Love Your Weekend With Alan Titchmarsh S07E30 JFF

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00:00:00Nice gentle walk of a Sunday morning.

00:00:04Hello, welcome.

00:00:06Just hanging out with my alpaca friends, as you do on a Sunday morning,

00:00:11known as the comedians of the animal world with their long necks,

00:00:15goofy grins, beautiful eyes and quirky hairstyles.

00:00:20They just bring a smile to your face, really, don't they?

00:00:23It's time, it is, for Love Your Weekend.

00:00:26What would you say to a few oats, then?

00:00:30It was a very nice day, folks.

00:00:32I'm just thinking about your love.

00:00:34I'm not afraid of my love.

00:00:36It was a dream of a dream.

00:00:38There was no hope in a dream.

00:00:40I thought a few oats were good.

00:00:42I would like to have attention.

00:00:44I thought a few oats were good.

00:00:46I was thinking about you.

00:00:48Hero잖아요.

00:00:50And you got some love with you.

00:00:52I was thinking about you.

00:00:54How is a dream of a dream when you're here,

00:00:56you think about your dream?

00:00:58As autumn gradually approaches winter, November envelops Britain in its blanket. The days

00:01:09grow shorter, drawing people into the warmth of snug pubs and cosy tea rooms. Britain's

00:01:16villages and cities twinkle with the first strands of holiday lights setting the stage

00:01:21for a season of celebration. Whether you're heading to the bustling city or the scenic

00:01:25countryside, locals find joy in opening their doors and sharing laughter and stories over

00:01:31a perfectly poured pint. Coming up, he's the legendary rock guitarist whose ascension with

00:01:37Queen helped him become one of the greatest musicians of his era. Sir Brian May, celebrating

00:01:4350 years of one of the greatest rock ballads ever. My mommy will let me go. And what goes

00:01:50on tour, stays on tour, but not in his case. Phil Tufnell spills the beans on an incredible

00:01:56life both on and off the cricket pitch. And she'll need more than a bobble hat to keep

00:02:02the cold at bay in there. Horticulturist Camilla Bassett-Smith's down at the greenhouse trying

00:02:07out the latest tech to keep you and your prized plants warm this winter. And back, teaming

00:02:13up with David Tennant and Aidan Turner for a romp of a show. Actress Denise Black on the

00:02:19return of Secretary Joyce Madden in Rivals Season 2. Plus, what's next for the newly revamped

00:02:26Manor Farm Chicken Run? Carpenter Rob Bent shares his thoughts on Stage 2 of our Biggest Ever

00:02:32renovation. And the poor lad thought we were done on Stage 1.

00:02:42Another opening, another show. Welcome to the barn. Sir Brian May, Denise Black and Phil

00:02:47Tufnell. Lovely to see you all. And I have to say, Brian, these two are pretty starstruck

00:02:53about meeting, you know, Queen. Totally. I've worn my hair, I've got Brian May. Is

00:02:57this in honor of Brian? How beautiful it is too. Phil, do you remember the album, you

00:03:03know, in Beaming Rhapsody? I do, big Queen fan, of course, yeah. Yeah, rocking around. Oh,

00:03:07lovely. It's proper rock and roll, that is, mate. It was. Proper guitar play.

00:03:11Yes. He's the legend. I mean, come on. Well, you're all legends. I mean, that's a great

00:03:16thing. But Beaming Rhapsody, particularly special to you, Denise? Oh, I've just told Brian.

00:03:20Yes. So I had a very special moment, that moment between childhood and adulthood, that

00:03:28first... Anyway, I won't say any more, but it was to Bohemian Rhapsody. Was it? Oh, tell

00:03:32them, tell them. Yeah. Oh, Mamma Mia, is all I can say. And we're not talking Abba. No,

00:03:37we're not talking Abba. No, we're not talking Abba. You had a moment coming here, you told

00:03:42me. I did. I had another moment. There were a lot of delays coming here, and I was getting

00:03:48stressed, and I looked for love of my life. Oh, I'm going to go. I think it's so beautiful,

00:03:55but I didn't find the first one, Brian. I found one after Freddie had passed, that you do, where

00:04:02the audience sings, and then they put their lights, their phones on, and then Freddie appears

00:04:08on a screen. So beautiful, and thank you. Well played. But you're all musical. I mean,

00:04:14Brian, obviously musical. Well, no, we saw you on Strictly. Well, yes, I know. Yeah, that

00:04:20was terrifying, though. It was terrifying. I mean, come on. In front of 15 million people

00:04:26live in a Cerise pink top slashed to the navel. It's funny, actually, I knew I was in trouble

00:04:34where my dance partner, Katia, she said to me, dancing with you, Phil, is like moving

00:04:39furniture. I don't think I'm going to be very good at this. And we're talking a wardrobe.

00:04:48Absolutely, or a fridge. But there you go. They asked me if I'd be interested in doing

00:04:52Strictly, and I said I have more chance of winning crafts. It was a great experience.

00:04:57Well, actually, come to think of it, Phil, you know, let's have a look at you doing

00:05:01your table. Oh, no, no, no. No, please, no.

00:05:03You go back to her, and I go back to her.

00:05:08My arms are sad, but I go back to black. We only said goodbye to words. I died a hundred

00:05:25times. You go back to her, and I go back to her.

00:05:35You might have been like a bit of furniture, but you were definitely on casters. I was

00:05:41all right. I had wheels on that one. No, that was my tango. That was my best dance. I got

00:05:48four sevens, I think. It was impressive footwork. It was. It was great fun. And did the audience

00:05:54get you going? They're behind you. Absolutely. Well, the main reason I did it actually was

00:05:59for my wife, Dawn, because I sort of didn't fancy it to start with. But Dawn said, you're doing

00:06:05it, because all my family, all my aunties, all my uncles want to go and get the ticket.

00:06:08So I kind of had to go and do it. But it was great fun. But I think I went out at the right

00:06:15stage. I think I'd had a, you know, my time was up.

00:06:19Brian, your audience is for Queen. I mean, just stadia that, you know, we're going to talk

00:06:25about galaxies later on, but it must have been like looking at a galaxy when you're looking

00:06:28at a stadium that's absolutely thousands of thousands.

00:06:32There's some moments I'll never forget for sure, yeah, when they light up all the lights.

00:06:36In the old days, it was matches, you know, and these days it's phones or whatever, you

00:06:41know, but it's beautiful moments, yeah. Those moments of connection, and it's different.

00:06:45I mean, it's actually hard to play in a small place, because you can see everybody's eyes,

00:06:48you know. But in the big places, when the emotion happens, it happens very big, and you do

00:06:52get very tearful, and it's hard to control.

00:06:55As a performer, you get tearful, then.

00:06:57Yeah, because, I mean, I'm also, like you said, when I'm doing that thing with Freddie,

00:07:00I'm kind of performing with Freddie, and it is like he's there, so it can affect you

00:07:04all different ways. Sometimes I'm full of joy, sometimes I get really choked, and when

00:07:08you see all that happening out there, you feel their emotion as well. It's a tricky kind

00:07:13of landscape to navigate, because you can lose it. You really easily can start feeling

00:07:18sorry for yourself.

00:07:19It is the glory of sharing, isn't it, really?

00:07:21It's wonderful. When it works, it's beautiful, yeah. I love it.

00:07:23One of the places it did work was certainly with Live Aid. Look at this.

00:07:27Live Aid.

00:07:28Live Aid.

00:07:30Live Aid.

00:07:31We will, we will, we will watch you.

00:07:34Yeah, do it!

00:07:36Live Aid.

00:07:37I love it.

00:07:38Sing again!

00:07:39We will, we will, we will watch you.

00:07:42One time!

00:07:44Live Aid.

00:07:46I mean, showstopping with all of us.

00:08:06Voted the best rock gig of all time.

00:08:10Freddie Mercury's command of the crowd.

00:08:13I mean, clear to see they're totally with him.

00:08:15Yeah, we had a distinct advantage because we'd played football stadiums down in South America.

00:08:20So we kind of knew the territory and understood what the game was and how you lock into that energy.

00:08:26And Freddie was really at the top of his game.

00:08:28There's no doubt about it.

00:08:29You know, and that was a wonderful moment.

00:08:30He had that knack of making everybody feel that they were involved.

00:08:33The guy at the back of 100,000 people felt like he was involved.

00:08:37And Freddie had that.

00:08:38He had the common touch, I suppose.

00:08:40Yeah.

00:08:41But that, yeah, I mean, it was an unexpectedly great moment for us.

00:08:44Because we weren't on the bill when it was announced.

00:08:46You know, everybody bought their tickets before we signed up for it.

00:08:50For reasons which we weren't going to hear.

00:08:53But so we go out there thinking, well, this isn't a Queen audience.

00:08:56Are they going to know what we do?

00:08:58And as soon as they did this Gaga thing, we all thought, oh, OK, this is actually happening the way it ought to be.

00:09:06It's that ability to connect, isn't it?

00:09:08Denise, you know it when you're on the theatre stage in front of an audience.

00:09:12And somehow, psychologically, you can just pull them in.

00:09:17It's a technique.

00:09:18And sometimes you don't know what it is or how it works, but you know you can get them.

00:09:24I don't know this scale, obviously.

00:09:27But what I do know is that at the beginning of a play, everybody's separate.

00:09:33They've all got their lives.

00:09:35They've put their phone off, but they might be double-checking it on silent.

00:09:38You know, there's all sorts of things going on.

00:09:41And they're all looking and thinking, have we spent our money wisely?

00:09:45Are we going to enjoy this?

00:09:46You can feel it.

00:09:48And then what happens, hopefully, by the 20th minute, is that they've decided.

00:09:54And then they become one person, if you like, different every night.

00:09:59And then the energy that they give you, which may be similar,

00:10:05enables you to do something beyond something you've ever, ever done before.

00:10:11It's an exchange of energy, and it's beautiful.

00:10:13And it's the same in sport, Phil, presumably.

00:10:15I mean, with a crowd in cricket, you know, you're test match.

00:10:19I mean, it's this amazing chemistry of a body of people, isn't it?

00:10:24Yeah, well, I think in cricket and sport, it's sort of like called momentum.

00:10:28You know, if you get the crowd on your side and you're taking wickets

00:10:30or you score a goal in the first five minutes,

00:10:33the crowd then start building that momentum behind you.

00:10:37And you can physically fiend it, it's as simple as that.

00:10:39And if you don't...

00:10:40Well, yeah, on the other side of it, crikey,

00:10:42they're all shouting and screaming at you.

00:10:44There's nowhere to hide, you know, and that's what you've got to fight again

00:10:47to try and get one yourself.

00:10:48At least Denise has got a history on it, and Brian's got his music,

00:10:50and they can get him in quite quickly.

00:10:51But you could always take the dog with you, though, couldn't you?

00:10:54And let's take Nora.

00:10:55No, this is her TV debut.

00:10:57Nora Bowman.

00:10:58Yeah, yeah.

00:10:59That's what you know.

00:11:00I was going to say, what is she?

00:11:01But I mean, she's that polite.

00:11:02She's a mutt.

00:11:03A mutt.

00:11:04She's a jackapoo.

00:11:06Jackapoo.

00:11:06Jackapoo with elegant carriage, Nora, and very well behaved.

00:11:10Absolutely.

00:11:11Still to come, we're entering the Willy Wonka world of cocktails.

00:11:15Tom Sergis serving up luxurious liqueurs in today's Best of British.

00:11:20We'll need that as a reward.

00:11:22Perfect for those with a sweet tooth.

00:11:24And things are getting just as exotic in the garden.

00:11:27Camilla Bassett-Smith heads to New Zealand for her star plant of the month.

00:11:32I'll be back with Camilla and her colourful shrubs right after this.

00:11:36Viennese world's coming over.

00:11:38Here we are.

00:11:39Or fondant fancies.

00:11:41Take a pick.

00:11:41Or cherry bakewell.

00:11:43Viennese world.

00:11:44Oh, look.

00:11:45Oh, bakewell.

00:11:46I'm with you.

00:11:47Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

00:12:03Coming up, one of the true legends of English cricket and one of the sport's finest spin bowlers.

00:12:08Phil the Cat Toffnall, or Toffers, to his friends.

00:12:12And an entertaining tribute to his own Ashes Heroes.

00:12:16And debunking the beguiling world of after-dinner liqueurs.

00:12:20Tom Sergis rescuing the liqueurs that are languishing at the back of the drinks cabinet.

00:12:25You know the ones.

00:12:26You haven't seen them since three Christmases ago.

00:12:28He's turning them into 21st century cocktails to die for, it tells us.

00:12:34We'll be the judge of that.

00:12:35But now, time for our resident singing horticulturist to open her diary once again, to reveal her

00:12:41monthly to-do list.

00:12:42Jobs we can all be getting on with to keep busy and productive in the garden this November.

00:12:47Starting with a plant that's guaranteed to make an impact.

00:12:51Tales from New Zealand.

00:12:53I never knew she was so well-travelled.

00:12:55Here to reveal all, welcome back, horticulturist Camilla Bassett-Smith.

00:13:00New Zealand.

00:13:00Indeed.

00:13:01Now, I've never been to New Zealand.

00:13:02Neither have I.

00:13:02It's on my to-do list, yeah.

00:13:04And so many beautiful plants come from New Zealand, don't they?

00:13:06You look at, say, hebees and these formiums.

00:13:10Tree ferns.

00:13:11Yes, indeed.

00:13:11Yep.

00:13:12So much to thank them for.

00:13:13Yeah.

00:13:13But this time of year, I think we're not spoilt for choice as far as flowers go, are we, really?

00:13:18And we tend to look at a lot of greenery, green shrubs.

00:13:21But when you look at colour in foliage, boy, do these formiums have it, don't they?

00:13:26Yeah.

00:13:26And look at this one.

00:13:27New Zealand flax.

00:13:28This one is flamingo.

00:13:30And it just...

00:13:31It's a subtle shade of pink, isn't it?

00:13:33It really has.

00:13:33Such a beautiful colour.

00:13:34And I think these can really stand alone in a pot by themselves, or they can be really

00:13:39well placed in a sunny spot in a border.

00:13:41But they give you so much.

00:13:43And they look as if they would just kind of flop over at the mere sight of a snowflake.

00:13:48Yeah.

00:13:49But actually, they're relatively tough, aren't they?

00:13:51Well, a lot presumably is down to the leaf itself.

00:13:54It's not called New Zealand flax for nothing.

