Interview by Lisa Grainger 6:45AM GMT 30 Nov 2012
Livia Firth is the creative director of Eco Age , a business that helps people live a more energy-efficient life, and the director of Brightwide.com , an online film festival that streams social and political cinema. A Doctor of Humanities, she lives in London with her husband (the actor Colin Firth) and two children.
How often do you travel?
Every school holidays, so probably five times a year, mostly to my house in Umbria. I love everything there, from the landscape to the food. It’s simple, calm and relaxing – a contrast to our life in London, where we’re always on the run.
Where in the world would you return?
A Kenyan camp called Rekero in the Masai Mara, where we went with our friend and guide, Tim Melesi.
Do you like adventure holidays?
I like nature, but I hate posh safari camps, where it’s rough and wild outside but luxurious and separate from local life inside. We like travelling with Tim partly because it is just us and his Jeep. You feel you’re the only people who have ever seen that giraffe. Once we spent all day watching a leopard that had killed a wildebeest and taken it up a tree; the kids were mesmerised. We have what they call in Italy mal d’Africa – when you are away from it, you long to go back.
Where would you like to go next?
Vietnam and Cambodia. I’ve seen both countries in movies, and spotted a hotel in Mr and Mrs Smith – a guide we like – that looks incredible.
Are you a lover of luxury or simplicity?
Luxury when I work; when you are busy, it’s nice to be somewhere efficient and comfortable. On holiday I’m drawn to simple things, not fuss
Livia Firth is a global ambassador for Oxfam.
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