One of the most important responsibilities of leaders in any setting - including business organisations - is to tell us our own story; to explain us to ourselves; to help us weave some meaning and purpose into the fabric of our lives; to illuminate our understanding of where we have come from; to paint word pictures of our future onto which we can project our aspirations.

One reason we resist making deliberate choices is that choice equals change and most of us, feeling the world is unpredictable enough, try to minimise the trauma of change in our personal lives.

It seems inevitable that the magic of the written word will fade.

Still, most of those effects occur in the context of harmless play and it is patently obvious that children are not normally turned into aggressive little monsters by TV or video games, since most children do not become aggressive little monsters.

I suspect the secret of personal attraction is locked up in our unique imperfections, flaws and frailties.

Obviously, every child should be given the best possible opportunity to acquire literacy skills.

No one welcomes chaos, but why crave stability and predictability?