There’s a house near me that I adore and it came up for sale, and I got to the point of nearly buying it and then pulled out because I’m trying to be sensible.

Oh, most days. I can watch a political programme and think, “That sounds a really good point.” Then someone will argue the opposite and I’ll think, “Yeah, he’s got a point as well.” I am constantly sitting on a fence.

The other day, when I decided that maybe I had been too harsh on mid-period Sting.

I can’t remember when I read, or was told, that he considered it a good thing to spend a short time every day thinking about death, thus getting used to its inevitability and coming to understand that something inevitable is natural and can’t be too bad, but it was in my early teens, and it struck me as a sensible idea. Of course I didn’t set out to think about death in a regular way every day, but I did think about it quite often, and sure enough, it worked. Why coming to see death’s naturalness should have caused belief in an afterlife to melt away, I am unsure, but it did.

Julie Hesmondhalgh – she’s the kindest, brightest, most truthful woman. She’s so talented, works hard, cares about the right things, puts her energy in the right places. I adore her.

Having no way of earning money.

Most of the people I dated between 23 and 33. It feels crazy to me that I ever thought that I could be anyone’s girlfriend before I figured out the things I’ve now figured out.

Big, shy, angry.

I never finished The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir.

I am consistently disappointed in the music industry. Every time someone says that I’m underrated, that feels extremely disappointing because I’ve done my end of the bargain.