“Occasionally it's been a long and bumpy road - one I'm still travellin...” — Simon Armitage Quote

Occasionally it's been a long and bumpy road - one I'm still travelling - but I've always felt like my home town has been solidly behind me and I'm both grateful and proud.

I wondered if people might not have had enough of Simon Armitage and wondered whether I hadn't had enough of Simon Armitage.

And wonder, dread and war

It reminds me to say that staying local should never be about looking at the world through a closed window, but about making a home then throwing the doors open and inviting the world in.

We still need a voice that thinks before it speaks.

To this day, I am so grateful I grew up in Rochester, New York.

I have times when I doubt what I'm doing. When those moments hit, I think about how grateful I am to be able to do what I do every day. It was harder when I started because I didn't see the response, but now I'm out there playing for people and seeing them happy, which makes it all worthwhile.

It's true that you need much time to get rid of the fat girl you once were, but you know I am sincerely grateful for my buttocks.

I am just grateful I have a British passport and a country here.

Switzerland felt incredibly narrow, growing up. It was good, in a way. There were so many museums. But it was always a no-brainer that I would have to leave, and I'm grateful for that.