SO now war is a spectator sport. And all it does is make me feel guilty.

Wall to wall coverage of the war in Iraq makes it a real live 24 Hours. Any time of day or night you can switch on and see Our Boys getting ready, a ghostly green John Simpson or dramatic bombardments and fireworks displays over Baghdad.

It's bizarre. The immediacy of war should shock us - and just occasionally it does. But not enough. Somehow, the cameras have brought the war into our homes and yet they have also managed to make it less real - as if it's just another Hollywood epic.

So I wait for Tom Cruise to come in and save the day. Or Tom Hanks to crack jokes at the CO's briefing. Maybe if you press the red button you get a different view of the action. Or perhaps a cartoon figure will suddenly bounce across our screens, cheerfully eliminating tanks.

In previous wars, information has been limited. Newspaper reports days or even weeks later would give a narrow picture. In the Second World War, our parents sat huddled round the wireless for the severely censored nightly news. It was an occasion not to be missed. In the Falklands War we all waited for that spokesman whose delivery was so slow and deadpan that it made the Speaking Clock seem sparkly.

And over the years of conflict in Northern Ireland, the words on a bulletin "Last night another soldier..." were enough to make us stop and think and consider what was going on. But now we have so much more information. Yet I'm not sure we really know much more of the realities of war. Either we wouldn't believe it or we wouldn't be able to bear it.

So if you sit and watch it from the comfort of your home, that seems wrong. It turns war into entertainment, a spectacle to eat your supper in front of. Was that dramatic pillar of flame the one that wounded those children? Are there any potatoes left?

And if you have had enough and you turn it off and walk away? That seems worse - that we can say we're bored with the war reports and go and do something else. If people are risking their lives or cities are being blasted, the least we can do is take an interest, be bothered to watch.

Maybe if we'd had live television cameras at the Somme, the First World War might have ended in 1916. If there'd been cameras at Hiroshima, we might never had Nagasaki.

Meanwhile, soldiers risk their lives, civilians live in fear, cities fall and dictators are threatened.

And, eventually, I turn over to another channel.

Well, I know. I'll sort out the washing, mmmm, and tidy up all the papers and check on the progress of the war.

Then I'll ring the insurance company, write a few cheques, go on the Internet and order CDs for Smaller Son's birthday.

Maybe then I'll clean the windows, phone a friend, think of something for supper, hang the washing out...

According to new research, office workers waste nearly three hours a day. Altogether it costs the country £158 bn a year.

Not me. That's one of the many benefits of working from home. Instead of day dreaming, or waiting for inspiration, I go and do something else instead. It's still wasting time - but at last it's my own time - and so it's wasted ever so constructively.

Playfighting? No, thanks

Boys who have play fights with their fathers are more likely to grow into happy well-adjusted adults.

Remember that as he's throwing your baby up against the ceiling or rolling round the sitting room with your ten-year-old, sending furniture and lamps flying.

It might do wonders for the boys - but it's not much good for a mother's nerves. Or the lamps.

Hooray for Linda

Linda Snell saves the day!

Newcomers who snap up prime village properties are saviours of country life, says a new report today - just like the much derided Linda Snell in the Archers. It's newcomers who are more likely to start small businesses or provide employment for local people.

Probably because they are the only ones who can afford to.

Mum saves the day

A 25-year-old author has clinched a £500,000 publishing deal after his mum rescued his manuscript from the bin and secretly sent it to a literary agent.

Proves yet again that a boy's best friend is his mum - and let's hope she gets a nice chunk of the royalties.

Make time for your mum

The clocks go forward on Sunday - it's the one day in the year which is less than 24 hours.

So why is it no surprise that it's the one chosen as Mother's Day?