"I don't carry any early childhood trauma around with me, if that's what you're hinting at. The story of the bicycles - and there were three of them which were stolen from me - I've dealt with it well"

"Weak minds sink under prosperity as well as adversity; but strong and deep ones have two high tides"

"Never trust a man who speaks well of everybody"

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body"

"A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost"

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race"

"The League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out"

"If you want to eat well in England, eat three breakfasts"

"My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake"

"One has children in the expectation of dying before them. In fact, you want to make damn sure you die before them, just as you plant a tree or build a house knowing, hoping that it will outlive you. That's how the human species has done as well as it has"

"If you want a thing done well, do it yourself"