I've realized how easy it is to give back to the community.

There is always time to give back to the community, and what better time than the holidays.

We got to bring a little bit of joy to their day. Maybe even make their day. It is only so often that you get to do that.

Both the velodrome and the Commonwealth swimming pool are open to the public and are frequently used by local schools and the local community. Over the last six years young people have been inspired to take up swimming and cycling more seriously; some of them are now coming through as Olympic champions or hopefuls.

Globalisation means that for a high-wage, developed economy like Britain's to compete we need to focus our efforts on the highly skilled, added-value sectors such as advanced manufacturing, creative industries, engineering and even financial services.

I wonder whether being a scientist's daughter makes you so conflicted about free will and fate.