With all the knowledge and skill acquired in thousands of flights in the last ten years I would hardly think today of making my first flight on a strange machine in a twenty-seven mile wind even if I knew that the machine had already been flown and was safe.

As a nation we have over the past seven years been rebuilding our intelligence with powerful capabilities that many thought we would no longer need after the Cold War. We have been rebuilding our clandestine service our satellite and other technical collection our analytical depth and expertise.

I love a lot of the New York bands but Patti Smith stands out. I just read 'Just Kids' and it's an inspirational well-written account of an emerging New York artist in the late seventies.

Since we launched the original 'Pop Idol' in England I've remained close with Simon Fuller. Working as executive producer on 'American idol' for its first seven years not only was an inspirational journey into the heart of American pop culture it opened my eyes to the untapped potential of the incredibly dynamic young people in this world.

To me the Seventies were very inspirational and very influential... With my whole persona as Snoop Dogg as a person as a rapper. I just love the Seventies style the way all the players dressed nice you know kept their hair looking good drove sharp cars and they talked real slick.

My greatest strength as a child I realize now was my imagination. While every other kid was reading and writing I had seven whole hours a day to practice my imagination. When do you get that space in your life ever?

I hope that at the end of the seven years people will say that I have been of some inspirational value to them at home in terms of inclusiveness and abroad I look forward to representing Ireland.

You can always get the truth from an American statesman after he has turned seventy or given up all hope of the Presidency.

If we have any hope of finding ways for seven billion people to live well on planet with finite resources we have to learn to use our resources efficiently. Plastic bags are neither efficient nor environmentally friendly.

I certainly notice the vitality in Belfast which wasn't there in the Seventies. There was a war going on then. Now there are cranes everywhere. There really is a sense of renewal and hope.