From the simple stringing together of lemon garlands for the goddess Durga to dividing the prasadam or blessed foods for the children first I came to associate food not only with feminity but also with purity and divinity.

I wake up every morning happy for where I am in life. It's not all about the cooking but the fact that I can contribute by using my influence to help people all over the country. In the last two years my partners and I have fed more than 10 million hungry people by bringing meat to food banks.

My only problem is the fear that opposition bowlers might go for my fingers and that's why I was scared of the short ball. Now I am struggling with the ball pitching up and swinging away. I just keep nicking that one.

Most fear stems from sin to limit one's sins one must assuredly limit one's fear thereby bringing more peace to one's spirit.

We should face reality and our past mistakes in an honest adult way. Boasting of glory does not make glory and singing in the dark does not dispel fear.

It wasn't not being famous any more or even not being a recording artist. It was having nobody who needed me no phones ringing nothing to do. Because I'm still too young to do nothing. I was only 24 when all that happened. Now at 40 I feel I've got more to give than I ever have.

I love singing - singing is what I'm famous for doing. Now it's turned into things I am famous for doing - like having rows with my mum or about my boyfriend so it does get irritating.

It was deeply important for me to understand where Mandela came from. Because we know where he was going and that's a famous story but who was he? Where did he come from? What was his upbringing?

On the one hand the idea of marriage and the sort of traditional family life repulses me. But on the other hand I long for it you know what I mean? I'm constantly in conflict with things. And it is because of my past and my upbringing and the journey that I've been on.

Whole communities are growing up without fathers or male role models. Bringing up a family in the best of circumstances is not easy. To try to do it by placing the entire burden on women - 91% of single-parent families in Britain are headed by the mother according to census data - is practically absurd and morally indefensible.

I had a really wonderful upbringing. We were a tight family. It was wonderful to grow up with so many siblings. We were all just a year or two apart and we were always so supportive of each other. I learned everything from my older brother and sister and taught it to my younger sisters.

Family love is messy clinging and of an annoying and repetitive pattern like bad wallpaper.

Faith is the virtue by which clinging-to the faithfulness of God we lean upon him so that we may obtain what he gives to us.

Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.

When you're a soul singer I'm singing a lot of songs about love and relationships that I think a lot of girls really relate to. For whatever reason that seems to get 'em excited. The DJ everyone always says the DJ gets all the chicks but that's never been my experience.

Bringing an end to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians may help the young Arab generation to realise their aspirations. Israel is more than willing to offer our experience in building a modern economy in spite of limited resources to the whole region.

What if Barack Obama established a Presidential Advisory Committee that would meet once every couple of months bringing together the former presidents for a conference in order to seek their collective wisdom? There is a wealth of experience in former presidents that generally goes untapped.

Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.

If bringing up the next generation is important why aren't they the best qualified the best paid? Why aren't we as concerned about their career progression as we are about those who work in the education or health services?

What good is my parents' wealth and education and upbringing if I'm not contributing to the world?

If my career detour from special education to singing has done one thing it has afforded me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others.

My parents discussed singing every night over the dinner table I had a tremendous music education.

I want to still be singing at 70 years old. I want to be open to the dreams I haven't even dreamed up.

I knew I wanted to do something creative. I didn't think I'd have the luxury of doing something like that because I didn't know anyone who had pursued anything they really adored but I had dreams for singing or writing.