Help! We Bought a Village - S04E03 - Full HD - video Dailymotion

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Transcript

00:01Owning a property abroad is the ultimate goal for most Brits.

00:05It's like a dream come true. It's just so magical.

00:09But for some, a conventional home just won't do.

00:13A lot of it was ruins, but we fell in love with it.

00:18They're setting aside their fears.

00:20The key is to never look down.

00:23To do something remarkable.

00:25It's a mammoth task, really.

00:27Resurrecting Europe's lost villages.

00:29I think any sort of rational person would probably not try and do that.

00:34In this series, we meet the brand new pioneers.

00:38I think I'm a bit all over the place. It's like it's a big day.

00:41Delving into their village's past.

00:44I think that's powder flask.

00:47And we revisit those who already made the bold leap.

00:53And are still battling to keep their dreams alive.

00:57One year. One year without some disaster.

01:00But can they win the race against time?

01:03At the moment, it just feels like everything's falling down and nothing's going up.

01:06To turn crumbling buildings into family homes and successful businesses.

01:11That's a really big moment.

01:14Oh, bless you.

01:16Or will it all fall down around their ears.

01:20Oh, come out, come out, come out, come out, come out!

01:23Oh, dear.

01:25As they try to restore the past to build their future.

01:30Because there's a whole village to be built yet.

01:36Today...

01:37Brace yourself.

01:39Oh, bloody hell, you're not kidding.

01:40Our heroic saviors in Normandy risk life and limb.

01:44Hang on, whoa, whoa, whoa.

01:45It seems to be loose.

01:48As their village threatens to fall apart at the seams.

01:51You can see, it's just literally mud.

01:55It's just holding everything together, it's mad.

01:59Guests at a ghost village in Italy

02:00are overwhelmed by their room without a roof.

02:04Oh, my God.

02:07Oh!

02:09This is... Oh, my God.

02:13It is so rare that I don't find any words,

02:16but this is now happening.

02:20And at a hamlet in Western France...

02:22It takes some heavy lifting

02:27and plenty of help from the neighbours...

02:29I'm going to drag you inside.

02:31OK.

02:32That's OK.

02:33Nicely done.

02:34...to get a fire going for the first time in years.

02:39We have flames.

02:41When you're trying to restore an entire ghost village,

03:01it's vital to be able to turn your hand to a wide range of jobs.

03:04And south-west of Rouen,

03:07in the old farming community of La Boulière,

03:09Kent couple Paul and Yip

03:11have found that multitasking is now just second nature.

03:16We are workmen, project manager...

03:19Yeah.

03:20Finance...

03:21Advances.

03:22...person...

03:22Bank...

03:24Architect.

03:25You know, we're all of those things

03:27because we can afford none of those things.

03:29Yeah.

03:30Since 2021,

03:36these landscape gardeners have been the custodians

03:39of five cottages,

03:40two barns,

03:42a hayloft,

03:42a bakery

03:43and two acres of land.

03:45But they've also just taken on a sixth cottage

03:48after it unexpectedly came up for sale.

03:51We've recently acquired this

03:53with the same thinking that we've had all along, really,

03:57is wanting to piece La Boulière back together.

04:00Yeah.

04:00Feels more secure to know that we now own this.

04:04Yeah.

04:04And it's the oldest property in La Boulière.

04:07Yeah.

04:07250 years old.

04:09It's exciting.

04:11Although other priorities mean

04:12it hasn't yet risen to the top of Paul and Yip's to-do list,

04:15they can't wait to get inside

04:17and start transforming it

04:19into another potential revenue stream.

04:21This is not going to steal our attention away from everything else,

04:28but it is going to be running alongside

04:31all the other works we've got going on here.

04:35We've just added another two plates to the poles, haven't we?

04:38It's June, and Paul and Yip have had to refocus their attention

04:48away from the village because Paul's mum is ill,

04:51and they're spending much more time in the UK.

04:55The couple did have a plan to move out of the house they live in

04:58and into the derelict cottage next door,

05:01but that project is now on pause.

05:04Some jobs are too urgent to delay, though,

05:07and there's a building in the village

05:08that's crying out for Paul and Yip's help.

05:12It is a nightmare.

05:14It's quite a challenge, yes, I must admit.

05:17I'm not looking forward to it.

05:19The middle cottage in their row is increasingly unsafe,

05:22so Paul and Yip need to do some emergency work on the front wall.

05:28The wall is split

05:30and it's starting to separate inside and outside.

05:34You can see daylight through the wall.

05:36It's not good, is it?

05:37So we need to bring it down probably halfway past that window

05:40until I know where it's all good stonework.

05:44We've been dreading it a bit, haven't we?

05:45We have.

05:46It's quite a risky thing because we kind of don't really know what's going to happen.

05:50But we go into most jobs like that.

05:55The wall is so bowed that it could collapse at any minute,

05:59so the couple need to be careful how they tackle it.

