So it is best to keep an open mind and be agnostic. At first sight that seems an unassailable position, at least in the weak sense of Pascal's wager. But on second thoughts it seems a cop-out, because the same could be said of Father Christmas and tooth fairies. There may be fairies at the bottom of the garden. There is no evidence for it, but you can't prove that there aren't any, so shouldn't we be agnostic with respect to fairies?

The less you think, the more you believe.

I remember at the age of six regaling my poor little sister with stories about the planets, and how far away they were and which ones might have life.

The world and the universe is an extremely beautiful place, and the more we understand about it the more beautiful does it appear.

When I am dying, I should like my life taken out under general anaesthetic, exactly as if it were a diseased appendix.

But, however many ways there may be of being alive, it is certain that there are vastly more ways of being dead, or rather not alive.

Bereavement is terrible, of course. And when somebody you love dies, it's a time for reflection, a time for memory, a time for regret.