She’s probably one of the UK’s most controversial columnists and now Julie Burchill has turned her attention what she calls ‘spa junkies’.

She says she loathes the creepy cult of pampering.

Her opening line is (and look away now if you are a spa regular): “Twenty years ago, only prostitutes, kept women and other ladies whose looks were their living — such as actresses and models — spent any amount of time undergoing beautification on a regular basis.”

Now I’ll admit I’m insanely jealous of ladies who can set aside whole mornings,days even, to indulge in a whole host of beauty treatments.

Because that used to be me.

Once every other month of so I would take my London-ravaged skin to the lovely Joanne. I would spend a whole day , drinking juices, have a steam, a facial, a massage and the obligatory waxing, I would even occasionally have a pedicure.

Spending six hours or more in the gym each week, my precious days with Joanne, when she introduced me to Dermalogica., complimented my ‘me,me,me’ regime.

That’s what it was – all about me. I had a demanding career (or vocation as I call it some days) and I was single – most of the time – why not invest a bit of time in myself.

But now,my time is no longer my own. Do I still hanker for those days? Sometimes, but I nknow that I can very very occasionally take some time out for a facial (I do a DIY version every week which regular readers will know about – and my skin doesn’t look so bad).

To be honest if I had a whole day to myself now I’d actually spend it very differently.

I was actually thinking about this the other day when one of my cousin in laws told us on Facebook that she had a day off and asked us what she should do.  It got me thinking, what would I do.

First off I would do the housework,  second I would sort my clothes – the ones I want to give to charity – and third I would go for a run, and fourth I would have a long bath.

The final thing would be to cook some food for Imogen and Andrew.

Burchill says spas are a waste of time because women (and men) don’t need pampering to feel good about themselves. She says: “‘If you look good, you feel good,’ is one of the great lies sold to women.

“In fact, every serious study of happiness suggests that the more you do for others, the happier you will be, and the more you obsess over yourself, the more miserable you will get.”

And from that I will take my cue. But a small bit of pampering never hurt anyone Julie.