06:03Right, mind her, no cats about, hopefully.

06:06Paul starts by removing any loose stones at the roofline.

06:10It's great for rebuilding.

06:12All these stones that I'm chucking down, they've slid from this gable end.

06:20They've all slid down and pushed this out.

06:23So I've got to just get all the loose ones off

06:25and then I can start taking all this down to where it starts to come out,

06:30which is about down there.

06:31There is a lot of work here.

06:32And we've got just us two.

06:34No loader.

06:41Next, they need to start dismantling the wall by hand,

06:44one stone at a time.

06:46Well done.

06:48Paul and Yip have put together a rudimentary pulley system

06:51so they can lower multiple stones to the ground at once.

06:54The bucket and rope may be mass-produced from modern materials.

06:58I'm going to lower this down now.

06:59But their methods are following in the footsteps of the original craftsmen.

07:06The builders who went before them could have used ox or horsepower,

07:11but Paul and Yip are having to rely on their own muscle.

07:21Well done.

07:22My dear, I'm nowhere near as strong as I used to be.

07:24I know, none of us are, Poppet.

07:25Welcome to your late 40s.

07:3050s?

07:31Not for me yet.

07:33They're making progress, but it isn't exactly fast.

07:37And without an extra pair of hands on the ground to empty the bucket,

07:40it could take days.

07:42Paul, Yip and LeBouillier are locked together in a fight for survival,

07:47with little more than sweat and determination on their side.

07:51And they know it's a battle they might not win.

07:54Do you want me to get down and empty that into the wheelbarrow?

07:58Well, don't you have to keep coming up and down?

07:59Well, it is what it is.

08:08The Italian region of Basilicata was one of the cradles of European civilisation.

08:14Home to mathematician Pythagoras,

08:16it was once an area so populated and vibrant

08:19that it sent its own delegation of athletes to the original Greek Olympics.

08:24Just above the modern town of Toursi stands Rabatana,

08:28founded in the 8th century by invading Arabs.

08:32It grew to a peak of around 2,500 people

08:35who farmed the surrounding fields

08:37and lived a traditional Mediterranean lifestyle.

08:40But emigration, demographic decline and successive earthquakes

08:45led to the complete abandonment of this town about 50 years ago.

08:51It's a trend that Martine, an ex-wine merchant from Norfolk,

08:55is desperately trying to reverse.

08:57I would imagine the last time that really this was populated

09:09was in the 50s.

09:11Most people left because there was no work.

09:13So, basically, you know, the towns are abandoned.

09:16I'm fascinated by this coat of arms

09:19because it has a skull and crossbones on the bottom.

09:24And this is a beautiful palazzo which is for sale.

09:31There's something like ten people living in the whole of Rabatana now,

09:34where once it would have been thriving with schools and shops.

09:39So, yes, it was very sad that the whole thing was just abandoned.

09:45I joke, there are more cats than people, but there probably is.

09:49Martine has been living amongst the ruins of Rabatana

09:51for the last 16 years.

09:54After buying and renovating various derelict properties,

09:58she now runs what is known as a defused hotel,

10:01with four elegant apartments she saved from collapse.

10:05The more that I was here,

10:06the more I realised that there were so many possibilities,

10:10that, you know, there's all this fantastic landscape,

10:13this history, this culture.

10:15So, yeah, that kind of...

10:16It grew on me.

10:17It's August, and Martine is hard at work on her next renovation project.

10:28Look, we found Veronica's secret place.

10:31What are you doing in here, Veronica, eh?

10:33It's a cellar underneath the rooms she calls the Mandarin Suite,

10:38and thought to be at least 400 years old.

10:41This will probably be made into, like, two bedrooms with an en-suite bathroom.

10:46If we're going to put an en-suite down here,

10:48put a bath in front of here so you can lay in the bath and look at the convent,

10:52I mean, it would just be incredible,

10:54with these beams exposed and all of this lovely stone.

10:58Martine has already spent a day chipping away at the old plaster,

11:01and she's hoping to make more progress today.

11:08Look, you see, it's just...

11:10It comes off so easily.

11:15I think that it's just been damp coming in here for a long time.

11:21Wow.

11:22Could look pretty fantastic, couldn't it?

11:25Can you imagine finding some buried treasure?

11:27Something from the Knights Templars,

11:29because apparently they came through here, like everybody else.

11:32After the best part of an hour,

11:34it's not buried treasure Martine has found,

11:36but some mysterious stones.

11:41And there are quite a lot of black stones, like this one.

11:44In that wall as well, there's a lot.

11:46I wonder if they maybe even have been rescued from another house that burnt down,

11:50because there's obviously no sign of the chimney or anything.

11:52It's likely these blackened stones were once part of an old fireplace,

11:57and they were taken from other houses in Rabatana when they were dismantled.

12:03The builders of the past recognised the importance of reusing raw materials,

12:07and not just for economic reasons.

