Celeb guest:
Laurence Llewlyn-Bowen
’ve gone from sharing my Cotswolds home with my wife of 30 years, Jackie, to now living with a household of seven! Before lockdown, we all decided to come together, so now I have my daughters Hermione and Cecile – who are both in their twenties – and their partners, as well as Cecile’s son Albie, three. Our new household has been a mixture of Little House On The Prairie (with gin) on some days, to something more akin to Game Of Thrones on others. While it’s certainly an adjustment, it’s been wonderful spending so much quality time with my family.
The pandemic has been a global tragedy – and I appreciate I’m very lucky – but there have been positives to my life. My life beforehand was very much workfocused – I’d spend time away filming, and even time at home was often spent packing for my next trip or thinking about my next project. Now there seems to be peace and infinite time, even with so many of us living under one roof. Someone from a household of twelve said in a recent interview that life has been calmer than ever, and I agree! ree! I’ve re-engaged with my family and it’s been wonderful, especially being able to spend so much more time with my grandson than I would have. I’ve loved every second of being with him!
It’s full-on, though – we have to plan our meals for the e seven of us for the week ahead, and we have designated childcare times and we even have organised ‘date nights’ for us in our couples where we get some time alone for a meal. There’s friction but we work to resolve it, and it’s made us all so much closer. My heart goes out to those suffering around the world – but if we can, I believe we have to take positives from this pandemic and I am relishing the time
I have been able to spend with my nearest and dearest.