Author of the week Pam Ayres
The ‘people’s poet’ talks about getting older, grandchildren, Glastonbury, and how she won’t retire unless she absolutely has to
Pam Ayres has been amusing audiences for almost 50 years with her witty, consoling rhymes on life’s experiences, from not looking after her teeth to the agony of hosting dinner parties, weight gain and ageing.
While her aim during her career has largely been to make people laugh and bring some light relief amid life’s trials and tribulations, the “people’s poet” says the world her grandchildren will grow up in is a “terrifying prospect”, given climate change, diminishing wildlife numbers and political instability.
“It’s a terrifying prospect for them. The populations are shifting, the planet is becoming so inhospitable to so many people. There’s Putin and there’s
Kim Jong Un and just so much unrest and hostility. I fear for my grandchildren. The only thing that consoles me is that probably our grandparents felt the same about us.”
It’s a downbeat comment from the writer, broadcaster and national treasure who is better known for her uplifting, humorous verse. Oh, I Wish I’d Looked After Me Teeth is among her most famous – delivered in that delicious rural burr.
Her acute observations conveyed in clever, witty verse have been used on many special occasions. One called Yes, I’ll Marry You My Dear, is often used at weddings, Woodland Burial (about wanting to be buried in a wood) is read frequently at humanist and woodland burials.
She’s making an appearance at Glastonbury this year, for the second time. “I’m down with the kids,” she chuckles. “I’m in the cabaret tent, it’s more modest than the main stages.”
The woman who made her name winning the talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1975 is still touring at 77 and has no intentions of retiring. Her next tour is in the autumn and she is collaborating on a stage musical about countryside disquiet called Who Are You Calling Vermin?
“I won’t retire, not unless I have to. I’ve always written from the time I was a child at school. I don’t envisage a time when I would stop enjoying it. So I’ll go on as long as I can and as long as I feel I’m doing a good job.”
“I don’t feel 77,” she continues brightly. “I find it quite amusing that I’m 77 because I don’t feel any different from in my 20s.”
She dotes on her five grandchildren, aged between four and 11, and dedicates her latest picture book, I Am Hattie The Hare, to them. It’s the second in her series of four books that introduces young readers to the themes of wildlife and conservation, a subject close to her heart.
“I’m very interested in wildlife and I’m depressed by the way it has disappeared during my lifetime,” she says. “Lots of things have gone extinct. The wildlife that I grew up alongside, the great clouds of swifts and swallows, the sound of the cuckoo in spring, the river and brook would be full of watervoles and there would be frogs, thrushes, hedgehogs, and they have gone largely. That’s what I find so infinitely sad.”
The book gently introduces the species to the readers, but also touches on the impact of mankind on the environment and how life is changing for our hares. Her grandchildren have already taken the first two books to school, and have given positive feedback.
“I’ve encouraged the children to be interested in our wildlife and want to look after it,” she says proudly.
Most of her life savings have been spent on a 22-acre wildlife reserve in the Cotswolds where she lives, which is where she walks every day.
Her husband, theatre producer Dudley Russell, to whom she has been married for 43 years, has been a constant support throughout her life and career. What’s the secret of their happy marriage? “Being friends and having a laugh,” says Pam. “He always makes me laugh and he’s a great friend. He helps me and we look after each other.”
As for fame, she says she’s not approached when she’s out and about “unless I open my mouth”.
Pam doesn’t do much TV now, although last year she presented a TV series on the Cotswolds for Channel 5, but says she’s picky. She recently appeared on Would I Lie To You? but wouldn’t consider reality TV such as I’m A Celebrity.
“I don’t fancy maggots poured all over me, or cockroaches, or anything like that. I’ve been asked to do Strictly but I look like a Shire horse so I don’t want to do that. You have to know what’s appropriate.”
She and Dudley see a lot of their two sons and grandchildren, who live nearby.
“Grandchildren have made a huge difference to my life. They open up whole new worlds for you,” she says, enthusing about going to watch her football-mad grandson’s matches and becoming interested in gymnastics through her granddaughter.
And she tries not to worry about getting older because she’s having such a good time.
“I don’t want to leave all the people I love. The idea that I’m 77 and I’ve had a lot more time than I’m going to get is heartbreaking, because I’m very lucky – I’ve got a marvellous family around me.
“I was very fortunate in that I produced two sons with a little assistance from my husband when I was 35 and 37. I left it very late, but they’re such a joy and they give you a stake in the future. The idea that it’s going to go dark and you’re not going to be there is heartbreaking.”
She looks after herself, she says, walking every day.
“We used to have a personal trainer and do the really hard stuff, but I don’t want to do t hat in my late 70s. I walk every day with my dog.”
■ I Am Hattie The Hare by Pam Ayres, illustrated by Nicola O’byrne, is published by Two Hoots