I lie about my birthday to blag freebies

I’ve been successfully getting freebies for 17 years (Picture: Emma Parsons-Reid)‘I’m so sorry I’m early – but my husband hasn’t been well, and we’re so excited to start our holiday,’ I say. It’s April 2019 and I don’t need to look at my watch to know I’m two hours early for our hotel check-in. The man behind the hotel reception desk is a little taken aback by my verbal diarrhoea, but agrees to see if our room might be ready