00:13:56No.

00:13:57Because you've got a demonstration here of how fibrous the leaf is.

00:14:00Yes.

00:14:00Now, I have a potato peeler.

00:14:02Now, this is just a way of taking off that top layer.

00:14:05Yeah.

00:14:05And now you can see underneath, kind of, the fibres.

00:14:08This fibrous bottom.

00:14:10Which, the word formium actually comes from the Greek for basket.

00:14:15Because it's used...

00:14:16And look at that.

00:14:16Look at how stringy that is.

00:14:18And so strong.

00:14:19I mean, that is really...

00:14:20You can't pull that leaf off.

00:14:22No, you can't.

00:14:22And if you're gardening, actually, it's not something...

00:14:24If you see a, you know, a leaf that's died, you can't just pull it off because you'd be

00:14:28there all day.

00:14:29Yeah, you do have to snip them.

00:14:30You really, really do.

00:14:31But this fibrous leaf that's so, so strong, as you said, and used for rope-making in Maori

00:14:35tradition, basket weaving, but a really, really useful plant.

00:14:40And actually, in the garden, dividing them, you would divide them in the springtime.

00:14:44And I love a quote from the dear, great Christopher Lloyd.

00:14:47Yes.

00:14:47Who said, divide them in the spring.

00:14:49They will look like they hate you for a bit, which I so love because describing a plant

00:14:53as kind of really not liking you, they'll sulk a bit, but then they're fine.

00:14:57You can just go in with a sharp spade and divide them, but that's something to do later

00:15:01on in the year.

00:15:01Later on in the spring.

00:15:02Now, they're all these glorious colours.

00:15:04Look at this one, really vibrant, stripy yellow.

00:15:07Cream Delight.

00:15:07Gorgeous.

00:15:07What's this one called?

00:15:08Cream Delight.

00:15:09There are new ones coming on all the time, which is why one doesn't know all the names.

00:15:12There really are.

00:15:12That one I've never seen before.

00:15:13Yes.

00:15:13Chocolate stripe down the middle.

00:15:15And I love anything with...

00:15:16It's called a lot of choco mint.

00:15:16Choco mint.

00:15:17And I think plant naming's an interesting industry, isn't it?

00:15:19Because I think if you get a good name for a plant, that kind of makes you want to buy

00:15:23it sometimes.

00:15:24And certainly with that one, I love chocolate.

00:15:26I love mint.

00:15:27And so certainly this one's one from my garden that I bought quite a few years ago because

00:15:31of the name, really.

00:15:32Now, if there's going to be a really hard winter, you're advised to give these a bit

00:15:36of protection, aren't you?

00:15:36A little bit.

00:15:37These brighter ones.

00:15:38Either putting some horticultural fleece over.

00:15:39I mean, they say between minus five, minus ten, but let's face it, minus ten, you would

00:15:43be pushing it.

00:15:44If we had a harsh winter like we did a couple of years back, you can lose them.

00:15:47So, on a terrace, on a patio, in a well-drained corner of the garden that's sunny and well-aired.

00:15:53Exactly, yes.

00:15:53That's where to go.

00:15:54But they like a bit of shelter.

00:15:55They do.

00:15:55This one in the corner, amazing red as well.

00:15:57And that one gives you a bit more of the example of how large.

00:16:00They can get quite sizable, can't they, actually?

00:16:02Yeah.

00:16:02Oh, they can.

00:16:03Now, you'll be popping back later.

00:16:05In the greenhouse.

00:16:06I will be, indeed.

00:16:07And we'll be looking at some of those plants that you can really take through the winter

00:16:10in your greenhouse.

00:16:11But it's not just about the plants.

00:16:13It's also about us, Alan.

00:16:14So, I think we'll have a little bit of a sit-down and a cup of tea as well.

00:16:17Sit-down and a cup of tea in the greenhouse.

00:16:19Whatever next.

00:16:20I'll know, I'll talk to that.

00:16:21Now, the country lifestyle attracts people from all walks of life, lured by the promise

00:16:32of living life at a more relaxed pace, closer to nature, much like my next guest.

00:16:38Once a successful model in London, she left the fast-paced world of the city for the new

00:16:45forest, where she found love with one of our countryside's newer addition, alpacas.

00:16:50Here to reveal how her escape to the country kick-started a whole new career.

00:16:56Welcome, Clare Turner.

00:16:57Lovely to see you, Clare.

00:16:58And your charges.

00:16:59Now, we've got the boys here.

00:17:01Yes, four boys here.

00:17:01The girls and the babies over there.

00:17:03And the babies, yeah.

00:17:04Wild power.

00:17:05Why leave the city for the country, for a start?

00:17:07Well, initially, it was just for a change of life and also for my daughter as well to

00:17:13go to school somewhere else other than London.

00:17:16And I'd always loved animals.

00:17:17And, you know, of course, being in the new forest, there's ponies, there's the cattle

00:17:22that are sort of roaming freely.

00:17:24And we were doing up a house and there was some land that came along with it.

00:17:29And we had to do quite a lot of work in order to make it good again, because being in the

00:17:33forest, of course, the deer were coming in and out and, you know, the horses, it was

00:17:36just a mess.

00:17:38And then it was like, oh, well, let's get something, you know, on the land that's going

00:17:42to be relatively easy to look after.

00:17:44So goats were absolutely out of the question, even though I loved them, but they were a

00:17:48bit too naughty.

00:17:49We didn't want anything that would push against the fence or anything like that.

00:17:52So then came across the idea of alpacas.

00:17:54I like them because they hum.

00:17:55I mean, this is lovely.

00:17:56And they hum.

00:17:57They're chatting to you, Alan.

00:17:58That's what they're doing.

00:17:59They are chatting.

00:17:59That's very good.

00:17:59Just saying hello.

00:18:00So there are two different types of alpacas.

00:18:03I know.

00:18:03Now tell us what they are.

00:18:04Yes.

00:18:04So there's the wakaya, which is here.

00:18:07So this is Yoda.

00:18:08So with the wakaya, their fleas tends to sort of grow out more sort of a cloud-like candy

00:18:13floss type example.

00:18:15And then the two boys here, we've got Vavavoom and Grayson, and these are Suris.

00:18:20And their fleas tend to grow downwards in kind of sort of little ringlets.

00:18:24Right.

00:18:24So it's candy floss versus dreadlocks, then, really.

00:18:27Pretty much, yeah.

00:18:28So these are the boys, you say, the girls, the babies are over there.

00:18:30We'll look there in a second.

00:18:31You said these have been making noises out of them, though.

00:18:33They have.

00:18:34They're a bit excited because, obviously, we have to keep them separate.

00:18:37Right.

00:18:37For obvious reasons.

00:18:38Yes.

00:18:39And, yeah, so they're just sort of having a little chat with each other.

00:18:42Let's go and look at the ladies and the babies over here.

00:18:46Look at them.

00:18:46I mean, they are, it's the eyes, isn't it?

00:18:49I know.

00:18:49They are so beautiful.

00:18:51They look into your soul.

00:18:53So now, how old are these two here?

00:18:54So these four months, these were born end of May.

00:18:58It's this little Benji.

00:19:00This is Jimmy Sinclair.

00:19:01And then we've got little Linda and little Lillian.

00:19:04Well, when it comes to looking after them, what do you need in the way of facilities?

00:19:07You need, well, they say for every three alpacas, you need at least an acre.

00:19:12Yeah.

00:19:12So, obviously, we, and, of course, to separate the boys and girls as well.

00:19:16And you cross graze as well then, presumably.

00:19:17And, yeah, and we do the rotate with the pastures as well.

00:19:20And, obviously, what goes in comes out the other end as well, and it makes for beautiful pastures.

00:19:26So we've got fertilizer, we've got companionship, we've got events that they can go to.

00:19:32Now, Pete's got a couple of them out here.

00:19:34Let's go and have a look at a couple of the chaps.

00:19:37How long do they live, Clare?

00:19:39Roughly about 20.

00:19:40Gosh, yeah.

00:19:41So, yeah, so this is Chino.

00:19:43Hello, Chino.

00:19:44He is three.

00:19:44How are you?

00:19:45Can I say hello?

00:19:45All right, say hello to me.

00:19:46It's all right.

00:19:48There you go.

00:19:49Yeah.

00:19:50So, yeah, obviously, they're a bit soggy at the moment.

00:19:53Yeah, I mean, when it comes to rain, they can cope with it a bit more clearly.

00:19:56They can.

00:19:56They've got a bit wet.

00:19:57Yes, yeah.

00:19:58It shows they're well insulated then, by it.

00:20:00It's amazing.

00:20:00The heat doesn't come through.

00:20:01Exactly.

00:20:02And that actually transfers through to the yarn as well, to the clothing.

00:20:05Right.

00:20:06It's just, it's amazing stuff.

00:20:07Well demonstrated by our model here, who is wearing entirely alpaca.

00:20:10Yeah, so once a model, always a model.

00:20:14But, yeah, I mean, you can see here as well, you know, sort of just.

00:20:17Yeah, the thickness of it.

00:20:17Yeah, it's sort of in there, like how it just all sort of comes in.

00:20:21And the crinkly bit there is, oh, sorry, Chino.

00:20:24On the walk.

00:20:25So, let's have a closer look at this.

00:20:27I mean, the thing about alpaca, I've got a couple of shows, and I've got, in fact, I've got alpaca socks on today.

00:20:32I know, you'll show me.

00:20:32I do wear alpaca socks.

00:20:34It's very good.

00:20:34It's so silky.

00:20:35So, this is the suri fleece.

00:20:36So, yeah, it's like beautiful, you know, sort of.

00:20:39And it's so different, obviously, sort of coming off the animal.

00:20:42Like, this is, you know, sort of talking about the candy.

00:20:44Yes.

00:20:44It's like, wow, you know.

00:20:46Obviously, what we need to do, like, when we do the shearing, which is in May.

00:20:51Yeah.

00:20:52Comes off straight onto our sort of skirting and sorting table.

00:20:55We get rid of all kind of the outside bits.

00:20:57Tattie bits.

00:20:57And the yucky bits.

00:20:58Yeah, yeah.

00:20:59And the black bit and stuff like that.

00:21:00Yeah, we won't go there.

00:21:02And then, obviously, then it comes through to this sort of sorting, getting it ready to go to the mill.

00:21:06And then what we do, because we don't actually use any dyes at all.

00:21:10So, we literally just blend all the colours together.

00:21:13So, here is a kind of sort of chart on all the different...

00:21:16Oh, it's like your paint chart, isn't it, really?

00:21:18Yes, exactly.

00:21:19So, these are all the different...

00:21:20Yeah.

00:21:20So, this is the officially recognised shades of the alpaca.

00:21:24But, of course, as you can see, they're all sort of very, very different.

00:21:27And what we do is we just sort of make...

00:21:29We keep creating new colours.

00:21:32I mean, they are...

00:21:32So, they're just, you know, and obviously...

00:21:34Absolutely.

00:21:35Once...

00:21:36There we go.

00:21:36Oh, Alan, it looks lovely.

00:21:38Well, I mean, it's got to be done, isn't it, really?

00:21:40Oh, I'm glad I put that on.

00:21:41I know, it's a bit cold, isn't it?

00:21:43So, yeah, so it's amazing, actually.

00:21:44Thank you, Claire.

00:21:45And thank you, Pete, for your ace handling.

00:21:47And thank you to the choir singing behind me.

00:21:50Thank you, ladies.

00:21:51Coming up, from Ian Botham, Freddie Liptoff, Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad,

00:21:56to Murph Hughes, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne and Steve Smith,

00:22:00Phil Tufnell takes an amusing look at some of his Ashes heroes.

00:22:05Test match tales with toughers.

00:22:07Right after this.

00:22:21Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

00:22:24Still to come.

00:22:25From playing on the roof of Buckingham Palace with no safety net

00:22:28to performing on some of the world's biggest stages,

00:22:31we're celebrating the life of Brian with the man himself, Sir Brian May.

00:22:36And wondering what to do with that leftover cream liqueur?

00:22:39Drinks expert Tom Sergi has the answers in our upcycled cocktail special.

00:22:44Perfect recipes for upcoming Christmas parties.

00:22:47Now, he's known for his slow, distinctive left-arm orthodox spin bowling,

00:22:53both on the international stage for England and in club cricket for Middlesex.

00:22:57With a kick at the back leg, a skip and a jump,

00:23:00he had an approach to the wicket that was all his own.

00:23:05Dean Jones now.

00:23:08Right-hander, slip, silly point, short leg, Tufnell spin the ball away.

00:23:12He's out, he's gone, first ball, Tufnell's on the hat-trick,

00:23:18using his feet, he's chipped it back,

00:23:20and Tufnell, he didn't drop that one,

00:23:22it was like ball into the buckets, and what a test match.

00:23:25There is no way in the world he was going to drop that, none at all.

00:23:29When it came back to him, he couldn't believe it.

00:23:31In fact, Jones played a very bad shot there,

00:23:34advanced down the wicket first to try to chip away at it,

00:23:36and Tufnell having caught it when flying around there, boy,

00:23:40and if Borda's wicket, Borda's smile to his face,

00:23:43that one certainly did.

00:23:45So, things are changing very rapidly, yeah,

00:23:47have another look at it, down the wicket he goes,

00:23:49little chip up there, Tufnell moves around,

00:23:51and have a look at him go!

00:23:53What a sweet moment, bowling skill,

00:23:55an incredibly quick reaction time to reach for that cat.

00:23:58A lot of actors, when they come on,

00:24:00and I show a clip of their work, they look away,

00:24:03they don't like looking.

00:24:04I can't believe you would look away to see such a triumph.

00:24:07I mean, that was lovely.

00:24:081990, my first trip down to Australia,

00:24:11and the Ashes, you know,

00:24:12yeah, I was told that it's something a bit different,

00:24:15the Ashes, and it really, really is.

00:24:17It's not like your normal series, you know what I mean?

00:24:19The rivalry, the history,

00:24:22the whole country gets behind Australia,

00:24:24so it's a wonderful thing to be part of, the Ashes, you know.

00:24:27It really is something a bit special.

00:24:29Does that get the nerves going, the juices going more than...

00:24:31Yeah, well, it does, you know,

00:24:33and there's about 100,000 screaming Australians

00:24:35all baying for blood, you know,

00:24:36and you go staggering out there,

00:24:38because they used to call my bat my teddy.

