Dear Noam,

I spent just one hour with you - well, actually I managed to stretch it out to an hour an a half - three years ago, when I interviewed you about John F Kennedy. I remember with great clarity virtually the whole of that interview, and in sequence, and I remember how on several occasions you made me reassess the questions I was asking. In that brief encounter I learnt not just about the subject of our discussion, but important lessons about precision, truth and the importance of selecting the questions one asks.

Others have commented on your extraordinary readiness to take time to reply personally to emails, and this has been my experience, too. I have had occasion to write to you on several occasions since we met, and each time you replied with courtesy and a clear desire to help.

It is hard for me to realise that you are about to turn 80 - your approach to life remains so fresh and spirited.

I wish you and your family great happiness at this time, and many more years of combative optimism.