Last Sunday I featured in the Sunday Times Homes supplement in their Times & Space feature.
Our house near Tunbridge Wells in Kent isn’t beautiful by any stretch of the imagination, but when my husband, John, and I bought it in 2003 we thought it was quite big. Actually there’s not an inch of space to spare. It’s an odd upside-down house, built into a hillside, overlooking a valley. The previous owner, an architect, built it in 1985. I was renting one of his barns to store books for my bookshop and when he died his widow sold their house and farm, with 12 acres, to us. I don’t regret moving here, but I’ve never regarded it as a for ever home.
With his husband, John, and their two dogs, Dude and Bubba
Was it a costly purchase?
The only way we could afford it was for John’s parents to come in with us. We’d planned to convert the double garage into a granny flat, but our neighbours objected so we effectively shared the house with my late in-laws.
We have two barns that we’ve considered converting into holiday homes, but we’ve never done anything about it. We also own a field at the top of a plateau that we should look at developing, but it has been classed as an area of outstanding natural beauty. I can assure you it is not. We’ve decided to move when, eventually, I stop doing the radio. I’d like a Victorian rectory in Kent or East Sussex.
Did you get any negative feedback after you criticised Tunbridge Wells when you stood for parliament?
I’ve had no pushback at all. People have said, “Who hasn’t slagged off where they live?” But I felt a sense of humiliation. Still do. I was only off air for three days since I started campaigning. I went back to LBC pretending it had all been a Bobby Ewing dream. I don’t know what colleagues were saying behind my back but everybody seemed thrilled to see me. They said, “At least you put your head above the parapet.”
Dale’s property in Norfolk is on the market
Do you have a second home?
We have a house south of Aylsham in Norfolk that has been on the market for a year. The previous owners built a pool house with a seven-seater hot tub and gym. There’s also a gazebo, double garage and greenhouse. We’ve had viewings but we get feedback like “we’d prefer two bathrooms” and you think, you knew it had one bathroom before you came to look at it. We’re not reducing the price again. If it doesn’t sell this month we’ll probably take it off the market.
Why were the police called to your Tunbridge Wells home in 2021?
Our neighbours thought I was having a rave. I was actually listening to loud trance music. Well, it’s the only way to play trance music.
Do you own any other property?
It sounds very middle class but the woman who does our ironing — a school friend of John’s — rang us in tears saying she was being evicted from her home in Tunbridge Wells. We decided to buy the house and let her stay. We’re good landlords.
Dale interviewing the former prime minister Theresa May on LBC
Do you have a packed diary?
I present my evening radio show four nights a week. If a caller is being deliberately stupid or argumentative I don’t hold back. Generally, though, I’m seen as empathetic. Any presenter on speech radio who isn’t prepared to share their personal experiences shouldn’t be doing the job, although John’s constant refrain is, “Can you keep nothing private?”
I’m also working on a biography of Margaret Thatcher, introducing her to a new generation. It was sparked by my personal trainer, who said, “Now Margaret Thatcher. I’ve heard of her but who was she?” Plus I’m auditioning a potential replacement for Jacqui Smith [the former Labour home secretary left Dale’s current affairs podcast, For the Many, when she became minister for skills]. Caroline Flint [the former Labour MP] is the strongest candidate so far.
