Why are we in this mess, now facing the prospect of economic armageddon? It's because the prevailing characteristic has been greed, and it doesn't matter whether it's individuals living beyond their means or governments living beyond their means or people seeking to get rich quick.

I’m afraid I tend to be thinking about things and not paying sufficient attention to one’s posture, deportment and general cast of face.

Scepticism is a necessary and vital part of the journalist’s toolkit. But when scepticism becomes cynicism it can close off thought and block the search for truth.

It’s not just politicians. Any spokesman for a vested interest is well schooled in how to say what it is they wish to say, which may bear no relation at all to what you’ve asked them.

The promise of Western capitalism of ever rising rates of pay has turned out to be the cheque that bounced.

I’ve always felt myself to be an outsider. I’ve always felt awkward.

I’ve spent my whole life being told I have a face like a horse. You are just what you are, aren’t you?

At work people are expected to be at the beck and call of employers all the time. You have blackberries and other things, and they just don’t leave you alone. People have less time just to drop into an art gallery.

Television bosses should stop insulting the public’s intelligence by assuming we are all idiots.

It’s stupid to have a simple-minded view.