But I love America it’s been good to me

But I love America; it’s been good to me.I’ve read that you’re looking forward to old age. What are you hoping it will bring you? MARK BECKWITH, BY E-MAILA calm The older I get, the steadier I become Being a loose cannon is fun but it’s exhausting I really enjoy the equanimity I equate with getting older. My aspiration is to be more transparent as every day goes by, and I have a long way to go. I like the fact that people know a lot about me from my songs before they meet me.

It means the “getting to know you” phase of the relationship is really short. People do come up to me in the street and talk to me about my life quite often, but it’s more that people come up and share details from their life because they related to my songs.You’ve recently become a US citizen. Premenstrual syndrome always helps – that gets me a little riled. When I’m not in my highest place, when I’m attacked, when anyone says, “Alanis, you should do this…”, I want to backhand them. But I think I’m a lot better at conflict now; my partner would probably attest to that.Do you ever watch the TV shows you made as a child? How do you rate your performance? MARK COLLINS, LONDONOn You Can’t Do That on Television, I played the love interest of the two lead male characters. It was my first experience of getting hate-mail – there were a lot of girls out there who were jealous. I don’t get hate-mail any more about that show, but I still get it, all the time When I watch those shows back, I enjoy them.

I don’t squirm.Do you ever wish the world knew a little less about your personal life? KIRSTEN GREIG, BY E-MAILNo. I kind of lost my mind for a while, but that was because even when I was in my hotel room, people would be waiting outside the door. And then when I came back to my room after a show, people would have been in my room and left notes on my bed, which was gross. When it got really bad, I went off to India for a month and it helped to be slightly anonymous and be my dirty little hippie self for a while. I don’t let the pressure of fame get on top of me any more.Are you still angry? NICOLA CLARK, BY E-MAILSure, it depends when you catch me.

If completed successfully, it will be AIM’s biggest float so far this year.. Humility is not a characteristic one often finds in the UK boardroom. But since angering investors with a surprise £1bn rights issue last October, Prudential’s board appears to be have been on a constant diet of humble pie. He blushed bright red as he conceded the buck should probably stop with him. Fortunately for Mr Wood, he has not been forced to pay for the mistakes with his job, unlike Jonathan Bloomer, the ousted chief executive, and Geraldine Davies, sacked as head of communications.The issue of communication aside, Prudential actually has very little to apologise for. Since raising the money to expand its UK business, sales have gone from strength to strength, with most investors now reluctantly conceding that the cash call was in fact the right move to make to capitalise on a return to saving by the UK public.Reporting first-quarter results yesterday, Prudential showed it is already ahead of the pace as it targets 10 per cent sales growth this year.