TV appearance. The guys, by now all caught up on our broadcasting issues even if they'd never heard of us before they enlisted, wondered if I was chuffed to be on TV.

And fell over laughing when I explained that it didn't feel any more real than being on TV doing drama. I was in costume, wasn't I? So were all of them, come to think of it. And we were all playing the role of dutiful soldiers, prodded this way and that and made to look good.

Which, of course, led to a discussion of why there was all this fuss about us not being on TV. Makes me want to roll my eyes, but how are they to know, really? The ones who had business or marketing jobs before enlisting got it without me having to explain, but some of the guys here enlisted right out of school. They've never even had a job yet. So how are they to know how tricky it is to promote a product with your hands tied behind your back?

So I compared it to Samsung launching the most advanced new phone and not being allowed to tell anyone. How would people know the phone even existed? How would they find out what it could do? Or where they could buy it? That seemed to get the message across.

Most had never considered music a product, I suppose. Truth be told, most days I don't either. Music is something I do, something I am. Packaged albums on the other hand…