They are a helpline/therapist/doctor/PA in one. No wonder, in this age of family WhatsApp groups, a telephone relationship with our mothers is still so precious

Next time you spot someone in public talking on their mobile, having what looks like the most emotionally engaged, life-affirming conversation possible in this age starved of human contact, chances are that they are on the phone to their mum.

It is no surprise to learn that women spend a third of call-time speaking to their mothers and men a fifth, taking up 48 hours and 24 hours a year respectively. As the old-fashioned phone conversation moves ever closer to extinction, the maternal catch-up surely won’t be resigned to history. Life wouldn’t be quite the same without it.

As for the time I accidentally rang in the early hours from Glastonbury festival – sorry again about that, Mum

Related: Why I decided to stop being my daughter’s personal assistant | Noelia López-Cheda