It is impossible to get enough books, don't you find? But where are we without them? Just words on the wind... Not words on the mind.

The arts stimulate imagination. They provoke thought. And then, having done that, all sorts of other things happen.

Now, perfectly ordinary people will give each other hugs. I mean, it used to be that a hug was reserved for if you came back from Australia - you know, back in the '40s and '50s.

Once, the arts were opera, ballet, classical music, and everything else deemed highbrow.

In music, the Specials brought a city, Coventry, bombed out for a second time and riven with racism, to a celebration between black and white musicians and their music.

The success of the arts has come through a mix of public subsidy, substantial private support, and good box-office receipts, but central to Labour's post-1997 programme has been a determination to increase access as much as excellence.