12:09Stones like these would have had to be dragged all the way up the hillside from the local riverbeds,

12:15so wasting them would have been unthinkable.

12:18Working away to peel off these layers of history is a privilege for this passionate village saviour.

12:27You know, when a project's finished, it's like finishing a good book.

12:31You're bereft, because it's gone.

12:32And all you've got is memories, really.

12:34But there's still a long way to go for Martine before her renovations here are over.

12:46Coming up...

12:48I don't think it's that bad, honestly.

12:50Yeah, look.

12:51Ow!

12:53Our village saviours are playing with fire in France.

12:57I always wanted to be a chimney sweep.

13:00And...

13:01It must be nearly through.

13:08It's the moment of truth for Paul and Yip in La Bouillière.

13:12What I don't want to do is for this lot to fall,

13:14because it's tied into this stonework.

13:17Close my eyes and ears and hope for the best.

13:19Despite the fact that the UK and France have similar-sized populations,

13:35there are over 2 million more homes lying empty on the other side of the Channel.

13:40Sometimes properties are abandoned in France because of the high cost of renovations

13:44or complicated inheritance laws.

13:47But in rural areas, it's often just down to the dwindling number of jobs on the land.

13:54The ghost village of Chicheville, in western France, is a prime example.

14:00Oh, he's feeling a bit tired today.

14:02And it could have been lost forever if it wasn't for two British saviours.

14:09The guy that we bought it off when we signed at the Nataire, on that day, he was 99.

14:16And he said his great-grandmother was born in the house.

14:21So that's, um, going back a bit.

14:23Tony and Terry are antique restorers from Gloucestershire, who are now the proud custodians of three houses,

14:34half a dozen buildings and an extensive wood.

14:37They paid about £60,000 for the hamlet and intend to do most of the renovation work themselves.

14:43It's not getting handed over to anyone to sort out for us, is it?

14:50No, no.

14:51We can't afford that.

14:52Can't afford that.

14:53It's the labour.

14:54So, whereas you might do a room and it costs you €1,000, if you're paying somebody to do it,

14:59it might be €5,000, €6,000.

15:01By the time we've improved the drainage, redo the electrics, some work on the roof,

15:06we think we can bring it in maybe £90,000.

15:16It's November, so before winter spreads its icy tentacles across the village,

15:22Tony and Terry are turning their attention to keeping warm.

15:25There's also damp in the farmhouse that needs drying out.

15:29So the couple have a plan.

15:31So here's our lovely wood burner.

15:33The burner is made of steel plate, so it weighs well over 100 kilos.

15:40That's 16 stone, or about the same as a well-fed Great Dane.

15:46I don't think it's that bad, honestly.

15:48Yeah, look.

15:50Oh!

15:51Their first task...

15:53OK, keep going.

15:54A little bit of right, that's it.

15:56..is getting it from the open barn to the main house.

16:00Whoa!

16:02Spot on.

16:04My spare reverse, isn't that?

16:06Bang in the middle.

16:07Look at that.

16:10Tony has once again called on his good friend Peter,

16:13who's brought his son Toby for extra manpower.

16:17Try left, please.

16:20Whoa!

16:20Come on.

16:21Cut that out.

16:23But it's a struggle, even for the three of them.

16:25I did say wear steel toe caps, didn't I?

16:27Luckily, teamwork and a bit of British grit...

16:31Yeah!

16:34..gets the job done.

16:35Ah!

16:36I don't know why you're making such a fuss.

16:39It isn't over yet, though.

16:40After a short drive to the front door...

16:44Oh, what?

16:45You all right?

16:46I've got the light in.

16:48..and with more help from another neighbour, John...

16:51Let them take it.

16:53..the reclaimed wood burner finally makes it across the threshold.

16:57Where are we heading?

16:58Through here.

16:59OK.

17:00Are we lifting or sliding?

17:02No, we're lifting.

17:03We're lifting.

17:03Are we?

17:04OK.

17:06I'm dragging it.

17:07Ooh!

17:07I saw it.

17:08OK.

17:08Wow.

17:09That's OK.

17:10Nicely done.

17:11They say it takes a village to raise a child,

17:14but it can also take the neighbours to raise a village.

17:18Thank you, John.

17:19Appreciate that.

17:20Very welcome.

17:21And Tony and Terry feel blessed to be surrounded

17:24by willing friends happy to lend a hand.

17:27The bills and the post.

17:29Their neighbours are just as delighted

17:31with what the newbies are bringing to their community.

17:34Well, the first time I saw this building,

17:36I really thought it was dangerous

17:37and it was sort of a couple of months away from collapsing.

17:40It's been amazing what they've actually done

17:42in the relatively short time that they've been here

17:45in this, I don't know, 200-year-old house

17:47that didn't have much done to me

17:49in that first 200 years, to be honest.

17:50Before they can get the home fires burning,

17:53the chimney is in need of a flue

17:54and since Tony doesn't have a good head for heights,

17:57he's happy to let Peter take the lead.

