NO matter what's left for good causes after Camelot's taken its profit, it's as undeniable now as it has ever been that many people prefer to spend £1 on six Lottery numbers which could change their lives than drop it directly into a collecting tin and make a difference for others.

Like Children in Need, one event which appears to have survived the revolution is Comic Relief.

It's a biennial trigger for anyone who doesn't need an excuse - and for those who do, too - to dress in silly clothes and rattle cans.

Their energy seems boundless and, on Friday night, millions of us will conclude a couple of days of concentrated fund-raising by settling down to watch stars of stage and screen do their bit to add to the total - and explain how 1999's cash was spent.

Unlike Children in Need, though, the night won't seem interminably long.

Because, while Terry Wogan's annual marathon outing has become uninspiringly predictable and dull, Comic Relief manages to maintain a freshness and vibrancy which grabs our attention. Long may it do so.

The fact that so many children are desperate for the £20m-plus raised by Children in Need is the best reason for BBC Director General Greg Dyke to order a revamp of it. He should have done so 18 months ago.

The fact that, this year, Comic Relief has switched its attention to poverty - a word which has practically disappeared from the political vocabulary - should be equally enlightening.

The public response to the cause must also surely tell him that, in early 2001, the BBC can afford to take a longer, harder and more regular look at the issue from the comfort of a mainstream television channel than it has done for a long time.

While he watches tomorrow, and hopefully digests that thought, let's all do what we can to carry on giving and bring some light into the lives of those who find it tough simply to make it through the day.