WE stopped off with the children to see the Angel of the North on the way to Northumberland last week. They had learnt about it at school and couldn't wait to see and feel the real thing.

As they raced ahead of us along the path, the sun broke through the clouds and the huge Angel, wings outstretched, seemed to draw them near. It was a magnificent sight. When they reached the statue, they raced around it, viewing it from all angles, calling us over to show us how, when you stand at the back and look upwards, the flowing lines make your eyes go dizzy so that the whole thing seems to move, as if it's about to topple over.

They clambered all over it, feeling the metal. And then one of them noticed the graffiti - ugly, mis-spelt abusive scrawls in black felt tip pen, scarring large sections of the Angel's legs and feet. They sniggered and read out bits and pieces. It spoiled the moment.

Now I read a new report is calling for under-18s to be banned from buying marker pens and spray paints in an attempt to "limit the environmental damage caused by graffiti artists" because the problem is becoming so widespread and courts, who don't view such criminal damage as a serious offence, are reluctant to impose tough fines. Sadly, I can't see this working. And, while I can think of lots of words to describe those who scribbled all over the Angel, "artists" certainly isn't one of them.

THERE is the usual knee-jerk panic reaction over security measures in maternity hospitals following the snatching of a two-day-old baby this week. As if electronic tags, security cameras, cot alarms and locked doors with entry phones were not enough, there are now calls for more money to be spent on security staff - despite the fact maternity units nationwide are suffering from a serious shortage of midwives. The snatching of a baby is every parent's nightmare, but these are highly unusual, isolated incidents. A disturbed woman desperate to steal a baby will get round these security measures anyway. And while everyone should be vigilant, most mothers would rather not spend the first few precious days with their baby in a prison fortress.

CHERIE Blair is a clever, capable and highly qualified woman. But she is not qualified for government. As the Prime Minister's wife, she may live in Downing Street but she wasn't put there by the electorate. Cherie is precious about her privacy, but if she continues to meddle in public business, such as the transport summit she chaired in Downing Street recently, she is putting herself in the public domain. I can't believe Cherie, who had early political ambitions herself, doesn't know what she's doing. So where is this all leading - another Hillary Clinton in the making?

MOST people feel the Queen, who is avoiding death duties on her mother's fortune, should be treated the same as the rest of her subjects and be made to pay. I disagree. We should be treated just like her. Why don't they just abolish inheritance tax for everyone?

IF Tory MP and former shadow rural affairs minister Ann Winterton tells offensive racist jokes in a carefully prepared speech at a constituency function, I dread to think what she might come out with behind closed doors after a few drinks.