All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He told stories very easily and very generously, so I loved him for that. He was a simple man, a Victorian; he was born in 1890-something. He saw no reason and had never seen any reason to question his Christian faith. His faith was strong and simple and that's it. And I, like his other grandchildren and the children in his parish, sheltered underneath it.

For a long time I thought I was a poet, but that's a high title to claim.

You cannot change what you are, only what you do.

The fairy tale is in a perpetual state of becoming and alteration. To keep to one version or one translation alone is to put robin redbreast in a cage.

What is worth having is worth working for.

A murderer was a worthy companion.

After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.