00:24:41You know, they said,

00:24:41Phil, get your teddy.

00:24:43So me and teddy used to sort of hold hands

00:24:45and wander out,

00:24:46and they're all shouting and sledging at you.

00:24:48But, I mean, it's where...

00:24:50It's what you want to be part of, you know,

00:24:52as a cricketer.

00:24:52That is the pinnacle, really.

00:24:54And also, when you go out there

00:24:56and you go to the wicket

00:24:57and he's taking his run up,

00:24:59you must be so in a zone,

00:25:02a particular zone.

00:25:03Yeah, I mean, as you said,

00:25:04I used to bat number 11,

00:25:06or number 10 or 11,

00:25:07so I was a little bit nervous,

00:25:09as they'd hide him behind Teddy.

00:25:11Were you always a bowler,

00:25:12right from the word go?

00:25:13Oh, no, no, no, not really.

00:25:15No, I used to open the batting at school

00:25:17and, you know, under 11s and everything,

00:25:19but then they all grew up,

00:25:21you know,

00:25:22and they all got about 6'8

00:25:24and started bowling 100 miles an hour,

00:25:26you know,

00:25:26and perhaps I wasn't,

00:25:27perhaps not the bravest.

00:25:30And your dad was a silversmith.

00:25:31You joined him in silversmithing.

00:25:34What was the point then,

00:25:35the turning point,

00:25:35where you decided

00:25:36that you could probably do cricket professionally?

00:25:39I mean...

00:25:39Well, I'd given it up, actually.

00:25:42You know, I played age group cricket

00:25:43until I was about,

00:25:45I don't know, 14 or 15.

00:25:47You know, perhaps, you know,

00:25:48there wasn't going to be a brain surgeon

00:25:50or anything at school.

00:25:53So, went to work

00:25:54in my father's sort of silversmith factory,

00:25:57hammering pots and pans

00:25:58and was a good silversmith.

00:25:59And I was sitting at the bench one day

00:26:01and he came past me.

00:26:04He said,

00:26:04right, son,

00:26:04he said,

00:26:05I've got you a trial at Lord's.

00:26:08Yeah?

00:26:09You know,

00:26:09this is after about three or four years

00:26:11of just working down the factory.

00:26:13Yeah.

00:26:13And he said,

00:26:15I'll give you a full day's pay

00:26:16and you can go down there

00:26:18on your moped,

00:26:19you know,

00:26:19and have a little trial.

00:26:21And even I could do the maths,

00:26:23you know,

00:26:23and I went,

00:26:24well, it's only going to be

00:26:25a couple of hours,

00:26:25a full day's pay.

00:26:27I think I'll do that.

00:26:28I said,

00:26:28all right,

00:26:28then I'll go,

00:26:29you know what I mean?

00:26:29And so I got on my bike

00:26:31with my boots

00:26:31in my Tesco's bag,

00:26:33you know,

00:26:34turned up

00:26:35and got in the trial.

00:26:36I don't think you could do it

00:26:37these days,

00:26:38actually.

00:26:39Once you've gone away from,

00:26:40I mean,

00:26:40nowadays in football,

00:26:41the Arsenal are signing up,

00:26:43you know,

00:26:44boys of eight years old,

00:26:45do you know what I mean?

00:26:46So I don't think you could

00:26:47get back into it now,

00:26:48but I just managed

00:26:49to get back into it

00:26:51and then off I went.

00:26:52Did you have the ponytail then?

00:26:53I did,

00:26:54yeah,

00:26:54and the earrings,

00:26:55yeah.

00:26:56And the earrings

00:26:56and the ponytail.

00:26:57That'd have gone down well

00:26:58at the MCC,

00:26:59wouldn't it?

00:27:00Really?

00:27:01When did you come to lose

00:27:02the ponytail?

00:27:03Well,

00:27:03I came to a funny story

00:27:05about that.

00:27:05I think that's in the book,

00:27:06yeah.

00:27:07I can't remember,

00:27:08it was the last match

00:27:08of the season

00:27:09and I had the ponytail.

00:27:10They used to call me

00:27:11Scruffnall when I played.

00:27:12I had all the earrings in

00:27:13and everything like that

00:27:14and they weren't happy

00:27:15with me

00:27:15and my captain,

00:27:18Mike Gattin,

00:27:19he said,

00:27:19Phil,

00:27:20he said,

00:27:20look,

00:27:21England are having

00:27:21a look at you here.

00:27:22It's the last game

00:27:23of the season.

00:27:24They're thinking about

00:27:24taking you to Australia

00:27:26but he said,

00:27:28they're not going to look

00:27:29at you with all the earrings

00:27:30in and all the ponytail

00:27:31and so he sort of grabbed me

00:27:34and he said,

00:27:35right,

00:27:35he said,

00:27:36you're coming with me

00:27:36and I went,

00:27:37what,

00:27:37where are we going?

00:27:38Where are we going?

00:27:38Like that.

00:27:39And sort of like a stiff child,

00:27:40you know,

00:27:41he put me under his arm,

00:27:42took me down to Uxbridge

00:27:45where there was this head

00:27:46barbers

00:27:47and he said,

00:27:48give him a short back

00:27:49and sides

00:27:49and so he sat me

00:27:50in the chair

00:27:51and I'm sort of going,

00:27:52I felt so humiliated

00:27:55cutting off all my lovely

00:27:57locks,

00:27:58you know what I mean?

00:27:58And then I came back,

00:28:00bowled all right,

00:28:00Mickey Stewart was the England coach

00:28:02who saw that.

00:28:04He made me take my earrings out

00:28:06and then two weeks later

00:28:07I got the phone call

00:28:09to say that you've been selected

00:28:10for England

00:28:10and you're off to Australia

00:28:11so I will be forever thankful

00:28:13for getting that haircut.

00:28:14Do you remember the moment

00:28:15when your kid came?

00:28:17Yes,

00:28:17I do.

00:28:17That's when you know

00:28:18when it's,

00:28:19that's when you know

00:28:20that you're at,

00:28:21you know,

00:28:21because you get this sort of,

00:28:21I mean,

00:28:22there was no,

00:28:22there was no phone call

00:28:24in those days,

00:28:25you know what I mean?

00:28:25It was so loose.

00:28:27I mean,

00:28:27it's a lifetime ago really.

00:28:29I got it from CFAX.

00:28:31Do you remember CFAX?

00:28:32Oh, we do,

00:28:32yeah,

00:28:32it's on the screen.

00:28:33Yes,

00:28:34I looked on CFAX,

00:28:35page 340,

00:28:39Phil Tufnell's in the squad

00:28:40to tour Australia

00:28:41and I sort of went,

00:28:42oh my God,

00:28:42oh my God

00:28:42and then you wait

00:28:43a couple of weeks

00:28:44and the sort of,

00:28:45the excitement dies down

00:28:46until the chap turns up

00:28:48with your,

00:28:49with your cricket case,

00:28:51you know,

00:28:51with your,

00:28:52with your name on it

00:28:53and you open it up like that

00:28:55and there's your blazer

00:28:56and your jumpers

00:28:58and your cat.

00:28:59A bit emotional.

00:29:00Yeah,

00:29:00well,

00:29:00you just think,

00:29:01oh my God,

00:29:01this is really happening,

00:29:02you know,

00:29:03and then a couple of weeks later

00:29:04we all flew off

00:29:05for the adventure

00:29:07of the ashes.

00:29:09Now,

00:29:09the book Tuffers,

00:29:10Ashes Heroes,

00:29:12so you cover,

00:29:13there's a chapter here

00:29:14on loads and loads

00:29:15and loads of them,

00:29:16it's a cricket aficionado

00:29:17dream of a book,

00:29:19literally,

00:29:20and I thought,

00:29:20well,

00:29:20I can't go through

00:29:21all these heroes.

00:29:21I thought,

00:29:22if I ask,

00:29:22if I quote some names at you,

00:29:24you can give me

00:29:25a summing up sentence of,

00:29:26for instance,

00:29:27people you cover.

00:29:28Yeah.

00:29:29Graham Gooch.

00:29:29Oh,

00:29:30crikey,

00:29:30Goochy.

00:29:31Well,

00:29:31my captain,

00:29:31best batsman I've ever played with,

00:29:33didn't particularly see eye to eye

00:29:35about training.

00:29:36I understand that.

00:29:38Shane Warne.

00:29:39Best player in the world,

00:29:41best spin bowler,

00:29:42absolute entertainer.

00:29:44People would leave the bar

00:29:45to come and watch Shane bowl.

00:29:46Yeah.

00:29:47Freddie Flintoff.

00:29:48Well,

00:29:48another,

00:29:48as you say,

00:29:49absolute showman,

00:29:50fantastic,

00:29:51one of the best all-rounders

00:29:52England's ever had.

00:29:52And a great stalwart

00:29:54of coming through

00:29:55what he's come through.

00:29:55Absolutely.

00:29:56Watching his programmes on TV.

00:29:57Oh, brilliant.

00:29:57Incredibly moving.

00:29:58Mike Gatting.

00:29:59Mike Gatting.

00:30:02Lovely Mike.

00:30:03Lovely Mike.

00:30:03Taught me a lot.

00:30:04Could have sacked me

00:30:05virtually every year.

00:30:06I played for Middlesex,

00:30:08but didn't.

00:30:09And he saw something in me,

00:30:10which hopefully,

00:30:11I repaid him.

00:30:13Great man.

00:30:13Great captain.

00:30:14Sir Ian Botham.

00:30:15Sir Ian Botham,

00:30:16absolute legend of the game.

00:30:17Sir Ian.

00:30:20I mean,

00:30:20managed to,

00:30:21I played with Sir Ian

00:30:22for about 10 test matches

00:30:23just at the end of his career.

00:30:25An amazing belief

00:30:26in his own ability.

00:30:27I can remember

00:30:28when he first walked in

00:30:29to the dressing room,

00:30:30you know,

00:30:30things weren't going well.

00:30:31It was a bad stage

00:30:32for England.

00:30:33And he just lifted

00:30:34the whole place.

00:30:35Give me the ball.

00:30:36I'll go and score 100.

00:30:38Amazing belief,

00:30:39a belief in his own ability.

00:30:40Yeah.

00:30:40Which came good.

00:30:41And a great character

00:30:42and does so much

00:30:43for charity as well.

00:30:44Brilliant man.

00:30:45Well,

00:30:45you have,

00:30:46as well as giving your

00:30:47Ashes heroes

00:30:48a bit of a laugh

00:30:49over the years,

00:30:49you've given us

00:30:50a lot of entertainment,

00:30:51particularly in one

00:30:53special programme.

00:30:54Along with

00:30:55Matt and Sue,

00:30:58absolute treasure

00:30:59in the Titch Morris household,

00:31:01Question Sport.

00:31:02Which of these

00:31:03happened in 1990?

00:31:06Theo Walcott was born,

00:31:08Phil Tuffers

00:31:09makes his England

00:31:10Test debut,

00:31:12Nick Faldo

00:31:12wins a major

00:31:13for the first time

00:31:14and Tony McCoy

00:31:15wins for the first time

00:31:16in his career.

00:31:17Tuffers took us

00:31:18first wicket for England?

00:31:19No,

00:31:19England Test debut.

00:31:21Ah,

00:31:21OK,

00:31:21that's a big difference

00:31:22then.

00:31:23I've got no idea.

00:31:24Did you get it?

00:31:27No,

00:31:28the first six years

00:31:29Tuffers didn't even realise

00:31:30he was playing for England.

00:31:33If I hadn't have said

00:31:34C-fax,

00:31:35I wouldn't have even

00:31:36turned up,

00:31:36I tell you.

00:31:38There you are,

00:31:39as if to prove it.

00:31:40Absolutely.

00:31:40The great thing

00:31:41with that programme,

00:31:42you all three of you

00:31:43particularly,

00:31:43the rivalry,

00:31:45the joshing with each other,

00:31:46I mean,

00:31:47you're clearly going to

00:31:47and you're touring

00:31:48the three of you.

00:31:49We are,

00:31:50we are indeed.

00:31:50Next spring,

00:31:51we've done a couple of them.

00:31:52The Sue,

00:31:53Matt and Phil

00:31:54reunion tour,

00:31:55we have great fun.

00:31:57We've sold out

00:31:58everywhere we've been

00:31:58and it's just,

00:32:00we have such a good time.

00:32:01We've got a very similar

00:32:02sense of humour,

00:32:03get on very well,

00:32:04we still meet

00:32:05and go out for lunch,

00:32:07you know what I mean,

00:32:07every month or something

00:32:08and yeah,

00:32:10there's just a great

00:32:11chemistry there.

00:32:12Yeah,

00:32:13it's going to be great fun

00:32:13so looking forward

00:32:14to doing that.

00:32:15Are you still

00:32:15the loose cannon

00:32:16you always were?

00:32:17Well,

00:32:18you know,

00:32:18not quite as much now

00:32:20but it's still in there

00:32:21somewhere,

00:32:22it's still in there somewhere.

00:32:23Because you're a great prankster

00:32:25and there's a story

00:32:26about you and Botham's socks

00:32:28and it's integral.

00:32:28Cut his socks off,

00:32:28yes,

00:32:29I shouldn't have done that

00:32:29because I was a youngster.

00:32:30I was a youngster,

00:32:31I'd only played about

00:32:32two or three test matches

00:32:33and then I thought

00:32:33it was very funny

00:32:34to cut the end

00:32:35of Sir Ian's socks off

00:32:36so when he's had his shower,

00:32:37you know,

00:32:38we used to do

00:32:38lots of things like that

00:32:39in cricket

00:32:40and as he's put his socks on

00:32:42he's gone sort of

00:32:42straight up there

00:32:43to take the shoes out

00:32:44and then he,

00:32:45you know,

00:32:45he sort of chased me

00:32:46round Lords

00:32:47for the next half an hour.

00:32:49I'm glad he didn't catch me

00:32:50because I think

00:32:51I might have got a clip

00:32:52round the ear

00:32:52but yeah,

00:32:54lots of pranks going on.

00:32:55There's a lot of controversy

00:32:56about the way crickets go.

00:32:59I mean,

00:32:59my wife still loves the test

00:33:00and, you know,

00:33:01days and days of cricket

00:33:02sitting in there

00:33:03as her father used to do before her

00:33:04and in those days

00:33:06with the curtains drawn

00:33:07so I'm just sitting there

00:33:08and watching

00:33:08but the quicker matches now,

00:33:10the short ones,

00:33:11I mean,

00:33:11they've brought more people

00:33:13to cricket

00:33:14or another audience

00:33:15but how do you,

00:33:16do you see the two sitting

00:33:17comfortably in the future?

