I've never been one to sit around and eat my heart out. Life's too short.

Beslan, where the Russian authorities stopped live coverage of the school being stormed, was an illustration of the progress we still have to make.

The better the information it has, the better democracy works. Silence and secrecy are never good for it.

I was sent to a nice Church of England girls' school and at that time, after university, a woman was expected to become a teacher, a nurse or a missionary - prior to marriage.

But in the first Gulf war the United Kingdom was not under any threat from Iraq, and is still less so in the second one. Then there is no justification for obstructing freedom of information, particularly as nations have a right to know what their soldiers are being used for.

War zones are dangerous, protests can be violent, also, natural disasters are difficult to cover, so there are going to be risks.

Having had loving people who brought me up, and then I find another set of people. That really is a double blessing.