Charlie Gladstone

The Stuff he loves

Photo by Department Two

Charlie Gladstone (57) is an entrepreneur, enthusiast, author, podcaster, husband, father and grandfather.

He founded or co-founded Pedlars, The Good Life Society, Glen Dye Cabins and Cottages, The Hawarden Estate Experience and Some Good Ideas.

His latest book Do Team: how to get the best from everyone is out now on Do Books.

What’s the best place that you’ve visited and what did you love about it?

Last year, in that slip of summer when these things were allowed, Caroline and I went to the Amalfi coast for the first time and fell in love with it. It was everything that we’d heard it to be and much more. The sea was perfect, everyone was laid back and friendly, it was intensely beautiful, the sky was a piercing blue and the food exquisite. We were lucky to visit at a time when relatively few people were travelling but we’d return in a flash. We stayed in Praiano, looking along the coast at the fabled town of Positano. It was brutally expensive, but it was perfection.

If a push comes to a shove, what’s your favourite album of all time?

I love and hate this question in equal measure. So many albums have meant so much to me. Normally I’d say The Queen is Dead by The Smiths while wondering if it is actually Setting Sons by The Jam and both of these albums defined much of my youth. But thinking about it today I think it might just be Sign “O” The Times by Prince. I started listening to that again last year; it’s a masterpiece and I know every nook and cranny.

And your favourite book?

Possibly Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad because I was taught it brilliantly at A Level which made me realise that I could engage with really complex works of art and actually enjoy them even if, at first, they seemed impenetrable. That was a very important lesson that I carry with me today. And any Tintin book.

Oh, and what work of art do you love above all others?

Either The Wreck of the Medusa by Gericault and Baugean or A Bigger Splash by Hockney.

Do you believe in a god?

I do. I believe in the God I was taught about at my C of E school. This has been hugely helpful to me even though I know it’s an unfashionable view. I don’t like church services much though, unless they’re weddings or Christenings or there are lots of carols involved.

Do you have a route that you walk or run that’s particularly special to you?

The walk up Clachnaben at Glen Dye is deeply ingrained in me. I climbed it many times as a child and many as an adult with my children. I’ve run up it, run down it, gone up slowly, tumbled down through the heather and every time has been special. It’s a mythical hill with a giant granite tor at its summit and it is a powerful lure to many people.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure (or at least the guiltiest pleasure that you’re prepared to tell us about)?

It’s probably the music of George Michael, who as well as being massively successful financially wrote some of the greatest songs ever written but has rarely been acknowledged by critics. It is so tragic that he died alone, as a relatively young man, on Christmas day. Listen Without Prejudice is pop perfection.

What possession, more than any other, means the most to you?

My wedding ring. I’ve worn it for 33 years. So much started with that ring.

What’s your favourite word?

Positivity.

Cheese or pudding?

Cheese. Maybe before a little pudding. Is that allowed?

Wine or water?

Red wine every evening without fail. Ideally a heavy, rich Bordeaux or something muscular from California.

What’s the best thing about Sundays?

Six hours of Premier League football on tv, especially if Liverpool win. I know it’s a good Sunday when the television tries to turn itself off because we’ve been on the same channel for so long.

Who is your hero?

I have two, the two people who have had the greatest impact on my life. I can’t choose one.

First, my dad. We didn’t share the same views on business at all, but on everything else he was my guiding light; a brilliant man who was endlessly funny, kind to everyone, creative, eccentric, cultured and generous. He’s dead now but I think about him every day and dream about him often.

And Caroline, my wife of 33 years whose influence on my life has been absolutely massive and who has tolerated so much in me (and even seems to enjoy most of it).