But my most favourite pursuit after my daily exertions at the Foundry was Astronomy. There were frequently clear nights when the glorious objects in the Heavens were seen in most attractive beauty and brilliancy.

I shall give you hunger and pain and sleepless nights. Also beauty and satisfactions known to few and glimpses of the heavenly life. None of these you shall have continually and of their coming and going you shall not be foretold.

People are surprised at how down-to-earth I am. I like to stay home on Friday nights and listen to 'The Art of Happiness' by the Dalai Lama.

All my fans tell me what a glamorous life I have but I tell them how hard I work and how many nights I spend alone with my dogs eating chicken pot pie in my bedroom.

Now on nights that I can't sleep I play video games alone until the morning.

Without strength and courage it's really hard to perform at the highest levels of international figure skating because you're alone on the ice and you only have seven minutes over two nights to prove yourself.

Getting through the nights is the toughest part. Being alone. Not having her there to talk to.

Early on if I was alone two three nights in a row I'd start writing poems about suicide.