Look, I want what's good for everybody. I want to promote good state education for all. I want to raise standards for all kids, irrespective of race and class but why can't they all just do what I say when I know I'm right?

The crushing, pitiful, and frequently just plain risible pathos of an unsuccessful actor/performer's life is well charted.

Success, in whatever form it takes, is a tricky thing - once you've achieved your goal, then what? Where do you aim?

If I'm hunting down gifts, I like to buy locally.

Does everyone turn into a truculent thirteen-year-old when they go home, or is it just me?

Both Plockton and the Isle of Muck in north-west Scotland are incredibly beautiful. Sadly, Plockton has been discovered by tourists because it's where they shot Hamish Macbeth.

When popularity is your only goal, doing well in class is going to feature very low, if at all, on your priority list.