00:33:18Yeah,

00:33:19I think you've got to be

00:33:20a little bit careful.

00:33:22You know,

00:33:22the crash bang wallop

00:33:23and the teetail,

00:33:23I love it.

00:33:24I love it.

00:33:25I commentate on it

00:33:26and I find it great.

00:33:28It's explosive.

00:33:29You know,

00:33:29I mean,

00:33:29the kids love it.

00:33:30It's done quickly as well

00:33:32so I think there is a place for it

00:33:34but,

00:33:35you know,

00:33:36I'm a bit of a traditionalist,

00:33:37you know,

00:33:38I like the twos and throws,

00:33:39the ups and downs

00:33:40of test match cricket,

00:33:41you know,

00:33:42and,

00:33:42you know,

00:33:43all the different nuances in it,

00:33:45you know,

00:33:46it's a little bit samey for me

00:33:47but,

00:33:48yeah,

00:33:49there is a place for it for sure.

00:33:50It gets the youngsters involved in it

00:33:52and then hopefully

00:33:53they'll get into the game

00:33:54and then progress

00:33:55to test match.

00:33:56To grown-up cricket.

00:33:57To grown-up cricket

00:33:58but,

00:33:59yeah,

00:33:59no,

00:33:59it's good fun.

00:34:00Do you enjoy the commentating?

00:34:02Love it.

00:34:03Absolutely love it.

00:34:04I always think that must be wonderful

00:34:05for a sportsman.

00:34:06Yeah.

00:34:06You know,

00:34:07Tim Henderman's done it with tennis

00:34:08as has McEnroe

00:34:09because,

00:34:10you know,

00:34:11your career's a little longer

00:34:12in cricket perhaps

00:34:13than in some

00:34:13but the career's stopped

00:34:14whoosh when you're at your peak

00:34:16in your prime

00:34:16and to be able to be still involved

00:34:18in this sport

00:34:19must be a great delight.

00:34:20No,

00:34:20absolutely.

00:34:21Yeah,

00:34:22I love TMS,

00:34:22love the radio.

00:34:23We've got such a great team down there,

00:34:25you know,

00:34:25and we all get on so well.

00:34:27You know,

00:34:27it's really,

00:34:27we're very,

00:34:28very lucky to work with people

00:34:29that you like.

00:34:30Yeah.

00:34:30You know,

00:34:31it doesn't half help.

00:34:32As you know,

00:34:32I've been on Test Match Special.

00:34:33Oh,

00:34:34well,

00:34:34yes,

00:34:34I was there

00:34:35and I was asked to go up,

00:34:36my wife,

00:34:36great cricket fan,

00:34:37had a trial for sorry ladies

00:34:39when she was younger.

00:34:40Very good.

00:34:40She said,

00:34:40you can't go on Test Match,

00:34:42you know nothing.

00:34:43So I said,

00:34:44I'm going to talk about turf.

00:34:46And I did,

00:34:46I talked about the wicket

00:34:48and a little bit about

00:34:49what they were playing on.

00:34:50Not much about cricket.

00:34:51Well,

00:34:51they're relaying lords

00:34:52at the moment.

00:34:53You can buy,

00:34:53you can buy,

00:34:54you can buy a sod,

00:34:55isn't it?

00:34:56Yes.

00:34:56You're allowed to say that it is.

00:34:58You can buy a sod

00:34:59of lords turf

00:35:01now because they're

00:35:02completely

00:35:03relaying the whole lot

00:35:04for the start of next year.

00:35:06Bless you.

00:35:06So you'd be ideal for that.

00:35:08Ash it heroes.

00:35:09A must for cricketing fans.

00:35:10Thanks Phil.

00:35:10Now you'll be staying

00:35:11not so much for a sticky wicket

00:35:13but for our sticky drinks

00:35:14at the end.

00:35:14Yeah,

00:35:14looking forward to that.

00:35:15Now,

00:35:15Sue Barker warned me about you

00:35:17and sticky drinks.

00:35:18Yeah.

00:35:19Saying no more.

00:35:20Say nothing.

00:35:20Now,

00:35:21watch this space.

00:35:24Breathtaking landscapes,

00:35:25beautiful wildlife shots

00:35:27and nature's finest features.

00:35:29Your cameras have been busy.

00:35:31It's time to roll out

00:35:32the green carpet

00:35:33and showcase

00:35:33the stunning snaps

00:35:34you've captured

00:35:35in Walk on the Wild Side.

00:35:38Your dose of nature

00:35:40sorted.

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00:37:20Please do keep snapping.

00:37:22Still ahead, sexy, salacious and utterly compelling.

00:37:25Rival star Denise Black on the return of everyone's favourite bonk buster.

00:37:30Is it me? Has it got a bit hot in here?

00:37:33Talking about things heating up, she's been let loose with the garden heaters again.

00:37:37Camilla Bassett-Smith, making the most of your greenhouse this winter and it includes a reading nook.

00:37:42I'll see you with Camilla in her greenhouse getaway right after this.

00:37:46Every part of Britain has its own character.

00:38:02From the Yorkshire Dales to the Welsh Valleys to the Scottish Highlands, wherever you may be in the British countryside,

00:38:10you can be guaranteed remarkable scenery, a rich heritage and unique character.

00:38:16You just have to take the time to enjoy it.

00:38:19Coming up, how four young musicians conquered the world.

00:38:23Sir Brian May and his passion for stars and celebrating 50 years of Bohemian Rhapsody.

00:38:30He also has a very special message, protecting our wildlife.

00:38:33Now, winter upon us, the greenhouse may not seem the first destination you'll be heading to in the garden,

00:38:39but it can still be a place of plant productivity, you know, and somewhere to potter or even escape to with a good book.

00:38:46Really, here with her guide to making the most of the greenhouse at this time of year.

00:38:51Welcome back, Camilla.

00:38:53So before we go and make the most of it, stuff that might benefit from making the most of it, really.

00:38:57And there is so much, really. The world's your oyster, and so far is what you can use a greenhouse for keeping plants in over the winter.

00:39:04But what a lot of people do, and what I certainly do, is use it for tender perennials.

00:39:08Stuff that if it stayed out in the winter would just be killed.

00:39:11So you bring it inside. This is a chocolate cosmos.

00:39:13Now, the flowers are long gone at this time of year, but it has those beautiful flowers that smell of chocolate.

00:39:18But it wouldn't survive outside unless you're in the very mildest of spots.

00:39:23So just bringing this in and popping him in a greenhouse...

00:39:25Do you cut it back at all?

00:39:26Do you know, I don't normally. I just normally let him do his thing.

00:39:30And he dyes back, as he would do outside.

00:39:31And then when I've got dead stalks, then I would take them down.

00:39:33Cut those off. But the root stalk will remain alive and grow again for next year.

00:39:37Yes, and then you look and kind of next spring, you see those little new shoots coming up.

00:39:40So that's the first thing. And of course, pelargoniums.

00:39:43Now, I mean, you're the expert on pelargoniums.

00:39:44Well, I just have a lot in a greenhouse.

00:39:46You do have a lot. You do.

00:39:48But keeping them over winter. And actually, you can keep them flowering, can't you?

00:39:51The single ones, particularly. The double ones tend to stop flowering.

00:39:54They ease off for some strange reason.

00:39:56But the single ones, you can keep going.

00:39:58The key with them is to keep picking off leaves as soon as they fade.

00:40:02Otherwise, they go grey with botrytis.

00:40:05Yes.

00:40:05Picking off dead leaves, keeping them very dry at the roots.

00:40:08Yes.

00:40:08Don't keep them too soggy.

00:40:09And giving them as bright a light as possible.

00:40:11But these little cuttings at the front, I keep of my grandfather's apple blossom pelargonium.

00:40:17So I've got little cuttings as well.

00:40:18You can see, you know, still new shoots coming there.

00:40:20They'll grow through the winter beautifully.

00:40:21Yeah, they'll grow nicely.

00:40:21But you don't need to get frost free.

00:40:23That's it. So frost free.

00:40:24That's what you're doing.

00:40:25And then with more kind of shrubby plants as well.

00:40:28Now, these are cordialines.

00:40:29It's the Torbay palm, which don't look dissimilar to our formiums that we were talking about earlier.

00:40:34But they are less hardy, aren't they, really, cordialines?

00:40:36They're good.

00:40:36I mean, you know, the south coast, south west.

00:40:39Yes.

00:40:39They grow outdoors there right the way through the winter.

00:40:42And quite tall as well.

00:40:43But again, these variegated ones are not as hardy as the plain green ones.

00:40:46So I bring them in.

00:40:47Because they look good as well, don't they, in this space?

00:40:49Yeah, they're nice.

00:40:49And things like yucca at the front as well.

00:40:51Now, you can use these as houseplants.

00:40:52But actually, yuccas look beautiful on a patio or a balcony over the summer.

00:40:57Well, because they're hardy and tender yuccas.

00:41:00That's one of the tender ones, isn't it?

00:41:01It is indeed. But look at the structure.

00:41:02And I mean, they don't need it to be really, really warm either.

00:41:05You can keep, as you said, keeping things just frost free is enough for most of these.

00:41:09And then looking at herbs, because we grow so many edibles in greenhouses over the summer.

00:41:14Tomatoes and cucumbers and aubergines and everything else.

00:41:17But you forget maybe about it over the winter.

00:41:20But herbs are a great thing.

00:41:21Now, these outside, this is mint.

00:41:23And we've got chives there.

00:41:24And we've got thyme.

00:41:25You've got lots of right to the mint.

00:41:26Chocolate, mint, basil, mint.

00:41:28Is this straight from your windowsill?

00:41:29It is.

00:41:29Very impressive.

00:41:30Lime, mint, blackcurrant, mint.

00:41:32Berries and mint, mint.

00:41:34You know, it's one of those things.

00:41:35Once you start collecting, there are so many different ones that you can get.

00:41:38It's so exciting.

00:41:39But outside, of course, they would die down, wouldn't they?

00:41:42They are hardy.

00:41:42Mints are hardy plants.

00:41:44But you can keep them going in a greenhouse.

00:41:47And you can give them a little bit of a cutback as well.

00:41:48And that will encourage the growth.

00:41:50And they will stay grey right the way through the winter.

00:41:51And that's great for your Christmas potatoes, a little bit of a cutback.

00:41:53Yes.

00:41:54Let's skip straight to houseplants and look at these just things that you can get by.

00:41:59That's it.

00:41:59And decorative plants.

00:42:00So you've got the Norfolk Island pine in the front here, which looks like a little Christmas tree.

00:42:05We're feeling festive at the moment.

00:42:07And Christmas is not that far away, dare I mention it.

00:42:09But a really great structural-looking little tree.

00:42:12And then the rubber plant behind it.

00:42:15Now, these are plants that you can have as houseplants, but they don't mind it in a cooler environment.

00:42:19And so you can have, as long as you're keeping your greenhouse really above 10 degrees, that would be okay.

00:42:2550 in old money.

00:42:26Yes, 50 in old money.

00:42:27But so many plants, your succulents, your cacti, winter lettuce.

00:42:30I mean, I could just, I could talk for hours, Alan.

00:42:32Well, worth it, isn't it?

00:42:33But it is getting a little bit chilly now.

00:42:35So shall we head in there?

00:42:37Go to the hall.

00:42:37Right.

00:42:38Here we are, then.

00:42:41Yes.

00:42:41Ah, this is my sanctuary at home, you know, at the greenhouse.

00:42:44You can get away from everything, can't you?

00:42:45It works in the madding crowd.

00:42:47Yes, indeed.

00:42:47Not that I'm suggesting you need to get away from Mrs T, because she's lovely.

00:42:50No, no, no, no, she's quiet about it, though.

00:42:51Yeah, yeah.

00:42:51She's watching.

00:42:52Yes.

00:42:53So greenhouse heating.

00:42:55Now, as you know, Alan, I'm quite old school.

00:42:56I like a paraffin heater.

00:42:57But there are so many more options that we use these days, and perhaps more eco-friendly as well.

00:43:02Now, first of all, bulk standard fan heater.

00:43:04Two kilowatt, but you have got a one kilowatt setting on this one, so...

00:43:10Blowing air.

00:43:12Great.

00:43:12Yeah.

00:43:12I use these.

00:43:13The air is circulated, which is great for all greenhouse plants, because it just keeps them moving.

00:43:18Less danger of fungal diseases.

00:43:20Yes.

00:43:20And it's buoyant.

00:43:22It's dry heat.

00:43:22Yeah.

00:43:23And also, if you have a thermostat on it, which most of them do, I think, now, it means you can control it.

00:43:28So, yes, all right, electricity is quite expensive.

00:43:31But if it's controlled, and it's turning off when you don't need it...

00:43:34Exactly.

00:43:34...then that's okay.

00:43:35You know, it actually is quite economically friendly, then.

00:43:39And then, moving on to this one.

00:43:40Now, this really is these low wattage, 60 watt, roughly, in a foot, on these ones, these bar heaters.

00:43:48And it is so cosy.

00:43:50And then you've got this wonderfully grand-looking thing.

00:43:53We have.

00:43:53Now, over here is me and paraffin.

00:43:55I don't know what this is at all.

00:43:55Me and paraffin.

00:43:56Yeah.

00:43:56And right over here is really, I think, the future of heating, really, for plants.

00:44:02And it's very high-tech.

00:44:03Now, it's smart-controlled.

00:44:05And what it does via this tubing is it keeps an eye on the temperature to stop it fluctuating.

00:44:12So, it keeps it even.

00:44:13It keeps it even.

00:44:14Whereas that comes on when it's dropped and boots it up.

00:44:16So, you get very much sort of up and down.

00:44:18Whereas this is controlled with 10 heat settings.

00:44:21So, this pipe goes where?

00:44:23Into a grow house or a grow frame.

00:44:26Something that you've got.

00:44:26Sort of mini greenhouse inside a greenhouse.

00:44:29Inside a greenhouse.

00:44:30Right.

00:44:30People can do them in their home as well.

00:44:32But in a greenhouse, it works well.

00:44:33And I think this is excellent for protecting particularly special plants.

00:44:37Right.

00:44:37If you've got specimens that you really want to keep safe and cosy.

