Mrs twm got first dibs at a question and asked why he had become so prolific of late. He answered at some length - [1] he used a laptop, so didn't lose odd bits of potential lyric (which is what happened when he wrote on scraps of paper here and there), [2] when on tour, he tended to move straight on to the new place after a show and had more time to write, [3] he was more mature in his approach to writing and, to paraphrase, more professional in that, when younger, he had a more cavalier approach, not worrying whether a good idea was lost or not. Some time during the event, either in the main part or the Q&A, he said he had up to 80 potential lyrics on his laptop at any one time. [Perhaps others who were there would correct any of this, if I've got it wrong.
I didn't ask the questions I had "up my sleeve" - partly because mrs twm had asked hers and it seemed a bit greedy, as it were, and partly because I had resolved to allow the real MK fans to ask theirs and only to pipe up if the supply of questions ran dry, which didn't happen. My two (unasked) questions were: [1] given you have these songs now, when are we likely to get a Mark Knopfler Bootleg Series release, and, [2] since you've played with all these musicians you admire, and whose work you admire, why haven't you ever released a "covers" album in your own name?