One tries to tell a truth, and one hopes that the truth has a general application rather than just a specific one.

For a small island [Great Britain], the place is remarkably diverse.

Latin, as we all know, ultimately broke down into Spanish, Italian, French, and so on. One wonders whether there will be an imperial parallel with English breaking down into, shall we say, North American, European, Australian, and so on. On the other hand, there is this immense, inward-driving influence of radio and television that is bringing us all back together. One could say it's a fight between the two: a fight between regionalism and the standardization through communication.

But forgiveness must not only be given but received also.

It wasn't until I was 37 that I grasped the great truth that you've got to write your own books and nobody else's, and then everything followed from there.

My father was very musical, and music plays quite a large part in my life.

There is, they say, no fool like an old fool.