It's always great news for me to hear that one of my friends is pregnant, it's getting to that time when some of my friends that i went to school with or met in my teens are hitting 30 and thinking about starting families. I always wonder what my mother's expectations are of me and my older brother - he shows no signs of wanting children and settling down and although i feel my life would not be complete without being a dad, it is not something i can think about right now. I am lucky that several of my friends have really great kids who i get to see on a regular basis so at least children are part of my life.

I was thinking when i was buying a paper on sunday afternoon, looking at the front pages and the amount of print, thought, speculation and money that has been spent on the case of Madeleine McCann. I was thinking about how hideous it is to spend so much time and effort on one child when so many more are suffering, blatantly suffering. No one knows whats happened to Madeleine but we are all so aware of what is going on elsewhere in the world, the children's faces that we ignore on the daytime tv donation adverts for Africa. The funds in the appeal to find Madeleine now stand at £1,036,104.17!! I wonder how many children that could help that have been orphaned in Africa due to their parents being infected with HIV, i wonder how many children could receive anti-retrovirals to help their immune systems aginst HIV infection.

In Africa, studies suggest that one in three newborns infected with HIV die before the age of one, over half die before reaching their second birthday, and most are dead before they are five years old. Conversely, in developed countries, preventive measures ensure that the transmission of HIV from mother to child is relatively rare, and in those cases where it does occur, a range of treatment options means that the child can survive – often into adulthood. This shows that with funding, trained staff and resources, the infections and deaths of many children in lower-income countries might easily be avoided. There are a huge amount of agencies and charities doing great work in Africa from providing treatment and care to delivering HIV prevention education to children and young people. There are loads of ways to get involved and it doesnt always have to involve cash.

www.worldvision.org.uk

www.savethechildren.org.uk

www.childrenincrisis.org.uk

So just think that instead of having a couple of pints after work or buying that next pack of marlboro lights just pop that money away and pledge it to one of these organisations. This may all seem a bit more serious than the usual frivolous nonsense but its an issue close to my heart and it should be close to yours too. We can't carry on pretending that this does not affect us. That's all.

I think homophobia is really ugly, It hurts me and offends me and even though i am still not watching TV i can't escape the fact that 80's (the last time he was even remotely regarded as entertaining) comedian Jim Davidson has been asked to leave the reality show "Hell's Kitchen" after making homophobic remarks towards fellow contestant and Big Brother winner Brian Dowling, I am glad to see that ITV have taken a stance against this - a lot more than the BBC seem to be able to do with such gay friendly presenters as Chris Moyles and Jeremy Clarkson. It may not seen a big thing that Davidson has been asked to leave but to me it sends out a clear message that homophobic language is never acceptable and should always be challenged.

So that's the end of the serious blog entry for today, normal service will be resumed shortly

xx