I will never forget those days back in the early eighties when Sydney, one of the rare and only black TV presenters who appeared on the green screen on Saturday afternoons, used to put some funky atmosphere in every household.

Just like me, she might have been approached by the French authorities, often using academic researchers for their own political aims. Unlike me she might have accepted to play the game and confounded academic research with spying on behalf of the French embassy and consulate.

The Malian actor Sotigui Kouyaté, who has died aged 73, was an important bridge between African and western culture for 40 years. He was best known for his collaborations with the director Peter Brook, in whose work he demonstrated an extraordinary range.

« I have visited many countries in Europe but what I like about this country …..» I so wished I could just have said the same thing about the country in which I was born.