Mega-rich lifestyle might look appealing but it's not what really matters – Hayley Matthews

After I dropped the kids back to school the other morning, I decided to head to Ocean Terminal for a cruise around the shops.

Super yachts may be attractive to some but Hayley Matthews wouldn't swap her lifestyle for the world (Picture: Ross Land/Getty Images for Dagoc)

"Ah, back to school," I hear you say. The thought of seven weeks of school holidays felt like "Mission Impossible" at first, yet I have to admit it flew by!

I think it went faster for the kids as my eldest sat on Monday night with a look of "the summer holidays are over" on his face. Chocolate spread on toast helped as I'm a firm believer in treating yourself when you're feeling a bit down.

As both kids were in school/nursery, I decided to treat myself to a good old Frankie and Benny’s Pomodoro pasta.

I was tempted to have a cocktail being on the top floor of Ocean Terminal, staring out to Fife, but opted for a Coca-Cola instead.

It’s lovely, although I'm sure the waiter waited patiently until I twirled a massive forkful of spaghetti into my mouth before he came over to ask "is everything OK?" – I bet they do it for a laugh!

But it's a strange feeling when your kids go back to school after an intense summer and you're sitting eating lunch on your tod. Had I been a bit more organised and clever (like a good friend of mine), I'd have booked myself a nice, glamorous, treat-week of hair and nail appointments.

Anyway, as I sat looking out on the water, I couldn't help but think how different the first day back at school must be for the kids on the private yacht docked in front of me. It must be like night and day.

The yacht is sat next to the Royal Britannia and every Tom, Dick and Harry seemed to be looking at it. A “few good men" sat opposite me were speculating about who owns the yacht whilst trying to decide what to have.

I can only imagine the kind of world where someone parks their yacht up at Ocean Terminal whilst they go for a cruise around New Look. Whoever they are has mega bucks and a few kids on board, unless the staff have brought their families on board.

Either way, I imagine that the kids on board were having a very different day to the ones I saw in the playground that morning which resembled a scene from "War of the Worlds".

The men opposite me were chatting about winning the lottery (which seems like "Mission Impossible II" as I've been trying for years) and how they'd love to buy something like that.

I get it, it's luxurious, beautiful and screams of wealth yet, there was one thing missing as I saw a scattering of people hop on board – and that was a smile. I don't know if they were the owners, maybe they're the staff and the owner it's a handsome movie star, I don't know. None the less, the people didn't look excited.

Maybe hopping on a private yacht is to them what hopping on a 22 down Leith Walk is to me. So does money buy happiness? I think it can help but doesn't guarantee anything.

But I'll tell you something for nothing, as lovely as cruising the seas with the sun glaring down, sipping champers, sounds, I wouldn't swap my life, cuddled up on the sofa with my boys eating popcorn whilst watching Jerry McGuire, for the world!

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