Society needs both justice and compassion, a head and a heart, if it is to be civilised.

Being a good neighbour is about compassion, which is as warm-blooded as justice is cool-headed.

No one who has understood even a fraction of what science has told us about the universe can fail to be in awe of both the cosmos and of science.

Dover's cliffs call to mind the Roman invasion; the Battle of Britain; our proximity to, yet difference from, mainland Europe; and international trade and exploration, both fair and exploitative.

Anger clearly has its proper place at work, which is neither wholly absent nor ever present. The manager who is an emotional blank is just as hard to work for as the volcanic boss, and both can do great harm by setting an unhelpful example for what kind of emotional expression is expected and accepted.

A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.