Hair is also a problem. I remember once, when I was reporting from Beirut at the height of the civil war, someone wrote in to the BBC complaining about my appearance.

People always seem to assume that we have a full, back-up support team - make-up, costume and a driver - but usually, in a war zone, there's only me and the cameraman.

On the Northern Ireland question, for instance, the British and Irish governments prohibit media contact with members of the IRA, but we have always gone ahead, believing in the right to information.

I have no time for the endless nostalgia: 'Oh gosh I used to . . . ' Life is too short; I don't have any time for sitting and saying I miss things. What's the point? Go and do something else.'

My job is to get to the heart of a story, to find out what's really going on; to get it verified and, then, to get it out to as many people as possible as fast as.

I don't want to be involved in endless media gossip.

I was sent to a nice Church of England girls' school and at that time, after university, a woman was expected to become a teacher, a nurse or a missionary - prior to marriage.

The better the information it has, the better democracy works. Silence and secrecy are never good for it.

I never desired to go into war zones. I never had any thought about it. It sort of just happened as part of the job.

I wrote in the book very specifically what I wanted to write about, period, and left it at.

Now children as young as nine carry AK47s which can kill 30 people in seconds.

Champions never sleep, the eternal spirit keep them alert and awake.

It takes a minute to love but eternity to forget.

The capacity to learn is a gift

Opium teaches only one thing, which is that aside from physical suffering, there is nothing real.

But questions that don’t answer themselves at the very moment of their asking are never answered.

Dance is the fastest, most direct route to the truth.

I wasnt thinking of the longevity of any of my songs, but I am extremely pleased with the lasting effect.

Evading responsibility can lead to a life long pattern of criminal behavior.

The best things about womanhood might possibly even be the conversations. The chatting. The gabbing. The whispering. The hands-on-hips eye-rolling. The yukking-it up.

Im not sure there are enough coaches in the system that can take young talent and consistently get them into the top five in the world.