USUALLY, I just throw on jeans and a T-shirt, brush my hair and teeth and I'm off, without a thought.

But yesterday I spent most of the morning examining myself from all angles in the bedroom mirror.

Is my hair better like this? Or this? Should I wear the brown shirt, the white top or the flowery blouse? Do I need lippy? Are the earrings too flashy? Belt or no belt? And, oh my God, look at the size of my bum in these.

Well, it's not every day a girl is asked to pose for a national glossy magazine. My friend Elizabeth and I were being pictured to go with a colour spread on the book of favourite celebrity jokes we have compiled, which comes out next month (more of that later).

And it gave me a taste of just how poor Cherie Blair must feel before she sets foot outside her door each day. All sorts of insecurities rear their ugly heads when you consider that every blemish, bulge and fashion faux pas is likely to be captured on celluloid and served up for public scrutiny.

Up until recently, of course, Cherie has had her chic lifestyle guru Carole Caplin to help her out. I only had my infuriating husband, who insisted everything looked "fine". But "fine", as someone like Carole would understand, is not what a girl wants to hear.

The magazine wants to use the picture of us full page size. And, even worse, they plan to use shots of some of the more glamorous celebrities featured in the book - like the gorgeous, beautiful, slim and stunning Andrea Corr, alongside us.

"Ann Widdecombe's joke's good. Haven't you thought of using her?" I suggested hopefully. But, sadly, they weren't interested.

Then the photographer arrived and my ever-helpful husband, who would clearly make an absolutely appalling lifestyle guru, came up with the alarming suggestion of some "fun" shots of Elizabeth and I jumping up and down on the children's big garden trampoline. "Brilliant," said the photographer. "You're not serious," we said.

We spent the next hour and a bit leaping in the air, wobbling like jelly, hair standing on end, legs and arms all over the place. "Try to stay together," said the photographer as we propelled each other in opposite directions. "Remember to keep laughing, it's a joke book," he reminded us. "And for this, I spent a fortune having my hair done this morning," said Elizabeth, in between manic laughter and frozen grins.

I'm sure the pictures will look great, even if we do look like idiots. And, since we've spent the past two years pestering celebrities for their favourite gags, it seems appropriate that the joke's on us now. The book is in aid of charity, so it's all for a good cause.

But it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Cherie who, it appears, has been left in the terrifying position of having to choose all her own clothes and make all her own style decisions from now on.

If she turns to her husband for advice, I hope she has better luck than I did.

* Readers of The Northern Echo, of course, will be the very first to get an exclusive sneak preview of the Favourite Jokes book and the story behind it before it is launched on October 6. Watch this space.