If there's one thing that 10 years with the Corporation have taught me, apart from that a bar in the office can easily be taken for granted, it's that journalists can be exceptionally rude people.

When I left the BBC's God Squad to join the fourth estate, a colleague told me that while I may be leaving to pursue a career in journalism, she hoped I wouldn't become a journalist.

Dear Maggie, lifelong Methodist, stalwart of the religious affairs department, social scene and union, a woman for whom the cliche larger than life was intended, who turned down Terry Venables in their mutual youth but couldn't say no to West Indian bowler Joel Garner, and guardian angel during my six years in the same office, had not one good word to say for journos. Awful people they were in her reckoning.

But I couldn't understand what she meant, and put it down to a clash of cultures, between the craftspeople of production and the hacks of BBC News.

Now, of course, I realise she was at least partly right.

I mention this, because certain colleagues seemed determined to spend today doing their best to remind me of the fact.

There are parts of the Beeb in which the words please, thank you, and sorry are seldom heard. I realise and accept that in the high pressure environment of breaking news in which we work, a civil tongue can be a self-indulgent and sometimes detrimental luxury. With one eye always on the competition, and the other on our standards, there's relatively little time for social niceties and shooting the breeze compared to, say, a career in PR or the clergy.

Admittedly some areas have developed more of a reputation for curt behaviour than others, and a great deal of this can be attributed to the tough exoskeletons certain working environments mould around the people who inhabit them.

But when seasoned journalists performing one role are reluctant to call those filling another, because they know they'll get shouted at, isn't something just slightly wrong with essential lines of communication?

And when one is asked not once, but twice, in the same day to prepare, promote and perform something specific for a sister service (call it News Allday, for the sake of convenience), which will not only take a load off their shoulders but also add value for their viewers, one feels part of the team. It's not a busy, hectic news day, you're making more work for yourself, but pleased to be helping out for the greater good. One big BBC, multi-tasking to the best of its abilities.

Except for when you do everything you're asked, and then get completely ignored and cast aside.

Twice.

Without telling you to stand down, that your efforts won't be required, sorry mate, thank you, next time though.

Twice.

Am I whingeing? Maybe a little. Plans change, of course, and items get dropped. That's the reality of live broadcasting.

But to get bumped twice by the person in the space of three hours, without so much as an apology or by your leave, well...

That's just plain rude.