Most people think of the real Father Christmas as being a jolly fellow full of bonhomie, especially in December.

But Sussex author Raymond Briggs depicted him as a rather gloomy man who refers to this time of year as bloomin' Christmas.

In doing so, Briggs made Father Christmas a far more believable figure than the character who seems to be everywhere this month.

As The Argus shows today, Briggs himself is rather like his creation, a man with a wry sense of humour and decided opinions which often veer away from the norm.

But Briggs is always worth listening to and nowhere more so than on the subject of JK Rowling, whose Harry Potter books have outsold his own offerings for children.

Briggs is not a great fan of the books about the boy magician, finding them a bit banal.

But he's delighted JK Rowling's huge success is drawing millions of children towards the written word.

At a time when TV and video games seem to be taking over the lives of many youngsters, it's great to see many kids still love to put their noses into well-written books about wizards - and Father Christmas.