I’m not too fond of really cool design. I’ve got quite kitsch taste really, in things like tableware. I’m quite a sucker for 1930s pressed glass.

I’m driven by issues, not driven to be political.

I don’t look at what people do with their homes in terms of money, but the social and personal value of what they’re trying to do and achieve.

I don’t want anything that I buy to have done any harm to anyone or anything.

Building design isn’t trendy.

I don’t enjoy living in a white box flooded with light. I like shadows, small spaces, old furniture.

Living an environmentally responsible lifestyle can seem like a Scrooge-like list of don’ts. Don’t take that flight, don’t buy that car, don’t eat those blueberries flown in from somewhere far-flung.

I’ve forgiven all my enemies – even those who have stolen money from me.

I’ve got a farm in Somerset, and I think it’s God’s own country. I love it.

I have a recurring nightmare that I wake up in a gutter with nothing. I’ve had it all my life. That’s why I work, I think.