18:01You there, Tony?

18:02Are you there, Peter?

18:04I'm here.

18:05OK, when do you want to start?

18:06We'll have you ready.

18:08Let's go.

18:10Yeah, go on, you push and I'll pull.

18:12This is where I'm glad I didn't paint the wood burner.

18:17Nice and steady because it keeps getting caught.

18:19Yeah.

18:21Right there.

18:24Take a bit of tension off.

18:25I always wanted to be a Jimmy Sweet.

18:27Job's a good one.

18:30Well, we've just got to light the fire now,

18:31see if it works.

18:32We have flame.

18:38The wood burner can now start drying out the damp,

18:41ready for lime plastering.

18:43And when it's time to do that,

18:45Terry and Tony are determined to stay true

18:47to the techniques of the past.

18:49But for now, like generations of farming families

18:52in Sheesville before them,

18:54they can cuddle up in front of a warm fire

18:56and rest their aching bones.

19:01Here's to a good day's work, I'd say.

19:03Yeah.

19:04Cheers.

19:05Well done.

19:05In the lost village of La Boulière,

19:17Paul and Yip have discovered

19:18exactly what's at the root of their crumbling wall.

19:21You can see it's just literally mud.

19:25It's just holding everything together.

19:27It's mad.

19:29Back in the 18th century,

19:31when the village was built,

19:32the stonemasons used to pack the gap

19:34between the inner and outer granite walls with mud

19:37because it was a good insulator

19:38and it was easier to get hold of.

19:41Most importantly, of course, it was also free.

19:45But as La Boulière was abandoned for over 25 years

19:47before Paul and Yip moved in,

19:49rainwater has seeped into the stonework

19:52and washed away the mud,

19:53making the wall unstable.

19:56That's the trouble.

19:57You know, it only starts with a slit tile.

20:01Yeah, 25 years of rain through that one hole

20:03was a big deal.

20:04And we're just trying to pick up the pieces, really.

20:07Literally.

20:09And hope they somehow go back together.

20:12With a large section of stones removed,

20:15the couple now need to free up the thick timber beam

20:18at the top of the wall

20:19to reach the stones below.

20:21They can't use a chainsaw

20:23because anything too vigorous

20:25could cause a collapse.

20:27I'm already creating quite a lot of movement here.

20:33Yeah.

20:39I feel like a spoon would be quicker.

20:41You're getting there, Bob.

20:41It's oak, isn't it?

20:42As the beam is tied into the stonework

20:45at multiple points along the wall,

20:47it's back-breaking work.

20:48It's great, that is, Poppet.

21:14It doesn't feel great at the minute.

21:15Is that the end of the timber?

21:19There's one more, Poppet.

21:23At 30 feet up,

21:26this isn't a job for the faint-hearted,

21:29especially as there's no way of knowing

21:31if the beam will fall as soon as it's released.

21:34Brace yourself.

21:35Oh, bloody hell, you're not kidding.

21:37I must be nearly through.

21:39Oh!

21:40There you go.

21:40All right, I felt that relaxed then.

21:43All right, hang on.

21:44So we've spent quite a bit of time

21:46releasing this beam.

21:49What I don't want to do is for this lot to fall

21:51because it's tied into this stonework.

21:54So I need to lift this

21:56and throw it

21:58and just get it off and out the way.

21:59So we need to just move this scaffold tower back

22:02so that I can just lean over

22:04and there's no danger of this hitting the tower

22:06with me on it.

22:07Paul and Yip reposition the tower.

22:11Lovely.

22:14Right, are you ready for this?

22:15Because I'm just going to do this.

22:16Oh, God.

22:18Close my eyes and ears

22:19and hope for the best.

22:21I'll spend the life insurance money well.

22:24Don't worry.

22:27Hang on. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

22:28It seems to be loose.

22:30OK, right.

22:31OK.

22:37Oh, that was close.

22:39Oh.

22:41Well done.

22:43I need a cup of tea.

22:45Strangely emotional, isn't it?

22:46Yeah.

22:48I'm just pleased to have you still alive.

22:51No.

22:51Today, Paul Yip and La Bouillère

22:53have proved they all have the determination

22:56to slow down the March of Time,

22:58even if they can't stop it altogether.

23:01There's still more to do on the wall,

23:04but at least it's still standing.

23:06And so are our village saviours.

23:08We have to take risks on this project,

23:11otherwise nothing will get done,

23:13because there's a whole village to be built yet.

23:19Coming up...

23:21..in Rabatana, Martine is behind schedule

23:24and racing to get her remarkable room ready.

23:27As the days kind of disappeared,

23:29you think you've got loads of time in the morning,

23:31and then all of a sudden the guests are arriving in ten minutes.

23:33And one forgotten corner of Sheeshville

23:35reaches the end of the road.

23:38Probably dating back 100, 150 years.

23:41Lovely building.

