There are 60 million of us [britains] crammed into an area the size of a state. So you don't have that feeling of remoteness at all, ever. And that's reflected in the way our media works, and so on.

Diplomacy was what I wanted to do. From really quite an early age and I think I had a false impression that diplomacy equals travel.

I want people to laugh with me and Paraguay and Newfoundland, but I don't want to laugh at them. I hope in my books at the end of the day you come across with the impression that I really admire both of these places.

I think one should express opinions and these books are relatively opinionated. They would be a bit dry without it.

If you see our best seller list, most of them are books that are given as gifts. They are books you give to flatter somebody.

A lot of books are sold and given away as presents. But who actually reads and enjoy reading?

I would love to write a book that opens people's eyes to the more interesting side.