The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
BEVERLEY KNIGHT MY LIFE IN TRAVEL
The singer and actress loves being a beach bum, but isn’t a fan of crowds, gambling or the old-school British pubs of Gibraltar
I’M A TRUE WORKAHOLIC so getting time off can be hard – but this year I decided to take my foot off the accelerator so I could travel more. I started the year by going to Sydney and then to the Maldives. I’d never been to Sydney but a friend of my husband James [O’Keefe] had moved there two years ago, so I surprised James with news of the trip at Christmas. We went just after my panto run finished in late January.
WE WERE PROPER BEACH BUMS in Sydney and stayed right on north Bondi for two weeks. Because we’re both into health and fitness, each morning we would walk straight out of our apartment to do our workouts on the sand before chilling out and reading. In the evenings we checked out lots of different restaurants.
JAMES DIDN’T WANT TO LEAVE Sydney and go home, so I surprised him and told him we were booked on a plane to the Maldives the next day. I’d arranged for a bunch of friends to meet us there, so these familiar faces kept popping up all the time we were there. We stayed at the beautiful Velassaru, which was 25 minutes by speedboat from Malé. People usually associate the Maldives with romance, but we had such a great time as a group, doing watersports, enjoying each other’s company and the food.
THE MOST REMOTE PLACE I’ve performed is on a small island in the Stockholm archipelago, Sweden. I had to get in a tiny float plane and sing to 16 people for a birthday party. The wilderness was stunning. I SURPRISED MY MOTHER in Jamaica for her 70th birthday in April. I’d never been before. Mum was there visiting her stepmum in Priory, so my husband and I planned it for months and told no one apart from my cousin at the last minute. We booked a place in nearby Ocho Rios, which is in the parish of St Ann’s Bay on the north coast. The family all got the shock of their lives – it was absolutely brilliant.
THERE ARE ONLY TWO SEASONS in Jamaica – summer, and too hot! – but I fell in love with the island. The people and the weather are fantastic. I felt a familiarity because of my heritage and culture; I’d been cooking West Indian food since I was a small child. I’d wanted to go for so long, but work kept getting in the way. I felt like I was coming home.
I AVOID NOISE AND CROWDS on holiday – so if I’m going to Ibiza I tend to stay clear of San Antonio and hang out in the old town or the northern part of the island, which is a lot more chilled. IT WAS FEAR AND LOATHING in Las Vegas because the airline lost all my luggage. All I had was the Versace ball gown in my hand luggage for the boxing title fight at which I was performing. Here is this city in the middle of the desert, set up solely for people – rich and poor – to be relieved of their money by gambling at all hours. I’ve no interest in gambling, and there were also these artificial beaches. It’s a crazy place.
WE NEED TO APPRECIATE the beauty on our doorstep here in Britain. James and I are off to the Peak District soon – and can’t wait.
WHEN I WAS FIVE, my mum was pregnant with my brother and we stayed in a B&B in Scargill, Co Durham. It was the first time I’d been to a place where someone else did the cooking for us, and Mum reminded me that I had to eat whatever was put in front of me. It was the first and last time I ate peas.
THE BEST MEAL I’VE EVER HAD abroad was at the San Domenico Palace in Sicily. It’s a former monastery converted into a luxury hotel. James and I had only been dating for three months. We arrived really late in the evening and just
SUNSCREEN
Jason SPF 45 family sunblock is a great, non-synthetic product from this natural company, with no parabens and is animal-friendly. It absorbs brilliantly and is really moisturising. £8.99; hollandandbarrett.com wanted something simple, so we ordered risotto from room service. It looked unassuming, but the taste was incredible. We still talk about it 11 years later.
I WASN’T A FAN OF GIBRALTAR.
I thought it would be a fantastic hybrid of British history and Spanish flair, but it was like Britain caught in a time warp 30 years ago, a stereotype of Britons abroad with old-school English pubs. The only good thing was the weather. I was so sad because I thought it was going to be amazing. It was so disappointing, we even walked across the Spanish border for our meals.
Here is this city in the desert set up solely for people, rich and poor, to be relieved of their cash
BECAUSE OF THE CRIME, South Africa doesn’t get the best press, but in my experience it’s like going to a big city anywhere – you have to have your wits about you. The people were so friendly and welcoming. Beverley Knight will be performing at the Quincy Jones 85th birthday concert on June 27 at the O2 in London. She will also be headlining at the Lowde Fest in Hampshire on July 7 and the Mouth of the Tyne Festival on July 8.