"Cyclists. I really hate them. I wish they would not be so self-righteous and realise they are a dang..." — A. S. Byatt

I acquired a hunger for fairy tales in the dark days of blackout and blitz in the Second World War.

I am a profound pessimist both about life and about human relations and about politics and ecology. Humans are inadequate and stupid creatures who sooner or later make a mess, and those who are trying to do good do a lot more damage than those who are muddling along.

The true exercise of freedom is - cannily and wisely and with grace - to move inside what space confines - and not seek to know what lies beyond and cannot be touched or tasted.