23:43We're going to have to knock half of it down.

23:44Back in the abandoned town of Rabatana,

23:59the tourist season is in full swing,

24:01and village saviour Martine

24:03has had to take some time off renovating her old cantina

24:07to concentrate on running her diffused hotel.

24:10Two guests are on their way to stay in the Mandarin suite,

24:14and Martine can't wait to share with them

24:17the room she is most proud of.

24:19For me, this is my most special room.

24:21It's just magical, sleeping out here with the stars

24:24and with the twinkly lights and the candles and everything else.

24:27It really is beautiful.

24:30Up until the 1950s,

24:31this room could have housed a whole family

24:33and possibly their animals too.

24:36The roof space above would have doubled up as a larder

24:39where hams and sausages would have hung alongside drying peppers.

24:43But with the roof gone,

24:45Martine has taken the opportunity

24:46to conjure up the spirit of the Moors,

24:49who first settled in Rabatana over 1,000 years ago.

24:53It reminds me of a Riyadh, maybe, in Morocco.

24:58So, you know, without Arabic roots here,

25:02it's kind of where you would sleep

25:04and you'd be completely hidden from everybody,

25:06but you can look at the stars.

25:08A Riyadh is a house centred around an inner courtyard,

25:13usually with gardens and fountains.

25:15Riyadhs are more often associated with rooftop terraces

25:18than roofless bedrooms,

25:20but both designs give visitors the chance to relax

25:23and gaze at the heavens.

25:26Martine can't do any cloud spotting now, though.

25:29She has guests from Switzerland due any minute.

25:33As the days kind of disappeared,

25:34you think you've got loads of time in the morning

25:36and then all of a sudden the guests are arriving in ten minutes.

25:38I'm going to start making the bed up now.

25:43It doesn't take too long to finish the final touches

25:46and Martine can now head off to greet her guests.

25:51This is the mandarin.

25:53Lovely, lovely.

25:55I think it's my favourite, really, with these arches.

25:58And, er, yeah.

26:00So the La Rabatane is an Arabic village,

26:04so these houses, nobody knows how old they are.

26:07You don't find any words.

26:08When I first saw it,

26:11I just couldn't believe that a place like this existed

26:14and then when I managed to buy it,

26:16it was just incredible.

26:25Oh, my God.

26:27Oh, my God.

26:28Oh!

26:31This is...

26:32Oh, my God.

26:34Geri and Birgit have travelled nearly 1,000 miles

26:37to be in Rabatane,

26:38but it's clear they already feel the destination

26:41is worth the journey.

26:45Super romantic.

26:47Romantic.

26:47Super romantic.

26:49Our second honeymoon is ready to start now.

26:53Like Martine, Geri and Birgit

26:58have completely fallen in love

26:59with the idea of sleeping under the stars

27:02in the middle of this stunning ghost village.

27:06It is so rare that I don't find any words,

27:09but this is now happening.

27:12The main house is in here.

27:13You don't have to sleep outside if you don't want to.

27:15Yes, yes, certainly.

27:17Everything is fine.

27:18Prego.

27:20So this is where you'll be staying.

27:23After settling in and getting ready for bed,

27:27the couple prepare to step back into history.

27:32Beautiful.

27:34Look at that.

27:36Isn't it beautiful?

27:37We have here the open sky.

27:39Just like the first visitors to Rabatane

27:42over 10 centuries ago,

27:44they can snuggle down and marvel at the night sky.

27:48Have you seen any view like that?

27:50I did it when I was a child last time.

27:53For Martine,

27:55sharing the splendors of this once-abandoned village

27:58is a source of never-ending satisfaction.

28:01But she knows that goodwill alone

28:03is no guarantee of its future survival.

28:06The revenues her guests bring are vital

28:09if Martine's mission to save the rest of Rabatane

28:11is ever going to succeed.

28:16Golden dreams.

28:17Sleep well, my darling.

28:18Mmm.

28:19Back in Sheeshville,

28:31Tony and Terry have a job in front of them

28:32that they haven't been looking forward to.

28:34I'll come with you and grab some more.

28:39All our saviours are passionate about preserving the history

28:43that lies under every stone and behind every door.

28:46But sometimes things are beyond redemption.

28:49Today is the outbuilding day.

28:51Yes.

28:52We've got to do it, but it's a bit sad.

28:54I know.

28:55You know, it's an old building,

28:56probably dating back 100, 150 years.

29:00Lovely building.

29:02And we're going to have to knock half of it down.

29:03In its heyday, this building was probably a stable for horses.

29:08But while its custodians have been away in the UK,

29:11it's slowly been surrendering to the elements.

29:15Unfortunately, last winter, we had a lot of rain,

29:18quite a bit of wind.

29:19It's brought down some of the wall nearest the road

29:23and on the other side, quite a lot came down.

29:26Now what we're left with is just one high wall

29:30about that deep with a massive crack down it

29:33and it's starting to lean.

