Wit & Wisdom

“When I came to the Treasury, they predicted to me that I would become the most unpopular man in Britain. This was the only correct forecast that the Treasury made in the several years that I was chancellor.” Norman Lamont, quoted in The Sunday Times “Never turn down a front row seat for human folly.” Nora Ephron, quoted in The Guardian “Brave men are all vertebrates; they have their softness on the surface and their toughness in the middle. But these modern cowards are all crustaceans; their hardness is all on the cover, and their softness is inside.” G.K. Chesterton, quoted in The Washington Post “Politics boils down to the stories we tell ourselves. And unfortunately, we tell ourselves different stories.” Historian Ron Chernow, quoted in Time “The other day I was thinking, ‘I just overthink things.’ And then I thought, ‘Do I, though?’” Comedian Demetri Martin, quoted in the Chicago Tribune “Life doesn’t imitate art, it imitates bad television.” Woody Allen, quoted on Thestreet.com “A difference of taste in jokes is a great strain upon the affections.” George Eliot, quoted on Forbes

Statistics of the week

A single room in London is now worth more than an entire house in the Northeast. In 2016, the average London house price per habitable room was £132,926. The average house in the Northeast costs £131,000. Office for National Statistics

Around 45% of children in Britain today have no siblings. The Times