I am genuinely not an over-the-top kind of person about politics or anything else.

There is no satisfaction to be derived from having had many of our arguments borne out by events.

Befriending provides a valuable lifeline to many people who feel isolated in their communities often as a result of ill health or poverty. I would like to thank all those who volunteer as befrienders and I hope that your numbers will increase in coming years. Your kindness and hard work is, I know, very much appreciated by those you help.

My idealism has not abated, but I have witnessed it withering away nationwide, to the point where at least among the young, to have ideals is akin to being blinkered and oldfashioned.

I couldn't imagine a day without music. It relaxes and stimulates me in equal measure and I hate the sound of silence - the concept, I mean, not the track by Simon and Garfunkel.

I don't want a headline saying 'Kennedy suggests this or implies that.'

There are hard choices to be made in balancing the country's security and an individual's liberties. But it is a choice that has to be faced.