Most people - and particularly people whose lives have nothing to do with books at all - are intrigued by the idea that somebody wants to listen to them and get it right.

He suffered from paralysis by analysis.

Then years back, when I moved to California, I happened to see a book about fashions of 19th-century Victorian England, only four pages of which was devoted to the dress of the working class.

O hour, of all hours, the most blesse'd upon earth, The bless'd hour of our dinners!

As a nation we are dedicated to keeping physically fit - and parking as close to the stadium as possible.

What's wonderful is to read the different translations - some done in 1600 and some in 1900 - of the same passage. It's fascinating to watch the same tale repeated in such a different way by two different centuries.

Flattery, if judiciously administered, is always acceptable, however much we may despise the flatterer.