As an actor there is room for a certain amount of creativity but you're always ultimately going to be saying somebody else's words. I don't think I'd have the stamina skill or ability to write a novel but I'd love to write short stories and poetry because those are my two passions.

And so at the age of thirty I had successively disgraced myself with three fine institutions each of which had made me free of its full and rich resources had trained me with skill and patience and had shown me nothing but forbearance and charity when I failed in trust.

You know writing is really difficult and it takes a real patience and a skill. I don't know if I have that. I admire it in others so much and I envy it.

Patience was not something that came naturally to me but in cooking it is the quintessential skill.

Only those who have patience to do simple things perfectly ever acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.

I think patience is a skill and I wish I had it.

Comedy is like music and the way to make the best music is to have skilled musicians in your band.

The problem for me still today is that I write purely with one dramatic structure and that is the rite of passage. I'm not really skilled in any other. Rock and roll itself can be described as music to accompany the rite of passage.

We are also fortunate in being in quite a sheltered environment in terms of people moving on to do other things because there are relatively few companies in Scotland that are looking for the skill set that we've developed.

There is both a skill factor and an effort factor in dream recall. People can develop dream recall skills such as lying still in the morning and writing down whatever comes to mind.