I have nothing against undertakers personally. It's just that I wouldn't want one to bury my sister.

You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty.

Gracious dying is a huge, macabre and expensive joke on the American public.

[On the United States:] A nation which does not appreciate that the simple elocution exercise 'Merry Mary married hairy Harry' contains not one but three vowel sounds.

Objectivity? I've always had an objective.

Picking other people's brains is an art worth cultivating.

Things on the whole are much faster in America; people don't 'stand for election', they 'run for office.'

Enemies are, to me, as important as friends in my life, and when they die I mourn their passing.

The character and mentality of the keepers may be of more importance in understanding prisons than the character and mentality of the kept.

Growing up in the English countryside seemed an interminable process. Freezing winter gave way to frosty spring, which in turn merged into chilly summer-but nothing ever, ever happened.

Society created the prison in its own image; will history, with its penchant for paradox, reverse those roles?

The eyes are the true reflection of a man's age and sensibilities.

You use your money to buy privacy because during most of your life you aren't allowed to be normal.

When I do an operation, it's half a dozen people. When it goes beautifully, it's like a symphony, with everybody playing their part.

Undoubtedly, at the moment, the major cause of CO2 emission is what happens in developed countries.

Everyone, whether he is self-denying or self-indulgent, is seeking after the Beloved. Every place may be the shrine of love, whether it be mosque or synagogue.

What's that?" "That's my attack poodle.

I had a bad experience on Ned Kelly, which I'd written the screenplay for. I thought: "Well Jesus, if these are the type of people directing movies I might as well direct one myself!"

Most directors prefer to direct everything themselves. I thought I could on Lord Of The Rings, but very quickly found out that the sheer scale prevented it.

I lived to write, and wrote to live.

When we love there is no reason why.