I'm not really an adventurer - I have to be uprooted; maybe I'm just lazy.3) To see my grandchildren succeed in life and be happyFemale, 69, NW England1) To become an "enlightened man" - a self-realised individual.2) To become an accomplished jazz guitarist and play in public for money.3) To practice and teach meditation and/or healthy living.Male, 46, East Anglia1) Good jobs for my two daughters.2) Clean water all over the world.3) For humanity to be free from man-made disasters.Female, 61, NW England1) A house in Glastonbury.2) A gentle death.3) A clear, incremental decrease in materialism.Male, 48, SE England1) Health for me and the people I love.2) Peace in the world.3) To feel that I am always doing the right thing.Female, 29, London1) To make a film.2) To have a roof of my own.3) To feel like I belong.Female, 51, SW England1) To regain my driving licence.2) To become very wealthy.3) To find a job that I enjoy doing.Male, 43, NW England1) To be in a romantic, loving relationship with someone.2) To be fulfilled by my job.3) To identify the skills that I really have and develop them to their full potential.Female, 42, London1) That my grandsons go on to lead fulfilling lives.2) That we honour the earth better in future.3) That someone invents non-fattening chocolate.Female, 71, Yorkshire1) I wish I had some cats.2) I wish that I had more time to see my friends.3) I wish that I could play my flute in an orchestra.Female, 27, London1) I wish I could find some way of persuading Israel and the Palestinians to enter into a just and lasting settlement.2) I wish I could end the postcode lottery of healthcare treatment in this country.3) I wish I could remember where I left my spectacles.Sir Menzies Campbell, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats and the party's foreign affairs spokesman1) More time to do the things I'd like to do.2) Enough money to cover my monthly outgoings.3) A helicopter.Male, 23, Scotland1) To be wise.2) An animal uprising - they would take over the world.3) I'd save this wish for emergencies.Female,30, Yorkshire1) For there to be an extra day between Tuesday and Wednesday called "Pluday", which would be a day of leisure.2) That there was a statue of the pop group Sparks placed in a field somewhere.3) For a machine which allows the user to select an age to be, ie "today I'll be 27".Male, 46, NW EnglandThe first wish you should always wish for is to have as many wishes as you like, obviously. I'm a little bit scared of death and I don't like surprises.3) World peace, of course. But good world peace, where everyone is really tolerant of each other, not bad world peace, where we're all ruled by a madman.Eddie Argos, lead singer of Art Brut1) I wish I was more positive in my thoughts about my life and also my surroundings.2) I wish I was less envious of people and what they have.3) I wish I could be more organised and less cluttered.Male, 59, SW England.1) To find a man who makes me laugh and start a family with him.2) To do my job the best I can always.3) To be happy.Female, 29, SW England.1) Good job.2) Nice house.3) Good family.Male, under 20, NE England.1) A pink bunch of flowers.2) To be a nurse.3) A new pair of shoes.Female, under 20, SE England.1) For the people of the world to stop killing each other - what is the matter with them?2) To visit New Zealand. Actually this is like two wishes in one because I also wish I could speak Dutch so that when I did meet Van Gogh I could actually have a conversation with him. Can that count as one wish?2) I wish I could find out what happens to you after you die. Backwards and forwards.3) A modest mansion, perhaps with Helen Mirren serving the cocktails.Grant Nicholas, lead singer of Feeder1) I wish I could meet Van Gogh. Love is all you need."You can make your wish at www.3wishesforthefuture 1) The power to heal - whether to heal all the world's problems, or perhaps just somebody's haemorrhoids.2) To be able to travel through time.
"Listening to people talk about their wishes," says McKie, "it feels as though the Beatles were right. People may have problems caused by money, but wishing is more emotional."Ultimately, people want to be happy. "When you read the wishes, then you get a real sense of the person and what they are wishing for, particularly if they are handwritten If you summarise the wishes, they become bland. She is willing, though, to make a few broad-brush conclusions. Health, McKie contends, is an issue for everyone, but wealth is more complex "Only a few want to win the lottery. There are some wishes about money but they are about security rather than being rich. "I wish I was normal"; "I wish for a nice house"; and the winner - "I wish for a dog/lion mix that is house-broken".But McKie is cautious about extrapolating too much hard data from her wish cards.
If it is so difficult to persuade an adult to wish in the first place, she argues, they are hardly likely to do it if everyone knows their name.What has emerged from McKie's tour of Britain's childlike id is a strangely touching collection of the predictable and the bizarre. There are the usual Miss World-esque requests for "world peace" and "everyone to be equal" But there are also wishes for more selfish things. It's either too difficult or they worry about making the wrong choice."Kids are brilliant at it. They seem to have a constant list of wishes and can answer very quickly, but thoughtfully.
