In Sierra Leone last year there was just the two of us hanging out of a helicopter and, when we were in Bosnia, I drove an armoured vehicle, thousands of miles.

But in the first Gulf war the United Kingdom was not under any threat from Iraq, and is still less so in the second one. Then there is no justification for obstructing freedom of information, particularly as nations have a right to know what their soldiers are being used for.

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.

I also read modern novels - I have just had to read 60 as I am one of the judges for the Orange Fiction Prize.

I don't sit there and speculate. I'm not that sort of person. It wastes time, actually.

If I'm in danger then it's usually my fault and it's up to me to get myself out of it. I am not in it just to get an adrenalin rush. No way!

In Sierra Leone last year there was just the two of us hanging out of a helicopter and, when we were in Bosnia, I drove an armoured vehicle, thousands of miles.

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.

Up until about 12 years ago we never, ever, wore flak jacket or helmets but now the nastiness has got worse.

No two wars are identical.

I will never retire.

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

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

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

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.

I have never been attracted to any kind of violence.

I keep telling myself to calm down, to take less of an interest in things and not to get so excited, but I still care a lot about liberty, freedom of speech and expression, and fairness in journalism.

It's totally mistaken to suppose that an armed escort is going to give a journalist any protection - on the contrary, journalists who turn up surrounded by armed personnel are just turning themselves into targets and in even worse danger.

I have nothing to do with the selection of stories. I'm the reporter.

I was timid and frightened as a child. Yours truly did not shin up mountains or do any other kind of adventurous stuff.

It wasn't glamorous in my day. In the regions, reporters were seen as such low life that they didn't merit their name in the Radio Times. Now people are interested in being famous. I never gave it a thought.

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

I've never been one to sit around and eat my heart out. Life's too short.

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.

Beslan, where the Russian authorities stopped live coverage of the school being stormed, was an illustration of the progress we still have to make.

When you are covering a life-or-death struggle, as British reporters were in 1940, it is legitimate and right to go along with military censorship, and in fact in situations like that there wouldn't be any press without the censorship.

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 sailed through my childhood with a complete lack of any drama.

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.

War zones are dangerous, protests can be violent, also, natural disasters are difficult to cover, so there are going to be risks.

I don't see myself doing catalog shoots in Madrid anymore like I was doing two years ago. I hope that the acting side of things grows.

Since I am from Spain, once the morning has gone, I like to take a nap while falling asleep to black and white movies. It feels less lonely. There is a comfort in hearing their voices, like when you're a child and your mother tells you a story before bedtime.

Geometry alone is not enough to portray human desires expressions aspirations joys. We need more.

A man is as old as he's feeling, a woman as old as she looks.

If you're not willing to work hard, let someone else do it. I'd rather be with someone who does a horrible job, but gives 110% than with someone who does a good job and gives 60%.

Thank goodness I had a great family growing up, a great foundation. But I will say my faith, my parents, my family, all that stuff is very, very important. And I'll say that until the day I die.

Good old-fashioned, puritanical work guilt is, for me, a better colleague than any Muse. If I reach my weekly word target by Friday afternoon, then the weekend is guilt-free.

Theyve got plastic Christmas trees now. Theyre hard to tell from the real aluminum ones.

Keep well; that is the half of wisdom and of happiness.

What is youth except a man or woman before it is ready or fit to be seen?

We become what we repeatedly do.

I wish I had more time to visit schools.

When you don't come from struggle, gaining appreciation is a quality that's difficult to come by.

Nature needs no help, just no interference.

Surely great loving-kindness yet may go With a little gift: all's dear that comes from friends.

I had first heard about Alan Turing when I was a teenager. I've known about him since I was a kid, and I always wanted to write about him.

Life is so short. I would rather sing one song than interpret the thousand.

Merely satisfying customers will not be enough to earn their loyalty. Instead, they must experience exceptional service worthy of their repeat business and referral. Understand the factors that drive this customer revolution.

If I wasn't true to myself, I couldn't live with myself.