My grandmother played the piano, and I used to toddle over there and pick out little things that sounded good to me.

Love or not, I wouldn't subject a wife to the road. It's punishment.

I'll live a lush life in some small dive.

My grandmother played the piano, and I used to toddle over there and pick out little things that sounded good to me.

Romance is mush, stifling those who strive.

All music is beautiful.

You're in a mess, and in excess.

In order to play and write, it's unique - you either do one or the other.

If you want something hard enough, it just gets done.

Ever up and onward.

A Train was born without any effort - if was like writing a letter to a friend.

I think everything should happen at halfway to dawn. That's when all the heads of government should meet. I think everybody would fall in love.

I'm not fit company for man or beast.

Ninety-nine percent of television shows, I've never seen.

Salt is the difference between eating in Technicolor and eating in black and white.

What the world needs is an Emergency Boss. An Emergency Czar. An Emergency Commander. A true Master Of Disaster. One person completely responsible for the anticipation, immediate reconnaissance, and urgent execution of rescue and relief efforts around the world.

Israel, the Jewish state, the only democracy in the Middle East, continues to shine as a beacon of light in the darkest region of the world.

If you go to a big city anywhere in the world and you need a doctor, just ask me. I can tell you who's good and who's bad. I've even considered writing a guidebook.

I think that is a better thing than thanksgiving: thanks-living. How is this to be done? By a general cheerfulness of manner, by an obedience to the command of Him by whose mercy we live, by a perpetual, constant delighting of ourselves in the Lord, and by a submission of our desires to His will.

The best accessories a girl can have are her closest friends.

So for a year I spent all my time hiding from Jack Charlton in the car park practising my skills.

I'm an outdoorsman kind of person, so I don't like the buzz of the crowd, crowd, crowd and all that so much. I mean I don't mind it, but I don't seek it out.

The government is tottering. We must deal it the death blow an any cost. To delay action is the same as death.

Pick your battles.

I simply think that water is the image of time, and every New Year's Eve, in somewhat pagan fashion, I try to find myself near water, preferably near a sea or an ocean, to watch the emergence of a new helping, a new cupful of time from it.

I've always felt that what I have going for me is not my imagination, because everyone has an imagination. What I have is a relentlessly controlled imagination. What looks like wild invention is actually quite carefully calculated.

The job of mayor of London is unbelievably taxing, particularly in the run-up to the Olympics.

Fame is a modern phenomenon caused by the explosion of media, where there's a zillion digital channels and snappers everywhere. It's so attainable, so people can have their Warhol 15 minutes of fame, and some are so aggressive.

To abandon oneself to principles is really to die “ and to die for an impossible love which is the contrary of love.

'Supercentenarian' is the term used by longevity experts to signify a near numerical impossibility: those who've outpaced 99.9999 percent of the population and landed in the 110+ Club.

'Sanctus' was done on speculation. I had no agent or publisher. I was being sensible, I suppose, by writing a standalone novel. I figured if that one didn't work, no one would be interested in reading a sequel.

Teamwork everything is one. You can connect with the emptiness of all things. All things are empty.

It's really interesting working in television as opposed to the theater, where you know the arc of the character and you are able to create this whole backstory.

When life hands you lemons... squeeze them into some sweet iced tea and thank God you were born a southern girl!

In all my science fiction movies, I try to blend the familiar with the futuristic so as not to be too off-putting to the audience. There is always something familiar they can grab onto.

I love anything that gets me outside of my own head.

The optimist underestimates how difficult it is to achieve real change, believing that anything is possible and it's possible now. Only by confronting head-on the reality that all progress is going to be obstructed by vested interests and corrupted by human venality can we create realistic programmes that actually have a chance of success.