The thing that interests me most about Scotland is how we differ from our neighbours. How do our ambitions differ? What kind of society are we? What can we learn from the mistakes of the past, and how do we position ourselves in the world?

I like connecting to places by foot, and I'm interested in experiencing how somewhere like Crieff connects to somewhere like London.

Democracy matters because it reflects an idea of equality and an idea of liberty. It reflects an idea of dignity, the dignity of the individual, the idea that each individual should have an equal vote, an equal say, in the formation of their government.

For politicians to be honest, the public needs to allow them to be honest, and the media, which mediates between the politicians and the public, needs to allow those politicians to be honest. If local democracy is to flourish, it is about the active and informed engagement of every citizen.

The sublimity of wisdom is to do those things living, which are to be desired when dying.

If you experience that feeling of being in a rut in your life, then something's not right. A lot of people who feel that way don't take the time to say, 'O.K., well, what am I doing? Is that what I want to be doing? What is it making me feel this way?' You have to identify what specifically is making you feel stuck.

All the great evils which men cause to each other because of certain intentions, desires, opinions, or religious principles, are likewise due to non-existence, because they originate in ignorance, which is absence of wisdom.

We have so much left to experience and learn about each other - it's almost like we've been remarried with the show being over. Now it's a whole new life for us.