Interestingly, his 17th century home


was once owned by the gay playwright Noel Coward, (pictured below) who lived in the house from 1926 to 1956, before sadly passing away in 1973.


When Julian


moved in there were numerous reports about the former host


haunting his house – along with three other spooks – and Julian was forced to call in paranormal experts to rid his home of its unfriendly guests.


“The vortex where the spirits come in


was outside Noel Coward’s bedroom and people saw figures lurking in the mirror. He has calmed right down now, but when I first moved in he seemed most disapproving.


“Visitors were getting locked in


bathrooms, pictures were falling off of walls and the electricity would go out. It was like living with a bunch of anarchists,” the entertainer recalls.


After making his peace with the


spirits, the house now allows him to indulge his love of animals and he counts, among his menagerie, a clutch of chickens and a host of china hens – “a slight obsession”, he confesses.


“My childhood imagination was filled with the idea that animals are just as clever as human beings, just misunderstood. It is quite clear to me that animals can communicate, experience emotions and express themselves with an intelligence that is different from, but equal to, ours. I find them fascinating.”


“I had a vision of myself making jam”


His changing lifestyle has certainly


presented fresh challenges, which earned him third place in BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2004 and saw him enter the Celebrity Big Brother house in 2012 – against advice and go on to win.


But living the rural dream, his


fantastic kitchen and all the cookery shows in the world have failed to woo him into becoming a master chef.


“I loathe cooking. All that peeling and chopping, and then it's gone within a minute.


“It’s a shame, because I have the sort


of house where I had a vision of myself baking and making jam, but I'm not cut out for it at all.”


“It’s a world away from my usual filth”


Instead, he has turned his attention to writing and is currently working on the third book for his popular children’s series The Bolds.


“They flow out of me, I don't know


where they're all coming from. It's delightful; I just have such a lovely time writing them.


“Making children laugh is a whole new thing for me, it's lovely. No child pretends to laugh – it's very genuine.


“It's obviously a world away from my usual filth but that’s liberating.”


He also enjoys pottering around his


garden, although when challenged about his horticultural skills he remarks: “Am I good? I'm very good at walking around telling my gardener what to do.”


So, had he been told that after years


wearing make-up and leather in the capital he’d end up living in the country with his dogs and pottering around the


garden, would he have believed it?


“I probably would, actually. Because as a child I was very into animals and nature. Obviously I got distracted for a few years. But I’ve come full circle.


“I love Kent, it keeps me exercising,


carrying in logs and there’s a lot of mud, and I hope to stay here for a long time, but I will always have a place in my heart for London.”


So what’s next? I ask. “I don't have any burning desire to act.


I've spent so long creating my persona that it seems strange to let that go and be someone else. But, I'm always looking for a surprising offer. Good things often come along as a sort of divine intervention. Just as you're thinking, what am I going to do next year? Something wonderful comes along.


“And if it doesn’t, I’ll think up my own fun and games in the privacy of my luxury home . . . and I’ll make sure I draw the curtains before I start!”


 The Joy of Mincing is Julian Clary’s celebration of 30 years as a camp comedian, touring nationwide in spring 2016, stopping off at The Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells, on April 22 and The Marlowe, Canterbury, on April 24. Julian’s second children’s book The Bolds to the Rescue (Andersen Press, RRP £6.99) is released March 3.


Long-time friends from Kent Julian is looking forward to catching up with friends in Kent during his tour. He says: “There are fans that have followed me for my entire 30 years, and they bring their children along now. “I'm very fond of them, you know. You don't know their names necessarily, but it’s always a joy to see a familiar face. “There’s a delightful family from Tunbridge Wells I've known since the boy was 13 and now he's a grown-up. It's charming. “We talk about the old days at the Hackney Empire, or our aches and pains. “There's a connection there, even though we don't really know each other, because on one level we do.”


Image opposite; Courtesy of Tony Briggs; above image courtesy of Eddie Botsio. Mid Kent Living 9


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