Computers tend to separate us from each other - Mum's on the laptop, Dad's on the iPad, teenagers are on Facebook, toddlers are on the DS, and so on.

The terrible thing about the internet and Amazon is that they take the magic and happy chaos out of book shopping. The internet might give you what you want, but it won't give you what you need.

The art of living is the art of bringing dreams and reality together.

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.

In a world where you are constantly asked to be 'committed,' it is liberating to give yourself the license to be a dilettante. Commit to nothing. Try everything.

There is nothing so perfect as pinball and a pint at 11 a.m.

My idea of childcare at festivals is to sit at a trestle table with an ale while the kids run around and make up their own games.

I count it as a certainty that in paradise, everyone naps.

When the going gets tough, the tough take a nap.

Pain will never leave us. Instead of putting energy into destroying pain, we need to put energy into creating pleasure.

Beauty, pleasure, freedom and plenty of sleep: these are the hallmarks of a successful idler's break. Travel should not be hard work.

The Soul's knowledge is lovingly gifted, just as you are presented with gifts - from those you love.

Without a doubt the two best words in the English language are The End

To have something does not mean to understand it.

I never had the high-paying job or the company car. It took me over a decade to pay off my student loans. I never had to worry about where to dock my yacht to reduce my taxes.

A wise man who cultivates wisdom may sometimes drown in it.

We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we would wish them to be.

We shall see but a little way if we require to understand what we see.

It is important to learn how to take criticism seriously, but not personally.

There is no art form that has so much in common with film as music. Both affect our emotions directly, not via the intellect.

This big fat woman bumped me on the floor, she was rarin' to go, she was rarin' to go. Then she did a dip, I almost broke my hip.