OCCUPIED COUNTRY

Behind A Painted Smile

You know I love the BBC. I think it's one of the greatest things about this green and pleasant land of ours. Advert free (well apart from the ones advertising its own products), a broad range of programming from the cutting edge urban R&B of Radios 1 and 1 extra, through the Asian Network, 5Live, Radios 4,3 and 2 - as well as 6 and 7. TV-wise we now have BBC 3 and 4, along with CBBC and CBeebies. Quality, quality, quality! And all provided for an absolute weekly pittance.

All in all I love it. If I had to choose between the plethora of bombastic shite provided by the likes of Sky or the understated, thought-provoking magnificence of the Beeb there would be no contest.

What the BBC doesn't do well though is Children in Need. It is a God-awful marathon of second rate entertainment allied with blatant self-promotion of fading pop stars and advertising opportunities for businesses both big and small(ish).

This evening I had to watch Shane bloody Ritchie, Geri sodding Halliwell and Russell I'm-a-big-united-fan-who-used-to-go-to-every-game-but-can't-remember-where-I-used-to- sit-'cos-the-ground's-changed-that-much) Watson. I also noticed Bryan Adams on the list and a few others I've not heard of for at least ten years. In fact the only surprise for me was Jamie Cullum who I think has got a future and doesn't need his obligatory career resurrection just yet.

A middle-class, back-slapping 'aren't we great we're doing things for charity' embarras-o-rama. Gaby Rosslyn fer Christ's sake? And, of course, the old TogMeister himself: Terence Wogan.

Still at least it's over for another year along with Diwali and Eid which means we've only got Christmas left to interfere with our daily lives.

What multicultural times we live in.