The best bit about being an Englishman abroad is not being subject to the English weather or, in fact, many of the English.

Anyone who celebrates a regional accent as anything other than quaint fails to see that anywhere in the world you go; whether to Edinburgh, Cornwall, London, Moscow or Hong Kong, Standard English or RP exists. By definition, something, which is OK or good whilst also being below standard, should be improved. The same should be said to anyone trying to defend an unintelligible regional accent whilst distorting our English language.

You need to be quiet now and stop wasting our air.

The pragmatic solutions to almost any situation or problem is what endears me to the Thai people.

A conceptual, intangible, idealogical foe is a necessary evil in the modern age for most governments where the majority of ordinary people balk at the concept of conscription, rationing or death on an industrial scale and where the motivations of national pride and victory can stimulate a flagging economy.

The universality of mankind, our thoughts, our motivations for a better life, a better world, our values, our passions, means black or white, rich or poor, we are not dissimilar.