Jodie Kidd's happy place is the family home in beautiful Barbados

Jodie's paradise: Holders House in Barbados


The first time I came to Barbados I must have been less than a year old. My grandmother came over by boat in about 1950 and fell in love with the island, and a few years later she returned and bought Holders House – and that’s been our family home ever since.

Then, it was around 300 acres, though most of the old grounds have now been incorporated into the Green Monkey golf course at Sandy Lane.

My grandmother was an incredible woman. She started the first dairy farm on the island, so we have strong ties going back 60 years.

As a youngster I used to think of it as my happy place. One of my favourite memories is of how I used to feel the moment my plane touched down on the island, the doors opened and I took that first step out – to be blasted by the heat.

It was an amazing feeling and one I still look forward to when I visit.
My sister Jemma and my mother live here, and every Easter we hold a sort of mini-Glyndebourne in the gardens of the house. It’s called the Holders Season and features performances of everything from opera to Shakespeare to mad and wacky musicians and dancers from all over the world.

We’ve had Kylie Minogue here as well as Pavarotti. It’s brilliant fun. When I was little, Mum and Dad wanted me to live on the island and even went as far as finding me a private tutor.

However, I was so into my horses and lovely pony that they sent me back to school in England.
I did miss the island, though. I have some very close Bajan (Barbadian) friends whom I’ve known since I was very small, so visiting is always like coming home.


Beach babe: A young Jodie in Barbados with older sister Jemma, mother Wendy and father Johnny


One of the beautiful things about Barbados is its diversity. The west coast has some superb restaurants and nightlife and can be very touristy, but over on the Atlantic side there’s a completely different feel. It’s rough and rugged and raw, with beautiful panoramic views, and hugely popular with surfers.

If you want to find me in Barbados I’m normally on the east coast or surfing on the south coast in my rashie, the vest top that stops the surf wax getting on your chest.
But I also enjoy heading down to the west coast and the smarter hotels where there are some seriously glamorous looks going on. I love to spend an afternoon looking at the gorgeous costumes and outfits, especially those worn by guests at the Sandy Lane or Royal West moreland resorts.

Barbados was where I was first discovered as a model by the photographer Terry O’Neill, a friend of my mum who was staying at Sandy Lane with his then girlfriend Laraine Ashton, at that time running IMG Models in London.

As I was walked down the beach to meet Mum and Terry, he turned to her and said: ‘Gosh, Jodie’s very tall. She might be good as a model.’

Terry thought I was statuesque and quite quirky-looking, and told Mum that we should see Laraine. He thought I might even be able to make some money.

At the time I was trying to buy a horsebox so I thought I’d give modelling a go for six months to try to save some money. Little did I realise that it was to be the beginning of this amazing journey that I’ve had.

Yet, I’m probably more known in Barbados for my family and our longstanding ties to the island than as a famous model.

Often I’ll be driving down the street and people will call out: ‘Hey, Jodie!’ They’re all my friends and it is a small island so I always get hollered at.

One of the reasons it’s a special place is because so many famous people stay here. The locals love it because they can say, ‘Oh look, there’s Simon Cowell!’ or, ‘There’s Sir Cliff Richard!’

My mum has a large number of British friends who have settled on the island, but most Britons you see there are those who just regularly visit for their holidays. They have houses here – everyone from the Bamfords to the Rothschilds who used to stay here.

So you can see, Barbados really is THE island to be on.
I always fly here with British Airways because of family ties. The former chairman, Lord King, was my mum’s guardian and one of my grandmother’s greatest friends. In fact my grandmother flew on one of the first Concorde flights to the island and she frequently used the plane in later years.

My most recent visit was to model one of the super-cool paper dresses that BOAC stewardesses used to wear on the Barbados run in the Sixties. Vintage Sixties outfits are right back in fashion again – I never throw out anything in my wardrobe now because you can guarantee that within ten years it will be back in fashion again!


Surf chic: Jodie jet skiing in Barbados


Barbadians are very dependent on tourism for their livelihoods. At one time, the sugar cane industry was the main employer along with cultivating bananas. The remains of both industries still exist but other parts of the world have overtaken them, so tourism has become the main focus. However, you do still see islanders with their donkey and cart pulling huge piles of sugar cane. It’s used to make Mount Gay rum, one of the most famous in the world.

As a child I loved being around when they were harvesting the sugar cane. I remember following the huge trailers in our car and if a cane fell off the back, we used to stop, pick it up and strip it off and suck the sugar.

I can recall too the smell of the big factories burning cane. They still have the traditional festival called ‘Crop Over’ which was always held at the end of the sugar harvest.

There are all kinds of celebrations and the festival lasts throughout June and July.

Today, though, even tourism is suffering. Many of our visitors have always come from England but numbers have been falling since air passenger duty was raised. It doesn’t seem fair that the Government in the UK can affect such a lovely little country, by taxing those who want to visit.

Barbados has changed dramatically over the years. There are lots of new buildings and developments. It used to take an hour and a half to get from the airport to our house along dirt tracks going through cane fields. But now there are houses everywhere and it’s very modern.

However, it still holds amazing surprises. Once, while driving around, we came across some Rastafarians, washing their hair in a natural spring with aloe.
It was so beautiful that I just stopped and got out, and then we washed ourselves, too.

The local people are wonderful – they’re so welcoming and always have smiles on their faces.

Barbados is such a magical place with an amazing energy and vibe. But then I’m biased. Why don’t you come and see for yourselves.

Jodie Kidd was talking to Malcolm Herdman

Travel facts
Seven nights at The Crane in Barbados costs from £1,469. This includes return BA flights from Gatwick and accommodation with breakfast. For reservations, call 0844 493 0758 or visit www.ba.com/barbados.

source: dailymail