In both places [Paraguay and Newfoundland] people rise despite everything - both are pretty tough environments.

There is a whole genre of funny travel writers - that's very popular. There's Bill Bryson and people who follow that route and sell travel writing through making people laugh. It's a very difficult group to take. The line between comedy and mockery is sometimes a bit thin.

That's more about lifestyle [Peter Mayles], living abroad. It's about buying a donkey and house in south France, and that's a slightly different thing. A very popular genre but that's not quite my thing.

It never stops me from saying what I want to say about Ethiopia, the fact that a tour company is paid for me to go there. Book reviewers don't pay for the books they review.

In both places [Paraguay and Newfoundland] people rise despite everything - both are pretty tough environments.

People my age and younger do think much more towards Europe. We have to fill the gap sometime - we can't think we are an empire any longer after all.

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.