“Lettuce is too Flat”

“Too often we only identify the crucial points in our lives in retrospect. At the time we are too absorbed in the fetid detail of the moment to spot where it is leading us. But not this time. I was experiencing one of my dad’s deafening moments. If my life could be understood as a meal of many courses (and let’s be honest, much of it actually was), then I had finished the starters and I was limbering up for the main event. So far, of course, I had made a stinking mess of it. I had spilled the wine. I had dropped my cutlery on the floor and sprayed the fine white linen with sauce. I had even spat out some of my food because I didn’t like the taste of it.“But it doesn’t matter because, look, here come the waiters. They are scraping away the debris with their little horn and steel blades, pulled with studied grace from the hidden pockets of their white aprons. They are laying new tablecloths, arranging new cutlery, placing before me great domed wine glasses, newly polished to a sparkle. There are more dishes to come, more flavors to try, and this time I will not spill or spit or drop or splash. I will not push the plate away from me, the food only half eaten. I am ready for everything they are preparing to serve me. Be in no doubt; it will all be fine.” (pp.115-6)”

“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?E'en in Australia art thou still more hotRough winds do shake the darling buds of May(Since that's your winter it don't mean a lot)Sometimes too bright the eye of heaven shinesAnd bushfires start through half of New South WalesJust so, when I do see thy bosom's linesA fire consumes me and my breathing failsBut thine eternal summer shall not fadeThis is in no way due to global warming;Nay, from thy breasts shall verses fair be madeSo damn compulsive they are habit-formingSo long as men can read and eyes can seeSo long lives this, thou 34DD(Based on an idea by William Shakespeare. I'm sure he'd agree that I've improved it)”

“He saw a cross on a wall with another cross behind it, a shadow cross, the shadow of what God left behind when God was gone, the continued need for joy and beauty, a commitment to hope where there appeared to be none, and to grace in spite of everything.”

“Aside from being terrifying, it was totally humiliating. Rose Tyler, Barbie doll.”

“The Doctor gave a modest shrug. "Well, I must admit that I made heads turn wherever I go. It's a burden that I just have to live with.”

“A trapdoor had slammed open at the edge of the arena, followed by another and another. Slowly, reluctantly, animals were forced through the gaps. Lions, tigers, bears. "Oh my!" said the Doctor, as the trapdoors slammed shut again.”