WHAT were George Bush and Tony Blair doing meeting up in Belfast, of all places, discussing the finer points of the Good Friday Agreement this week? Haven't they got a war to run?

With his own troops slugging it out on the streets of Iraq, it seems a surprising time for the American President to be bothered with Northern Ireland. Likewise, Blair has a war to keep him busy.

Yet, as someone from the troubled province, I can't help thinking the place and time of Bush and Blair's historic meeting was inspired. Because too many people in Northern Ireland, particularly politicians, have become so insular they are incapable of venturing out beyond their own metaphorical back yards.

The American President's high profile war summit meeting with Blair, held just before their discussion about the Good Friday Agreement, which reaches a critical stage today, has ensured that what is happening in Iraq also remains at the forefront of people's minds in Ulster.

Perhaps Unionist and Republican politicians, mindful of the suffering in Baghdad and Basra, might just consider that the compromises they are being asked to make, and have been squabbling over for the past five years, are not so great after all. Not if it means securing peace and stability for their country.

Bush says he hopes Northern Ireland will be an inspiration in dealing with world trouble spots.

But as someone from this small, all too often inward-looking, petty and self-obsessed province, my hope is that what is happening in Iraq and the wider world will inspire Ulster's politicians to make the huge leap of faith we have all been waiting for.

THE glossy Government-backed magazine aimed at new dads decrees they should put in ten hours of cuddling and helping in order to qualify for ten minutes of sex. "What? Only ten hours?" said one friend. "What? Only ten minutes?" said another.

The only thing we all agreed on is that we don't need the Government barging into our bedrooms to tell us how to behave. And with most new parents struggling to adapt to living on one wage or paying for childcare while feeding and clothing an infant, adverts for Armani clothes and top-of-the-range digital cameras are not really what we're after.

Bizarrely, the magazine also praises David Beckham for getting his white Versace suit dirty when feeding young Brooklyn, something we can all relate to. Perhaps the Government could issue a warning: Don't wear your Versace whites when feeding baby, Dolce and Gabbana in green is much more forgiving...

AS so many of his Army colleagues risk their lives for their country, the behaviour of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? cheat Charles Ingram looks particularly cheap and tawdry. But it is a bit rich of presenter Chris Tarrant to be outraged by Ingram's "sheer greed" since the programme itself is a celebration of greed. Contestants want to get rich quick by doing very little, while the programme makers want to get even richer by charging people up to 90p a time for premium rate calls to get on the show. If Tarrant really is so appalled by greed, he's hosting the wrong show.