What's wonderful is to read the different translations - some done in 1600 and some in 1900 - of the same passage. It's fascinating to watch the same tale repeated in such a different way by two different centuries.

But at the same time I went down into the mines with working miners who are still young men, younger than I am, who are aware that their working life is coming to an end and they feel suddenly cut off.

I'd always been a great fan of George Orwell.

I've always been struck by how unsuspicious people are in general, if you tell them what you're about.

The great thing about being a writer is that you are always recreating yourself.

I have another Russian idea, too, with a place and a period, so I guess I have enough to keep me busy for quite some time, especially considering that I'm such a slow writer.

The government is shutting down the coal industry, they say it's cheaper to draw nuclear power off the French grid and cheaper to buy coal from Colombia.

What's wonderful is to read the different translations - some done in 1600 and some in 1900 - of the same passage. It's fascinating to watch the same tale repeated in such a different way by two different centuries.

There is a huge antipathy in England between the north and the south, the working class and the owning class.

The fact is that I loved being in England.

Then there was the whole concept of coal mining, which is a culture unto itself, the most dangerous occupation in the world, and which draws and develops a certain kind of man.

Most people - and particularly people whose lives have nothing to do with books at all - are intrigued by the idea that somebody wants to listen to them and get it right.

I feel very bad about getting things wrong.

I hate to be categorized.

I never thought I would just be doing Arkady books.

Then years back, when I moved to California, I happened to see a book about fashions of 19th-century Victorian England, only four pages of which was devoted to the dress of the working class.

If you take the contempt some Americans have for yuppies and multiply it by 10 you might come close to understanding their attitude towards the City, as they call it - London, the people of the south.

I'm very aware when I'm speaking to the English of how flat my Mid-Atlantic American voice is.

I've got a book of poetry by the bed, one of these big collections that goes back to the Greeks and Romans.

How can any company know if its processes, products, people are safe? Only if everyone is watching and telling the truth. The first part can be assumed; the second cannot.

Defence is our best attack.

Jim Norton and Harland Williams always make me laugh.

It's an incredibly supportive and friendly field. Older people want to foster and help younger people. Which is not true of all creative fields, but it is true of comics, and it is true of radio.

People have talents that are different. Where does the creative flow come from - inside us or from a higher power? I don't ask any questions. I just write it down.

The truth is God created us to have relationship with us. He wants to love us and take care of us, and He wants us to love Him. That's where our walk with Christ has to start.

Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the childs eye it is very beautiful.

I consciously decided not to be a 'London' actor. Those gangster movies made a lot of East End actors think they were movie stars. And I was very aware that they were going to go out of fashion.

I used to think that, when I was a director, I would have a very specific vision of what everything would look like, but now I am more of a camp counselor.

Voting is like alchemy - taking an abstract value and breathing life into it.

Qaddafi is hated because he is the leader of a small country that is rich, but he uses his money to finance liberation struggles.

Enlightenment is a demolition project. It simply shows you that everything you ever believed was true isnt.

Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood.

Find out what you don't want to know about yourself, what you're afraid of.

A jolt is necessary. Europe must reaffirm it values of freedom, solidarity, peace. The EU must be understood and controlled by its citizens. I will do everything to secure profound change rather than decline.

Life comes to the miners out of their deaths, and death out of their lives.

I used to stay up at night and sneak into the TV room, past my parents, who were asleep, to watch Saturday Night's 'Main Event.' That's how I started watching SNL. On accident.

I didn't know who was on the team, but I saw every eye as I walked down the aisle. It looked like a thousand eyes were staring right at me saying, 'Who is this young punk?' I just kept my eyes straight ahead.

If there is any larceny in a man golf will bring it out.

I believe that if you'll just stand up and go, life will open up for you.

I think there are a lot of companies that are staying private longer. Much more of their growth is happening while they are on the private side. So their valuations are hitting $1 billion while they are still private more often.

Musicians are always gigging and never have a chance to stop for a minute.

Singing is my profession - there is no plan B.

If there's anyone who's against Wall Street, it's Donald Trump, not Hillary Clinton, who basically lives off of the funding from Wall Street.