JO WOOD Rock’s coolest granny (ten tots and counting!) starts her new column today

Jo Wood, 62, is a model, TV personality, entrepreneur – and ex-wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood. The couple have four children between them: Ronnie’s son Jesse from a previous relationship; Jo’s son Jamie from her first marriage; and Leah and Tyrone, who they had together. Between them they have ten grandkids. Today, Jo lives in London. I HAVE started the New Year with bronchitis. It’s a bit of a granny ailment but I didn’t get it in a granny fashion. I got it from doing the ice pool challenge – swimming in a freezing cold pool – with my son Tyrone. He managed one length, I did two. That’s the kind of grandmother I am: the different kind!

My own granny traumatised me. I remember being seven and dreaming I was trapped in a pig sty. I woke up to realise it was her, fast asleep and snoring loudly. We were sharing the little box room in our council house in Basildon. I swore that whatever life held, I never wanted to be like her, old and cold.

I was just 44 when I found out I was to become a grandmother. At the time I was well into my rock ’n’ roll years, married to Ronnie. I was there when my grandson, Jamie’s son Charlie, came into the world, the first person to hold him. Nine more grandchildren have followed. Charlie is now 18, the youngest, Jesse’s daughter Honey, is two.

I was stunned by the idea of grannyhood because I was still young enough to have a baby myself. And of course my ex-husband has become a father again, to two gorgeous twin girls, now 18 months old. They are younger than our Leah’s children which is mad, but you have to go with the flow. There are many ways to build a modern family, the only thing which matters is that it’s happy one.

I made a big effort to make sure our kids accepted the situation. I was fine about it, I had done all my forgiving and all I wanted was for Ronnie to be happy. There was no animosity because I had a great life with him – he gave me experiences no one else could imagine so why should we not get on now?

He was here for dinner on Christmas Eve with his wife Sally and the girls. I still find it hard to believe I am a 62-yearold grandmother of ten. But as long as I’m still jumping into freezing swimming pools – and beating my son – I can live with it. What I’ve learned is this: you can’t choose when you become a granny but you can always choose what kind of granny to be.

HE GAVE ME EXPERIENCES NO ONE ELSE COULD IMAGINE