29:36So now's the time to take it down.

29:38If you park under it or even stand under it too long,

29:41it might come down on you.

29:44Just like the cottages in La Boulière

29:46that Paul and Yip are wrestling with,

29:47this crumbling ruin has been built from stone and mud.

29:51It makes demolition unpredictable.

29:54It will.

29:57Tony's good friend Peter,

29:59who's more comfortable working at heights,

30:01is taking the lead again.

30:03Have I got to stand on that?

30:05All the way up there?

30:06All the way up, yeah, yeah.

30:08On your teppy toes.

30:09But Tony's doing his best to conquer his fears

30:12and is climbing the scaffold too.

30:15Would you hold your hand?

30:16Yeah.

30:18All the time I'm up here, I think.

30:21There's a massive bloody gap there.

30:23I can't do this.

30:26Awful.

30:27Tony slowly finds his feet,

30:30but getting used to the height

30:32is only half the challenge.

30:34So attached, isn't it?

30:36All the way growing in.

30:38Freeing the wall from the stranglehold of rampant ivy

30:41is going to be a battle too.

30:43This has been a right pain, to be honest.

30:47The ivy has managed to find its way

30:50under all the roof tiles and the roof stones.

30:53But when you've got a wall like this that's made of mud,

30:56if there's no render on it,

30:57it starts to get its roots into the mud.

31:00And then you've got problems.

31:02It's just sticking everything together.

31:04You know, I begin to think there's so much ivy in it,

31:07we might as well have left it because it'd never fall down.

31:10As the foliage is stripped back,

31:13more of the original building is revealed,

31:15but it's a bittersweet moment for Terry.

31:17It's so sad to think that it's actually going to be coming down.

31:23Now you get to actually see it

31:25without the massive clumps of ivy that were on it

31:28and really had hidden everything about it.

31:31It hid the fact that there was a window there

31:33and it's going to be quite a lot lower than it is now.

31:38We've really got to do it, but it is a shame

31:40because it's looking so beautiful.

31:44Despite her attachment to the old building,

31:46Terry isn't about to shirk her responsibilities.

31:50OK, I'm coming up, Pete.

31:53So while Tony takes a tea break on terra firma...

31:56Go for another one. Mind your head, sir.

31:58Terry climbs the scaffold.

32:01I'm more stressed than I was going up there myself.

32:05I'm well impressed.

32:07It's nice to get hands-on with taking some of it down.

32:11..and it is quite a lot more tricky than you imagine.

32:19After a big group effort...

32:22What do you get past the roots? It's easy.

32:24..there's finally some progress.

32:28That's a big piece of one of the cornerstones!

32:32It's starting to get a bit more satisfying now.

32:34But the nights are drawing in

32:38and the change of season is working against them.

32:42Is it me or is it going a bit dark?

32:44It's going down, I think.

32:46Especially under the trees there.

32:47I might just do a couple of minutes and call it a day, I think.

32:51Yeah.

32:52I don't want to climb down the scaffolding in the dark.

32:54I don't want to climb down it in the daylight,

32:56but the dark is definitely...

32:57No, no.

32:58..they'll need to do a bit more tomorrow morning,

33:01but most of the job is now done

33:03and the old building is at a much safer height.

33:06Visa restrictions and the need to push through their UK house sale

33:10mean Tony and Terry will soon be heading back to Gloucestershire.

33:14But it feels like their village is slowly rising from its slumber.

33:20We've got two weeks left now before we go back to the UK.

33:22Yeah.

33:22So definitely got to get more of this building down.

33:25And once we've got that down to a safe level,

33:27which maybe another metre or so will do,

33:30then we can get cracking on in the house.

33:32Yeah.

33:32We've got to make some progress.

33:33We've got to make some progress.

33:34Yeah.

33:39Coming up...

33:40I'm so excited, I can't believe it.

33:43..has Martine found another property to rescue in Rabatana?

33:47Oh, my goodness.

33:49No, I don't think so.

33:51I don't know.

33:52And will La Bolliere be ready for its first guests of the season?

33:57Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

33:58This isn't good, this isn't...

34:00I don't want that collapsing like that.

34:02We're just trying to stop an avalanche.

34:04Back in southern Italy, Martine is up early

34:19picking apricots from a nearby organic farm.

34:23These are a special variety called Rugis,

34:26and they're biological, so they're organic,

34:29and they are absolutely exquisite.

34:31For her, saving Rabatana isn't just about breathing new life

34:35into the empty buildings.

34:36She's also keen to preserve the traditional culture

34:39and takes every chance to support local artisans and farmers

34:42like Marinella, who share her passion.

34:46I said, I'm doing one, and you're picking, like, three.

34:48She said, it's my job.

34:50LAUGHTER

34:50Martine plans to use the apricots in jam

34:53that she will provide the guests in her diffused hotel.

34:58This is the best.

35:00You know, you can't get better than this.

35:01It's absolutely delicious, isn't it?

