"The speed of modern life is an oppressive thing, and the corporate world is quick to punish those with an honest heart. Qualities such as 'nice, honest, kind, happy, relaxed, sincere, innocent' are frowned upon as weaknesses. Yet these values are the essence of a good person. Unfortunately, if you don't keep the balance, they can be lost like sand through your fingers."

"If we spend enough time dreaming, then the dream might eventually become real."

"There is a difference between 'off-limits' and those places you can visit without getting caught."

"I wasn't born to fetch, or sit, or accept a beating. I'm here to be me, to write, and know my purpose."

"Change, it seems, is inevitable. And so is compromise."

"It is this brighter side, the romantic side, the emotional side, that appeals to me."

"We all need to believe in something, a dream that gives us optimism and faith."

"In with the new, out with the old.' That's what we're told. We have to change, adapt, compromise."

"Stop " Unplug " Escape " Enjoy.' This is the message of the Priory, and the key to enjoying a peaceful and rewarding life."

"Rural and traditional escapism. That's my angle. Places and events where we are free to relax and be ourselves, where nobody tells us to hurry along or conform or grow up. Somewhere we can properly live."

"Seek a slower, simpler life."

"Publish a book before you're too old to read it without glasses."

"People might consider you eccentric for being different, but this is good. Leaders and visionaries are not conformists afraid of standing out."

"Proper writing ink comes in a bottle, can be swirled like brandy in a glass, and smells like apple blossom after rain."

"It's better to be individual than a clone of someone else."

"Choice is the mortar that binds together the things that make us who we are."

"December, being the last month of the year, cannot help but make us think of what is to come."

"A man can never have too many books. Neither can he have too many fountain pens, hats, fishing rods, waistcoats, tea caddies, paintings or whatever helps him to feel at home in his surroundings and communicate his personality to the world."

"You need to be outdoors. Away from here. You need a holiday."

"Writing with a biro is the emotional equivalent of giving your loved one a plastic rose on Valentine's Day."

"The only person to blame for your situation is you."

"A man can never be truly free when he knows that he is neglecting his duties elsewhere."

"Water creates so much beauty, life and mystery."

"Individuality and creativity are slowly dampened by a normal job with normal people."

"As the daydreams grew longer, the distinction between what was real and what was imaginary grew less. Soon I existed in a blissful world of my own creation."

"Be seasonal, ethical and gentle."

"Some will say that searching for your dreams is like looking for unicorns in an emerald forest."

"Recent generations seem to consider 'old-fashioned' thinking as out-dated and without place in the modern world. I beg to differ. After all, who has greater faith? He who looks to and learns from the past, or the man who cares not for consequence?"

"Our best canvas is all around us, in everything we touch and do."

"Status: the perpetual carrot that entices us from the front and prods us in the back."

"Compromise is a choice. As is the defence of one's self."

"A traditional Englishman drinks tea to the point where his blood has long-since been replaced with an infusion of Ceylon, Assam, and Darjeeling."

"I've made it my mission to discover that which is off the beaten track. Somewhere in the undergrowth of the impossible."

"The greatest moments of creativity come in absolute solitude, when one's mind is free from distraction and able to probe the depths of the impossible."

"To sit on the stile would be to continue a familiar existence. To cross the stile would be to begin something new."

"A perpetual world, a world within a world. Of my mind and outside my mind. The real world is the dream world."

"Lake water, even when boiled, has an effect on my digestive system similar to the movement of a hangman's trapdoor."

"My tent doesn't look like much but, as an estate agent might say, "It is air-conditioned and has exceptional location."

"Look back, but never look down."

"Soar to heights where you may view the world from a new perspective."

"What compels me to write now is the same as all those years ago. It is the love of writing and storytelling, driven by a desire to escape."

"Find a part of yourself hidden in the twilight."

"Having a 'taste for life' is about knowing its various flavours and awaiting the next meal."

"Leaving the rat race is easy. All you have to do is quit your job, sell your house, and go and live in a tent in the middle of nowhere. It's staying out of the rat race that's tricky."

"There comes a time when you just have to say, "No! " to the requests and to the system."

"Don't lose yourself in the fog of normality."

"I needed some space to lay myself out, so that I could decide which pieces I wanted to pick up."

"There is a fine line between fair criticism and jealous assault."

"Identity and self-belief: a courage that swells from within, borne of waters drunk deeply."

"Dreams free us from normality. Daydreams, especially, take us somewhere between the real world and the dream world."