I am a pretty good dog mum.

One moment, Nelson Mandela is in jail, and the next moment, he is walking, a free man. One moment, we are shackled as the oppressed of apartheid; the next, we are voting for the very first time. I was 63 when I voted for the first time in my life in the country of my birth. Nelson Mandela was 76 years of age. But it happened, it happened. It happened partly because the international community supported us. People prayed for us. People demonstrated on our behalf, especially young people. Students at universities and college campuses used to sit out in the baking sunshine to force their institutions to divest and the miracle happened. We became free because we were helped and we want to say a big “thank you” to the world. And, you can become free nonviolently.

Being able to write books that entertain people around the world.

My dog’s trust in me.

I was probably too cheeky to chairmen over the years.

That my mum and dad didn’t move to live by the sea, where we live, before they died.

When I met [my wife] Sandra. I was coming up 17. We met at the Two Puddings, a dance hall in Stratford.

The body of a 20-year-old.

As someone who had time for everybody.

A car accident in Italy in 1990. Four people got killed. I was lucky, I got thrown out.