HOLIDAY HABITS

GriffRhysJones

If you see Griff on a
Ryanair flight, now you
know what he’s doing
there — saving money!Actor, writer and producer Griff Rhys Jones on how getting cabin fever as a child forged his passion for messing around in boats

“I must have had a rather deprived childhood when it came to holidays. Whereas my friends would all go abroad to places like France or Spain, we never went anywhere like that at all. My father was a doctor and had a small 29ft boat, like a mahogany caravan, and he’d take all his leave in one batch of four weeks and whisk us off up the Suffolk creeks to places like Walton-on-the-Naze.

“He’d stick the boat in the water, instantly get himself into his sleeping bag, light his Primus stove to make a stew and settle down on his bunk. That was his idea of heaven. We’d be two adults and three children crammed into this little boat, trying to get to sleep while my father snored.

“Strangely enough, these holidays influenced me and I have to say I now think that no other activity constitutes a real break. I’ve tried other holidays and I don’t see the point of them. The worst scenario for me is the excruciating boredom of being on a beach, and trapped in some ghastly hotel eating hotel food, but I simply love cruising on a boat.

“My wife and I used to rent boats in the Caribbean. I always felt it was like being on a huge lilo drifting from island to island. It’s the most fantastic way to relax, because you get the illusion of progress. You don’t even have to make the journey from the hotel to the beach — you just get up, leave your clothes on the bed, pick up a paperback and continue to drift.

“Whenever it comes to paying for a holiday, I always feel a bit sick about wasting money, so I’ll travel second class given the option. If I want a newspaper I’ll buy one — I don’t want to travel business class and pay extortionately for the privilege.

“However, people seem very surprised to see me whenever I travel Ryanair. They shout at me: ‘What you doing here, Griff? What are you doing on this cheap flight?’ It’s difficult to know how to respond to a question like that, so I usually just say the bloomin’ obvious: ‘Saving money mate, same as you.’” Interview: Mark Anstead