'I seem to have banged on this year rather more than usual I make no apology for that nor am I nervous that it will it make a jot of difference I shall still be thought to be kindly cosy & essentially harmless I am in the pigeon-hole marked 'no threat' & did I stab Judi Dench with a pitchfork I should still be a teddy bear' Alan Bennett's third collection of prose Keeping On Keeping On follows in the footsteps of the phenomenally successful Writing Home & Untold Stories each published ten years apart This latest collection contains Bennett's peerless diaries 2005 to 2015 reflecting on a decade that saw four premieres at the National Theatre (The Habit of Art People Hymn & Cocktail Sticks) a West End double-bill transfer & the films of The History Boys & The Lady in the Van There's a provocative sermon on private education given before the University at King's College Chapel Cambridge & ' Baffled at a Bookcase' offers a passionate defence of the public library This is an engaging humane sharp funny & unforgettable record of life according to the inimitable Alan Bennett