Beckett had an unerring light on things, which I much appreciated.

There are some things one remembers even though they may never have happened.

Occasionally it does hit me, the words on a page. And I still love doing that, as I have for the last 60 years.

I never think of myself as wise. I think of myself as possessing a critical intelligence which I intend to allow to operate.

Apart from the known and the unknown, what else is there?

I don't think there's been any writer like Samuel Beckett. He's unique. He was a most charming man and I used to send him my plays.

There's a tradition in British intellectual life of mocking any non-political force that gets involved in politics, especially within the sphere of the arts and the theatre.