ifeel a huge identity with, for example, the great national hero, the good soldier, svej k. svejkorship and autocracy by pretending to be an idiot, and saying, "i am an idiot." and there's something about that defensive strategy which i find very, very attractive. you say you're british, do you feel european? i feel intensely european. one of the reasons that i'm now applying for my czech passport, which of course i never had, but i never abandoned czech citizenship, is that i do not want to be cut out from europe if, i would say, the worst comes to the worst, and britain leaves the eu. i am intensely european. i travel there a great deal. european culture in all its aspects... and it's notjust my culture. it's britain's culture, for heaven's sake. you know, britain is part of europe. and i don't want to be cut off from that in any way at all. it's a glory and a privilege. and yet, the picture of the country that you portray here is, for all its difficulties, for example here at the bbc or in funding for the arts, which you are intensely passionate about, it's nonetheless a rich,