Sue Townsend
Sue Townsend
Susan Lillian "Sue" Townsend, FRSLwas an English writer and humorist whose work encompasses novels, plays and works of journalism. She was best known for creating the character Adrian Mole...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth2 April 1946
amount desperate extremely frequent given offices paid people poorly rubs staff work
The DSS offices are not given enough funding, their staff are poorly paid and are driven to distraction by the amount of work they have to do. There is frequent turnover of staff. Morale is extremely low. Working with desperate people all day is very dispiriting; their unhappiness rubs off on you.
grab tip weep
In the early days, it was, you know, I used to weep while I was writing. I used to grab at any kind of anything, any hint, any tip of how to make it easy.
age citizen free good greatest
I do think that books, good books, free you. They make you feel a citizen of the world and things like class, sex and age don't matter. They're the greatest leveler.
I used to think I had nice arms, but I don't even think that anymore.
absolutely diet kidneys slight touch work
I have a slight addiction to Diet Coke, and, of course, I absolutely shouldn't touch it because it makes the kidneys work really hard.
jeremy kyle
Watching 'The Jeremy Kyle Show' is my guilty pleasure.
charge kept people teacher three
In the playground, I always made people laugh; I used to charge them three pence for an impression of a teacher. It kept me in toffees.
afford car children driving guilt holes lessons poor school send small three wearing
Being poor with three small children is terrifying. You can't make any plans. You know you're not going on holiday, ever. There's no way you could ever afford driving lessons or a car. And the guilt I used to feel: they had holes in their shoes, and at one point, I had to send them to school wearing Wellingtons when the sun was shining.
bear dreaded hear music rather scared talk though
When I was a child, I dreaded blindness. We used to ask: 'Would we rather be blind or deaf?' I said I'd rather be blind, even though I was scared of it. I couldn't bear not being able to hear music or talk to people.
build dark feeling followed good life pockets price primitive secrets
My dark secrets are life threatening. Pockets of unhappiness set in aspic that build and build. I have this primitive feeling that if something good happens, it is going to be followed by something bad. There is always a price to pay.
across carrying desert feet food god hard image knowing running trying woman
I always have this image of a woman running across a desert carrying children, trying to find water and food, not knowing when they'll get that. And her feet are slashed up from the dry, hard earth... Even when I'm uncomfortable, sometimes in pain, or just cold... I think, 'Thank God for what I've got.'
I must have been a very strange child. I was very pretentious. Like Adrian Mole.
prefer
I prefer to keep my secrets to myself, to the grave... and beyond!
coffee dictate eldest feet letters people red sofa table velvet
I always write back to people who are kind enough to write to me. Actually, I don't write - I recline on my red velvet sofa with my feet on the coffee table and dictate the letters to my eldest son.