35:03Mmm.

35:07Delicioso.

35:08Two days later, she's busy simmering the fruit with sugar

35:12to create a delicious breakfast treat.

35:15Basically, the recipe is a kilo of sugar to a kilo of apricots.

35:19Juice of one lemon to each kilo.

35:21So there's three kilos of fruit here.

35:24The history of jam-making goes back at least to Roman times,

35:27when fruit was preserved in honey to last over the winter.

35:30But it was after the Crusades,

35:32when sugar was brought back to medieval Europe,

35:35that jam really took off.

35:37Martine may be using a gas hob instead of an open hearth,

35:41but the recipe and the principles haven't changed in centuries.

35:46But what I really like about it

35:47is there's still pieces of fruit that are whole in the jam.

35:50You put it on bread, it's just lovely.

35:54While the mixture is still bubbling,

35:57Martine transfers it to the jars.

36:01Next, the jars are turned upside down

36:03to create a vacuum

36:04that starves any unwanted microorganisms of oxygen.

36:08and, once it's cooled,

36:10it'll be ready for her guests.

36:13As fast as I can make it, it gets eaten,

36:16which is great.

36:21Martine's had a busy and successful summer season,

36:24and there could be another exciting opportunity

36:27right on her doorstep.

36:28Just below the staircase leading to Martine's Mandarin apartment,

36:33there's a little two-room abandoned home

36:35which could be about to go on the market.

36:38They called me two days ago

36:40to say they wanted to sell the little house here.

36:43And it's so exciting because it's just perfect.

36:46It's in my courtyard,

36:47and it's small, it's really sweet.

36:49I'm so excited, I can't believe it.

36:54Oh, my goodness.

37:01Considering the house hasn't been lived in

37:02for more than 50 years,

37:04it's still in good condition,

37:06and Martine's mind is racing.

37:09I reckon you could take these floors out

37:11and open it all up

37:13to give a feeling of a lot more space.

37:16But if we got rid of all this,

37:17it'd just be lovely.

37:19I'd love to get up there.

37:26No, I don't think so.

37:33It's got a little fireplace.

37:34How sweet is that?

37:35I think the fireplace says a lot

37:38about how they lived here.

37:41They would cook dried beans in the piñata,

37:43or they would cook things on the brachi,

37:46on the cinders.

37:49And, you know, you've got all of the equipment here

37:50for the different size pots and pans and things

37:53that they would have actually cooked on the fire.

37:56Just before leaving,

37:57Martine notices an add-on bathroom

37:59right at the back of the property.

38:02A lot of these bathrooms

38:03would have been added on in the 50s

38:04when water first came into the houses,

38:07and two of the houses I've bought

38:09didn't even have water connected.

38:10Curious to see how this extra room was created,

38:13Martine takes a walk outside.

38:15You see these all over the place,

38:17these toilets attached,

38:19and basically that's all they are,

38:20because they don't have a shower or anything in there,

38:21just a hand basin.

38:22And, yes, I mean,

38:24you're sitting suspended over,

38:25basically, a couple of bits of metal

38:27stuck into that wall.

38:28Nobody's actually gone thoughtfully into it

38:31and decided how to build that.

38:33But I suppose back then in the 50s,

38:35it was great.

38:36What a luxury to have a toilet in your house.

38:38The wheels of a state agency

38:40can run slowly in Italy, though,

38:42so it could be a while before Martine

38:44finds out if she can save

38:46another little piece of the village.

38:48For her,

38:49resurrecting Rabatana

38:51is no longer just a labour of love.

38:53It's also now

38:55her life's work.

38:56I'm really, really, really interested.

38:58And, yes, I'm very...

38:59I would be absolutely distraught

39:01if I couldn't get it.

39:10In Normandy,

39:11Paul and Yip's glamping horse box

39:13is prepped

39:14and ready to welcome

39:15two returning guests.

39:17But as the front wall

39:19of the middle cottage

39:19is still precarious,

39:21Paul and Yip

39:22need to make it safe

39:23before their guests check in.

39:26We're on the stage three of this,

39:28aren't we?

39:29Yeah.

39:29Today we're going to finish

39:30taking these stones down.

39:32So where are we going?

39:33About halfway down the window?

39:35Yeah, about halfway down.

39:37Lovely.

39:37Let me get a sheet

39:38to collect all the rubbish

39:40that's going to fall off that wall.

39:41Yeah.

39:47Here we go.

39:49Since the couple

39:50have no professional training,

39:52a risky job like this

39:53means having complete trust

39:55in your workmate.

39:58Luckily, Paul and Yip

39:59have no qualms about that.

40:01We're making it as safe as possible

40:03just by putting these outrigger legs

40:08in place.

40:11They've been together for 20 years

40:13and their history goes back to childhood.

40:19Paul says that he was aware of me at school.

40:22I don't think he was aware of me

40:24as much as I was aware of him.

