I'm often asked if I regret not going to Hollywood. I'm glad I didn't go, because if I had I wouldn't have my extended family, which is the fabric of my life. Only recently have I realised how special and unusual it is.

Too often, older women are seen as victims, but I know lots of formidable women who have marvellous jobs as well as a full erotic life, and children and friends and family.

I am pretty self-indulgent.

Everyone has class, one class or another.

Each decade, I've lived in that decade, so I could easily shed the '20s, the '30s, the '40s.

I'm often asked if I regret not going to Hollywood. I'm glad I didn't go, because if I had I wouldn't have my extended family, which is the fabric of my life. Only recently have I realised how special and unusual it is.

The minute anyone's getting anxious I say, You must eat and you must sleep. They're the two vital elements for a healthy life.