00:44:41And my word, I mean, this is clever.

00:44:43It's far beyond my ken.

00:44:44But I think it's where beauty is going.

00:44:46Yeah, I think I've got more affinity with your paraffinita than I have with this.

00:44:49But for now, for me, that will do nicely.

00:44:51Yes, yeah.

00:44:51What's all this little rubber here?

00:44:54Well, you know, it's not just about keeping your plants warm, is it, Alan?

00:44:56I think with one of those, in fact, I could taste it this way, I think.

00:44:59Put my feet up.

00:45:01Get a seed catalogue.

00:45:02Because seed catalogue's at this time of year, cup of tea.

00:45:06You know how to do it, then.

00:45:07You know how to leave.

00:45:08Where else would you want to be, really?

00:45:09I've told you, it's my sanctuary.

00:45:11It's now become yours as well, hasn't it?

00:45:12Yeah.

00:45:13I've been here all serious.

00:45:14Oh, usually greenhouse in winter and enjoy it.

00:45:17Thanks, Camilla.

00:45:18Time now to head out of the greenhouse and down that garden path once more.

00:45:22Here's Leslie Joseph with some foxy facts about the fox.

00:45:26A very good morning, Alan.

00:45:30Oh, what a treat to see Sir Brian May on the show.

00:45:34Don't stop me now.

00:45:36I'm having such a good time.

00:45:38And I certainly am, dear viewer.

00:45:42I do so adore this time of year.

00:45:45The crisp mornings, the cosy evenings.

00:45:47But whilst most of us are indoors, there is still plenty going on outside.

00:45:52Cue the magnificent, the splendid, the wondrous fox.

00:45:57Do you know foxes have excellent hearing?

00:46:00They can hear a rodent digging miles underground.

00:46:04Now that, dear viewer, is a talent we all should have.

00:46:08They can also run up to 30 miles an hour.

00:46:11A wonderful addition to any sports day, don't you think?

00:46:15Mr. Fox is an expert hunter, catching rabbits, rodents, birds, frogs and earthworms.

00:46:20He also dines on berries and fruit, too.

00:46:23Two of their five a day, eh?

00:46:25Urban foxes will also scavenge for food in dustbins.

00:46:29Yes, we have all been there, you naughty fox.

00:46:34Word to the wise from your Auntie Leslie.

00:46:36They're very messy eaters.

00:46:38So always secure your rubbish in closed wheelie bins.

00:46:42From Aesop's ancient fables to modern classics,

00:46:46foxes in literature are most often portrayed as clever tricksters.

00:46:50And we all know the story of poor Henny Penny.

00:46:53However, they have also been depicted as wise mentors,

00:46:58divine spirits and even romantic figures.

00:47:02In bygone days, if a fox had been caught,

00:47:05its brush was often hung up above the door of a stable or cowshed

00:47:09to help keep off evil and bring good luck.

00:47:12And on that informative note, it's time to bid you farewell.

00:47:16Until next time, I wish you all a very happy Sunday.

00:47:20I'm off to hang out with my foxy friends.

00:47:24Ciao.

00:47:25Thanks, Leslie.

00:47:26And did you know foxes have very good dental care?

00:47:30Gnawing on meaty bones helps them keep their teeth clean naturally.

00:47:34No hygienist needed for them.

00:47:37Coming up, Denise Black on her return to everyone's deliciously naughty drama,

00:47:42Jelly Cooper's Rivals.

00:47:43I'll see you for some delightfully saucy chit-chat right after this.

00:47:47Welcome back.

00:48:01Coming up, why it's all the case of Waste Not Want Not in today's Best of British,

00:48:06especially when it comes to liqueurs.

00:48:09Tom Surgey's been raiding the cocktail bar

00:48:11to breathe new life into those bottles at the back

00:48:15that have been there for ages, do you remember?

00:48:17We're supposed to say them for best.

00:48:19They never end up coming out, are they what they are today?

00:48:21And talking of Best of British,

00:48:23Sir Brian May on his trailblazing career

00:48:26and his passion to help protect the natural world

00:48:29and the animals who depend upon it.

00:48:31Looking forward to that.

00:48:32As I am my next guest,

00:48:35because it's fair to say

00:48:36actress Denise Black has had a varied TV career.

00:48:39She's been a vice girl in prison,

00:48:41a clubbing mum,

00:48:43and was even married to Bob Hoskins.

00:48:45But it was as the iconic Denise Osborne,

00:48:48the hairdressing siren

00:48:50who stole the heart of Ken Barlow

00:48:52that really sealed her fate as a fan favourite.

00:48:56How humiliating do you think this is?

00:48:59Parading you in front of our friends and neighbours.

00:49:04Daisy, please.

00:49:05Look, all we wanted was a sensible chat

00:49:07and you start screaming like a scraggy-faced fishwife.

00:49:10No wonder Ken walked out on you

00:49:12and that old witch of a mother of yours.

00:49:13Don't you dare talk about a defenceless old lady like that.

00:49:17Ken only came to me because you and her drove him out.

00:49:21Look, can we please not do this in here?

00:49:23That is between him and me.

00:49:25It has nothing to do with you, lady.

00:49:27And I use the term loosely.

00:49:30Do not speak to me like that.

00:49:32Oh, well, you shall be used to it.

00:49:34You're nothing but a pathetic slapper.

00:49:37Lowering other people's husbands into your bed.

00:49:40First chance you get, it worked once.

00:49:42So you thought you'd try the same trick again.

00:49:44Your daughter killed somebody in cold blood

00:49:46and then you started blaming Ken

00:49:47because he didn't realise what she was up to

00:49:48when you didn't have a close-

00:49:50Oh, I do agree for heaven's sake.

00:49:52Well, she had his coming.

00:49:53No actors were hurt during this production.

00:49:56Can you remember that scene?

00:49:58Of course I can.

00:49:59Of course I can.

00:50:00And I adored Annie.

00:50:02Yeah.

00:50:03She was beautiful to her.

00:50:04Beautiful, beautiful.

00:50:05And so different to Deirdre.

00:50:07Yeah.

00:50:07And, yeah, of course, how can you not enjoy

00:50:11being slapped in the roses?

00:50:13What do I call her?

00:50:14A scraggy-faced fishwife or something like that?

00:50:16No, honestly.

00:50:17But did she pull that pun?

00:50:19Did you really get a smile?

00:50:20I can't remember.

00:50:21Well, that's just as well.

00:50:24From your point of view, of course,

00:50:25you were a great fan before you joined.

00:50:27And they always say,

00:50:28something I often ask people I know

00:50:30who come on, who've been in Corrie

00:50:32but joined it when it was really up and running.

00:50:34Yes.

00:50:34With all those great names like Pat Phoenix

00:50:36and, you know, Thelma was on there,

00:50:38Thelma Barlow a little while ago.

00:50:39I saw-

00:50:40Talking about her.

00:50:42Mavis, of course, was my, you know,

00:50:44I adored Mavis.

00:50:46Yeah.

00:50:47No, I could, I wanted to get into a continuous drama.

00:50:52Yeah.

00:50:53But as a Southern girl, as you can hear,

00:50:55I just never, ever thought that it would be Corrie.

00:50:59And then James Bain, RIP James Bain, a caster,

00:51:04always used to come and see the plays

00:51:05as I went through Manchester.

00:51:07And then I got an interview, first of all,

00:51:09to play a McDonald.

00:51:12Oh, really?

00:51:13Liz McDonald's part.

00:51:14Yeah, yeah.

00:51:15But then I didn't get that.

00:51:16But four years later, I got this one.

00:51:18People come and go as different characters, don't they?

00:51:21That's what you need to have gone back in again.

00:51:22So, do you remember your first day and what it was like?

00:51:25Yes, I do.

00:51:26So, one of the first things that happened to me

00:51:29was I was hauled in for hair and make-up

00:51:32to transform me into a hairdresser.

00:51:34And I'd been upstairs in wardrobe

00:51:37and I'd learnt about matching handbags and shoes.

00:51:41I never knew such a thing existed.

00:51:43And I came out through the green room

00:51:46and they were all there, Julie with her beehive, as Bette.

00:51:50So, I tried to be terribly, terribly cool

00:51:52as I left stage one, which had a glass door.

00:51:56So, I sort of leant against the door,

00:51:59turned round to look at Julie

00:52:00and actually fell out backwards.

00:52:04Collapse of stout glass.

00:52:05Not at all cool.

00:52:07Not at all cool.

00:52:07That was my first.

00:52:08Did you keep the Northern accent to me when you were there?

00:52:10Yeah.

00:52:11Six months.

00:52:13All the time?

00:52:13All the time, in the green room, wherever I went,

00:52:16because I thought they might lynch me

00:52:18if they knew I was a Southerner.

00:52:20But you mentioned there your stage creator.

00:52:22You were, you know, an accomplished stage actress.

00:52:24I suppose the thing about going into a continuing drama,

00:52:27as you nicely could rightly call it,

00:52:30is that you're associated with that part.

00:52:31People forget everything that went before.

00:52:33Yes, they do.

00:52:34Sometimes everything that comes between.

00:52:35Yes, they do.

00:52:36The stage is your real home, isn't it?

00:52:38I do.

00:52:39I did ten years before I could get a telly job.

00:52:42In fact, I used to sit in the green room.

00:52:44I bought Michael Caine's book on acting for camera.

00:52:47I used to read it in the green room and say,

00:52:49I'll be all right in two or three weeks,

00:52:50because I had no experience of camera at all.

00:52:53I remember one thing from that book.

00:52:55You say, when you're talking to somebody,

00:52:57you focus on one eye.

00:52:58This eye.

00:52:59Do you remember?

00:52:59You don't do...

00:52:59This eye camera's like this one.

00:53:01And don't blink.

00:53:02Yeah.

00:53:02And if your red hair wear mascara,

00:53:04this was his advice.

00:53:06But I observed all his rules.

00:53:10Because you worked with him

00:53:11and you were the husband to Bob Hoskins in this,

00:53:15which is Last Orders.

00:53:17Cheers, Mr Johnson.

00:53:18I can't thank you enough.

00:53:21I have some horse, eh?

00:53:41Carol, Carol, listen.

00:53:43If she goes, I don't want to see her ever again.

00:53:47Understand that.

00:53:49Carol, you can't stop her.

00:53:50She's 18.

00:53:52And I'm not.

00:53:53Oh, come here.

00:54:01Working with heroes, I presume, in that case.

00:54:02Well, I was so worried

00:54:04that he might actually turn out to not be very nice

00:54:07because I adore him.

00:54:08He's one of my gods.

00:54:10It's Alfie.

00:54:10Yes.

00:54:11It's Alfie.

00:54:12Yeah.

00:54:13Him and Glenda Jackson in Sunday Bloody Sunday.

00:54:16They're why I am acting.

00:54:17Gosh, I remember both those films.

00:54:18There you go.

00:54:19And he was...

00:54:21So I was worried about meeting him.

00:54:23Yeah.

00:54:25Really looking forward to it,

00:54:26obviously, to meeting Bob.

00:54:28Can you imagine?

00:54:29But what I found about Michael...

00:54:32So in that, that's a flashback.

00:54:34And he's wearing a wig.

00:54:36And he's got...

00:54:38This is how we do it, folks.

00:54:39He's got all the layers of creases

00:54:42pulled up and sellotaped underneath the wig

00:54:45to make you look younger.

00:54:47So as the day goes on,

00:54:48he starts looking this kind of pink colour.

00:54:51They keep on coming and pulling it up.

00:54:53And he never complained.

00:54:56And he told wonderful stories,

00:54:58but it wasn't,

00:54:59listen to me, I've got the best stories.

00:55:01It was keeping everybody happy.

00:55:02And then the really big thing

00:55:04that meant so much to me,

00:55:05he went over to a runner.

00:55:06It was pouring with rain.

00:55:07It was quite a low-budget movie.

00:55:09And she didn't have an umbrella

00:55:10and she was getting drenched.

00:55:12And he said,

00:55:13anyone got an umbrella?

00:55:14And he gave her hers.

00:55:15Oh.

00:55:16It's just nice, isn't it?

00:55:17Wonderful.

00:55:18Lovely man.

00:55:19Lovely man.

00:55:19And you've been recently on our screens

00:55:23in dear old,

00:55:24the late lamented and loved

00:55:26Jilly Cooper's rivals

00:55:28playing the secretary

00:55:29to David Tennant.

00:55:31What a beast he is.

00:55:33What a beast.

00:55:34Isn't he bad, bad, bad, bad, bad?

00:55:36I asked him the other day,

00:55:37I said,

00:55:37do you enjoy David Tennant?

00:55:39Do you enjoy playing bad?

00:55:40And he said,

00:55:41well, he's not necessarily bad,

00:55:43just doing what he has to.

00:55:44Oh, yeah, yeah.

00:55:45They always find a reason,

00:55:46don't they,

00:55:47to find some good in the character.

00:55:50He's deliciously,

00:55:50no,

00:55:51deliciously nasty.

00:55:51He's a fabulous person

00:55:53to work with.

00:55:54Really,

00:55:55well,

00:55:55there you go.

00:55:56So these examples

00:55:57are people who are not only

00:55:58good on screen,

00:56:00but they're really good off screen,

00:56:01really good team members,

00:56:03apart from being a cracking actor,

00:56:04eh?

00:56:05Yeah,

00:56:05yeah.

00:56:05And it makes you know

00:56:06why you're in the job,

00:56:07doesn't it,

00:56:07really?

00:56:07Yes, yes.

00:56:08When you do people like that.

00:56:09Yes,

00:56:09I mean,

00:56:10you do get a bit,

00:56:11I remember we were playing

00:56:12a game

00:56:12in the green room

00:56:15and all I could think

00:56:16was I'm playing a game

00:56:18with David.

00:56:18No,

00:56:19I couldn't answer anything.

00:56:21But you know,

00:56:22somebody said to me once,

00:56:23it was Beatrix Potter actually

00:56:24who said,

00:56:25she didn't say to me

00:56:26because she had died

00:56:26before I was born,

00:56:27but Beatrix Potter,

00:56:29Beatrix Potter always said,

00:56:31it's important to keep

00:56:32the child in you alive.

00:56:34Oh,

00:56:34that's a beautiful thing.

