You always have to find something to say about the subject and in seven cases out of ten there is nothing to say.

For the most part, French cities are much better preserved and looked after than British cities, because the bourgeoisie, the people who run the cities, have always lived centrally, which has only recently begun to happen in big cities in England. Traditionally in England, people who had any money would live out in the suburbs. Now, increasingly, people with money live in the cities, but this has changed only in the last 20 or so years.

I'm a very, very unreckless person. I mean, I look left, I look right, I look left, I look right, then I repeat the process and then I decide not to cross the road at the last minute.

When I started writing fiction it always seemed in retrospect (I didn't realise at the time) that it was always caused by environments rather than by incidents and characters.

Brummies run themselves down, they're very self-deprecating. Whereas Yorkshire people certainly aren't.

I don't believe in synergy. I believe that things have to be specific to the medium that they're in.

I wasn't a keen taker of speed because I didn't like the comedown from it.