When I was younger I always had a dark navy, black tie and everybody would look at me like it was odd, but now it is de rigueur. I'm sure it's my input.

Like everyone I slipped into adulthood like a delinquent through the back door.

When you became a student at Oxford you realized both your own mortality, in the flow of this near-millennium of students, and also the small particle of immortality that attaches to you when you begin to belong to an immortal place.

Are you going to give a speech?' she asked gaily. He gave a choked laugh. 'Of course not,' he said. 'Not for ages.' 'My cousin Davey gave one on his very first day!' ... 'In the Lords, I remember. It was about how he didn't like strawberry jam.' 'Be nice, Charles! It was a speech about fruit importation, which I admit devolved into something of a tirade.' She couldn't help but laugh. 'Still, you could talk about something more important.' 'Than jam? Impossible. We mustn't set the bar too high, Jane.

Her strength was in the integrity of her actions; she never compromised what she believed she ought to do.

‎He often envied people who hadn't read his favourite books. They had such happiness before them.

When you're my age, you'll see that it is wiser to make your own decisions than let time make decisions for you.