Due to a slight loss of my early morning ability to hold onto my mental faculties, I chose to lie in bed with a cuppa, flatulating silently but powerfully after too many onion bagels yesterday (and a snow and ice bedevilled 4 hour journey from Croydon to Westerham) and watch TV-AM.

Other than a rather nice riddle "What Christmas song is described by the words 'Poulet, Poulet, Poulet' ", the rest of the tedious dross incorporated a video link up between TV-AM's studios and Afghanistan.

It was obviously the intent of some producer to make us all go Ahhhh when they linked a serving female officer (of course necessarily pretty) to allow her to speak to her daughter of about 3 or 4 years of age because the officer (Mummy) wasn't going to be home for Christmas.

At first the child was clearly delighted to speak to her Mummy. However the Mother was obviously moved to tears at missing this special time of year with her child.

It will come as no surprise that this clearly upset the child who also began to cry loudly at the disturbing sight of her mummy being sad.

Whoops - the sudden silence from the studio sycophants was tangible......

So they compound the felony by bringing on one of the worst Santas I have ever seen; who sat with his arm around mummy uttering an inanely unrealistic Ho,Ho,ho.

He then promised that he'd be visiting the little girl on Christmas eve when it was plain to anyone with even a misfiring single braincell that all the little girl wanted was her Mummy.

Where do these overpaid contributors to the television medium get their ideas? I'd suggest that its from the same people (Dutch as I understand) who write the majority of the diabolical jokes in Christmas crackers. They certainly don't put any degree of consideration into what the after effects of their items might be.

Hopefully the little girl concerned will get to see her mother again whilst our armed forces continue fighting in a battle which most possibly can't be won; in a country we have no control over; for an intangible dream foisted on an idiot, sycophantic (now ex) prime minister by George Dubbyah Bush.

But do our TV companies discuss why are we out there? No they upset a small child by ill considered attempts at ratings grabbing.

Oh by the way the Christmas song from the riddles was "The 12 days of Christmas" - I'll let you work out why.