She was already learning that if you ignore the rules people will, half the time, quietly rewrite them so that they don't apply to you.

They can ta'k our lives but they can never ta'k our freedom!' Now there's a battle cry not designed by a clear thinker

The important thing about having lots of things to remember is that you’ve got to go somewhere afterwards where you can remember them, you see? You’ve got to stop. You haven’t really been anywhere until you’ve got back home.

It’s quite easy to accidentally overhear people talking downstairs if you hold an upturned glass to the floorboards and accidentally put your ear to it.

Personally, I think the best motto for an educational establishment is: 'Or Would You Rather Be a Mule?'

The trouble with life was that you didn’t get a chance to practice before doing it for real.

A hardback's harder at Christmas time because that's a good hardback buying time.