To be the first to enter the cosmos, to engage, single-handed, in an unprecedented duel with nature-could one dream of anything more?

When I orbited the Earth in a spaceship, I saw for the first time how beautiful our planet is. Mankind, let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!

Looking at the earth from afar you realize it is too small for conflict and just big enough for co-operation.

I see Earth! It is so beautiful.

Circling the earth in the orbital spaceship I marvelled at the beauty of our planet. People of the world!! Let us safeguard and enhance this beauty-not destroy it

The Earth is blue... how wonderful. It is amazing

I could have gone on flying through space forever.

The path of a cosmonaut is not an easy, triumphant march to glory. You have to get to know the meaning not just of joy but also of grief, before being allowed in the spacecraft cabin.

If all those people are getting wet to welcome me, surely the least I can do is get wet too!

I am watching the Earth. The visibility is good. I feel well and cheerful. The machine is functioning normally.

I feel fine. How about you?

Capitalism is a social system where the health and security of a nation are compromised for corporate gain.

Values reflect what is important to the way you live and work.

No one can train you to be famous. How do you deal with the loss of anonymity, the loss of privacy? You have to be disciplined.

Little boys have amazing minds.

Sometimes it's more difficult to do very simple, low-key films.

Home life is best for me. But I do enjoy the company of good friends whether from long ago or newer friends who only know me as George, not the ex-Beatle.

Well, unless you're Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan, you need the full support of your team.

You'll never find your gold on a sandy beach.

What capital I give for the spade merely replaces what the manufacturer had already invested in the expectation that the spade would be needed.