How much sleep do you need?
What I need and what I get are two different things. I need seven or eight hours, but I'm a potterer and at 11 p.m. or midnight I find myself bits and pieces to do. My mother was the same. The older we get the more we become like our ancestors.
Do you take much exercise?
Walking is my main exercise and I go through periods where I would walk five, six, seven, eight miles a day. A friend of mine says that walking releases the happy hormones. When I'm gardening, I walk less.
Are you an early morning person?
I'm a slow mover in the morning. I like to uncurl gradually. That little bit of time before you get out of bed is very valuable. Your mind is open. I meditate in the morning for half an hour. Two years ago I did a 10 week course in Christian meditation with Sister Reideen, one of the Drishane nuns at St Patrick's Upton, and I also did a De Mello weekend at Glencommeragh. I find meditation wonderful. It seeps into your whole life. You become calmer, less judgmental and it opens your third eye. They say if you meditate you have 25 hours in your day because you approach things in a more calm, more methodical way.
Are you careful about what you eat?
Not to a great extent. I enjoy my food but eating is not a big deal with me. For breakfast every morning I have a glass of cider vinegar, welldiluted, fresh grapefruit and a bowl of porridge with honey. We have our own bees and I think honey is one of the purest foods we have. There's a lot of good in it. I also have brown bread with my own homemade marmalade. I'm into homemade things.
Do you drink or smoke too much?
I don't smoke. I like a glass of red wine with my dinner on a Sunday night or a special occasion and I like a Gaelic coffee.
Are there any foods you hate?
I don't like any fatty foods, I would never put anything into a frying pan and I don't like prepared foods. I would never put a frozen pizza into the oven. For a quick meal I'd prefer brown bread and a banana.
Have you ever been in hospital?
When I had my tonsils out as a child and when the children were born.
Does your work make you stressed?
The writing definitely doesn't, because I love it, but if I looked at my diary and saw a row of circles around deadline dates that were too close together I would dread the prospect.