Penelope Coelen

"Life is a choice"

"I was a miserable newly wed and often pondered about where I should be travelling to, wondering what I was doing on a farm. I decided to burn my diaries of my time as Miss World, because I did not want to live in the past anymore"

"One of my fondest memories was in Austria. I was called out to the balcony of the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. The full moon shone over the trees in the vast garden and a white carriage appeared. Ballerinas stepped out of the carriage and performed a magnificent ballet in the garden"

"What really brought me down to earth, was when I lost my first child"

"I remember sewing nighties for them when they were small and later washing and drying the army uniforms when the boys came home for the weekend. I still see myself hanging those uniforms over heaters to dry"

"It was incredibly stressful, because I was always terrified that I would forget what I wanted to say"

"I am a gatherer. If I like someone, I invite them to my home"

"Life has changed enormously over the past 11 years. There are times when we get depressed. We have to just come to terms with it"

"There was a collision on the field resulting in his horse stumbling and then falling on top of him. Nicholas sustained a brain stem injury and while he can hear and understand everything and his brain is fully functional, communication is difficult"