The interest I have for hearing the views of people I have never met goes back a long, long way to when I used to listen to 'Focus on Africa' on the BBC. I would hear the presenter read out one letter after the other criticising politicians, rebels or even the BBC itself. It made me think "Wow! So all these people out there have all these different opinions!" It wasn't long before I ventured to dip my toe in the water and send my own letters to the BBC. The toe-dipping eventually became a full blown...

"I think it's time we had a full and frank discussion."

"What? You mean it?"

"Yes. For too long, we have been tiptoeing around or even completely ignoring the major issues that really need to be discussed. We have been calling a spade a manual geomorphological modification implement. We have not been direct and honest. The time has come to change that!"

"Amen, brother!"

"We should now grasp the nettle and take the bull by the horns. We...