From The
Sunday Times Travel Magazine January, 2008, issue
Do you plan your travels or just head off?
The past couple of years have been incredibly hectic and everything has been
fairly last-minute. I had a great holiday in France with my boyfriend after
typing ‘luxury Dordogne’ into Google. It came up with this 17th-century
windmill, just outside Villeneuve-sur-Lot. It was like a hobbit dwelling,
with arched doorways and wood carvings, set in beautiful countryside.
So the perfect rural idyll?
Yes, but not very peaceful. The first few nights, I was kept awake by a
munching sound, which was coming from inside the banister of a spiral
staircase leading up to the tower. It was driving me mad, so I attacked the
banister with a fork, wrenched the end off and found a mass of grubs. The
staircase was riddled with them.
Are you a country girl or a city slicker?
I’m an islander. One of the best holidays I’ve ever had was to the Isle of
Skye a few years ago. I find crossing a bridge makes you feel as if you’re
leaving all your troubles on the mainland. The neighbouring island of Mull
is like Fife, where I’m from, whereas Skye is a total contrast, and the
landscape and weather are much more stark. A lot of climbers go there to
train – the hills are pretty formidable.
Do you join them?
My mum and dad met as climbers, and I’ve done a little myself, including a
course in Snowdonia. I love the mountains but I’m also aware of the dangers.
What worries me most is damaging my fingers – at the moment, I can’t risk
losing them to frostbite.
Where has most influenced you musically?
When I was 18, I studied music at Kent School in Connecticut and travelled
around Vermont, Oregon, Texas and Chicago during vacations. I saw music gods
like Van Morrison and the Grateful Dead, and discovered that great music
attracts huge audiences. It really opened my mind.
And the highlight of your travels to date?
An awe-inspiring orca and whale-watching trip from Port Townsend, Washington.
Every time they came to the surface, the entire boat let out this shout of
excitement, and I imagined the whales underwater, with tape recorders,
catching a bit of this strange human song.
KT Tunstall’s latest album, Drastic Fantastic (on Virgin), is out now
"Eric the SCot" [sic] what a nasty personal attack! Have you, ever actually been to the East Neuk? Tunstall sounds Scottish! As for her music, she worked largely unrecognised for 8 years or so, she writes and performs fantastic tunes, and I could easily sing along to it all day long (it just wouldn't sounds as good!). Just because someone's successful in thte charts doesn't mean they aren't also great at what they do.
Catherine SInclair, Newburgh, FIfe
EricTheScot
Not everybody sounds like a weegie.
There are other acents in Scotland.
John, East Coaster,
I watched Ms Tunstall walk out onto the Live Earth stage in New York and as she checked her guitar and prepared for her set, Im sure the majority of American people were wondering,
who is this little girl from the UK.
Then she started to play.
She held that stage as her own and I have been hooked ever since.
Black horse and a Cherry Tree - what a fantastic piece of music / writing / melody.
If you dont own an album, go buy one.
pete, cannock, uk
This girl gives me the craps. She is completely pretentious and phoney, and her accent is unlike any Scottish one I've heard . She reminds me of the very English middle class types who attend Glastonbury and Wimbledon every year . In reality she's had a very priviledged life. Oh , and her music is smaltzy pop, the same level as James Blunt. Take it in and spit it out.
EricTheSCot, Glasgow, Alba