While in Melbourne I began writing and broadcasting for ABC national radio (the ABC being the Australian version of the BBC) and continued to do so until shortly after moving to London. My radio monologues were in the same vein as my newspaper pieces: observations on anything from the philosophical implications of quitting smoking to the state of hitchhiking, ape models of humanity and whether literary festivals deserve to exist. I could have retired these pieces; I thought I’d give a selection of them another chance