The ducks in St James's Park are so used to being fed bread by secret agents meeting clandestinely that they have developed their own Pavlovian reaction. Put a St James's Park duck in a laboratory cage and show it a picture of two men -- one usually wearing a coat with a fur collar, the other something sombre with a scarf -- and it'll look up expectantly.

Anywhere that I can't check my email is a good place to write!

There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.

They were kissing. Put like that, and you could be forgiven for presuming that this was a normal kiss, all lips and skin and possibly even a little tongue. You'd miss how he smiled, how his eyes glowed. And then, after the kiss was done, how he stood, like a man who had just discovered the art of standing and had figured out how to do it better than anyone else who would ever come along.

I know that this is the internet, and we're all anonymous and all that, but really. It doesn't hurt to try to be nice.

It is good for children to find themselves facing the elements of a fairy tale - they are well-equipped to deal with these

The wise man knows when to keep silent. Only the fool tells all he knows.