I was broadcast-struck from an early age; I had saved up for a tape recorder and started making programmes.

Democracy is too good to share with just anybody.

How come there's only one Monopolies Commission?

I was terribly shy and never said anything in class. Then I started getting into school plays. When you've got words to say, you've got a sort of armour.

Lord Castlerosse was taken to task by Nancy Astor over the size of his stomach. 'What would you say if that was on a woman?' she asked, pointedly. 'Half an hour ago it was,' he replied.

Rees's First Law of Quotations: When in doubt, ascribe all quotations to George Bernard Shaw.

It is part of politics to make things look better than they really are. What is a spin doctor but a serial euphemiser?

Euphemism in the workplace does not end with job descriptions. It reaches a pusillanimous peak at the other end of the work process - in dismissal.

People will say what they want to say, in the way they want to.

I was absolutely a non-starter at games. My report for rugby said, 'Nigel's chief contribution is his presence on the field.' I used to pray for rain and sometimes it did rain - and we played anyway.

I am only too aware that I am open to Rees's Second Law of Quotation: "However sure you are that you have attributed a quotation correctly, an earlier source will be pointed out to you."

Be careful not to appear obsessively intellectual. When intelligence fills up, it overflows a parody.

What frightens us most in a madman is his sane conversation.

Freedom is an eternal principle. Heaven disapproves of force, coercion and intimidation. Only a free people can be truly a happy people.

For a morning raine leave not your journey. [For a morning rain leave not your journey.]

My grandpa taught me how to live off the land.

Probably any successful career has X number of breaks in it, and maybe the difference between successful people and those who aren't super achievers is taking advantage of those breaks.

Defeat begins with the fear that one has lost.

The Lynburns built this town on their blood and bones." "That was their first mistake," Jared said. "They should've built a city on rock and roll.

Many people have compared me to the Victorian adventure writer, Rider Haggard. I accept that as a compliment. As a boy growing up in Central Africa I read all Haggard's African novels.