If you love somebody you love them. My parents had a 25-year age gap between them and my mum was the breadwinner my dad the house husband. I'm a strong believer that a good relationship can work whatever the situation.

I grew up on a farm in a small town where you do or say one thing and everybody knows about it. You see it happen there's always the town gossip - 'Oh did you hear about so and so or did you hear what went on in this household?' So I learned at a very young age just to keep my mouth shut.

I could always sing from a really young age but my voice was really weird. I used to make my mum turn up the radio every day in our house. She was well into music so I got that from her.

I've an enormous respect for my mother who at the age of 39 raised three children and I grew up with my grandmother in the household. And so it was a really strong household of women - my poor brother! It was great growing up with so many generations of women.

Bring a wife home to your house when you are of the right age not far short of 30 years nor much above this is the right time for marriage.

The answer to old age is to keep one's mind busy and to go on with one's life as if it were interminable. I always admired Chekhov for building a new house when he was dying of tuberculosis.