[On Malcolm Muggeridge:] He thinks he was knocked off his horse by God, like St. Paul on the road to Damascus. His critics think he simply fell off it from old age.

Things a mother should know: how to comfort a son without exactly saying Daddy was wrong.

The case against censoring anything is absolute: ... nothing that could be censored can be so bad in its effects, in the long run, as censorship itself.

I used to think the only use for sport was to give small boys something else to kick besides me.

Children and zip fasteners do not respond to force ... except occasionally.

In my next life I want to be a pessimist. Then other people could spend all their time cheering me up.

a perfectly managed Christmas correct in every detail is, like basted inside seams and letters answered by return, a sure sign of someone who hasn't enough to do.