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I think there's something very dark in the South African psyche. I think we live a lot of the time in a state of a very low-grade civil war; the levels of violence in South Africa are extremely high. In a way, the civil war that never happened is being played out in a covert way, so we live with a lot of very ugly things.

One of the things about being raised British in Africa is that you get this double whammy of toughness. The continent in place itself made you quite tough. And then you've got this British mother whose entire being rejects 'coddling' in case it makes you too soft. So there's absolutely nothing standing between you and a fairly rough experience.

Africa is no more this poor continent. It's on the march.

Nobody will deny that there is at least some roughness everywhere.

I grew up in different parts of Africa. I grew up in Mozambique and places like that. I've been in South Africa many times.

Life is rough for a lot of people. Some people live in greater material circumstances than others, but life is rough for everybody.

Africa doesn't leap on you immediately; it seeps slowly, and it's incredibly important to be respectful and humble there.

Africa has been troubled for a long time - well, the world has been troubled ever since I was born.

Johannesburg is weird, because half of it is like Los Angeles. It feels like just wealthy parts of L.A. But half of it is severe slummy, something like Rio De Janiero or something. So it's kind of weird, because it's both happening at the same time.

One of the things I love about Africa is the amount of dignity and respect and humility you see all the time. You don't realise how often you're disrespected until you are surrounded by respect.