That was the Alka-Seltzer moment, the moment when the tablet hits the water and begins to fizz.

The notion that inventors are anorak-wearing crackpots with glasses held together with Sellotape is beguiling but wrong.

A good idea turns every cog in your mind, making you scared of bed in case the whole machine grinds to a halt.

I'd work eighteen-hour stretches and fall asleep in my clothes. Then I'd wake up in the middle of the night, brew a pot of tea, and start work again. I was tired, but work had become pure enjoyment.

As long as you've got slightly more perception than the average wrapped loaf, you could invent something.

Visionaries and dreamers have always been dusted with a little oddity.

But having had your bright, fresh, original idea, the really hard part is turning it into a successful product. That's what takes all the sweat.