If one first gives himself to the Lord, all other giving is easy.

Their souls were contagious. ... Bloodsuckers, spiders and vampires: that was what Lenin called them.

I think it's very, very hard not to go slightly crazy if you're in the top in politics, especially if you're there for a long time.

But only a fool sails into combat with nature

Cicero smiled at us. 'The art of life is to deal with problems as they arise, rather than destory one's spirit by worrying about them too far in advance. Especially tonight.

First comes an idea. Then, characters begin to evolve out of the landscape of that idea. And then, finally, characters dominate: plot is simply a function of what these people might do or be. Everything has to flow from their personalities; otherwise it will not be emotionally engaging, or plausible.

In a way I'm almost more rueful about the notion of having a non-ideological Labour party than I am about the personality of Tony Blair.