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Spectator
20-07-2025
- Spectator
English? Middle class? Welcome to the Costa del Boden
It was when I saw two other women wearing the same red-and-white-striped Boden swimming costume as me that I realised what I had become. Twenty years ago, I wouldn't have been seen dead on a beach in Salcombe in a Boden swimming costume. I would have been topless on a riverbank in Provence, smoking a Gitane and reading Duras. These days, I don't have time to care, and I summon G.K. Chesterton as my guide: 'Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason why it was put up.' I have children, a husband and dogs, and we have come – without really meaning to but by some centrifugal bourgeois force – to the Costa del Boden for our summer holiday. In short, we appear to be in favour of the fence. Where? Has yummy-mummy clothes-retailer Jonny Boden bought up part of the English coastline? Well, sort of. The Costa del Boden, otherwise known as the English middle-class coastline, pops up in more than a few places: Salcombe in Devon, Daymer Bay, Polzeath or Rock in Cornwall, Brancaster in Norfolk, and Seaview on the Isle of Wight. It is where the middle to upper classes holiday in this country. These aren't the middle classes the Telegraph writes about, now apparently priced out of their summer break by rising costs. Neither are they the net-zero middle classes who seek sustainable alternatives to overseas travel. No, these are the moneyed bourgeoisie who routinely spend at least a month of the summer on the English coast before heading to Corfu or France for a jolly in August. At any one of the yacht clubs, status is earned through routine longevity: if you have been coming for 'donkeys yahhs', so much the better. You'll also know everyone you run into – which is all any Sloane really wants; forget cultural exchange or the strange, salty nature of the Continent. All in all, robust, weather-beaten, 'Granny had a house here' boat-y top trumps is the thing. But one hardly needs to be robust to enjoy the Costa del Boden. It's all cloyingly lovely – too lovely, in fact. This isn't the risky carnival of Punch and Judy, the pier or, heaven forbid, dry sand. Far from it. At North Sands or Bantham Beach in Devon, the shoreline is jammed with labradors chasing tennis balls while mothers hare after little Ludos or Harrys togged out in – you guessed it – Boden long-sleeved swimsuits. Conversations I overheard while chasing my own little darling seemed to orbit around commuting, the merits of Bridie and Bert towels and VAT. If you fancy something to eat, you can have artisan pizza by the beach – sponsored, apparently, by Vivobarefoot-trainer tycoon Galahad Clark – or pick up a cortado from the coffee van (no cash, please, begs the sign). In Salcombe, bucket-and-spade shops have made way for an avalanche of boutiques designed to lure in the discerning middle-class female shopper; the brands With Nothing Underneath and Busby and Fox were doing a roaring trade when I stopped in for the briefest of rummages. Of course, if your children are older, the Costa del Boden is all about rummaging – or rather frisking. One friend, a regular on the Costa del Boden's Polzeath strip of coastline, tells tales of public-school teenagers – 'mainly Stowe, Radley and Marlborough, to be frank' – prowling the beach after dark 'like penguins' while their parents drink rosé until 'the police turn the floodlights on at midnight like magic nannies'. 'It's teen mecca,' another friend sighs, adding that Daymer Bay, where the Camerons have a house, is 'still sweet', but 'the teenagers just want to be where they know everyone from school'. All anyone wants, it seems, is to have a jolly good, socially cordoned-off, PLU time, whether procured with a fake ID or not. Ah, identity – that old conundrum. I got to thinking about it, as Carrie Bradshaw would have said, during my week on the Costa del Boden. I thought about how I must have appeared to others in my Boden swimming costumes and Aspiga dresses: invisible death by batik print and nautical stripe. I thought about how strong and persistent the desire to blend in is – and how brightly that desire burns in my seven-year-old daughter's eyes. But I shan't be sad. Chesterton wasn't, after all; he knew that fences were put up for a reason, and that nobody has a good time until someone is excluded. The Costa del Boden, erected to keep others out and let the right sort in, is surely the fence of which he speaks.
