Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I was a car journalist when I started on 'Top Gear.' It was all about cars. And then it all spun out of all control, and we turned into figures of ridicule to keep the viewers happy. It's a fair deal, I suppose.
That first snowdrop, the flowering of the rose you pruned, a lettuce you grew from seed, the robin singing just for you. These are smallthings but all positive, all healing in a way that medicine tries to mimic.
No apple is reliably self-fertile, so each tree needs a pollinator. A neighbour may well have an apple that will do that for you, but it is better to always plant at least two trees to be certain of pollination.
The biggest misconception is that I'm only a documentary filmmaker, but in fact I have made many narrative shorts. My biggest inspirations are narrative films, and that's ultimately where I see myself going next.
Blackthorn has wicked spikes that are highly brittle and tend to snap off under the skin and then fester horribly. This means that they can only really be part of a hedge that you do not want to get too close to.
Any British household with a scrap of land has always grown herbs for the kitchen. From the superb monastic herb gardens down to the humblest cottage, a supply of fresh herbs would have been considered essential.
A Final Say referendum on the Brexit that actually lies in front of us will give everyone a tangible and decisive vote. I and most people, Brexiteers and Remainers alike, want the same thing - the best for the UK.
I went to the Sorbonne in Paris for two years and read all the classics by authors like Victor Hugo and Guy de Maupassant. I was supposed to read them in French but I cheated and used the English versions instead.
I was born an optimist, as I always say. If I wake up in the morning with a pain in my chest, I'll always assume it's indigestion. It will probably be the end of me! But it's true - that's the kind of person I am.
People who are successful should never forget that it's 90 per cent luck. You've got to be an eejit to be an egomaniac. I had my glory years - 'Blankety Blank,' the talk show, when I was winning every award going.
I have never understood the clamour for waif-like women whose flesh acts merely as a thin veil for their bones - much as I would love to be thinner, I would hate to take it so far that I had no actual shape at all.
I see pictures of myself BB - before Botox - and I see the ones after and I am happy. I am on television 1,500 times a year and it is a very small way, and a safe way, of looking a little bit better than I used to.
James is a domineering alpha male which is why I'm so attracted to him and why I sometimes hate him. And I'm a mouthy broad who has to be in control all the time. We must have broken up in excess of a thousand times.
Push ups actually target your chest, however if you touch your thumb and forefingers together to make a diamond shape with your hands, you are doing a close grip push up, and this is really going to hit your triceps.
Those people who are scared of science or are a bit dismissive of science tend to not really understand what science really is, which is the most beautiful, most elegant and most creative way of looking at the world.
It takes time,patience and endurance to become a devout Muslim. No one, not even God, expects anyone to become an angel overnight. That's fortunate, I thought, because I sensed that the road ahead might be a long one
I know there have been some catastrophically unpopular programmes on television over the years. Has it ever got to the point where the only person still interested in what's happening is the person who's on the telly?
As September rolls into October, I become obsessed with apples. Now obviously this is provoked by the ripening fruit clustering on the trees in our orchard, but it is as though all things pomological ripen in me, too.
By having a direct stake and involvement with the process of plants growing, of having your hands in the soil and tending it carefully and with love, your world and everyone's else's world too, becomes a better place.
All cars have a natural gait, a speed at which they're happiest. The Corniche is perfect at around 65-70mph. I did a ton in it once, which was completely horrible. Apparently, it'll reach 120mph, but not with me in it.
It was daunting, giving up a regular job for a freelance world, where every day off is a day of unemployment and you are conscious you are not earning. But it was time to take a gamble and see what's on the other side.
I remember as a kid liking long, funny words. And often being into things like that can be perceived as square. But actually, as we know now that we're adults, it's really cool. The more knowledge you have, the better.
Organic is loaded with a sense of rightness, with a set of rules. I would much rather someone bought food that was local and sustainable but not organic than bought organic food that had to be shipped across the world.
People often ask what my favourite food is, but the answer depends on what I last ate. I love sausages and mash. But if I'd already eaten them for lunch, then you asked me at tea-time, I'd probably answer 'crab salad.'
One summer I was made housekeeper to my own family, making menus and shopping lists. It was my mother's idea of teaching me to be a grown-up. The main thing I remember is my father being so delighted to get roast duck.
From the moment he took the oath of office in 1993 until he left the White House in 2001, Bill Clinton was a paradox in power. He presided over the United States prosperous and at peace - but never at peace with itself.
