The image of Stephen Hawking - who has died aged 76 - in his motorised wheelchair, with head contorted slightly to one side and hands crossed over to work the controls, caught the public imagination as a true symbol of the triumph of mind over matter.

Anyone who said he wasn't afraid during the civil rights movement was either a liar or without imagination. I was scared all the time. My hands didn't shake but inside I was shaking.

I couldn't really take a girl from Berlin to live in Leeds. I love it here. I miss the Yorkshire sense of humor and things like bitter and Yorkshire puddings, but I can still get my hands on salt 'n' vinegar crisps.

All I can do is leave it in God's hands and hope that my fans feel where I'm coming from.

I don't believe in hope. I believe in action, if I'm an apostle of anything: There are always going to be complications, but to a large degree, everything is in your hands.

I like building houses, working as a carpenter, painting. You work with your hands to the best of your ability, and at the end of the day, you go home with some satisfaction: 'I built that!'

I kiss the soil as if I placed a kiss on the hands of a mother, for the homeland is our earthly mother. I consider it my duty to be with my compatriots in this sublime and difficult moment.

And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that.

Newspapers are the second hand of history. This hand, however, is usually not only of inferior metal to the other hands, it also seldom works properly.

Sometimes history takes things into its own hands.

We need commonsense measures, gun control measures, that save lives. I think that it is important that we keep the firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill and criminals and terrorists. And I also think, by strengthening our background check system and expanding mental health treatment, we can do that as well.

It's up to you to be responsible for how you feel if you're not happy. Your happiness lies in your hands. You can't rely on a man to make you happy or complete you. That starts with you.

Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is.

Great cooking favors the prepared hands.

We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both.

Every time I attend an FBI graduation for new agents or new analysts at Quantico, a significant number of those graduates are former state and local officers, and I have the privilege of shaking their hands, presenting them with their credentials, and welcoming them to the FBI family.

I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.

When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended for self-flagellation solely.

You're a song written by the hands of God.

Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.

God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.

I adore gardening and plan to take it up properly when I have a bit more time on my hands. Until then, I love pottering in garden centres. I'm totally low maintenance. I don't ask for fancy plants, just basic, long-lasting shrubs that look nice. But I am particular about flowers.

I enjoy painting, cutting the lawn and working in the garden when I have time. That's therapy for me. I enjoy working with my hands.

I read, go for walks and I love to garden. My hands are such a mess. People think I should have movie star hands, but they're just gardening ones. Always slightly grubby and with a bit of dirt under the fingernails.