“It is more than twenty years since we left the city. This is a serious chunk of time, longer than the years we spent living there. Yet we still think of Jerusalem as our home. Not home in the sense...”

“For those, like me, who can't rely on being given a home smoker this Christmas, you can build your own approximation with just a roll of tin foil and a big wok or pan for which you have a lid.”

“Tiny quails may not seem as impressive as a mammoth turkey, but there is something refreshing about a spread of individual birds on the Christmas table.”

“Apart from its famous healing properties, manuka has a strong, woody flavour.”

“I have a terrible tendency to lick my fingers when I cook. So much so that I got a telling off from my pastry teacher years ago, who said it would hinder my prospects.”

“For me, the end of childhood came when the number of candles on my birthday cake no longer reflected my age, around 19 or 20. From then on, each candle came to represent an entire decade.”

“One moment people should learn that they must find their answers not to ask but to find. In real life you can't always ask, if you are ask you show how much stupid are you really!”

“I didn't know who I was any longer, so I just was.”

“There are moments in relationship when you didn't speak, you didn't have to; but you talked a lot.”

“I am grateful for the white sheet - all my stories are his.”

“In an age of infinite digital documentation, paper was the last safe place for secrets.”

“History shows how feeble are barriers of paper.”

“Our souls are always looking for love, and hearts wait to treasure it.”

“His gut was stitched up good and tight, but that didnt prevent it from flopping. He wiped his damp palms on the legs of his jeans and stood up shakily, leaning heavily on his cane.He called himself...”

“Never fall in love?""Always," said the count. "I am always in love.”