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I Try To Make My Characters Kind Of Ordinary, Somebody That Anybody Could Be. Because We've All Had Loves, Perhaps Love And Loss, People Can Relate To My Characters.

I Thought It Must Be Desperate To Be Old. To Wake Up In The Morning And Remember That You Were Ancient - And So Behave That Way. I Thought Old People Were Full Of Aches And Pains And Horrible Illnesses.

When I Was Younger, I Avoided Exercise Or Anything Strenuous. I Didn't Even Enjoy Walking. As I Got Older, I Spent So Much Time Marking Books Or Sitting At A Desk Writing That There Was No Room For Exercise - Not That I Would Have Bothered Anyway.

After My Hip Operation, I Had To Cut Out Butter, Which I Loved, And Salt. I No Longer Eat Desserts With Lots Of Cream, And I've Cut Right Back On Alcohol.

Because I Saw My Parents Relaxing In Armchairs And Reading And Liking It, I Thought It Was A Peaceful Grown-up Thing To Do, And I Still Think That.