My most memorable holiday: Alison Moyet

We take Alison Moyet down memory lane as she recalls childhood holidays living off the land…

Growing up my dad was a Frenchman and my grandparents had no telephone, so every year our holiday was to go to France to see my dad’s parents. They were real French peasants and we had no money so it was all sleeping in fields, washing and cleaning our teeth in rivers, packing up our beds before the combine harvester came and took away our straw mattresses.

I came from one of those families where you’d get up at 4 o’clock in the morning to go mushroom picking. My grandparents would know exactly where to go. You’d never go hungry because they’d find a plant when you were out that you could cook. Properly living off the land. It was brilliant.

You’d put your milk in those string bags and throw them in the river, then tie them to a stone and that’s how you kept your food cold. It was brilliant. We’d be in these places in France where down the river there would be a town putting on some kind of fete, so me and my brother would just jump in the river and swim there. It was fantastic.

That was the kind of holiday we had. I never got sent to a holiday camp or anything so I don’t quite know how to do that kind of holiday.

Alison’s latest album the minutes is out now. For details of upcoming shows go to alisonmoyet.com