1968

It's 40 years since 1968 - a year of revolution and turmoil. To celebrate the anniversary I'll dust off a memory…

A German boy was staying with us that August. Initially, his main interests seemed to be: getting his hair right, girls and how everything in Germany was much better.

Suddenly he developed a fascination with the TV News. Anxiously he watched footage of Warsaw Pact troops marching into Czechoslovakia to put an end to the "Prague Spring".

Well, our country wasn't next to Czechoslovakia and no one had seriously invaded England for over 900 years so I found understanding his fear of invasion quite difficult.

Perhaps that's why we're so keen on "liberating" other people's countries - and perpetually surprised at their ingratitude.