I was captain of the netball team, captain of the hockey team and I did my sprinting, but I would push myself. That's why yoga is really good for me because it actually slows me down and finds some sort of space for me.
A plant I have grown for years without really taking much notice of is epimedium. You know how it is: someone gives you a plant, you stick it in the ground and somehow it never presses the trigger. There is no intimacy.
Blue Peter' scarred me for life. I was kayak-surfing in Cornwall and the waves were so strong it was more like white-water rafting. I had to hang on for dear life. At one point I let go and my hand was crushed on a rock.
In my 40s: I had two children young enough to think their parents wonderful, my business was booming, I was happily married and living in the Cotswolds with a veg garden and ponies in the paddock. Who could not be happy?
People will constantly bring up my past and throw it in my face, but the Creator of the Universe doesn't. If you ask forgiveness from Him, then it's gone forever. The past is never brought up to shame you or degrade you.
I would love to have gotten into it with Harley Race. He was such a good wrestler and rough and tough. We wrestled at the same time but never each other. And wrestling Sting would have been something I would have enjoyed.
Mum is withdrawn and very shy. I don't see her as a friend, like I do my dad. He's active and bouncy. She's maternal, nurturing, exceptionally intelligent and empathetic. I'm a better person for having had her as a mother.
I was starstruck by Madonna. She's one of the few remaining superstars. I'm so impressed by her level of discipline towards her career. We did have a little chat, and she wasn't remotely intimidating, just lovely and open.
I have better peripheral vision in my left. It is quite hard to remain optimistic, but I have found the Macular Society, of whom I've been an enthusiastic supporter for nine years, tremendously helpful in providing support.
In the west we think of yoga as an exercise programme, when actually where it's from in India it's a whole philosophy. The Asanas and the exercise programme are one tiny aspect of it, and so it really, really fascinates me.
I think people would like to see Kurt Angle and myself get in there and perform with one another. I think he's an amazing athlete, a talented wrestler, and it's a match people probably don't think that they're going to see.
If the present Mrs. Wogan has a fault - and I must tread carefully here - if she has a fault, this gem in the diadem of womanhood is a hoarder. She never throws anything out. Which may explain the longevity of our marriage.
My husband has a wife who is happy to wander round in old leggings held up with worn elastic. I'm happy with who I am and I'm more concerned with other issues and trying any way I can to make a better world for our children.
For every gardener there is a minimum level of engagement that is needed to sustain and develop the relationship. There is no magic figure to this and it will vary from person to person and season to season, but it is there.
I'm nicknamed the 'food tsar' by the press. I'm always giving my opinion on things like; 'Don't nanny children,' although children sometimes do need a nanny. Being a judge on 'Great British Menu' reinforces this image of me.
We can bring it all down to the subtleties of the shifting of an eye because we know the camera will catch it. That has been a great thing to learn, and it makes it interesting for a guy who has been in it as long as I have.
You want to do it on your own terms - not to be forced out because your body breaks down. I had to quit because of injury and I was crying for weeks. I used to wake up in the morning and think 'what am I getting up for now?'
I don't stress about things I can't change, so if I have a day when I don't look great, I don't look in the mirror! I try to fit in one session of Bikram yoga and one run a week and, if I can, one swim, but that's pushing it.
I was a sickly child, and it wasn't until I was 19 that I realised I was quite a robust, vigorous person. Since then I've taken ill health to be an irritating interruption into what is a fairly reliable stream of good health.
I used to always employ South Africans and Aussies and Kiwis - I can't admit this, well I can now, but I couldn't admit it at the time - but I didn't want wet English lads who didn't want to work in the catering trade anyway.
I like one nice man because he gets three tickets for the cinema so we've got somewhere to put our coats. He passes the test. I've been quite surprised because I really didn't expect to be wined and dined, and it's quite nice.
I've been a skinny girl my whole life. I just don't sit down - I'm always on the go. It must be down to the genes. We have a healthy body image in my house and great appetites. It'd be hard for you to find a food I don't love.
The thing about local government is they want to hear what local people think, but for the most part, their systems are so long, dull and bureaucratic that people only get involved when there's an issue they really care about.
The first thing I tell clients is get off the couch! Just start making some small lifestyle changes such as walking to work instead of driving or taking the stairs instead of the lift. The small things you can change all add up.