I do needlepoint from kits. I give them as gifts to people in the form of cushion covers and they are often speechless with horror.

Texting is a fundamentally sneaky form of communication, which we should despise, but it is such a boon we don't care. We are all sneaks now.

To some people, the fact that I am not married, or don't have children, would be the reason I have written a book on punctuation,

The idea of withholding a massive secret is obviously quite exciting to some people. It is also the basis of much classic drama, of course, from Sophocles onwards.

What I have always liked about Brighton is its impersonality. Since the 18th century, people have come, used the place and gone home again.

I used to help my dad with a stall selling eggs when I was about 12. People were so hard up they would ask for one egg. But mostly no one came by at all. It was very demoralising.