Date: 31 August 2006
Originally published in: InTouch (Germany)
Written by: Miriam Kaefert
A lot of space for romance: Kim Wilde’s house is a converted barn. The singer showed her family oasis exclusively to InTouch.
The disco queen wears clogs on her feet and a smile on her famous lips. “There you are!”, Kim Wilde calls out and receives the flowers we bring. Were they the right present? The first view out of the big window of her homestead makes us doubtful: in the garden it’s green and everything is in bloom, “but you can’t find lily’s as beautiful as these”, she ensures us while she gets out a vase. Time to look around. The first imperssion: a lot of space, a lot of life, a lot to discover. Welcome at the Wilde family’s!
“I moved in here on my thirtieth birthday, didn’t feel like living in the city anymore”, says Kim. “Then I found this 400 year old barn”. And something really special: “Allegedly it was built with wood from a ship from the Spanish Armada!”
The wilde home doesn’t have a lot of Spanish in it – it is located in the noble provence of Hertford, 35 kilometers from London. It’s not far from “Beckingham Palace”, home to David (31) and Victoria (32). Despite the nearness: these are two worlds. There are no golden water taps, personnel and expensive stuff at the Wilde’s. Instead, it’s a pleasant country house ideal: in the kitchen you can find Kim’s golden Amex-card between strawberries and cups from the antique market. Three of them are picked up by a sympathetic man in jeans and shirt. “Hi, I’m Hal, Kim’s husband”, he says grinning, while making coffee. “I fell in love with him in 1996 during the rehearsals of the musical ‘Tommy'”, says Kim – while kissing him, “He is my Mr. Perfect!”
Then she takes us to the garden. It is impressive! On raised beds tomatos, gerkins and peas are growing (“In the summer we eat our own vegetables”), a few meters onwards exotic flowers and grasses are growing. It’s paradise. A professional gardener at work!
That’s right, Kim Wilde doesn’t only sing really well, she also has green fingers. On britisch TV she presented gardening shows, her gardening books are bestsellers. And now something else is blooming: she has started her music comeback. “Everything started with Nena”, she says. “She asked me at a party in 2003, if I would like to sing a duet with her.”
‘Anyplace, anywhere, anytime’ became a hit and Kim wanted to record a new cd of her own as a result. “My voice is better than ever and I have written a lot of songs in recent years”, she says enthusiastically, while picking a tomato. “It is wonderful, to wear cool outfits again”. She fits in them too: “I have a personal trainer since three years, and I’m perfectly in shape!”
But be honest: is the glowing, flaw-free teint real? “It is. I find beauty-operations dreadful.” Well, living in this idyllic surroundings should make you look like this anyway…