40:26You were the troublemaker

40:27in your Burgundy stay press.

40:28Yeah, I was aware of Yip

40:32when we were at school.

40:34But he was in

40:35a different...

40:38Friend group.

40:40Friend group, I suppose, isn't it?

40:42And you were a bit more

40:43academic, weren't you?

40:46Yeah.

40:47As far as in comparison to you.

40:49I'd had it by the time

40:51I'd got to Yip's school.

40:52The school I went to

40:53where Yip was

40:54was my third school.

40:55But anyway,

40:56that's another story.

40:58Oh, quite graceful

40:59do I get up there

41:00like a swan.

41:01Shall I come up?

41:02Yeah.

41:05Having broken the back

41:06of this job a few weeks ago,

41:08finishing it today

41:09should be a breeze.

41:11We'll have this done

41:12in a jiffy, won't we?

41:13Yeah.

41:14Tea and toast

41:15on its way.

41:17But it isn't long

41:18before the stones

41:19start to give way.

41:21Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

41:23This isn't good, this isn't.

41:24I don't want that

41:25collapsing like that.

41:26Yeah, I'll take these ones off.

41:28Oh, God.

41:30And just the mud, that one.

41:32This one.

41:33We're just trying

41:34to stop an avalanche.

41:36Some stones have started to move.

41:39We're just trying to see

41:39where it should be

41:41and what's holding what.

41:43It's just very precarious

41:44at the moment.

41:45Really precarious.

41:48Oh, Satan.

41:49Oh, oh, oh.

41:56Crisis averted.

41:58Oh, that.

42:00And after a few more hours

42:02of hard graft...

42:04God!

42:07The couple are, at last,

42:09on the home stretch.

42:10Yeah, basically,

42:14we've just got some

42:15cleaning up to do.

42:16Yip's going to remove

42:17these handful of stones there.

42:19All this has got to come out.

42:21Clean all the joints out,

42:23sweep all this down,

42:24and then we're kind of

42:25almost there, aren't we?

42:26Well done.

42:32You're well done.

42:33Take this round.

42:34Paul and Yip finish up

42:35just in time

42:35to roll out the red carpet

42:37for their guests,

42:38George and Mary,

42:39who've driven

42:39all the way from Somerset.

42:42Third time returning guests.

42:45Oh, look, it's just so

42:49wonderful, isn't it?

42:52Paradise in the countryside.

42:54It's great to see you both.

42:55It's nice to be back.

42:58One dramatic change

42:59that's happened

42:59since Mary and George

43:00were last here

43:01is at the barn

43:02that overlooks the horse box.

43:04Oh, my goodness.

43:05The top section of that

43:07fell down on its own.

43:08Oh, did it?

43:09And then we dismantled

43:10the rest of it.

43:11It's a reminder

43:14of how quickly

43:14the sands of time

43:16are running out

43:16in La Boulière

43:17and how huge

43:19the challenges

43:19that Paul and Yip still face.

43:22Because the buildings

43:22are so old,

43:23you feel like

43:24just a blip

43:25in the long line

43:27of proprietors

43:29that it's had.

43:30So we want to kind of

43:31do what we can,

43:32but knowing that

43:33in terms of

43:35keeping some of it alive,

43:36at least,

43:36we're part of this place's

43:38history, aren't we?

43:38The couple are

43:41channelling their love

43:42for each other

43:43into resurrecting

43:44this ancient village

43:45and helping her

43:46come back to life.

43:48Like any relationship,

43:49it can lurch from agony

43:50to joy in a heartbeat

43:52and there's no guarantee

43:54of a happy ending.

43:56But with three

43:56such strong entities

43:58as Paul, Yip

43:59and La Boulière,

44:00anything is possible.

44:02Most people

44:04come to France

44:06and it's a big enough

44:07project to buy a house

44:08that needs fully renovating.

44:10Yeah.

44:11But you've got

44:12blooming village.

44:13You've got the

44:14home there.

44:15I've got the

44:15old people and all that.

44:16Next time...

44:23Shall we go

44:24and have a little look?

44:24Yeah, come on.

44:26Paul and Yip

44:26rescue another house

44:28in La Boulière.

44:29Oh, wow.

44:30Construction work

44:31in Rabatana

44:31begins after

44:32years of waiting.

44:34It was an amazing

44:35surprise

44:35and I was just

44:36so happy.

44:37So happy.

44:38But it comes

44:39with a risk.

44:40If they happen

44:40to hit one of the

44:42rocks on the

44:43keystone,

44:44it could all

44:45just collapse.

44:45And in Sheeshville...

44:47Just imagine

44:48his mood.

44:48OK, I'll do that.

44:50Tony and Terry

44:50hit the ground running.

44:53Wow, you hit it

44:54twice as hard.

44:55MUSIC PLAYS

44:56MUSIC PLAYS

45:15Sousa NOW

45:26MUSIC FADES

Help! We Bought a Village - S04E03 - Full HD

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