DAWN NEESOM MIND OF MY OWN

The Woman's Own columnist has her say on trains, alcohol-free beer and the royals

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DADS' RIGHT'S

Should new and expectant dads have the same redundancy protections as mums? Currently women who are pregnant or on maternity leave have some legal protection from being made redundant - but dads don't. Now the government is considering evening things up, including making paternity leave and unpaid parental leave rights on day one of a brand-new job.

Hmm. Now I can see both sides on this one, including a host of problems for many small business employers who are already struggling...

VERY SUPERSTITIOUS

We all have them (even royals), but some are a lot stranger than others...

Just how weird is Prince William? And this month he's about to get even weirder. Which isn't great news for the kids. In fact, George, Charlotte and Louis might want to consider avoiding their dad for the next few weeks. Especially when he's watching telly. Because all that royal blood counts for nothing when it comes to the one thing pretty much all of us do at some point, even if we'd be wary of admitting it. You might even be doing it right now.

We're talking being superstitious. From touching wood to saying good morning to solo magpies, these are the often random things we do that we believe bring us luck.

William's particularly strange one is that while he's watching his beloved football team, Aston Villa, on telly he'll move the kids around the room if the game is going badly. I mean, what? They're kids, not chess pieces! And good luck getting Louis to do anything you want him to do.

'If I'm home alone with the children, I probably don't have the pre-match pint, but I do have a bit of superstition about where I sit when I'm watching them,' William explained recently.