The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions- 'it wasn't Jezebels fault, Dad.'

A teddy bear does not depend upon mechanics to give him the semblance of life. He is loved - and therefore he lives.

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

It's hard to be responsible, adult and sensible all the time. How good it is to have a sister whose heart is as young as your own.

Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause most inconvenience.

We shared. Parents. Home. Pets. Celebrations. Catastrophes. Secrets. And the threads of our experience became so interwoven that we are linked. I can never be utterly lonely, knowing you share the planet.

The courage of very ordinary people is all that stands between us and the dark.