A sense of wonder.

What I expect to happen is that my body will fail, my mind will cease to function and that will be that. My genes will not live on, because I have had no children. I am comforted by Richard Dawkins’ theory of memes. Those are mental units: thoughts, ideas, gestures, notions, songs, beliefs, rhymes, ideals, teachings, sayings, phrases, clichés that move from mind to mind as genes move from body to body. After a lifetime of writing, teaching, broadcasting and telling too many jokes, I will leave behind more memes than many. They will all also eventually die, but so it goes.

As little rubbish to sort through as possible.

Good values and a lot of money.

I last shed a tear when my nephew, who is under 10, announced that he was learning the trombone. When I was about the same age and wanted to learn the trumpet, a music teacher said: “The trumpet isn’t for you. You’ve got too-thick lips.”

I’m slightly impatient.

I was a guard on the Orient Express – however, only when it was stationed at a railway siding in Vauxhall.

“Do you know what your problem is?” It was a dear friend of mine. They were referring to the fact that I’m impatient.

Looking back is not productive.

John McCarthy, the journalist who was held captive for five years in Beirut. I’ve met him and he was so full of peace, humility and forgiveness – it was inspiring.