I was born Mary Patterson, but then I married and naturally took my husband's name, so now I'm Neil Patterson.

Having been an actor and a writer for so long - 20 years or so - I felt that it would be daft to go to one's grave without having directed. It's a natural extension of writing and acting, and so I knew it would happen one day.

You don't sit down and write a wish list about the person you are going to fall violently in love with. It just doesn't work like that.

Old Professors never die, they just lose their faculties.

Enthusiats are used to being mocked, maligned and misunderstood. We don't really mind.

They are just 100 per cent bear, whereas human beings feel we're not 100 per cent human, that we're always letting ourselves down. We're constantly striving towards something, to some fulfilment.

Most of the problem I see amongst friends and I've experienced amongst myself is when people haven't accommodated the inequality that they want, they haven't understood that their partner wants to give more love and receive less or they haven't understood that their partner wants to receive more, but sort of give less.