On the environmental front there's concern about global warming and high levels of carbon dioxide, and trees take in CO2 and store carbon.

I remember being in China and realising how irrelevant not even Britain is, but also Europe. We're just another remote country that hardly impinges on some places at all.

I try to make myself walk around a bit, but I probably think about it more than I actually do it. Years ago, I did think about joining a gym.

My favourite plant is the foxglove. I think they are a perfect balance between being a garden plant and a wild plant, as at home in woodland as they are in a city.

If I ever had any vanity, then I definitely lost it by being on television. It doesn't do you any favours in terms of showing you what you look like and what your emotions are.

If you are a rich person straining every sinew to keep every last pound in your pocket, there comes a point when you realize you are not just escaping the clutches of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. You are passing a greater burden on to people poorer than yourself, and depriving even poorer people of your support.

The labour Party has lost the last four elections. If they lose another, they get to keep the liberal party.