You remember what Captain Kirk used to say? Well, I’m beginning to understand how he felt.

You may have seen or at least heard of the performing dog that won the TV show Britain’s Got Talent. I didn’t see it myself but the media’s fascination with trivia has made sure that this vital news is now engraved deep into my brain. Now, no doubt the young lady who  trained the dog worked hard at her trade but what she achieved was, after all, only a clever dog.

There was another programme on TV at about the same time as BGT called BBC Young Musician of the Year. It’s on every year (obviously) and even if you are not a follower of classical music you cannot fail to be impressed with the young people on show and their skills, achieved through God given talent, dedication and hard work throughout most of their young lives.

Now, imagine a youngster pondering on his/her life plan. What to do? Train a clever dog or dedicate your life to musical excellence? Well, listen carefully my young friend, here’s a tip for you. The girl with the dog received half a million quid for her efforts; the musician, who incidentally is called Laura van der Heijden and plays the cello like an angel, got £2000.

Unfair? Of course but so what? I’ll tell you so what? Have a glance around this site and you’ll notice that I try to write a bit. I beaver away at my desk, day after day, year after year in the fervent hope that, apart from enticing a few young people to read and enjoy what I do, that I might also make a meagre living out of it. OK, that’s your choice, you may say but what have performing dogs and cellists got to do with anything? Well, I’ll tell you.

I don’t know if anybody has asked Laura to write about her life as a young cellist but what I do know is the the dog, the bloody dog mind you has just been given a £100,000 book deal!

To complete Kirk’s message when calling the mother ship from some previously undiscovered world:

‘Beam me up Scotty,’ he’d sigh. ‘There’s no intelligent life down here.’