Daily Mail
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Fern Britton, 67, continues to showcase her incredible weight loss transformation in a chic blazer and high-waisted trousers for latest social media snap - after losing five stone
Fern Britton continued to showcase her incredible five stone weight loss as she posed for an Instagram snap on Friday. The presenter, 67, looked effortlessly chic in a plaid blazer and trousers while resting her hand on her slender waist. Fern completed the stylish Busby and Fox outfit with a simple white T-shirt and sandals while beaming for the camera amid the release of her new novel A Cornish Legacy. She captioned the snap: 'A cute little ensemble!'. It comes after Fern Britton proved she could still give This Morning successor Holly Willoughby a run for her money as she shared a new social media snap to plug her latest book. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Fern Britton, 67, continued to showcase her incredible five stone weight loss as she posed for an Instagram snap on Friday The presenter showed off her ageless complexion as she celebrated the release of her new novel with a post on Instagram on Thursday. She captioned the post: 'A Cornish Legacy is out tomorrow! I'm very excited to see if you like it.' The snap was also eerily similar to an image posted by Holly, while she promoted her Wylde Library, a collection of books on the official brand's website which is guided by recommendations from her fans. Fern recently revealed the turning point behind her dramatic weight loss in an interview with Woman&Home magazine. The presenter reflected on the powerful moment she decided to take back control of her health. She told the publication: 'People often wonder when you lose lots of weight whether you've done it naturally. 'And I can look at you and say, "Yes, I have".' 'I had my shoulder replacement 18 months ago, and two-and-a-half years ago, when I saw the surgeon, he said, "I'm going to totally replace your shoulder, I'll see you in a year." 'I thought, "I need to get my life back on track. I need to stop smoking, stop drinking, get eating under control and stop lying in bed feeling sorry for myself". 'So I started the Couch to 5k, took about 80 per cent of the sugar out of my life and started to think about what I was eating, which I had never done before.' Five years ago, the presenter moved permanently into her Cornish holiday home before renovating it 'bit by bit'. A Cornish Legacy, which is Fern's 11th novel, took the star two years to write – twice longer than normal. Fern has long enjoyed storytelling, releasing her first novel New Beginnings 2011, two years after leaving This Morning. But since Covid she has been prolific in her writing, penning Daughters Of Cornwall in 2020 and The Good Servant two years later, with the hotly-anticipated A Cornish Legacy set for release in June. The Sunday Times bestselling author recently took to Instagram to reveal the cover of her new book, which promises another historical adventure on the south-west coastline. In a caption, Fern excitedly announced: 'Hello everyone! I'm delighted to share the cover of my new novel, A Cornish Legacy, out in hardback, eBook and audio in June. 'Enter Wilder Hoo House and discover its secrets! Nestled against the rugged Atlantic coast of Cornwall comes a heart-warming story of new beginnings and finding home where you least expect it… 'You can pre-order A Cornish Legacy with the link in my bio! Love, Fern. x #ACornishLegacy.' Fern has twin sons Harry and Jack, 31, and daughter Grace, 27, from her first marriage, to Clive Jones, and daughter Winnie, 23, with Phil Vickery. Fern has kept her private life out of the spotlight since calling it a off with TV chef, Phil, 63, in 2020, after 20 years. It comes after Fern proved she could still give This Morning successor Holly Willoughby a run for her money as she shared a new social media snap to plug her latest book Fern was replaced by Holly as the host of This Morning back in 2009, but in recent posts she has showcased her ageless complexion (picture don the show) She recently admitted that while she does get 'lonely', she is still not looking for love five years on from her split. The couple's 20-year marriage came to an end in 2020 following the deaths of Fern's parents, which reportedly caused the pair to realise that they had to 'follow their own paths'. She told Woman & Home: 'I'm not looking for love - I'm still a bit too wary of losing my liberty. 'There's nobody to run something past but, on the other hand, I think back to running things past people and it never really worked out, so why don't I just make my own decision? Then I'm the only person who can go, 'I f***ed up there.' Fern's move into authoring came shortly after her departure from This Morning where she became a household name alongside Philip Schofield from 1999 to 2009, when she was replaced by Holly. She reportedly blames Phil for her This Morning exit and isn't afraid to speak out in the CBB house. It was claimed at the time of Fern's This Morning exit she felt 'undervalued by ITV' and that she was 'living in Phil's shadow'. It was also reported she was being paid £250,000 a year less than Phil and that he was earning three times her salary when they were fronting Mr and Mrs together from 2008 to 2010. Phil is said to have banked £45,000 an hour while Fern earned just £15,000. However, Fern denied she left ITV because of her salary and upon her departure she mentioned the whole This Morning team rather than just Phillip.
