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Being made to feel like an irrelevant child was probably an asset. Benign negligence is not a bad parental attitude or at least a cross between a benevolent dictator and benign negligence - you should just let kids crack on with it.
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If you look back at British history, women being allowed to play sport in schools meant they had to change their clothing. They couldn't be running around in their long skirts and corsets, because you can't.
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I am many things, but one of the things I am is a lesbian.
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I felt like a misfit at school, and I think that's quite common.
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A lot of interviewers are looking for the dark side. They want to know about the depths of your despair and fear.
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I don't make decisions for money or popularity. I do things because they're right for me, and they're interesting and challenging.
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On the beach, I take my clothes off under a towel.
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I cannot be a placard waver for every campaign; that's why I have mostly kept quiet about gay marriage.
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The most important quality in a partner is a sense of humour.
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It had become boring to write: 'I like Clare Balding'. To say: 'I don't like Clare Balding' is much more newsworthy.
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Fitting in is boring. But it takes you nearly your whole life to work that out.
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Swimmers provide much healthier role models for teenagers than the catwalk.
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I've never been particularly maternal.
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I think all kids should have something they feels is theirs.
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Like so many kids, I just wanted to fit in, and I see now that I spent most of my life trying to be what I wasn't, trying to get people to like me.
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I think I can be spiritual, and I can feel that I want to live well, I want to do things that I'm proud of, and I think that's important. Now, do I need a church to tell me that? Actually, no, I don't.
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Not everyone has to have children. If everyone had two or three, we'd run out of room.
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Sports commentating is the answer for a restless brain like mine. I can never get bored because there is an infinite amount to know.
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You hear the word 'cancer,' and you think it is a death sentence. In fact, the shock is the biggest thing about a diagnosis of cancer.
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When you're little, your father is your hero. Mine was. Then it all becomes more complicated.
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I didn't just grow up with horses; I wanted to be one.
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Particularly when you're young, you're terribly flattered by people who like you, so you think you love them.
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Swimming and athletics are the big gigs at the Olympic games. Cycling and rowing are pretty big for Britain, but globally, the two big things are athletics and swimming.
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I've had so many things, good and bad, said about me. I'm way beyond worrying about what people say.