I am only too aware that I am open to Rees's Second Law of Quotation: "However sure you are that you have attributed a quotation correctly, an earlier source will be pointed out to you."

People will say what they want to say, in the way they want to.

Democracy is too good to share with just anybody.

I was terribly shy and never said anything in class. Then I started getting into school plays. When you've got words to say, you've got a sort of armour.

It is part of politics to make things look better than they really are. What is a spin doctor but a serial euphemiser?

My job involves searching for 'lost' quotations - that is, trying to find out who came up with a quotable saying that lingers in someone's mind and which they wish to use for their own purpose and which they cannot find in conventional dictionaries of quotation.

I was broadcast-struck from an early age; I had saved up for a tape recorder and started making programmes.