18 December 19, 2021The Sunday TimesTravel
I hate air travel. I’m all
right once I’m up in the
air, but I don’t like going
up or coming down. I just
had six weeks off from Coronation Street
and I went to Malta because I hadn’t seen
my brother, Geoffrey, for three years,
and he runs an eco-school there
promoting sustainable tourism.
As children we didn’t often go abroad,
although we once went to Scheveningen
and my father got burnt — he didn’t
believe that the sun would be that
strong in the Netherlands. Getting
his legs out was a disaster for him,
and he wouldn’t put on sun cream
because it was “for sissies”.
When I was married with
a young family we’d generally
rent a villa in Spain or Portugal
and take an au pair with us.
We always had bad weather,
though — I can remember my
husband, Jack, running
around the garden of a villa
in Portugal singing, “Come
on, you sunshine,” in an attempt
to invoke brighter weather.
I went to Australia when I was
doing the BT commercials in the
late 1980s to early 1990s, but
I didn’t see anything there as I had
to get back to work. I’d met Bobbyoffer flawless sushi, sashimi
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Normal Times Newspapers
rules apply. No correspondence
will be entered into.The answers are Hathern
and Shona Kinloch. Simon
Atherton of West Sussex
wins a luxury break for two
in the West End, courtesy
of the Londoner.a half miles southeast of the
church. “Hang on, this isn’t
medieval,” Friend said
outside. “Did I say it was?” I
asked, and wandered south,
away from its church, opened
in 1904. “Look, more vines!”
I said, feigning surprise.
“In what kind of wine are
they used?” Friend asked.
“Vinum magnum est,” I told
him. In fact, its 150cl version
won a gold medal in the most
recent sparkling-wine world
championships.
I thought we might find a
bottle at a wine merchant in a
large village three and a half
miles northwest of us. “Near
another Roman villa, is it?”
Friend asked. “No idea,” I said.
Friend laughed. “This isn’t
really about history, is it?”
There was no point arguing:
in vino veritas, as they say.
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“Hic,” said Friend. “Are you
drunk?” I gasped. We’d only
been sipping wine. Or so I
thought. “No,” he said,
giggling. “Hic vinetum est.”
Indeed. Friend is no Latin
scholar, but you couldn’t fault
him here, 120 yards from a
Roman building unearthed
in the 19th century. Pity that
the remains were closed for
winter — I was hoping to see
its floors. Instead we gazed
across the south-facing slope
to a long, protecting wall of
hills and wondered if the
ancient owners had been
winemakers too.
These weren’t the only
vines we’d seen. Three and
a half miles northeast, in the
same national park, I’d shown
Friend a church. Dating in
parts from the 11th century,
it originally had two lofty
doorways. Immediately south
is another vineyard, and just
to the north a winery, home of
an award-winning pinot gris.
We’d had our tasting there.
Next stop, a priory, four and1 To which saint is the 11th-
century church dedicated?
2 In which village is the
wine merchant?Charlton and Henry Cooper at some do
and they’d said: “Don’t worry about jet
lag, just put brown paper inside your
socks and you’ll be fine.” I took their
advice and, sure enough, no jet lag.
I suppose it earths you in some way, but
Charlton was my husband’s hero, and if
he’d told me to stick my head in a bucket
of camel dung I would have.
My last holiday to St Lucia was more
than five years ago. I went with Guido, my
partner, who died recently. He’d just had
a hip replacement and it rained every
morning; the hotel was all steps and it
was a nightmare. The places I’ve liked
most were Llandudno, which we
visited on a road trip around Wales,
and I loved going to Skibbereen in
Ireland to see friends. I’d get a
plane to Cork — which I could just
about do — then hire a car and
potter through the villages,
stopping at a pub and having an
egg sandwich on the harbour. I’d
love to go to Scotland with someone
who could really show me around.
After Jack died in 2004 I went on
the only holiday I’ve taken on my
own. I was studying how to sing badly
for a play about Florence Foster JenkinsA tram climbs the hill from the beach at Llandudno, where Maureen Lipman stopped off during a road trip around Walesand rented a villa in Zakynthos. I
practised every day, and the locals came
to see who was making so much noise. It
became very social, which was good, as
I was scared being there by myself. Jack
had always made the arrangements, and
suddenly I was in a foreign country and
didn’t know the rules or language — I’d
never even driven on the other side of the
road before. I was there for three weeks,
and finally relaxed during the third —
probably for the first time in my life.
I’ve always enjoyed cruises, and Jack
and I went on the QE2 to New York, where
our son had been on a gap year. We’d said
goodbye to this tiny person and brought
back this giant, bronzed man. That was
terrific. I’ve done a few of The Oldie
magazine’s cruises, during which I’d do
a bit of entertainment — I did one around
the Mediterranean and another along the
Amazon tributaries. The latter was a real
mess because nobody expected us in the
villages, so we could never get a panga
fishing boat, meaning we couldn’t get off
the ship the whole holiday.
I like to be active on holiday. My days of
lying down with olive oil slathered on me
have long gone. I’m not good at relaxing at
the best of times — I’d much rather go to aflamenco evening in Barcelona, say, and
see some of the culture. Guido and I went
to the Galapagos islands, and I adored
seeing the tortoises, lizards, iguanas,
frigate birds and blue-footed boobies —
it was beyond belief.
I suppose when you add it all up I’ve
had a lot of holidays. Lalibela in Ethiopia
was fascinating, and Petra in Jordan sticks
in my mind. If I had a bucket list I’d like to
go to Maine and travel along the northeast
coast of America, and also to the Grand
Canyon. A bustling capital city will
always intrigue me, but
I do need somebody with
me because I’ve not got
a good sense of direction
and I tend to wander off.Maureen Lipman, 75, is an actress
whose roles include Evelyn Plummer
in Coronation Street. She lives in
London and has two children, Amy
and Adam, from her marriage to
the playwright Jack Rosenthal. She
has co-written a cookbook, This Book
Is Toast, to raise funds for the Spread
a Smile charity (spreadasmile.org).Interview by Shelley RubensteinThe actress loved Petra and the
Galapagos, but Llandudno is
also one of her favourite places
MY HOLS
MAUREEN
LIPMAN
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