Relationship

How we met: 'He just grabbed me and gave me a big snog'


Lynn Davies moved to Worcestershire from Bristol in October 1999, trading in city life for a country village. “I was working as a freelance television writer. I wanted the chance to explore a rural lifestyle and find a real community,” he says. He had only been there for a few days, when a shopkeeper suggested he go to the village hall for a drama club meeting. He didn’t realise until he got there that it was an audition for a play.

When he arrived, he spotted Kim Cresswell, who worked as a housekeeper at a country estate and had joined the group to meet new people. “I thought she was striking. But I couldn’t start chatting someone up the minute I’d arrived.” He submitted a form to join the group, and Kim noticed that he had trained at Lamda, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. “I thought: ‘Right, we’re having him. We won’t see anything like that in this village again.’”

Before they knew it, they had both been cast in the play. “I’m not sure we’d even exchanged names before we had to rehearse this scene together,” Lynn recalls. It was a romantic scene, where the characters kissed. “He just grabbed me and gave me a big snog,” laughs Kim. “The characters clearly liked each other so I figured we should probably do it properly,” Lynn adds.

Later that evening, there was a party and the pair got chatting. They snuck into the village hall kitchen to share a bottle of wine. “I knew by the end of the evening that I was going to marry him,” says Kim. “I told my best friend and she said I was utterly mad. I had to take him to see her so she could make sure he was good enough.” Luckily, Lynn aced the interview.

The couple took things slowly over Christmas and began dating properly in the new year. By March 2000, Lynn had moved into Kim’s house, where she lived with her five-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. “They adored each other from the start. On one of the first nights he put her to bed, I remember them getting out her drum kit. I had to laugh,” Kim says.

They married in September that year on Iona, a remote island in Scotland. “Lynn suggested it and I thought: ‘Why not?’ It was organised over the phone.” They didn’t tell anyone about the wedding, but persuaded the local vicar and his daughter to travel up to perform the ceremony. “We asked the landlady and landlord of the bed and breakfast we stayed at to be our witnesses. It was just us, them and a tourist who was visiting the church at the time,” says Lynn.

They took pictures on the beach before heading out for a meal together. “We wanted a small private wedding and Iona is an incredibly spiritual place,” says Lynn. Kim trusted his judgment. “I’d never been on any adventures before we met and now we’ve had so many.”

The couple say they complement each other well. “I’m a country mouse and he’s a town mouse,” Kim says. “I’ve introduced him to all the community activities he came looking for, and he holds my hand when we go to the city.”

Over the years, they have been involved in many small productions, from village plays to special events like the local asparagus festival. Although they don’t perform together as much now, they still share a love for drama. “We go out to different historical sites and always end up raiding the dressing-up box,” says Kim. “We just enjoy taking silly pictures and having fun together.” They also try to travel to Iona every year for their anniversary.

Lynn supported her recent career change, and Kim now works for a mental health crisis line. “He makes me laugh all the time,” says Kim. “And I’ve learnt more from him than I ever did at school. He’s pushed me to be better and I owe him a lot.” Lynn describes his wife as the most thoughtful person he has ever met. “She’s the only thing that keeps me sane. We don’t have to do anything to be happy together.”

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