I don't think in my family anyone looked after anyone. It didn't matter how old they were.

Once, the parental bed collapsed because all the children sat on it at once.

My mother felt it was time that I had some parental control, so I went off to America and went to New York.

I had a place in England and was commuting from England to Australia, which is pretty stupid, but after two years I sort of knew what I wanted to do, more or less.

I sort of was good at writing essays. I was never very good at mathematics, and I was never very good at algebra. I loved science, but I wasn't sure of it.

I had a quick ear and could pick up languages.

It was a very odd household, because the grandmothers were so different. Both of them had their own pianos. So it would be duelling pianos by grandmothers.