Tim Minchin on how he spends his Saturday running with his dog and having a glass of wine

June 2024 · 3 minute read

6.30am

I’m never happier than when I’m up to see sunrise. My two kids aren’t massive fans of school so it’s a relief knowing I can have my flat white and not fight with Violet, 13.

7.30am

We live in Coogee, a suburb of Sydney. It’s summer so I whack on little running shorts, a Rolling Stones shirt and Asics trainers, tie my hair in a man bun, and take our dog, Sonny, for a walk. He’s a groodle – a golden retriever poodle – and needs to be walked a lot because he’s anxious. At home, I’m the opposite of who I am on stage: I’m a middle-aged dad in activewear.

Quantum 90 trainers £56, Asics (houseof fraser.co.uk)  Credit: Asics

9am

I meet my sisters, Katie and Nel, in a café. I order poached eggs with avocado on sourdough. In New South Wales, we’ve avoided a second lockdown. We’re very lucky.

10.30am

My wife Sarah and I take it in turns to coax Violet out of bed for her singing lesson, and drive Caspar, 11, to basketball. Exercise has always been a huge part of my life, but I’m at the age where I’m just managing my pain. I’ve an injured shoulder and weird knee, so I’m experimenting with long, slow runs.

Tim Minchin and wife Sarah Credit:  WireImage

2pm

Our house has a pool, so my sisters’ families roll in and out. I’m a control freak and work every day, but acknowledge weekends more than I used to. Sarah’s a stay-at-home mum, but that’s an absurd underestimation; she runs the whole crazy show.

4pm

I’ve made a studio album [Apart Together] and practised for the live-streamed launch in the spare room. I’m meant to tour in February but there’s little chance of that. I struggle because I’ve been performing for over 25 years and it’s part of my identity and self-esteem, and that’s not healthy.

5.30pm

Sarah and I often go out to eat. I like a glass of wine at six. I’m abstemious during the day, I save my indulgence for the evening.

7.30pm

We’ve just seen a great new Australian play called Wonnangatta, but Covid rules have made Sydney’s theatres feel Orwellian, like so much of life.

11pm

I read in bed, and have a virtuous book and a potboiler on the go. I’m reading a John Grisham and Humankind by Rutger Bregman, about whether humans are fundamentally kind.

11.30pm

I’m asleep by midnight – after a hydration drink and a Nurofen.

My guilty pleasure is…

'I’m reading a lot of Lee Child' Credit: Bantam Press

Pulp fiction. I’m reading a lot of Lee Child because I’m finding the world quite stressful.

The item I couldn’t live without is…

Tim couldn't live without his piano Credit:  Getty Images

A piano. If I have five minutes, I choose a key and muck around. I never sit down and play something; I always improvise.

My go-to meal is…

'I do a northern Italian, hearty, quite pungent lasagne' Credit: Getty Images

I’m not a great chef but I make fantastic scrambled eggs. If I’m feeding a bunch of people, I do a northern Italian, hearty, quite pungent lasagne that involves spending a long time reducing red wine.

Tim Minchin’s debut album Apart Together is out now. His TV show Upright is also out on DVD & digital.

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