00:56:34And I think that includes

00:56:37meeting people

00:56:38that you've always had,

00:56:39not being obsequious

00:56:40and silly and whatnot,

00:56:41but just being aware

00:56:42of how privileged

00:56:43and lucky you are

00:56:44to be in their company

00:56:45and to be a part

00:56:46of their lives,

00:56:47albeit for a few seconds.

00:56:48Yes,

00:56:49Mr. Titchenwash.

00:56:50And I,

00:56:50you last interviewed me,

00:56:51you won't remember,

00:56:5230 years ago

00:56:53and I ruffled your hair.

00:56:55So can I just,

00:56:56there you go.

00:56:58It's a different colour now

00:56:59to what it was then.

00:57:01Well,

00:57:01I've got Brian May.

00:57:02Pebble mill,

00:57:02yeah,

00:57:03yeah.

00:57:04One of the prerequisites

00:57:05of coming in now

00:57:06is grey hair,

00:57:07I think,

00:57:07really.

00:57:08From your point of view

00:57:09and Rivals,

00:57:11nice to see you on that

00:57:11and coming back

00:57:12for this second series.

00:57:14Is theatre still

00:57:15what you really want to do,

00:57:17what you do in between

00:57:18all these parents?

00:57:18Do you know,

00:57:19this is the most awkward question.

00:57:22TV is my bread and butter.

00:57:23Yeah.

00:57:23I couldn't afford to do theatre

00:57:25if I didn't balance it out

00:57:27with TV

00:57:28because regional,

00:57:30which is largely

00:57:31what I've done,

00:57:31not the big stuff,

00:57:34doesn't pay a whole lot.

00:57:35But I maintain

00:57:37that you have to do it.

00:57:39It's where you kind of,

00:57:40I don't know,

00:57:42it's where,

00:57:42it's what I love.

00:57:44Yeah.

00:57:44So the last play I did

00:57:46was just after lockdown

00:57:48at the Crucible,

00:57:49the Sheffield Crucible.

00:57:51And I haven't done a play

00:57:52for three years,

00:57:53so I don't know

00:57:54which camera's on me,

00:57:55but I'm looking for

00:57:56a theatre job,

00:57:56OK?

00:57:57Yeah.

00:57:58They'll come flooding in now.

00:58:00And I gather

00:58:01the countryside does mean

00:58:02something to you.

00:58:03You're a great gardener,

00:58:03you're a great boater.

00:58:04I am, I am.

00:58:05And the outdoors

00:58:05is obviously a switch off

00:58:07for you, you know,

00:58:07and on the line.

00:58:08I find that it's

00:58:09a good antidote to,

00:58:11as you said,

00:58:12we have to hold on

00:58:13to the fact

00:58:13of how lucky we are.

00:58:15And,

00:58:16but sometimes

00:58:17it's a quite crazy life.

00:58:18I spend an awful lot

00:58:20of time moving around,

00:58:21hotels,

00:58:22trains,

00:58:23this is my life,

00:58:25to where the job is.

00:58:27So I find it's a big balancer,

00:58:30a big leveller to sail

00:58:32where the mighty ocean,

00:58:34you know,

00:58:35like there's no point

00:58:35being romantic.

00:58:36If you fall in,

00:58:37you're not,

00:58:37it's not good.

00:58:38Yeah.

00:58:39You know,

00:58:39and you can't live up there either,

00:58:40but you can harness it,

00:58:42that wind

00:58:43and I've got a beautiful,

00:58:46beautiful sailing boat

00:58:47up at Morecambe Bay.

00:58:48Oh, wonderful.

00:58:49You get out on it a lot.

00:58:50Yeah,

00:58:50and we're just recently,

00:58:51I've been out a few times,

00:58:52I've only just got it there.

00:58:54Yeah.

00:58:54So if you're out on Morecambe Bay

00:58:55and you're sailing

00:58:56and you see this woman

00:58:57sailing a boat,

00:58:58she looks just like Denise Black.

00:59:00It is Denise Black.

00:59:01And they'll tell me

00:59:02I'm Stephanie Beach

00:59:03and that's where everybody

00:59:04tells me.

00:59:05Yeah,

00:59:05you're Stephanie Beach.

00:59:06I go,

00:59:06no,

00:59:06I'm not.

00:59:07They say,

00:59:07yes,

00:59:07you are.

00:59:08I go,

00:59:08I'm sure I'd know.

00:59:10Alan Bennett has signed

00:59:11autographs for David Hockney

00:59:12for years.

00:59:13Has he?

00:59:14I'm still as all.

00:59:16People say to me,

00:59:16okay,

00:59:17no,

00:59:17it's a long time now.

00:59:17Somebody said to me once,

00:59:18I love it when you do the weather.

00:59:21Oh,

00:59:21fine.

00:59:22You know,

00:59:22I've never done the weather before.

00:59:23Michael Fish?

00:59:24No,

00:59:24please,

00:59:24no.

00:59:25I don't think so.

00:59:26And I have to say,

00:59:27Denise,

00:59:27I'm delighted that you've got the uniform,

00:59:29you've got the wardrobe message.

00:59:32This is for you,

00:59:32Alan.

00:59:32Last night,

00:59:33I was thinking,

00:59:33what shall I wear?

00:59:34And I thought,

00:59:35I want to gilet with Alan Titchrush.

00:59:37This is for you.

00:59:38I bet you said that to all the boys.

00:59:41Thank you,

00:59:41Denise.

00:59:42Bless you.

00:59:43Bless you.

00:59:44Now,

00:59:44it was just a few weeks ago

00:59:45that we unveiled our brand new

00:59:47Manor Farm chicken run,

00:59:49a renovation project on a scale

00:59:51never before seen.

00:59:53Thanks to the tireless effort

00:59:54of our carpenter Rob Bent

00:59:56and his able assistant,

00:59:57son Kamani,

00:59:58the once dilapidated home

01:00:00of the Manor Farm hens,

01:00:02was transformed into a poultry palace.

01:00:05And who can forget the grand opening

01:00:07befitting such a building

01:00:08with the wonderful,

01:00:10self-confessed chicken lover,

01:00:12Thelma Barlow at the helm.

01:00:13It's a building,

01:00:14I hope,

01:00:15in which the chickens now

01:00:17and in the future

01:00:18will feel safe

01:00:20and have many,

01:00:21many happy hours,

01:00:22happy lives.

01:00:23So,

01:00:24I hereby declare

01:00:27this chicken inn

01:00:29for please.

01:00:31Yay!

01:00:35Wonderful scenes

01:00:36that will live long

01:00:37in the memory

01:00:38of all who witnessed them.

01:00:39Since then,

01:00:40you,

01:00:41our dear viewers,

01:00:42have been busy on our socials

01:00:43asking,

01:00:44what next for the new chick inn?

01:00:46Are there plans

01:00:47to revamp the interior

01:00:48to match the splendour

01:00:49of the exterior?

01:00:50It's been almost breathless.

01:00:52Well, wonder no more.

01:00:53It's time to find out.

01:00:55Here's our Rob

01:00:55with an update report

01:00:57on future plans

01:00:58for the most famous

01:00:59chick inn run

01:01:00this side of

01:01:01Basingstoke.

01:01:02I've come back down

01:01:08to Manor Farm

01:01:08to do some work.

01:01:09I thought I'd check in

01:01:10the chicken.

01:01:12So,

01:01:13let's go inside

01:01:13and take a look.

01:01:20So,

01:01:22the chickens

01:01:22had a huge upgrade

01:01:24on their chicken run.

01:01:25which kind of made

01:01:33all the chicken coops

01:01:34look a bit dilapidated

01:01:36and need a bit

01:01:37of sprucing up.

01:01:38Now,

01:01:38I like an upcycle.

01:01:40I don't like

01:01:41throwing anything away.

01:01:42And you know what?

01:01:43If it's in half-decent,

01:01:44good condition

01:01:45and you can bring it

01:01:46back to life,

01:01:47do that first

01:01:47before buying anything new.

01:01:49So,

01:01:50as you can see,

01:01:50it's a bit run down.

01:01:52We've got a good bit

01:01:52of moss on the front here

01:01:54to clean this up.

01:01:55All this would take

01:01:56is just a jet wash.

01:01:58Jet wash this all down

01:01:59and turn it from this

01:02:01mouldy looking green

01:02:03to this lovely

01:02:05coloured timber up here.

01:02:08To make these coops

01:02:09last longer,

01:02:10really,

01:02:10it should be oiled.

01:02:11I know a lot of things

01:02:12that you buy for outside.

01:02:13You think,

01:02:14okay,

01:02:14once it's outside,

01:02:15it will survive

01:02:16all the rain

01:02:17and all the English weather.

01:02:19But it won't.

01:02:20So,

01:02:20as soon as you get it,

01:02:21oil it

01:02:21and then keep it

01:02:22oiling it

01:02:23every six months,

01:02:24it will make

01:02:24your chicken coop

01:02:25last for a very,

01:02:26very long time.

01:02:34Before I rebuild

01:02:35all of this chicken run,

01:02:37this section here

01:02:38was all the way down here.

01:02:40You had to crouch down

01:02:41to get in there.

01:02:41But now that I've lifted it up,

01:02:50it's opened up

01:02:51all of this area

01:02:51and it looks a bit bare.

01:02:54And I kind of don't know

01:02:55what to do with it.

01:02:55I've got a few thoughts

01:02:56in my head.

01:02:57I'm thinking,

01:02:58the first thing that jumps

01:02:59to my mind

01:02:59is chicken obstacle course.

01:03:02Something to keep them fit.

01:03:03even maybe a giant

01:03:05hamster wheel

01:03:06for the chickens

01:03:06to have a little run.

01:03:08You know what I mean?

01:03:08It's getting cold.

01:03:10A little juggling their wheel

01:03:11to keep them warm.

01:03:19Well,

01:03:19I've had a good little look

01:03:20inside here

01:03:21for the things

01:03:21I may want to do.

01:03:23But do you know what?

01:03:24I think it's time I leave.

01:03:26The tenants are back home.

01:03:27But I will keep you up to date

01:03:29with everything

01:03:30chicken coop related.

01:03:39Thank you, Rob.

01:03:40What a man.

01:03:41Some great ideas there

01:03:42that we need to start

01:03:43percolating.

01:03:44And if you at home

01:03:45have any thoughts

01:03:46on how we can improve

01:03:47the interior of the chick inn,

01:03:49do let us know

01:03:50by getting in touch

01:03:51on our Facebook page.

01:03:52You never know.

01:03:53Your idea may become

01:03:55an integral part

01:03:56of the next stage

01:03:57of this epic transformation.

01:03:59Who needs Kevin MacLeod?

01:04:01Still to come,

01:04:02our resident mixologist,

01:04:04Tom Sergi,

01:04:05salvages those

01:04:05forgotten liqueurs

01:04:07to create a whole new

01:04:08genre of cocktail.

01:04:10He's a talent, you know.

01:04:11And with his trusty,

01:04:12self-built,

01:04:14red special guitar in hand

01:04:16and a sixpence pick

01:04:18between his fingers,

01:04:19soaring guitar solos

01:04:21and melodic riffs,

01:04:22well, I could go on.

01:04:23Sir Brian May

01:04:24is celebrating

01:04:25the Queen years

01:04:26and the 50th anniversary

01:04:27of the song

01:04:28he says

01:04:29he'll never get tired

01:04:31of hearing,

01:04:32Bohemian Rhapsody.

01:04:33He's come a long way

01:04:34since he got his first guitar

01:04:35at the age of seven.

01:04:36I'll be back with Brian

01:04:38for some riffing good chat

01:04:39right after this.

01:04:40Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

01:04:54Still ahead,

01:04:55lemons,

01:04:56figs

01:04:57and raspberry.

01:04:58It's a fruity affair

01:04:59in today's Leicester British.

01:05:01Tom Sergi is creating

01:05:02liqueur cocktails

01:05:03you don't need to save

01:05:04for a special occasion.

01:05:06Rich,

01:05:07indulgent,

01:05:08very naughty,

01:05:09very nice.

01:05:10But first,

01:05:11it's the legendary rock band

01:05:13inspiring millions

01:05:14since its London formation

01:05:16in 1970

01:05:17with the charismatic

01:05:18musical genius frontman

01:05:21Freddie Mercury

01:05:22on lead vocals

01:05:23and piano,

01:05:24Brian May

01:05:25on vocals and guitar,

01:05:26John Deacon

01:05:27on vocals and bass

01:05:28and drummer

01:05:29Roger Taylor.

01:05:30Queen's immense popularity

01:05:32stems from their musical diversity,

01:05:34their unique theatrical stage presence

01:05:38and killer tunes

01:05:39like these.

01:05:41We are the champions

01:05:44We are the champions

01:05:47No time for losers

01:05:51Cos we are the champions

01:05:55Of the world

01:05:59All we hear is

01:06:06Radio Gaga

01:06:07Radio Blah Blah

01:06:10Radio was new

01:06:13Someone still loves you

01:06:19He's just a poor boy

01:06:21Nobody loves me

01:06:22He's just a poor boy

01:06:24From a poor family

01:06:25Sparing his life

01:06:27From this one's

01:06:28Cosity

01:06:28Oh, burning through the sky

01:06:47To wind and the breeze

01:06:49That's why they call me

01:06:50Mr. Byron Pine

01:06:52Travelling at the speed of light

01:06:55I want to make a

01:06:56Supersonic man out of you

01:06:58Ryan, you were so ahead of your time.

01:07:02I can't believe it's 50 years.

01:07:04We now have...

01:07:05There's that picture, you know,

01:07:06Queen, I mean her absolutely

01:07:0750th anniversary edition

01:07:09and a night at the opera

01:07:1150th anniversary.

01:07:12Just to remind us,

01:07:14it doesn't seem like that at all.

01:07:16Where did that time go?

01:07:17I don't know.

01:07:18It doesn't seem real to me, I must say.

01:07:20But it's amazing, you know,

01:07:21I'm very proud that it all happened

01:07:23and kind of still happening.

01:07:24So, very fortunate.

01:07:26And you were really, I mean,

01:07:28you were unique in your sounds

01:07:29in those days, in your...

01:07:31With Bami and Rhapsody,

01:07:32the length of it being put out

01:07:34as a single,

01:07:35you were told it was too long.

01:07:37Yeah, we were told it wouldn't work

01:07:39and nobody would play it,

01:07:40but we had that feeling.

01:07:41I just had that kind of instinct

01:07:44that people would.

01:07:45Did you?

01:07:46Yeah, well, you have to have

01:07:47the courage of your convictions.

