ftS 10 Outlook At Home with ...


The Home Secretary


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VIVIEN MEATH visits David and Gillian Waddington and looks at the home the new Home Secretary retreats to when he leaves the hurly-burly of Westminster.


WHEN Britain’s new Home Secretary says: “This is our home” , one can detect a feeling of


pride and contentment. For David Waddington,


his wife, Gillian, and daugh­ ter, Victoria, home is with­ out a doubt where the heart is — and for them Sabden certainly fulfils that role. Whins House nestles in


the hillside above the village famous for its connections with Lancashire’s witches and, in recent years the resurrection of the legend­ ary treacle miners. A large country house


backing onto a grouse moor, one end was originally used as a shooting lodge for Read Hall. The front door and draw­


ing room still date back to the end of the 18th century, although sections of the house which had fallen into disrepair, were demolished when Gillian’ s parents bought it in the late 1940’s. A comfortable home with


large rooms featuring open fires and furnished with a mixture of antiques, it has matured welland is very much a lived-in home with the trappings and cosy clut­ ter of family life. Bom in Ashtead, Surrey,


Gillian was just seven years old when her family moved back to its Lancashire roots. She w a tch ed w ith


interest as her father, Alan Green, became Conserva­ tive MP for Preston, rising to Financial Secretary to the Treasury under Sir Alec Douglas Home.


It is obvious that the


political life suits her. With a warm personality and ready sense of humour she has become adept at han­ dling the enormous variety of situations which regu­ larly confront an MP’s wife. The couple take pride in


their Lancashire back­ ground and despite David’s rapid promotion within the Government, adopt an admirable no nonsense, no frills approach to their daily lifestyle. Gillian was still in her


teens when she married David in 1958. He lived “over the hill” in Read and


admits: “I ’m the adventur­ ous type, I travelled two miles to get married.” They spent their early


married life living in the converted stables adjacent to the house, but as their family increased moved into “ the big house,” Gillian’s parents moving into the for­ mer stables. Very much a family in the traditional sense, the couple have five children with all but Victoria (18) living in London, although their eldest daughter Jennifer is at present on a working holiday in Australia. The two oldest boys are


engaged to be married next year, but the family always return to Sabden en-bloc for Easter, Christmas — and the Grand National! Saying that, Gillian


admits that Christmas 1989 will be the first time they have not been together, Jennifer will be “ Down Under.” Gillian takes care of the


cooking and all the prepara­ tions for what both describe as “ an enormous family party.”


Since becoming Home


Secretary, they have been caught in the inevitable


!-,


tight security net which has been thrown around the house. They are still learning to


live with it. Police have taken over part of their home, and although the Waddingtons are deter­ mined to try and live their lives as normal, they have been dropped into a totally abnormal situation. “ I don’t want to change


my way of doing things,” says Sabden’s new VIP “ I really like coming back up here. I always try to do a weekend surgery and it’s very rare not to have one


fo rm a l c o n s t itu en c y engagement.” In a bid to develop


interests outside Parlia­ ment, the couple have decided to embark on a new hobby.


Their housekeeper — “A


fantastic woman called Mary Harrison who keeps things going while we’re away,” says Gillian — had told them of her husband Norman’s exploits with his fishing rod. The family have sampled some of his prime catches and David and Gil­ l ia n a r e ta k in g up fly-fishing. During my interview, on


a Saturday afternoon in November, Norman arrived complete with rod for a les­ son casting on the front lawn. The scene would have


provided national newspa­ per cartoonists and TV’s “Spitting Image” crew with plenty of material for their hooks. As David flipped back the rod on the gravel path send­


ing the line out towards the flower beds, a policeman concealed behind the trees bordering the garden, slipped briefly into sight during his patrol of the perimeter. David and Gillian are


quickly mastering the tech­ niques and hope soon to head towards water, accom­ panied undoubtedly by their security shadow.


As a taster, Norman


arrived bearing a salmon which promised to provide a mouthwatering meal later. Gillian has endless hob­


bies. Now her children are older — only Victoria remains at home when not attending boarding school in the Lake District — she divides her time between Sabden and an Edwardian tej


in South L. Due to hei


motion, thej move frorfi; another mor new role.


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entertaining! her own ‘dc competent!? making hjer among otnhi cu r ren t ly ’! large ancljjn rug — paris pear baclpt her on Sundi She alsgjji


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