LIKE it or not we are all involved in gambling - though some of us prefer to call it investing. If you take out an endowment mortgage, pension or many other savings plans you take a risk. Investment companies gamble with your money on the stock exchange - much like a horse race, you are hoping the company you choose performs the best.

Of course, without such a system the majority of people could not afford to buy their own home, so it is a form of gambling few would condemn. A couple of pounds on the lottery every week doesn't do too much harm and for that investment you can buy a dream. And as one North-East lady discovered this week, those dreams do sometimes come true - in her case by scooping the near £17m Euro lottery.

Office sweepstakes, church raffles, bingo halls and the corner bookie all rely on our love of a flutter, and, provided people keep stakes within their means, then there is very little harm in that.

But what left me cold this week was the sight of a grown man apparently gambling his whole future on the spin of a roulette wheel amid the bright lights of Las Vegas. Having supposedly sold all his worldly goods he staked it all on the spin of a wheel - all faithfully recorded for Sky TV. He won, doubled his money and was hailed a hero.

If anyone decides upon the same route and loses, I do hope Sky film the misery that results from a family being made homeless and destitute and broadcasts it as a warning to others.

LAS Vegas isn't the only place with bright lights these days. Last night in Middlesbrough we unveiled the spectra-txt - an innovative piece of street art otherwise known as the column of light. Standing proud in the centre of town, it allows people to activate different light sequences via their mobile phones.

The idea was to have one of the first sequences activated from someone in Tahiti, emphasising our links with Captain Cook. Incredible to think it took Captain Cook months at sea to reach his destination and now we can communicate in seconds.

I am writing this column before the official switch on but I'm confident all will go well. I was due to text a command as well but will hand that duty onto a local schoolchild. They know far more about texting than me and I can blame them if it doesn't work.

Blaming the younger generation can unfortunately become a knee-jerk reaction for adults and I learnt an interesting lesson on a visit to a skatepark on the Middlesbrough Park End estate this week. The well worn grass proved how popular the area is but I was disappointed to see a lot of litter and graffiti.

I assumed teenagers were to blame and approached a group of 15-year-olds and asked if they knew anything about the graffiti. They pointed out a couple of eight-year-olds and told me they were responsible. It didn't really take a detective to find that out, the kids had spray painted their nicknames.

The young boys admitted it was them and didn't realise they had done anything wrong. It was the first time anyone had expressed disappointment at what they had done. They promised not to do it again if the council cleared up the mess, so we'll see what happens.

I do believe that most kids are good at heart but need to be told when they are in the wrong and the message needs to be re-inforced.

Parents, schools and the local authority have to work together to get across the message of good citizenship at an early age.

Published: 16/04/2004