Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Presidents at the end of their second term - Reagan with the Iran-contra affair, Clinton with Monica Lewinsky - often find they are bedevilled by hostile Congressional investigations.
It does seem to me that the British in particular, British horticultural literature and television programmes, focus a huge amount on how we garden and hardly at all on why we garden.
For me the best food in the world is New British. It's quite classical cooking with really simple but good-quality ingredients. I also like top-end restaurants and pub grub done well.
Nice girls at school whose fathers owned a Volvo were unapproachable and probably condemned to spinsterhood for all time, simply because no one had the courage to advance up the drive.
Someone once told me that I was 12 inside. The only thing 12-year-olds crave is more Lego. Lego is fun; it's therapeutic. It's a beautiful sensation when you click the pieces together.
I've realized that no problem is as hopeless as it first may seem, I've learned how to live day to day and show others how to do the same, and most of all, I've learned how to just be.
The idea that so many kids eat rubbish and sit on computers all day long appals me and getting them into sport is a major way of getting them off computers and leading healthier lives.
I don't usually eulogise about people, but I saw Russell Brand doing stand-up before he was really high profile. I didn't really know what to expect but I laughed until my belly ached.
A man's worth is measured by how he parents his children. What he gives them, what he keeps away from them, the lessons he teaches and the lessons he allows them to learn on their own.
Sometimes the scariest things in life aren’t the Vampires and the Werewolves, sometimes there are things even God doesn’t want to know about. Which is why he created the Devil's Roses.
My life has been a happy accident. Anybody who succeeds in anything should count their lucky stars, because that's the biggest element. It's not hard work; it's not necessarily talent.
I grew up as a Muslim: it was quite a conservative upbringing; I didn't wear mini-skirts. But my mum and dad had a good sense of humour and were creative. I guess all of that shaped me.
You see these shuffling rows of shiny faces, waiting for their turn, so they're very dedicated to the program and desperate to know what it is they've got - so often, they have no idea.
My husband John's and my breaks are often very culture heavy. He cannot pass a museum without venturing inside, so we tend to see a lot of architecture and so-called places of interest.
I live in a constant state of gratitude, thankfulness, and appreciation for the second chance I was given, so anytime in any film, when that is given to someone, I always appreciate it.
There is a common British delusion that we 'understand' America. We don't. Watching 'Friends' listening to Bruce Springsteen, eating at McDonald's and visiting Disneyland does not do it.
It's easy to motivate a client when they are sitting on a bench right in front of you, but the real challenge for a trainer is to have that motivation exist even when you are not around.
Whether it's NASCAR or whether it's football, or whether it's the NBA, any time something spills over to the point where somebody makes a WWE reference, I always think it's a good thing.
Tennis is a battle of the minds, just as much as it is a battle of playing ability. Trying to expose your opponent's weaknesses is one of the most vital and fascinating facets of tennis.
I'd earned enough money, I had a flat in Wimbledon, I did some corporate things, but I was really unhappy. After being challenged all my life, suddenly there were no challenges any more.
I do sillier things sober, to be honest. I'm quite a silly person. Freya pulled my skirt up in a shop other day, I could've killed her - not literally, of course. But that was her not me.
The horticultural industry is unimaginative and dominated by vast, supermarket-like outlets. But the small nurseries and growers remain - praise them with your wallets, not your memories.
I feel like I'm back in business now, and I'm managing pretty well as a single mum. I've proved to myself I can do it. You come out the other end and think, 'Wow, I'm pretty good at this!'
The part inside the ropes, the part where people decide if it's a good match or a bad match, that's the part that I take very, very, very, very, very seriously and that I respect the most.
I don't make the mistake of thinking it's a major musical event. I love the Eurovision Song Contest and it will continue long after I'm gone. Just please don't ask me to take it seriously.
I would say weightlifting - this methodical act that results in physical and mental feelings of strength, capability, accomplishment - has absolutely had a massive ripple effect on my life.
I was actually born in the front bedroom while my dad sat on the wall outside, feeling sick. Twenty minutes after my mother gave birth, she went downstairs and made my old man a cup of tea.
My parents grew up in a village where they didn't even have running water. They are first generation immigrants who are proof that arranged marriages can work, although I wouldn't want one.
What I definitely don't like is people calling me or any of my siblings spoilt because we're not. We are privileged but my parents have never given us wads of cash or designer bags or shoes.
The British have a unique relationship with horses. They are etched into our landscape in chalk, they have been written about, painted, sung about, celebrated and gambled upon for centuries.
Let me say it up front: I don't like bad hair or capes. I'm not into witches, warlocks or elves. I would never try to claim prog rock is cool. But I love it. And I know I'm not the only one.
My parents are proof that arranged marriages can work. It is a great part of my culture but I grew up in a completely different place, so I wouldn't want anyone to arrange a marriage for me.
I am not saying celebrity chefs don't encourage children to cook. However, their programmes are so entertaining, you end up stuffing your face with Pot Noodles instead of learning from them.
When I returned to wrestling, I went back a changed man. I had adopted a new way of thinking. All I wanted was for God to help me be a good witness on the platform He had brought me back to.
Oh, I'm a great believer in the power of the pause. Radio is a bit brasher now. My style was slower. I just used to go in, open the microphone and say the first thing that came into my head.
Mum and Dad started 'This Morning' the year I was born, so I was aware from a young age that they were famous. People would come up to us at Sunday lunch and say how much they liked the show.
I sort of felt like the runt of the litter. My brother was just great. If you gave him a cricket bat he'd score 100. If he walked into a party he'd pull the best-looking girl. He was my hero.
There is so much wonder and joy in science, about understanding how the world works and why the world is the way it is. It's not just for academics. It is a thing that's available to everyone.
You don't have to be musician to listen to music, and you don't have to be a filmmaker to go to the cinema, but somehow when we think of science, we think of it only as an academic discipline.
What mattered in the cold war was weight - how big are your missiles? How heavy are your tanks? What matters in globalisation is speed. How fast is your modem? How good are you communications?
I think that allowing the nation to become so ignorant about food has been such a backward step - and to be honest I don't think there should be a School Food Trust. It shouldn't be necessary.
Even though I wrestled Ric Flair very early on in my career, it was a short match, so getting to wrestle him later on in my career was a benchmark. Wrestling Hulk Hogan was a benchmark for me.
I remember my mum saying to me, 'You can give up the violin - when you've done Grade 8.' Which is the highest grade, and the most unfair target ever. So I did all the grades, just to annoy her.
My mum is your archetypal Asian mum, always feeding people. If there was no food in the cupboard, she'd still manage to rustle up a feast - Bangladeshi food such as pilau rice, curry and korma.
I went through a phase where I dressed a bit provocatively when I was a teenager and I don't think my mum was too thrilled. But my dad held the line of, 'Well she will grow out of it' and I did.
A friend of mine - one of the rugby girlfriends - got qualified to do lip stuff and she was like: 'I'm gonna do it for free, do you want to do it?' And I'd always wanted to try it so I said yes.
If, as statistics suggest, millennials' diets are more plant-based than ever, and we continue to bring up our kids to eat less or no meat, the future could be bright - the future could be vegan.
I like to wear things that don't need ironing. It seems a fundamental design flaw when clothing needs ironing. There are loads of fabrics these days that don't need ironing, so I stick to those.
Me and my husband think the internet is a really positive thing. We know games that have taught our children problem-solving skills but that doesn't mean we are going to say play 'Call of Duty.'
A column is a curiously intimate affair. For a start, you know by default that you will have regular readers, so it gives the writer the privilege of continuing a running conversation with them.