Date: 10 September 2022
Originally published in: Telegraph Magazine (UK)
Written by:
The singer, 61, on tending veg, candlelit baths and belly-laughing through backgammon.
7AM One of my favourite parts of the day. I’m gagging for caffeine but I pour myself a large glass of water and take it on a walk around the garden while making a mental note of what needs doing. Then I go back in the kitchen and mainline instant coffee.
8AM We have a large children’s pool that has somehow survived the years and I get in it every morning and swim around, a bit like a goldfish in a bowl.
9AM My diet varies from the sublime to the ridiculous. The sublime is a smoothie made of kale, celery, apple and lemon. The ridiculous is a couple of fantastic croissants from the local bakery, loaded with jam.
11AM I worship my Airedale terriers Beau and Misty. We’ll walk around the fields near my home; it’s utterly beautiful at any time of year.
1PM I grow vegetables – including courgettes, kale, beetroot and salad – so I will tend to those before lunch. What I eat revolves around what I have pulled out of the ground. My kids Harry, 24, and Rose, 22, still choose to live here with me and my husband [actor Hal Fowler], but they eat different faddy things, so I just get on with my own lunch. We tend not to get together over food as often as we did when they were growing up.
3PM I play a game of backgammon with Rose because it makes us howl with laughter and I can’t even explain why. Harry is in a band called Wunderhorse and he often spends time recording or writing – we live in a 16th-century barn with amazing acoustics.
6PM I’m about to start a UK Greatest Hits tour [which runs until 27 September] but when I’m not travelling I just want to be a home with my dogs and kids. I’ve a few very close girlfriends and I’ll spend time with them too, mostly catching up and cooking. I don’t care for restaurants or going out much, and I’m pretty clean living – I gave up alcohol five years ago. How I look is all smoke and mirrors, but I do look after myself.
8PM Often I will watch a film – I’m a sci-fi enthusiast – but I don’t watch TV. I wind down by listening to music. I love Steely Dan and I’ve got a thing for the lead singer, Donald Fagen.
9PM I love my bath. I play a bit of Mike Oldfield and go the whole hog, burning candles and some incense. Then I’ll do Reiki and maybe a little meditation. I do like an early night.
