The Art of Conversation could not die in Australia; it never lived. Television did not kill it; there was nothing there to kill.

The country has always been governed by a coalition but today it is governed by a so-called Grand Coalition which is a more polite word for all and sundry.

To be extravagant you need money. True. But you do not need your own money.

On the Continent there is one topic which should be avoided-the weather; in England, if you do not repeat the phrase "Lovely day, isn't it?" at least two hundred times a day, you are considered a bit dull.

To have created a Welfare State was a great achievement; but we must go on to create a Welfare Planet.

A couple from Sydney or Melbourne might leave on the same day for their holiday: the wife might go sun-bathing at Surfers Paradise, in Queensland, the husband ski-ing in the Snowy Mountains. A lucky country.

The English take everything with an exquisite sense of humour. They are only offended if you tell them that they have no sense of humour.