‘They’ll probably have to carry me out’

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House & Home

‘They’ll probably have to carry me out’

By York Membery

Published: March 21 2009 01:19 | Last updated: March 21 2009 01:19

Paddy Ashdown (Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon), 68, served in the Royal Marines and the Special Boat Squadron before becoming a diplomat and then going into politics. A member of parliament for Yeovil from 1983 to 2001, he was leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. He was subsequently international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 to 2006. The father of two lives with his wife, Jane, in Norton-sub-Hamdon, Somerset, south-west England. ‘A Fortunate Life: The Autobiography of Paddy Ashdown’ is published by Aurum in April.

What attracted you to your home and how long have you lived there?
My wife and I discovered the terraced cottage we bought in Norton-sub-Hamdon, Somerset in 1973. It is a charming 19th-century house with a homely feel, which looks as if it was built a century earlier, and is set in an idyllic country village. In short, it was just what we were looking for.

Was it expensive?
We bought it for £14,750, which might not sound much today but was a lot of money at the time. Actually, we paid somewhat over the odds for the house but it’s still probably the best investment of my life and we’ve lived there ever since. I fell in love with the house and the village instantly but at the time I worked for the Foreign Office and used to dread going back to London on a Sunday night and being away from my family until the end of the week.

Is there anything unusual about the house?
Over the years we’ve extended at the rear so it is a bit like the Tardis in [the BBC TV programme] Doctor Who. It looks tiny from the outside but is bigger than you think inside. Still, with only three bedrooms plus a lounge and study, it was a bit of a cramped house in which to bring up a family.

Where had you lived previously?
I’d lived in Hong Kong for three years prior to finding our home in the West Country. And before that I’d lived in Singapore, where I’d been sent to rejoin my old unit, 42 Commando, shortly after marrying Jane in 1962. After she got a cheap passage out, we found a small flat in the Malay quarter. The bedroom window was eye-level with, and only yards from, the gallery of a local minaret from which the mufti of the local mosque called the faithful to prayer, morning noon and night. Of course, Singapore has changed beyond recognition since then, when it still had the air of a colonial city.

MY FAVOURITE THINGS

Close companions

My dog, Apple. She is a collie-whippet cross and we found her (as we have all our dogs) in a refuge. She needs love, exercise and food in prodigious quantities but gives enthusiasm and joy in prodigious quantities too.

A photograph of my wife, Jane, and I with our children, their partners and our three grandchildren outside our local pub, looking very happy (and not just because of the beer).

A painting by the great Bosnian artist Safet Zec of a window and geraniums in Sarajevo , which was given to me by Bosnian friends and colleagues when I left Bosnia.

My music collection – all classical, I fear – for it has given me such joy and solace in high moments and in low.

Our garden, which produces miracles of colour and scent from only dull earth and the good Somerset sun.

My neighbours and fellow villagers in Norton-sub-Hamdon, from whom we draw our closest friends and companions.

So you’ve moved around a bit. Have you lived anywhere else?

I was born in New Delhi in British India in 1941 to a family of soldiers and colonial administrators, although the bulk of my childhood was spent in Northern Ireland, where we lived in several homes in quick succession, one of which was a former coastguard’s cottage. But I was sent away to boarding school at 11, then joined the army, and at about the same time my parents emigrated to Australia. Funnily enough, I return to Northern Ireland from time to time but the only physical link I now have with the place is my nickname, Paddy, which I got at school in England because of my then strong Irish accent.

Do any of the other places you’ve lived have a special place in your heart?
I fell a little in love with Hong Kong, I have to admit. I lived all over the colony, including – until my family joined me – the Chinese quarter. And while the homes themselves were nothing out of the ordinary, Hong Kong is extraordinary. Yes, it’s incredibly busy, with people falling over each other, but I was just fascinated by the place – by the sights and sounds, the smells and Chinese culture generally. I even learned to speak Mandarin Chinese, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life but immensely rewarding.

Is there a particular room in your house that is special to you?
Probably my study, which also happens to be the room in which my father died, which gives it a sentimental value. I’ve spent a huge amount of time there over the years. It was the room where I did most of my constituency work and most of my work as a politician. I’ve also done a lot of writing there over the years. In many ways it’s the most important room in the house for me.

Do you have a daily work routine?
Not as such because my working life is divided between Somerset and London. I spend two or three days a week working in London, much of that time at the House of Lords, and when I’m there I’ll stay at our little flat in Kennington, just south of the river. On the writing front, I’ve always written whenever I’ve had the chance – either at home in my study or if I’ve got 10 minutes to wait for a train or a plane.

Do you go away much?
We regularly visit the small chalet we have in Crest-Voland, a lovely little village in the Savoie region of the French Alps that is a great place to visit in the summer or the winter – whether it’s for the skiing or the walking. In the summer I invariably get woken up at dawn by the sound of cowbells ringing outside my bedroom window. Still, what better way is there to wake up?

Do you have a garden at your Somerset home and do you spend much time in it?
It has a beautiful south-facing garden, where Jane and I spend more and more time now the children have long gone. I’m the navvy – the one who builds the paths, does the heavy stuff and looks after the fruit and vegetables. She has the artistic touch.

Having made Somerset your home, could you ever see yourself living anywhere else?
After a very peripatetic early life, I’ve put down very strong roots in the village where I live and they go down very deep. The villagers are tremendously protective of us as a family and if anyone comes snooping around asking after me they are instantly on their guard. I love the place and my heart will always reside there. Indeed, they’ll probably have to carry me out of my house.