I wonder if this reason is partly geographical, that talk radio is so much more successful in North America than in Britain? People who are very remote - I'm thinking of Newfoundland - feel very connected though the radio.

Radio is very popular [in Britain], but it doesn't connect us in the same way. It seems to have this community function.

I find the public reaction to writing - it's fascinating in this modern age. Of course people are able to interact with me and email me, and I get quite a few I suppose.

What I really like about Cuba is that you can go into a local bar in a provincial town and you'll get jazz played at the highest standard - played often a cappella, or certainly with no amplification or whatever. Even if you are not knowledgeable about music, and I am not, you can find yourself really enjoying it.

Lawrence Millman is a favorite writer of mine. He did a travels on the trail of the Vikings.

I was writing the Paraguay book, a Paragauyan told me that only five thousand people in Paraguay read.

I'd like to write fiction. Perhaps at some stage.