Sometimes The Silences, The Gaps, Tell Us

And The Smell Of The Library Was Always The Same - The Musty Odour Of Old Clothes Mixed With The Keener Scent Of Unwashed Bodies, Creating What The Chief Librarian Had Once Described As 'the Steam Of The Social Soup.'

I Don't Find Myself Interesting As A Person And The Details I Find Boring, Quite Frankly. You Could Sum It Up In A Few Words Or Sentences Really: Came From Nothing. Self-educated. Luck. Energy. Curiosity. Ambition. That's It. Nothing At All Can Illuminate The Work As Far As I Can Tell.

In London, I've Always Lived Within 10 Miles Of Where I Was Born. You See, There Is Something Called A Spirit Of Place, And My Place Happens To Be London, At Least Once A Fortnight.

There Is No Humiliation Worse Than The Consciousness Of A Wasted Life. It Stains The Spirit, Forestalls Hope, And Destroys Any Motive For Action Or Change.

I Can Remember Picking Up Weighty Tomes On The History Of Science And The History Of Philosophy And Reading Those When I Was Small.