I wrote my earliest piece for The Sunday Times about being a young wife.

Without doubt, keep a diary. From the day you're born, keep a diary, because we all forget things so quickly.

I think we ought to have a kindness year, or a kindness century.

There is something infinitely dingy about the word workshop. Pray that England doesn't become a nation of workshopkeepers.

The letter of application ... should be a masterpiece of fiction, papering over all the cracks. Get it properly typed on decent writing paper. Never let it run over the page, people get bored with reading.

If you feel compelled to give a New Year's Eve party, don't invite people to arrive too early or they'll go off the boil before midnight.

in a village you can't sack or fight with someone, as you'll find yourself stuck beside them in the hairdresser's next morning.