If it is gay, ribald and lascivious night-life you are after, Israel is not the place for you. The night clubs you do find are nearer in spirit to a YMCA than to dens of iniquity.

Australians are decent people with the right instincts and they wish everybody well; but if all is not well, it is none of their business and they will not lose too much sleep over it. The shrug of the shoulders has become - only temporarily, I daresay - the national gesture of Australia.

An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.

There are many non-intellectual countries; Australia is one of the few anti-intellectual ones.

The Americans are extremely gadget minded people and American gadgets have a peculiar characteristic: they work.

In England it is bad manners to be clever, to assert something confidently. It may be your own personal view that two and two make four, but you must not state it in a self-assured way, because this is a democratic country and others may be of a different opinion.

Tel-Aviv airport is still the only airport in the world where each passenger is met by ten relatives.