A bag of apples, a pot of homemade jam, a scribbled note, a bunch of golden flowers, a coloured pebble, a box of seedlings, an empty scent bottle for the children. . . . Who needs diamonds and van-delivered bouquets?

For the sake of the sons - and even for the son's future wives - a woman must keep a part of her mind and heart entirely for herself. Every family is better off with a wife and mother who can astonish and occasionally dewilder.

Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you're just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric.

If you've only one breath left, use it to say thank you.

Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, singers of songs.

In a world gone bad, a bear - even a bear standing on its head - is a comforting, uncomplicated, dependable hunk of sanity.

The work of a garden bears visible fruits-in a world where most of our labours seem suspiciously meaningless.