It now seems an age ago that Charlie Jones used to push me back home. We used to go out in the evenings, to brandies or wherever, and she used to push me back, singing. Often I used to look up and the sky would be clear, and I would see a billion stars, and I used to wonder.

I always have wondered whether we are alone in the galaxy. The earth cannot be the only inhabited planet. That’s why I find the stars so beautiful, so mystical. They are symbols of human potential – goals for us to try to reach. Tomorrow, of course, sees the return of star trek to cinema screens – the franchise which reminds us all of what we can be. It is the reason why I look up; and star trek, more or less, is why I still have faith in humanity. If humankind is ever to progress, we must forget our childish fights, our dependence on wealth, our differences, and we must work as one. we must all work together towards a goal: the final frontier, in more ways than one.