ROUGH SLEEPING

Strange thought that I might have been offering help to Prince William!

On these coldest of nights, as I trekked the streets, offering whatever help I could to the homeless, I encountered the array of complex and confusing social, emotional and personal life stories that comprise London's cardboard sleepers.

The extremes of courage, depravity, hope and resignation, all tumbled into the unpredictable reality that the Prince found, almost being mangled by a street cleaning machine.

Susan ( name changed ) was the saddest. After years of abuse in childhood and local authority care homes she had spent 15 years on the homeless circuit. Her body was wasted, her teeth gone, her skin sore covered and heading towards that horrific statistic that the average life expectancy of a rough sleeper is 45.

She was desperate for food and a warm drink and we made our way along the strand towards Macdonalds. Every so often she would spy a discarded but of a cigarrette, still glowing and retrieve it for the last few puffs.

Christmas, in the bleak mid winter. We must remember that the babe is still homeless.

CHRISTIANS OUTRAGED BY A POSTER!

Its a pity that New Zealanders are shocked at the poster outside St Matthew's in the City in central Auckland - ( 'Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow'). At last a church gets real.

Please can churches in the UK stop serving us up the asinine texts that make us all moan and ridicule their establishments and follow the NZ lead.

Stir us up, make us think, challenge our assumptions and connect us with reality and hope.

OBAMA CONTINUES WAR GAMES

Obama has taken a considerable time deciding what could become probably the memorial of his presidency. Whether the delay was due to the gathering of advice or dithering we won't know for some time, however his eagerly awaited policy announcement has seen his administration commit further to the Afghan conflict.

It needed bold leadership to do otherwise but it seems what could have been his distinct contribution may be sinking amidst the clamour of political pressures.

90% of the Afghan army are illiterate. 60% of the officers cannot read. Many are drug addicted. From such as these Obama's exit strategy from and brave new world for Afghanistan is to come.

They are poor and vulnerable and available to the highest bidder and Obama reckons that £4.5 billion may bribe them into conformity.

How many American families has he doomed to tragedy?

Will their blood be wasted in yet another Vietnamesque foreign policy disaster?

What seems inevitable is that when all the soldiers have left, Afghanistan will return to be prey to Islamic militancy and fundamentalism and the necessary, messy and probably bloody process of political evolution upon which developed societies are based.

If only America could find £4.5 billion to provide the incentive to their 'enemies' to take the path to constructive dialogue rather than ensuring their hatred becomes ever more entrenched.