The Chinese do make vast quantities of wine for home consumption, but you wouldn't want to drink it yourself.

Fish have water, the bushmen of the Kalahari have sand, and Houstonians have interior décor.

I think the great thing about grandparents is seeing another home, realising that people you love can have different priorities, different diversions, different opinions and lead quite different lives from the ones you see every day, and that is immensely valuable.

While it is entirely untrue that Canadians lack a sense of humour, the funniest ones tend to head south: Dan Aykroyd, Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox.

Canada is not so much a country as a clothesline nearly 4,000 miles long. St John's in Newfoundland is closer to Milan, Italy than to Vancouver.

Reagan was a flesh and blood version of any other mute national emblem, say the Statue of Liberty. Everyone knows what she represents, but no one would dream of asking her opinion.

Remember how Margaret Thatcher came to believe that abroad was more important than at home? Didn't do her much good.