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DAREL34
August 2019 | REDONLINE.CO.UKRed woman
for hours and gazing out at the Spiaggia Grande. Jamie’s
career had just taken off, so all we wanted to do was relax.
Next year, we’ll have been married 20 years, and we’re
going to get married again, but do things differently
- outside and barefoot. Our wedding was formal, but
we’re so not like that. It’ll be a big party. Why the hell
not? I think we’ve done well!
Thirties
On our first holiday with the children, to Ibiza, Poppy got
ill, and we couldn’t find a doctor, which put us off going
abroad again, plus I find flying stressful. Eight years ago,
we started going to Cornwall as a family, and that was
when the best holidays began. The first time we went,
Poppy was nine, Daisy, eight, and I was pregnant with
Buddy. Petal, then one, stayed at home with my mum.
It was the best week and, from then on, we vowed to
return to Cornwall every year, no matter what.
We bundled the kids into the car in their pyjamas and
arrived at 11pm. They started surfing on that first holiday, after
we heard of a great local teacher called George. He turned
up, told us we’d start lessons the following morning and that
was that. I watched from the shore, while the girls and Jamie
fell in love with the euphoria of catching the perfect wave.
Knowing Petal was safe at home with Mum,
I was able to chill. I remember sitting in the
garden and being overcome with that unique sense
of contentment. Jamie and I would feed and bathe
the kids, then let them play in the garden, while
we ate outdoors. We’d tell them to go to bed;
“Yeah, sure, whatever!” they’d reply, like they
could sense the rules were malleable on holiday,
just as I had done when I was young! I’m normally
quite strict about bedtimes, so the girls loved
it as 9pm came and went, the sun not yet dipping
behind the horizon. We were so giddy with
happiness that we knew we had to return.Forties
We’ve holidayed in Cornwall every year
since. We always stay on the north coast, we
always surf with George, and now we have
friends there, it’s more sociable than ever.
One year, we took a helicopter, but Buddy kept
lunging for the door (never again!), so this year
we’ll drive. We hit the beach every day at 7am,
when it’s deserted. Corralling teenagers at 6am is
hard, and they’re always reluctant to squeeze into
their wetsuits, still sodden from the day before.
I joke to the older girls that they’ll pull boys if
they surf – they don’t realise how cool it is! Last
year, Jamie took Buddy out fishing and when they
returned, Buds was grinning and proudly proffering
his largest fish. Cornwall is one of the only places
Jamie really relaxes. He’ll do the odd bit of work,
but because he doesn’t see the kids much, he likes
to hang out with them as much as possible. He’ll do all
the mad stuff I won’t, such as jumping off rocks into the
sea! We go to the same farmer’s shop to buy ingredients
and balmy evenings are invariably spent water-skiing or
crabbing in the shallow pools. My heart feels full when
I see the kids’ knobbly little knees squatted deep in the
all-consuming dusk search for crabs.
When we’re not in Cornwall, we’re at home on the
farm in Essex. We’re lucky to live in a rural idyll, where
artichokes grow in veg patches, ducks waddle around and
bees hover near the lavender. The kids have mammoth
sleepovers with friends; maybe there’ll be a boyfriend or
two who I’ll say can’t come back! One hot evening last
year, Jamie and I took the kids to nearby cornfields in
Jamie’s Argo [all-terrain vehicle] to watch the sunset. It
was glorious. I said, “Kids, you’re going to remember this
for the rest of your lives,” and I think they will. Come
September, I still get that back-to-school sinking feeling.
This summer, we’ll head to Cornwall again for two
weeks (in our dreams, we’d buy somewhere there). It’ll
be low-key and I’m looking forward to getting away.
Everyone looks shattered and we all need a break. As
long as it’s the same views, the same waves, the same
Padstow fish and chips, I’ll be happy.’