Sticklers never read a book without a pencil at hand, to correct the typographical errors. In short, we are unattractive know-all obsessives who get things out of proportion and are in continual peril of being disowned by our exasperated families.

Manners are about imagination, ultimately. They are about imagining being the other person.

The reason to stand up for punctuation is that without it there is no reliable way of communicating meaning.

Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.

It should come as no surprise that writers take an interest in punctuation. I have been told that the dying words of one famous 20th-century writer were, "I should have used fewer semicolons" - and although I have spent months fruitlessly trying to track down the chap responsible, I believe it none the less. If it turns out that no one actually did say this on their deathbed, I shall certainly save it up for my own.

To some people, the fact that I am not married, or don't have children, would be the reason I have written a book on punctuation.

Old radio comedy makes me laugh, as well as 'I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue' and comedians like Paul Merton.