Aspasia Karras: Open this week's Financial Times magazine, and you will see a lovely double page advert on Parliament. The neoclassical façade gleams hopefully against an intensely blue Cape sky. It's a sight I know well.

Of late, I have become a Parliament watcher. I have not developed a fondness for Parliamentary TV as a cure-all for insomnia. Nor a sudden onset of civic conscience resulting in the need to monitor the goings on in those hallowed halls. But recently, I found that half my working week involved an office with a strategic view of the place.

I have become bipolar. Mondays begin on the deserted streets of Jozi, listening to KB on 5FM waking up the groggy masses and one or two unfortunate individuals whom he calls directly, and end on the promenade in Cape Town, surrounded by the "funny jog" brigade and dogs of every stripe as the great Atlantic Ocean crashes up against the esplanade.

During the day, I observe the goings on in Parliament when I take a break from the day job. Not much, it seems. Not from the outside, at least. But I can tell you this about the FT advert: it's as airbrushed as the dimpled cellulite on any cover girl's thigh.

First, there is the Yves Klein blue of the sky. Even on the most atrociously perfect Cape day - and as a waterlogged Gautenger I can confirm they have been having more than their fair share off these - this particular blue is not an entirely accurate representation of the sky above Parliament.

Then there is the angle of the shot, taken so that you seem to be peeking over the top of the lovely wrought iron fence that keeps parliamentarians in and everyone else out. At the foot of this lovely wrought iron fence dozens of people bed down every afternoon with mattresses, blankets and several bags of possessions. They don't move far off in the morning. They like a sleep-in, this lot.

Perhaps it's the close proximity of the statue of Louis Botha that encourages sleeping rough in this particular location. Who would feel troubled when the "warrior, farmer, statesman" mounted forthrightly on his steed casts a protective shadow over your dreams?

They have their uses, these folks. Some ladies protesting something with placards last week drafted one or two of the parliamentary sleepers into their ranks. They needed extra hands for posters. There is, indeed, strength in numbers. Just not in an advert.

Still, I was pleased to note that apart from the gratuitous airbrushing of the image, the content of the advert was accurate to a fault. It read: "Co-operation between business and government continues to be a hallmark of a stable macroeconomic environment." Never mind the micro- economic environment found in the back pockets of numerous government officials. It continues: "Business and government in SA understand this and actively work together." Tell me about it. And the pay-off line: "Policy meets investments and returns". You can say that again...and again.

Aspasia Karras is the editor of 'Marie Claire' magazine