“There’s a theory that you ought to choose your constituency on some deeply rational and systematic basis,” he says. “But actually, it was memories of happy times spent in Dorset that largely influenced me to apply. And in those early years it was always touch and go whether I’d be re-elected. There was a very strong Liberal show and little Labour to dilute the vote.”
As a child, many of Sir Oliver’s holidays were spent on Purbeck, while his wife, Isabel (currently the Legal Director of the Ministery of Defence) spent equally happy times in Lyme Regis. The couple married in 1984 and, together with their two children, lived for their first five years in Dorset in a small cottage in Kingcombe.
“I certainly feel that after 22 years I’ve mixed my blood with the place and we’re here to stay,” he tells me. “But it’s a love affair rather than an origin. Shortly after we arrived, I met a lady with whom I found myself slightly lost for conversation. So I asked how long she’d been in Dorset, she drew herself up to her full height, and answered, ‘700 years’.”
Bu hikaye Dorset Magazine dergisinin November 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Dorset Magazine dergisinin November 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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