01:07:49Yeah.

01:07:50It wasn't as unusual to us

01:07:52as it was for everybody else,

01:07:53in a sense,

01:07:53because we had a natural kind of progression

01:07:54towards Bohemian Rhapsody,

01:07:56I always think.

01:07:56It started with Queen 2, certainly.

01:07:59Yeah, so I'm grateful for it all.

01:08:02You know, that's all I can tell you.

01:08:03Are there memories of that time,

01:08:05of putting it all together,

01:08:06of the amount of work

01:08:08that was put in,

01:08:09of the amount of work

01:08:09that Freddie did

01:08:10and the time he took

01:08:11and the particular way

01:08:13and the picky way

01:08:14in which he did it?

01:08:15Can you take yourself

01:08:16instantly back to those moments

01:08:18when you were all in the room together

01:08:19and it was going on?

01:08:20Yeah, it's like a little

01:08:21private industry, I suppose.

01:08:23We loved it, of course.

01:08:24We're doing everything that we love

01:08:25and we fought so hard

01:08:27to get to that position

01:08:28where we can actually have studio time

01:08:29in a proper studio

01:08:30and do the thing properly.

01:08:33And we're devoted to it.

01:08:34We love it, yeah.

01:08:35And we needle each other

01:08:36the whole time

01:08:37and we'd argue,

01:08:37discuss every, every note,

01:08:39I would say, you know,

01:08:40but what comes out is, is great.

01:08:43And we were lucky

01:08:44to have each other.

01:08:45Those, those things don't happen

01:08:46unless they're organic.

01:08:47You can't kind of put a group

01:08:48of people together

01:08:49and that would happen.

01:08:50That chemistry we, we had

01:08:52and we were very fortunate.

01:08:53Presumably mutual respect

01:08:54is good glue

01:08:55if you rate what one another do

01:08:57and you're, you're all different

01:08:58but doing different things

01:08:59but you each need each other

01:09:01and rate each other.

01:09:02Does that help?

01:09:02Yeah, we're a prime example.

01:09:03We all had our,

01:09:04we all had our sort of specialist areas.

01:09:06So yes, we fitted together

01:09:07very, very well

01:09:08like a jigsaw puzzle.

01:09:09Yeah.

01:09:10So yeah, again,

01:09:11I'm, I'm happy

01:09:12that it happened.

01:09:14So are we

01:09:15that we've got, you know,

01:09:16great sort of

01:09:17vinyl reminders of that.

01:09:18And it was great

01:09:19to have that reminder

01:09:20on the last night

01:09:20The Proms with you and Roger Taylor.

01:09:22I mean, that was something

01:09:24so special.

01:09:25I don't, you know,

01:09:26just talking about it

01:09:27now that it's on the back

01:09:28of my neck

01:09:28and standing on the head.

01:09:29How was it for you

01:09:30last night The Proms,

01:09:31you and Roger Taylor

01:09:32doing Bohemian Rhapsody?

01:09:33You and me both, yeah.

01:09:34I had a hell of a job

01:09:35trying to persuade Roger

01:09:36to do it

01:09:36because all he was asked

01:09:37to do was bang the guy.

01:09:38He's like,

01:09:38I don't want to be there

01:09:39the whole day

01:09:40waiting for to bang.

01:09:40I said, Roger,

01:09:41they will love it.

01:09:42They want you there.

01:09:43And they did.

01:09:43You saw the reactions

01:09:44that he was like

01:09:45the vinyl icing on the cake.

01:09:47For me, a challenge

01:09:48is it's never easy

01:09:49to play Bohemian Rhapsody

01:09:50solo or whatever

01:09:51and to play it

01:09:52in an orchestral situation

01:09:53is tough.

01:09:55You have to be very,

01:09:57you know,

01:09:57have to keep your wits

01:09:57about you and stuff.

01:09:58I've seen them

01:09:59the last night of The Proms

01:10:01since I was a kid

01:10:01and I know it

01:10:02like the back of my hand.

01:10:03We've done it together.

01:10:04We commentated on it

01:10:05which was great.

01:10:06So to be there

01:10:07actually playing

01:10:08was a dream,

01:10:09bit of a dream.

01:10:11And another dream

01:10:12which could so easily

01:10:13have been a nightmare

01:10:14was playing the guitar

01:10:15on the top of Buckingham Palace

01:10:17for the Golden Jubilee.

01:10:18Well, they can all

01:10:19easily be a nightmare.

01:10:20That's the thing.

01:10:21You know, you go off the tracks

01:10:22and it's a train wreck

01:10:23and you just pray

01:10:24that isn't going to happen.

01:10:25All you can do

01:10:26is do your work

01:10:27the best you can

01:10:27and then what will be

01:10:29will be.

01:10:29How did that come about?

01:10:30Your idea or their idea?

01:10:32The producers?

01:10:32It's a mixture.

01:10:33They wanted me to...

01:10:35I got a phone call

01:10:36saying,

01:10:37would you like to do

01:10:38something for the palace?

01:10:39I thought,

01:10:39well, yeah, okay.

01:10:40And they said,

01:10:40what they'd like you to do

01:10:41is walk through

01:10:42the state rooms

01:10:43of Buckingham Palace

01:10:44playing God Save the Queen

01:10:45on electric guitar.

01:10:47And I thought,

01:10:47sounds a bit kind of cheesy.

01:10:51Yeah, I think I'd have thought that.

01:10:52Yeah, so I had a little thinking.

01:10:54I said, well, tell them

01:10:54I'm up for the idea

01:10:56but could I be on the top

01:10:58of the ramparts

01:10:59and I will be the lone piper

01:11:01who's been standing up there

01:11:02for 50 years

01:11:03in wind and rain

01:11:04and there I will play

01:11:05God Save the Queen.

01:11:07See what they say.

01:11:08As soon as I put the phone down

01:11:09I thought,

01:11:09ooh, I hope they don't say yes

01:11:10because that's going to be tough.

01:11:12Anyway, the phone goes,

01:11:13yeah, they're happy with that.

01:11:14Okay.

01:11:15So I'm like, oh, I'll go.

01:11:16And it was the single

01:11:17most nerve-wracking thing

01:11:18I've ever pulled off

01:11:20in my life

01:11:20because it could have gone so wrong

01:11:22I would forever have been

01:11:23the guy who messed it up

01:11:24on top of Buckingham Palace.

01:11:25And we didn't mess up.

01:11:27We didn't mess up.

01:11:29And this is what it looked like.

01:11:46We didn't mess up.

01:12:16Oh, I've gone.

01:12:27Still gets me.

01:12:28Wow.

01:12:29I mean, talk about a pinch me moment.

01:12:31I mean, just astounding.

01:12:32It's the tremolo in a way

01:12:34that really puts it out there.

01:12:36It's just that.

01:12:38The winds blew in the right direction

01:12:40and I had the feeling that I needed.

01:12:43Yeah, I will be forever grateful

01:12:44that it went that well.

01:12:47You know, it's something to think about.

01:12:49And the next person who does that,

01:12:51I'll be happy to talk to them.

01:12:54And advise them again.

01:12:55I ain't doing it again.

01:12:56You've had such a varied career.

01:12:59I mean, we now know you not only as a musician,

01:13:03but also as an astrophysicist

01:13:05and irons in infinity, galaxy.

01:13:08Galaxies 3D.

01:13:10So we've got the book.

01:13:11We've got a pair of these 3D.

01:13:13This is with the luxury version, I guarantee.

01:13:15That's right.

01:13:15That's the deluxe version.

01:13:16It has the full-scale classic owl.

01:13:19You get the lighter version in the cheaper version.

01:13:22Yeah.

01:13:22But they all work.

01:13:24And it's basically Victorian 3D

01:13:26applied to 21st century science.

01:13:29And we've done a number of these books.

01:13:30We did a nice nebulous one.

01:13:32We did a mission moon,

01:13:33which was about the Apollo mission to the moon.

01:13:36But this is the first time

01:13:37anyone has ever attempted

01:13:38a 3D book on galaxies.

01:13:41Because how do you take 3D pictures of galaxies?

01:13:43It ain't easy.

01:13:44And, in fact, I managed to put two people together,

01:13:47both geniuses in their own right.

01:13:50One, Derek Ward-Thompson,

01:13:51who's one of the world's experts

01:13:52on galactic evolution.

01:13:55And the other is J.P. Mezzavaino,

01:13:57who's a Finn,

01:13:59who is the only guy on Earth, really,

01:14:00who can make stereoscopic pictures of galaxies.

01:14:03Wow.

01:14:03What drew you into it, into astrophysics?

01:14:06I mean, you're now a doctor.

01:14:07You know, you went and get your PhD and everything.

01:14:09It's so different from everything else you do.

01:14:11It is, but this is what I was brought up to do, in a sense.

01:14:14You know, this is my training.

01:14:15I was an astrophysics...

01:14:17Well, I was a physics graduate,

01:14:18and then laterally, after 30 years away,

01:14:20doing other stuff,

01:14:21I was an astrophysics PhD.

01:14:24So I got my doctorhood,

01:14:25and it serves me well,

01:14:27so I could go back into astronomy.

01:14:28And I do love it.

01:14:29But you're also a great natural historian.

01:14:31I mean, you're a great...

01:14:32You've been a great supporter of badgers,

01:14:36particularly in the TB scare,

01:14:39which has set some people against you,

01:14:40because they say, you know,

01:14:42the argument is that badgers with TB infect cattle.

01:14:46Cattle get TB.

01:14:47Farmers lose their livelihoods.

01:14:50But you've kept going on that,

01:14:52so you're obviously quite convinced that...

01:14:54Well, we've been able to debunk all that, basically,

01:14:56and I hope people can see my documentary,

01:14:58which is, I think, still on BBC iPlayer,

01:15:00which is called The Badgers, The Farmers and Me.

01:15:03And most people are most surprised by the fact

01:15:05that it's very much pro-farmers,

01:15:06because we worked down in the West Country

01:15:08and found solutions,

01:15:10and we discovered how TB is actually propagated,

01:15:13and you'll see it in the documentary.

01:15:15What you have done on a large scale

01:15:17is plant daffodil bobs.

01:15:18Now, I didn't know about this initiative.

01:15:21Brian May's been planting daffs.

01:15:22It really pleases me no end.

01:15:24I'm glad it pleases you, Alan, yeah.

01:15:26Well, 3,000 daffodils, it's not enormous.

01:15:28It's a start...

01:15:29So we have the church green,

01:15:31but I thought, well, as a member of the community,

01:15:32maybe I can do something about this.

01:15:34So in the spring,

01:15:35it will spring to life with 3,000 daffodils, we hope.

01:15:39Yeah.

01:15:39If something hasn't eaten them

01:15:40or somebody hasn't dug them up.

01:15:42The great thing about when you plant a bobs

01:15:44is all the work's been done for you in there

01:15:45by the person who grew it.

01:15:46That's right.

01:15:47You're only helping, aren't you?

01:15:48Yeah, yeah.

01:15:49Put them in the right place to flourish,

01:15:50that's the way the life should be, isn't it?

01:15:52Yeah.

01:15:53We were concerned.

01:15:54You had a bit of a stroke,

01:15:56but you seemed to be fully recovered.

01:15:58That was last year.

01:15:59I've had a number of things, Alan, yeah.

01:16:01The stroke was one of them.

01:16:02Yeah, I've been lucky, yeah,

01:16:03because I get these things,

01:16:04but I seem to be able to get over them.

01:16:06But they give you a wake-up call.

01:16:08They teach you that you should change your life

01:16:10and put things straight.

01:16:12In what way?

01:16:12Well, with me particularly,

01:16:14step up the exercise regime

01:16:15and look at your diet, obviously,

01:16:17but exercise is the key.

01:16:18You've got to keep moving.

01:16:19And I do my biking a lot of times a week.

01:16:23I do 100 lengths of the pool once a week.

01:16:27And to me, that's what's keeping me going.

01:16:29That's what's keeping me alive.

01:16:31And I have proof.

01:16:32I have all the bloods that they do

01:16:34and all the evidence that we get every now and year.

01:16:35And they go,

01:16:36you're doing the right things, Brian.

01:16:37So, for now, I'm still here.

01:16:40We're delighted you're still here.

01:16:42We're glad to have you with us here.

01:16:44And a man of such versatility,

01:16:46I have never met.

01:16:48Astrophysicist, rock player,

01:16:50daffodil planter,

01:16:51badger champion,

01:16:52Brian May.

01:16:53Thank you very much, Brian.

01:16:54Time to take life at a slower pace,

01:16:56as recommended by Sir Brian.

01:16:59There was some exquisite footage

01:17:00set to some equally exquisite music.

01:17:02A moment to pause and reflect.

01:17:04It's time for today's Ode to Joy.

01:17:32Ode to Joy

01:18:02Ode to Joy

01:18:32Ode to Joy

01:19:02different parts of the country, too.

01:19:03Good Revy, the other end.

01:19:05Coming up, cocktail hour

01:19:06in the Manor Arms.

01:19:07And Tom Surge is serving

01:19:08only the good stuff today.

01:19:10Indulgent liqueur cocktails.

01:19:12No wonder our guests have smiles on their faces.

01:19:15I'll be back with Tom, Phil, Denise,

01:19:16and Brian, right after the break.

01:19:17Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

01:19:33Best of British time again.

01:19:36And like it or not, Christmas is just over a month away.

01:19:38Time when people like to gift bottles of the more unusual things on the spirit shelf.

01:19:45I always refer to these uncategorisable tipples as sticky drinks.

01:19:49The ones you forget at the back of the drinks cabinet by the time you get there.

01:19:53They are pretty sticky.

01:19:54They're just crying out for a cocktail to be made with them.

01:19:57So here to steer us on the right path

01:20:00and put those specialist liqueurs to good use this year,

01:20:03a man we'd never banish to the back,

01:20:05drinks expert Tom Surge.

01:20:07Do you call them sticky drinks?

01:20:08I do, I do.

01:20:09I mean, I also use sticky drinks for those amazing kind of dessert wines

01:20:13and sweet wines for at the end of a meal.

01:20:15The Aussies, you know, it's a big Australian thing

01:20:17calling dessert wine stickies.

01:20:19But my house, as you would imagine,

01:20:20is just full of these sort of weird and wonderful liqueurs,

01:20:23all sorts of things.

01:20:25And so I, you know, in many ways,

01:20:26this has been a really helpful segment for me to do, to be honest.

