Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.

It always depresses me when people moan about how commercial Christmas is. I love everything about it. The tradition of having this great big feast slap bang in the middle of winter is an essential thing to look forward to at the end of the year.

First of all I've been having a wonderful run of luck with cover albums songs I didn't write. I had five pop cover albums and two Christmas albums and they were all very successful.

At 35 I'm definitely starting to feel more like a grown-up than I ever have. There's nothing in my life that is childish or whimsical. Having fun is fantastic and I never want to lose a sense of that - and also I think you have to have that to put into your work or else it's going to feel stiff.

I think when you begin to think of yourself as having achieved something then there's nothing left for you to work towards. I want to believe that there is a mountain so high that I will spend my entire life striving to reach the top of it.

Behaving like a princess is work. It's not just about looking beautiful or wearing a crown. It's more about how you are inside.

Having a second chance makes you want to work even harder.

I wanted to be a doctor that I might be able to work without having to talk because for years I had been giving myself out in words.

Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having except as a result of hard work.

This world crisis came about without women having anything to do with it. If the women of the world had not been excluded from world affairs things today might have been different.

Whenever we have thanked these men and women for what they have done for us without exception they have expressed gratitude for having the chance to help - because they grew as they served.

I think women want to take care of themselves and I think having a voice in how that is done is very important.

The fact that the church is convinced of not having the right to confer priestly ordination on women is now considered by some as irreconcilable with the European Constitution.

After all what is your host's purpose in having a party? Surely not for you to enjoy yourself if that were their sole purpose they'd have simply sent champagne and women over to your place by taxi.

I see a wiser person than when I was younger: having babies and passing 30 were the turning points. What women in their 40s - I am 39 - lack in gorgeousness they make up for in wisdom. I love ageing despite the drawbacks - thinner drier skin.

The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. The wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything.

I always envisioned myself having a traditional and elegant wedding.