I'm mad about gardening. I have an allotment on the other side of Hampstead Heath, and I keep three hens in my garden.

I'm mad about gardening. I have an allotment on the other side of Hampstead Heath, and I keep three hens in my garden.

I was never a lonely child who sat looking at the rain sliding down the window.

Whatever you do they will love you; even if they don't love you they are connected to you till you die. You can be boring and tedious with -sisters, whereas you have to put on a good face with friends.

Discover the times when you're most creative - mornings, nights, afternoons - and clear the time to work then. Many writers find the mornings are best, and the afternoons are only good for editorial corrections, or getting the washing done. Others can only work through the night, drunk.

When I was young, I couldnt imagine women of 60 falling in love. For one thing, people used to stay married; they werent out in the jungle, searching for romance. Besides, these women just looked so ancient - permed hair, beige cardis.

You keep your past by having sisters. As you get older, they're the only ones who don't get bored if you talk about your memories.