However light-hearted you try to be about it, the loss of youth, and everything that goes with it, is quite a trauma.

I'm not sure how aware of the rest of the world I am. I live a rather sheltered existence

I'm currently in an interesting correspondence with a nun about forgiveness

A lot of gay men have a lot of sex. That's what we do. But I've stopped all that-the revolving door into my bedroom. Promiscuity. That was of its day, really.

It was all about wanting to get revenge. Pathetic, really, but it still is the motivation.

I thought a dignified thing to do would be to live in the country by the time I'm 50 and write books

I knew that this was what I wanted to talk about on stage. There was no point being coy about it, or pretending that I wasn't gay. That was the substance of my whole act. If you took that away, there would be nothing left