When you go for a walk, take seeds with you, poppies, rainbow chard, rocket. Plant them among the weeds in patches of wasteland. See what happens.

Idleness for me is not a giving up on life but a spirited grabbing hold of it.

It will soon be difficult to put up a shelf without a degree in shelf putting up.

The idea of a government is to create an ordered, willing work force where there's no trouble. I think idlers are generally seen as potentially dangerous because they're asking questions.

Guilt is also a way for us to express to others that we are a person of good conscience. 'I feel really guilty about getting drunk last night,' we say, when in actual fact we feel no guilt whatsoever or, at least, we could choose to feel no guilt. When people say to me, 'I drank too much last night,' I always reply, 'I drank exactly the right amount.

Our dreams take us into other worlds, alternative realities that help us make sense of day-to-day realities.

When the day comes, I remember how much I loathe flying. I seethe at the humiliation of airport security checks.