking her videos too literally. She said the resort wasn’t full when they visited, so they were never taking sunbeds from other people who wanted them.

She said: “After the first time, I thought it would be funny to play up to it. It was a joke and I didn’t expect anyone to take it seriously, but I ended up opening a can of worms about sunbed reservations!

“We went to The Residence in Fethiye for two weeks in May for the second year running. There wasn’t a lack of sunbeds, so putting our towels down before going for breakfast wasn’t an issue for anyone. I was surprised with everyone commenting about it.”

The woman also admitted that it can be “annoying” when some tourists leave their towels on sunbeds for “hours on end”. However, she noted she doesn’t think it’s a problem when it’s “only for half an hour”.