AS LOVE IS THE SEA
One of the last sentences in my new book The Princess Matilda Comes Home is: ‘We had travelled over 2,000 miles and visited over 90 ports and harbours…’ With my husband, the actor Timothy Spall, I had embarked on an adventure of a lifetime, travelling by barge around the stunning, rugged coast of the United Kingdom.
Together, we had made passage through some of the most troublesome seas in the world: the heaving, angry Atlantic, around Land’s End and the Lizard, up and down the brutal Bristol Channel and the spiteful Irish Sea, through some of the Western Isles of Scotland, along the glorious Great Glen out into the Moray Firth and back down south on the lumpy North Sea. And we discovered that each port and seaside town has a unique identity. We met fisher-folk and lifeboat crews, harbour masters and coastguards. Friendly people, with the sea running in their blood – we are, after all, a maritime nation.
The journey took us several years, but we wanted to tarry and explore and discover our wonderful country. Besides, as an actor, Timothy occasionally must make a film or the odd television programme.
Our boat was named after our first grandchild, Matilda. In fact, our boat and our granddaughter are the same age and are both about to celebrate their 10th birthdays. It would be our home for many months.
1. The boat, in dry dock, dwarfs Shane and Tim. 2.Timothy at the helm, with his granddaughter Matilda. 3. Shane with Frances Barber and Tim, flanked by the film crew for BBC Four’s All At Sea.
The sea is a cruel mistress and our small island is littered with shipwrecks. Thank God, we have never had to abandon ship, but on the rear deck of The Princess Matilda is an emergency life raft. Should the time have ever come, it would have been thrown into the sea and somehow the crew of two: skipper and galley maid, granny, chief cook and bottle washer would have clambered inside and awaited rescue.
A waterproof grab bag was always at the ready. This was very important. It contained distress flares, a wind-up torch, a whistle, a mobile VHF radio, emergency rations of dry biscuits, a fishing line and hook, seasickness tablets – and half a bottle of Gordon’s gin. Most important of all, however, would be the knowledge that my husband and I have each other.
Tim and I have been married for 33 years. He is my best friend, my lover, my mate and we have stayed together through thick and thin, good times, bad times, feast and famine.
The Princess Matilda, in many ways, is the emblem of our continuing marriage. Like any partnership, it has not all been plain sailing, but Tim and I have remained united on our small vessel on an oft choppy sea because our love for each other is as enduring and tenacious as the ocean.
I think Tim’s own words sum it up best – this poem he wrote to celebrate marriage:
As love is as the sea so is the sea as love,
Oft smooth and calm,
betimes rough and angry,
Off high and low tides,
one quick the other sluggish,
’neath the surface sharp rocks and lovely creatures
Conflict in meetings and turbulent confusions,
Wind sped passions crashing in glorious union,
Cruel and wonderful as the power of The Cosmos,
Bountiful and nourishing as the horn of plenty,
Soothing and warm as the breath of cherubim,
Cold and wicked as the eyes of evil,
Yet ever constant continuous and true,
The elemental liquid womb of the giver of all,
The moving blood of God the everlasting truth.
‘Betimes rough and angry’:
In other words, the worst of times, which literally confronted us on our trip when The Princess Matilda came around St David’s Head, with the tide running against us and the waves tossing us about like a rag doll in the mouth of a rabid dog.
The worst time in our marriage came in 1996, when my husband was having chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia. Life can throw curve balls at you, and some we are not able to duck.
Tim began his treatment that year on 9 May, coincidentally the same day he should have been walking along the waterfront Promenade de la Croisette at Cannes, the iconic French Riviera town – famous for the international fi lm festival, its picturesque beaches and the super-yachts moored in the tranquil, safe anchorage of the bay.
Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies was opening the prestigious fi lm festival that year and Tim had played the male lead. It went on to win the Palme d’Or and was nominated for several Oscars.
Meanwhile, Tim was undergoing the ‘cure’ at University College London Hospital, where he almost died. A bungee jump into hell and back but the expertise of the consultants, doctors and nurses at UCLA and love from his family and friends brought him through.
Tim’s mantra when he was ill was, ‘When I get better, we’ll get a Rolls- Royce and a boat,’ and we did just that. The boat, especially, has become a great celebration of life.
After surviving those dark times, people often ask why we went out on this voyage, risking our necks.
Sometimes I wonder why, too, especially when we were being bounced over waves the size of a terraced house. But then we’d drop anchor in a secret lagoon, surrounded by an azure sea as smooth as silk. It’s rather like having a baby; you soon forget the hard labour.
From left: The Saltire gets soaked by Scottish spray. Tim checks all is shipshape before casting off from Pwllheli, Gwynedd
‘Soothing and warm as the breath of cherubim’… the best of times were just recently when Tim won best actor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, playing the title role in Mike Leigh’s film about the artist JMW Turner, Mr Turner.
Age has taught us both that everything has a season, life is cyclical – just like the tide, you must be patient for it will always return.
Our life has been rich and blessed with three children who have turned out to be kind adults. Indeed, it is our family that we are most proud of, not awards – although it is wonderful to receive recognition.
But what of those ‘Wind sped passions crashing in glorious union’?
