DEREK DAVIS, presenter of
Sunday Magazine with Davis on 4, describes his holidays
What's your earliest holiday memory?Every year my family would go south of the Border for a fortnight and would invariably end up in Bray for a week – my mother was from Bray – and spend the other week touring around. It was the 1950s, and my father probably had the first trailer tent in captivity – ex-army. I remember eating cornflakes at the back of it aged six.
What was your worst holiday?I went to a friend's apartment in Marbella, in Spain, with my wife and three sons when they were very small. However, the owners had grown-up children, so it was immaculate and full of expensive-looking glass ornaments in free-standing display cases. I spent the week terrified of possible damage.
What was your best holiday?For the last 22 or 23 years I've headed to Kinsale for the gourmet festival. I like food, boats and fishing, so it all comes together. I have a circle of buddies that go there every year. There are four centres in the town where people can eat and drink all they want. The veterans know that pace is essential, but by Saturday evening the lobbies are strewn with happy people holding their tummies.
If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?My passions are the three Fs: food, fishing and fine wine. My dream holiday would be fishing in Canada for salmon or in Montana for high-mountain trout.
If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you?One close buddy, Jasper Smith, has been my fishing accomplice for 28 or 29 years. I always manage to pick friends that outfish me. My best ever marlin was 717lb, but his was 770lb.
What's your favourite place in Ireland?Kinsale. I kept a boat on the marina there for eight years during the Out of the Blueseries and fulfilled a middle-aged fantasy of living on a boat. If I had the chance to earn a living there and the kids were not in school I probably would have moved.
Your recommended holiday reading?I made a small contribution to the book Dear Sebastian. Over a year ago a man called Jordan Ferguson rang me. He was 35 and only had months to live. He wanted me to write a letter for his nine-year-old son. Now there are over 80 letters from people such as Brian Cowen. I would recommend this book to parents with a young family. I also recommend Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Bridesheadby Paula Byrne.
Where will you go to next?Normandy, in France. I've made a couple of documentaries there and go on a wine trip once a year. A friend of mine wants to see the Normandy beaches, so I'm trying to organise a trip.
Derek Davis presents Sunday Magazine with Davis on 4, on 4FM, Sundays 10am-noon. He is also master of ceremonies at Kinsale International Gourmet Festival, October 9th-12th, kinsalerestaurants.com