01:20:29Shall we begin?

01:20:30Let's.

01:20:31In your first glass, you're reaching for the martini,

01:20:34which has got this amazing,

01:20:35just a tiny little bit of kind of pearlescent greeny kind of colour to it.

01:20:40There's a lime wedge,

01:20:42or a little bit of lime zest is the garnish.

01:20:44And this is a parafante fig leaf martini.

01:20:48So very, very dry style of martini.

01:20:50Ooh.

01:20:51What do you think of that?

01:20:52It's got my poke.

01:20:53It's poking.

01:20:54That's nice.

01:20:55Is that not for you, Ron?

01:20:56Yeah.

01:20:57No.

01:20:58That's nice.

01:21:00It's cleared the sinuses.

01:21:01Yeah, absolutely.

01:21:03You look like a character as a good life

01:21:05when they tried the Peapod's Burgundy.

01:21:07It was that moment, you know.

01:21:08What the martini usually is,

01:21:09is it's gin or vodka,

01:21:10a little bit of dry vermouth,

01:21:12stirred, you know,

01:21:13literally just stirred over ice.

01:21:14So it's meant to be served freezing cold,

01:21:16too warm,

01:21:17tastes like they could start a car,

01:21:18nice and cold,

01:21:19but they're like liquid silk.

01:21:20They're amazing.

01:21:21But what you can do with those liqueurs in your cabinet

01:21:22that you don't know, you know, are there,

01:21:24is you can do what I've done here

01:21:25and you can put 15 mil or 20 mil,

01:21:27just a small amount,

01:21:28into your martini mix

01:21:29and it elevates the sweetness

01:21:30and gives it some character.

01:21:32I feel you like that one, do you?

01:21:33Yeah.

01:21:33I'm excellent at that.

01:21:34It's quite complex, isn't it, really?

01:21:35It packs a lot of punch.

01:21:38By the third one.

01:21:39I like it.

01:21:40By the third one,

01:21:40you'll really have a taste for it.

01:21:41By the third one, okay.

01:21:43By the third one, you'll be absolutely perfect.

01:21:44That'll get the party started.

01:21:45Well, that's gorgeous from my point of view.

01:21:46Love that.

01:21:47Now, we're going to do a spritz.

01:21:49Cool.

01:21:49Okay.

01:21:50There is a style of drink that in England

01:21:51we only drink one way

01:21:53and it's the limoncello, okay?

01:21:54And the limoncello turns up

01:21:55at the end of a meal

01:21:56in an Italian restaurant, of course,

01:21:57and you sort of slug it back

01:21:59and it's usually free.

01:22:00Loads of places make their own.

01:22:01If they do, they force you to eat it.

01:22:03You might get to drink it.

01:22:05Exactly.

01:22:06But you can make some great drinks.

01:22:08If you're gifted a bottle of limoncello,

01:22:10which happens a few times

01:22:11in everyone's lifetime,

01:22:12here's what you do with it.

01:22:13Oh.

01:22:14We are using Ramtang,

01:22:15which is a really beautiful limoncello

01:22:17made in South London, actually,

01:22:19by a mother and son team,

01:22:21Chris and Sally.

01:22:22This is Sally's,

01:22:23what she calls her retirement project.

01:22:25She founded it at 71

01:22:26and isn't looking back,

01:22:27which is amazing.

01:22:29But what we're doing with the Ramtang

01:22:30is we've blended it in a spritz

01:22:32with wildlife,

01:22:34which is,

01:22:34I've shown this before

01:22:35and I adore it.

01:22:36It's one of the best

01:22:36non-alcoholic sparkling wines out there.

01:22:39Oh, it's called wildlife.

01:22:40Yeah, it's called wildlife.

01:22:41It's made in Cornwall

01:22:42and it's got this elixir

01:22:43of amazing botanical,

01:22:46uplifting herbs and spices.

01:22:47So, Damiana

01:22:48and Ashwagandha

01:22:49and lots of things like that.

01:22:50The combination of the two

01:22:52with an enormous hedge

01:22:53stuck in the top of it.

01:22:54That's a wildlife.

01:22:55It's a thing.

01:22:56Very lemony, as you say.

01:22:57Very sort of,

01:22:58it just puckers the mouth

01:22:59a little bit.

01:23:00Tarts is the word.

01:23:00It's got enough sugar

01:23:01to keep it, exactly.

01:23:02Enough sugar to sort of balance that.

01:23:04But what I love about the wildlife

01:23:05as well

01:23:05is it just,

01:23:06it's uplifting,

01:23:07it gives it structure,

01:23:08it gives it acidity

01:23:08that cuts through it.

01:23:09Brian, how are you on that one?

01:23:11I'm enjoying the twig.

01:23:13It's nice.

01:23:14It's very refreshing.

01:23:15It is refreshing.

01:23:16Very nice.

01:23:16Do you?

01:23:17I feel strangely quiet.

01:23:19I would normally be talking

01:23:20ten to a dozen,

01:23:21but it's just really nice.

01:23:22Nice.

01:23:23Yeah, good at that.

01:23:24Right.

01:23:24Breakfast.

01:23:25What's lovely about that as well

01:23:26is it's quite low alcohol.

01:23:27This is 25% alcohol

01:23:28and that's non-alcoholic.

01:23:29So actually, you know,

01:23:29it's negligibly boozy.

01:23:31Oh, right.

01:23:32But not quite as negligibly boozy,

01:23:34if I can say that,

01:23:35after two drinks,

01:23:36as our mulled wine.

01:23:38Oh.

01:23:38We're going to do a take on a mulled wine.

01:23:40This is fair.

01:23:41I think a mulled wine

01:23:42could be enjoyed

01:23:42at other times of year.

01:23:43As soon as it gets autumnal

01:23:45and a bit sort of cosy,

01:23:46as soon as it's jumper season

01:23:47and you start having the conversation

01:23:48about,

01:23:48we're not going to turn

01:23:49the heating on for a bit,

01:23:50I think mulled wine is allowed.

01:23:52That's basically fine.

01:23:53And what I've done here

01:23:55is I've used this beautiful thing.

01:23:56It's the Fortnum & Mason

01:23:58Clementine

01:23:59and what is it?

01:24:01Clementine and Juniper.

01:24:02Mulling syrup.

01:24:03Wow.

01:24:04Which is sensational.

01:24:05It is very simply

01:24:06a sweet syrup.

01:24:07It's got ginger,

01:24:08clementines.

01:24:09It's got,

01:24:10obviously,

01:24:11juniper in there,

01:24:12cloves.

01:24:13And what it does

01:24:13is 25 mils of that

01:24:14in a glass of red wine,

01:24:16warmed up if you want to,

01:24:17don't have to,

01:24:17creates this perfectly balanced.

01:24:19It takes that sharp edge

01:24:20off the wine entirely.

01:24:21A hundred percent.

01:24:22A hundred percent.

01:24:23Completely cuts off that edge.

01:24:24It's great, hey?

01:24:25Delicious.

01:24:25Oh, it's gorgeous.

01:24:26Yeah, that is lovely.

01:24:27It's gorgeous.

01:24:29And do you know what the best thing,

01:24:30or what I think the best thing is,

01:24:31is if you've ever been interested

01:24:32to try non-alcoholic red wine,

01:24:35this is your opportunity.

01:24:36In here,

01:24:36I've got a non-alcoholic red wine

01:24:38that I picked up in a supermarket

01:24:39on the way here.

01:24:40So there's no alcohol at all in that.

01:24:42And because it's got a bit of warmth,

01:24:43and because it's got a bit of sweetness,

01:24:45and a bit of spice to it,

01:24:46you'd never know.

01:24:47So you can delve in,

01:24:48try a glass of non-alcoholic red wine,

01:24:50safe in the knowledge

01:24:51that you can turn it into a mulled wine afterwards.

01:24:53Sue Barker warned me about you.

01:24:55Oh, no, no.

01:24:56I mean, that is lovely.

01:24:56I drink mulled wine.

01:24:57It doesn't have to be Christmas

01:24:59for a bit of mulled wine.

01:24:59But this is delicious.

01:25:00Very fruity.

01:25:01Love it.

01:25:01Yeah, that's very nice.

01:25:02Love this.

01:25:03Really nice.

01:25:03Very Christmassy.

01:25:04Very warm.

01:25:05Three out of three so far.

01:25:07Yeah.

01:25:07Three out of three.

01:25:08Oh, this thing next.

01:25:10Wow.

01:25:10This is a bit of fun.

01:25:12So there's an amazing drink

01:25:14called the Bramble,

01:25:14right, which is this, you know,

01:25:16creme de mure-based gin cocktail.

01:25:18Gin, lots of citrus,

01:25:19bit of creme de mure.

01:25:20This is my take on it,

01:25:21but done as a frozen style.

01:25:23And this is using

01:25:24this White Heron Framboise,

01:25:26which is a raspberry liqueur.

01:25:29There are other very big brand

01:25:30raspberry liqueurs out there

01:25:31that may be at the back of your cabinet.

01:25:33And this is a great example

01:25:34of what to do with that.

01:25:35So it's raspberry liqueur.

01:25:36Oh, yeah.

01:25:37Yeah.

01:25:38Into that, I've blended this,

01:25:40which is the amazing Yuzu vodka

01:25:42from Goldstone Rum

01:25:43or South Down Spirits.

01:25:45These guys have a distillery

01:25:46in Hemfield

01:25:47just outside Brighton

01:25:48and their Yuzu vodka

01:25:49is English vodka

01:25:50blended with Yuzu,

01:25:52this amazing

01:25:52Southeast Asian citrus,

01:25:55kind of somewhere

01:25:55between an orange

01:25:56and a lemon

01:25:57sort of style citrus fruit.

01:25:59And the combination

01:25:59of those things

01:26:00with a sneaky little bit

01:26:02of saffron

01:26:02that I've snuck in there

01:26:03as saffron fans.

01:26:05It's like drinking raspberries

01:26:07with a little bit of edge.

01:26:08It's gorgeous.

01:26:09It's like a dessert.

01:26:11It is.

01:26:12It is.

01:26:12I could put it here.

01:26:13Yeah.

01:26:14Absolutely.

01:26:14I think that first one

01:26:15I can't taste the alcohol anymore.

01:26:17Exactly.

01:26:18That's delicious.

01:26:18There's quite a lot of business

01:26:19in there

01:26:20but it hides it really well,

01:26:21doesn't it?

01:26:21And finally, Cyril.

01:26:23Now, finally,

01:26:24and I always like to do something

01:26:25that's a bit edgy,

01:26:26what I've created here

01:26:27I'm calling

01:26:28a banana Alexander.

01:26:30You know,

01:26:30I don't know

01:26:31that banana sits

01:26:32quite as elegantly

01:26:33on the edge of the glass

01:26:34as a piece of lemon.

01:26:36Do you?

01:26:36I mean,

01:26:37when we started this segment

01:26:38they were proud

01:26:39and now they're beginning

01:26:40they're just beginning

01:26:41to go away.

01:26:43But,

01:26:44what I love about this

01:26:45banana Alexander

01:26:46it's a twist on the brandy Alexander

01:26:48which is a cream

01:26:49and brandy dessert drink.

01:26:50This is two things.

01:26:52This is the amazing

01:26:53Neon

01:26:53brand new

01:26:55Quiet Rebels

01:26:56it's called

01:26:57oat milk

01:26:59and whiskey

01:27:00liqueur.

01:27:01So it's a

01:27:02non-dairy

01:27:03vegan friendly

01:27:04whiskey and oat milk liqueur.

01:27:06It's absolutely stunning.

01:27:07This is a tiny production

01:27:09from a very,

01:27:10very sustainable distillery

01:27:11in the Highlands

01:27:11run by a lady

01:27:12called Annabelle Thomas

01:27:13who is incredible.

01:27:14They are changing

01:27:15the whole whiskey game.

01:27:16They are forward looking

01:27:17working with

01:27:18kind of water sustainability

01:27:19everything environmentally

01:27:20you can imagine.

01:27:21They're beautiful.

01:27:22That lovely

01:27:23creamy liqueur

01:27:24beautiful.

01:27:25What I've done to top it

01:27:27if that wasn't enough

01:27:28and it is good on its own

01:27:28is I've put this in.

01:27:30This is called

01:27:31Two Fold Spirits

01:27:34and it is the

01:27:34banana rum from them

01:27:35and it's created by

01:27:37a Michelin star chef

01:27:38called Tom Shepard

01:27:39and his lovely wife

01:27:40Charlotte

01:27:40who's worked in the

01:27:40drinks trade forever

01:27:41and together they have

01:27:42created this amazing

01:27:43banana rum

01:27:45up in Staffordshire.

01:27:46It tastes better

01:27:47than it looks.

01:27:48Doesn't it?

01:27:48Yes it does.

01:27:49It tastes divine.

01:27:51I'd leave the banana off.

01:27:52Do you want banana gone?

01:27:54Bananas out.

01:27:55Nice.

01:27:56It is amazing.

01:27:58Five out of five Tom.

01:28:01Five out of five.

01:28:02Well played.

01:28:03Will you come to my house?

01:28:06That's it for today's show.

01:28:07Thanks to all my guests

01:28:08for their patience

01:28:09above anything else.

01:28:11To Brian, Denise, Phil

01:28:12and of course to Tom.

01:28:13Thanks Tom.

01:28:14Joining me next week

01:28:15Prue Leith,

01:28:16Downton's Sir Anthony

01:28:17Strallon,

01:28:18actor Robert Bathurst

01:28:19and Titch,

01:28:20our guide dog in training

01:28:22makes a welcome

01:28:23return to Manor Farm.

01:28:25Fletcher's Farm

01:28:25is up next

01:28:26but I'll leave you now

01:28:27with those profound words

01:28:29from Mel Brooks.

01:28:29Hope for the best,

01:28:31expect the worst,

01:28:33life is a play,

01:28:35we're unrehearsed

01:28:36but practice makes perfect.

01:28:38Enjoy the rest of your Sunday

01:28:39from all of us here.

01:28:41Cheers!

01:28:43You've gone back to that one.

01:28:45Yeah, I'm rather fond of it.

01:28:47Oh, what I have to say.

01:28:48Oh, you've gone back to that one.

01:28:49Yeah, well that's the kind of one, isn't it?

01:28:51Yeah.

01:28:51Alcohol colour.

01:28:52They're all quite pokey.

01:28:54You've gone back to that one.

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