You may know him as the choir maestro that has taken the country by storm, but in an exclusive interview with Flip It News, Gareth Malone reveals all about his life on his family farm, as well as giving us a few tips and tricks to make the country life even better!
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| Choir Legend - Country Legend |
Our interview begins in Gareth's kitchen. Set at the back of his family's 18th century farmhouse, he starts by telling us of all the amazing floral displays he used to admire as a child.
"I would wake up in the morning and go to the kitchen for breakfast. However, more often than not I wouldn't have finished my cereal by the time I needed to leave for school. The sloping fields that I could see from the window were always packed with hundreds of varieties of flowers and shrubs. It really was a feast for the senses and a huge part of my childhood".
Looking out of the window ourselves, we can see why he felt this way! We asked him if the experience of being around such visual experiences helped shape his future career decisions in any way, and we were pleasantly surprised by the answer.
"Directly, no. However, I remember watching Aled Jones performing a song in a field as part of a show on TV. I had done a little choir singing at the local church, but seeing that juxtaposition of words and visual stimulus just triggered something deep inside of me. From that moment on I worked as hard as I could in the choir practice, and knew it was the direction in which my life was heading".
We talked for what seems like a another 4 hours about his childhood experiences, with Gareth seemingly travelling back in time and reliving every moment as though it had just happened. A lovely thing to see, and it just backs up the theory that living in the country is the most fulfilling of all!
We eventually moved into his garden, and towards the sloping fields of flowers he had described at the start of the interview.
He went on to tell us about how his mother and father had provided him with different lessons for living in the countryside.
"Mum would teach me all there is to know about maintaining the flora around the grounds. tips, tricks and old wives tales also!
"One particular theory she had was that adding dust to the watering can would deter pests and allow the plants to grow pest free. No idea if this is actually true, but she did always have the best flowers in the village!", he said with a huge grin on his face.
He continued on to explain that his father would teach him about controlling the wildlife in the grounds.
"There was the obvious stuff he would teach, such as building the chicken coop in a way to keep the foxes out, but there is one lesson that sticks in my mind to this day, shaving the deer!"
Baffled, we asked him to explain what this was about.
"The deer would flock from the woodland to our garden and eat mum's prized flowers. My dad, a 4th generation farmer, used the 'rump shaving' technique taught to him by his father
"By luring and trapping the deer, then shaving the rump of the animal, it would create a cold spot on their rear. This in turn would force the animals into the woodland to shelter from the cold wind, and keep them away from the house. He always claimed it was the humane way to control them".
As we continued around the grounds of the farmhouse, and knowing that his parents were very much still alive, we questioned Gareth on how he came to move into the house, and where his parents now lived.
"The upkeep was just getting too much for them" he explained.
"They told me that they were going to sell the house and move to a smaller place. This was just after the success of the Military Wives and my bank account was looking ok, so I offered to buy the house off of them. Not only did this keep the house in the family, but it also meant they could come by and visit whenever they want and not lose any of the precious memories from over the years."
At this point the sun was setting, and Gareth needed to head off to an engagement in London. It was a shame the day was over, and we had plenty more questions to ask, but unfortunately our time was up!
As Gareth headed towards his car, and as we packed up our equipment, he offered some parting advice.
"Enjoy the views. They won't last forever, but they can always live on in your memory".
Powerful words from an increasingly powerful man (in the music world anyway!).
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