Well, that is a different story altogether – and one we shall keep to ourselves…
The Princess Matilda Comes Home: The Adventure Of A Lifetime Around Britain On A Barge, by Shane Spall, is published by Ebury, priced £14.99.
Together, we had made passage through some of the most troublesome seas in the world: the heaving, angry Atlantic, around Land’s End and the Lizard, up and down the brutal Bristol Channel and the spiteful Irish Sea, through some of the Western Isles of Scotland, along the glorious Great Glen out into the Moray Firth and back down south on the lumpy North Sea. And we discovered that each port and seaside town has a unique identity. We met fisher-folk and lifeboat crews, harbour masters and coastguards. Friendly people, with the sea running in their blood – we are, after all, a maritime nation.
The journey took us several years, but we wanted to tarry and explore and discover our wonderful country. Besides, as an actor, Timothy occasionally must make a film or the odd television programme.
Our boat was named after our first grandchild, Matilda. In fact, our boat and our granddaughter are the same age and are both about to celebrate their 10th birthdays. It would be our home for many months.
1. The boat, in dry dock, dwarfs Shane and Tim. 2.Timothy at the helm, with his granddaughter Matilda. 3. Shane with Frances Barber and Tim, flanked by the film crew for BBC Four’s All At Sea. The sea is a cruel mistress and our small island is littered with shipwrecks. Thank God, we have never had to abandon ship, but on the rear deck of The Princess Matilda is an emergency life raft. Should the time have ever come, it would have been thrown into the sea and somehow the crew of two: skipper and galley maid, granny, chief cook and bottle washer would have clambered inside and awaited rescue.
A waterproof grab bag was always at the ready. This was very important. It contained distress flares, a wind-up torch, a whistle, a mobile VHF radio, emergency rations of dry biscuits, a fishing line and hook, seasickness tablets – and half a bottle of Gordon’s gin. Most important of all, however, would be the knowledge that my husband and I have each other.
Tim and I have been married for 33 years. He is my best friend, my lover, my mate and we have stayed together through thick and thin, good times, bad times, feast and famine.
The Princess Matilda, in many ways, is the emblem of our continuing marriage. Like any partnership, it has not all been plain sailing, but Tim and I have remained united on our small vessel on an oft choppy sea because our love for each other is as enduring and tenacious as the ocean.
I think Tim’s own words sum it up best – this poem he wrote to celebrate marriage:
As love is as the sea so is the sea as love,
Oft smooth and calm,
betimes rough and angry,
Off high and low tides,
one quick the other sluggish,
’neath the surface sharp rocks and lovely creatures
Conflict in meetings and turbulent confusions,
Wind sped passions crashing in glorious union,
Cruel and wonderful as the power of The Cosmos,
Bountiful and nourishing as the horn of plenty,
Soothing and warm as the breath of cherubim,
Cold and wicked as the eyes of evil,
Yet ever constant continuous and true,
The elemental liquid womb of the giver of all,
The moving blood of God the everlasting truth.
‘Betimes rough and angry’:
In other words, the worst of times, which literally confronted us on our trip when The Princess Matilda came around St David’s Head, with the tide running against us and the waves tossing us about like a rag doll in the mouth of a rabid dog.
The worst time in our marriage came in 1996, when my husband was having chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukaemia. Life can throw curve balls at you, and some we are not able to duck.
Tim began his treatment that year on 9 May, coincidentally the same day he should have been walking along the waterfront Promenade de la Croisette at Cannes, the iconic French Riviera town – famous for the international fi lm festival, its picturesque beaches and the super-yachts moored in the tranquil, safe anchorage of the bay.
Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies was opening the prestigious fi lm festival that year and Tim had played the male lead. It went on to win the Palme d’Or and was nominated for several Oscars.
Meanwhile, Tim was undergoing the ‘cure’ at University College London Hospital, where he almost died. A bungee jump into hell and back but the expertise of the consultants, doctors and nurses at UCLA and love from his family and friends brought him through.
Tim’s mantra when he was ill was, ‘When I get better, we’ll get a Rolls- Royce and a boat,’ and we did just that. The boat, especially, has become a great celebration of life.
After surviving those dark times, people often ask why we went out on this voyage, risking our necks.
Sometimes I wonder why, too, especially when we were being bounced over waves the size of a terraced house. But then we’d drop anchor in a secret lagoon, surrounded by an azure sea as smooth as silk. It’s rather like having a baby; you soon forget the hard labour.
From left: The Saltire gets soaked by Scottish spray. Tim checks all is shipshape before casting off from Pwllheli, Gwynedd‘Soothing and warm as the breath of cherubim’… the best of times were just recently when Tim won best actor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, playing the title role in Mike Leigh’s film about the artist JMW Turner, Mr Turner.
Age has taught us both that everything has a season, life is cyclical – just like the tide, you must be patient for it will always return.
Our life has been rich and blessed with three children who have turned out to be kind adults. Indeed, it is our family that we are most proud of, not awards – although it is wonderful to receive recognition.
But what of those ‘Wind sped passions crashing in glorious union’?
Well, that is a different story altogether – and one we shall keep to ourselves…
The Princess Matilda Comes Home: The Adventure Of A Lifetime Around Britain On A Barge, by Shane Spall, is published by Ebury, priced £14.99.