[on Fanny Cradock] She brought a sense of... gracious entertaining..., though I disapproved of her evening dress and spangles. I didn't like her as a person because she was a bully - we were judges together at the Festival of Britain [in 1951] and she massacred me in the meeting, but I would defend her ability to the end of my days.
[on being a home economist] To many people today we have become a dying race, which is a pity because we are needed more than ever. Our role is to educate people, to help them in the home. In this recession we really need to sort ourselves out.