I cannot bear the language TV chefs use - they don't seem able to look at a plate of vegetables without accusing it of sexual activity.

I was walking across King's Cross station when a drunken Irishman came stumbling up and flung his arms around me. He wanted to thank me for the peace process in Northern Ireland.

My cat did that the other day when he came in from the garden.

I think the rest of the world will think we're made, and indeed we are. We've turned out the greatest Prime Minister in the post war years simply because of short term nerves.

In politics there is no right answer - and no final answer.

For years I had been disillusioned by the Church of England's compromising on everything. The Catholic Church doesn't care if something is unpopular.

The instant you say All Quiet On The Western Front people remember that great 20th century classic book on war, a book about a school boy turned into a soldier overnight.

I stay on terra firma: the more firm, the less terror.

The abuse of children is the worst offence that anybody can commit.

When you forgive, you are freed from some of the feelings of disapproval and it can contribute to lessening your negative thoughts.

Despite the success cult, men are most deeply moved not by the reaching of the goal but by the grandness of the effort involved in getting there - or failing to get there.

Priceless things matter not for their value, but because they offer us an enduring reminder of stability and permanence.

Oh, America! I could never leave you! You're like my dog, dumb as a post but you make me laugh!

No matter how complicated a problem is, it usually can be reduced to a simple, comprehensible form which is often the best solution.

A society is in decay, final or transitional, when common sense really becomes uncommon.

You must walk alone to find your soul.

Who shrinks from knowledge of his calamities but aggravates his fear; troubles half seen, shall torture all the more.