No, it's not the lack of a boyfriend or the passing of my last rabbit, Blossom, although I miss her terribly.

I'm pining for something that has been part of my routine for as long as I can remember.

It might seem trivial, but surely I can't be the only person whose life has changed since News at Ten disappeared.

No matter what was going on in the world, good day or bad day, there was Trevor. Always reliable, always able to explain the issues of the day.

News at Ten also acted as my reverse alarm clock, telling me it was time to go to bed.

Even if I had dozed off on the sofa those distinctive 'bongs' would wake me up, forcing me to keep my eyes open for another half hour or so before trudging up the stairs and collapsing into bed.

Now, one week on, I feel decidedly lost.

On my first News at Ten free night I gave Sky News at Ten a shot, but it just wasn't the same and all their virtual reality graphics left me feeling like I'd had a couple too many glasses of wine.

Night number two I fell asleep on the settee and without those 'bongs' to wake me up came around, still in the lounge, cold and aching some hours later.

On night number three I'm afraid poor old James Bond sent me up to bed early. The next night Sylvester Stallone did manage to keep me awake until the end of the movie, but by then there was no chance of me staying conscious through the new Nightly News.

Idoubt a one woman campaign to bring back one of my favourite programmes is going to succeed so I guess I'll just have to get used to it. Either that or hope ITN bring out a 'best of the bulletins' video to send me off to sleep.

AND finally. In true News at Ten style, I'm going to finish on a light item concerning a small fluffy animal.

If you've read the letters page lately you can't fail to have missed a number of readers writing to attack pet owners who keep their cats cruelly locked indoors.

Well you'd better ring the RSPCA because I'm one of them.

It all started when I inherited Aja from a friend. I used to look after her when he went away, she decided she didn't want to go home and I offered to keep her as long as her previous owner paid to have the necessary operations and jabs she would need to go outdoors.

The problem is, my cat's a bit of a softy and the thought of going outside where she might get dirty just doesn't appeal.

She'll occasionally come into the garden if I'm going out there, but if I attempt to pop back inside and leave her she'll race me to the door.

Now, when I see the growing number of appeals for missing cats, hear about them being snatched off the streets or read about another one being run over, I'm glad she has the sense to stay indoors.

So, if you happen to be wandering around Poets Corner and see a well-groomed moggie staring out of the window, just remember, she's not desperately longing for the great outdoors her wicked owner insists on denying her, she's probably just admiring her reflection in the glass.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.