- 8 hours ago
Banjo And Ro's Grand Island Hotel - Season 1 Episode 1 - Home
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:0017 miles off Scotland's west coast lies the island of Mull and off the coast of
00:08Mull lies the much smaller island of Ulver. Seven miles long and two miles wide there
00:14are no roads instead a maze of footpaths accessible only by ferry from Mull.
00:19Once home to over 800 people today just 16 remain outnumbered by an abundance of wildlife.
00:29At the centre of the island stands Ulver House an enchanting yet abandoned stately home waiting
00:39for something or someone to save it.
00:49Today two intrepid Australians have arrived determined to bring Ulver House back to life.
00:59They have left their former lives on Mull to pour their hearts and life savings into restoring
01:16it to its former glory.
01:18Our vision for this is to be the grandest little hotel in the Hebrides.
01:24Do you think that mould will just wash off?
01:30Strace.
01:31We're home! We're home! Do you love it? Yes! I love it!
01:51This is the lobby of our hotel. Is that not wild? Yeah it is.
01:57We've taken a massive punt, we've put everything on the line to do it because we kind of believe
02:04that we can turn this into something special.
02:07The alternative is that we're in an office doing 9 to 5 and we know we don't want to do that.
02:12Inside, 27 rooms lie locked in a quiet war between grandeur and decay.
02:19There's holes in the roof, there's holes in the ceiling. There's no water, no power, no heating.
02:25Every inch of the house is covered in something.
02:29But believe in the destination. I do believe in the destination, Dale.
02:33So just jump on. Buckle up. It's going to be a ride.
02:39Years of neglect have left this listed masterpiece in a state of significant disrepair.
02:45Banjo and Roll will need to simultaneously restore the crumbling structure of the building alongside orchestrating a grand interior.
02:54The library. Mmm. Smell that. Damp. But also books.
03:00And this room when a guest walks in needs to feel expensive. Now it feels dank.
03:06The drawing room will be transformed into an exotic orangery.
03:10So this room I love. It's a showstopper isn't it? Oh my, wow. Oh my gosh.
03:16There is mould growing everywhere.
03:19On the other side of the building, the beating heart of the house.
03:24We'll have our farmhouse kitchen, our salamaria charcuterie.
03:28And I've always wanted to do cured meats.
03:30Upstairs, the luxurious guest bedrooms.
03:33We'll get rid of the dead bird. Yeah.
03:35And ensuite bathroom. This room is listed.
03:38For what? Demolition?
03:40We'll have a spa where you can get a seaweed wrap.
03:44Well, that's amazing. This is doing my hardest.
03:48The plan is to transform six key areas in a push to get the hotel operational before winter.
03:56It's going to be decadent. It's giving opulence. It's giving grandeur.
04:01The fires will be roaring. The bedrooms are sumptuous and warm.
04:05And there I am, ready to greet them.
04:08Welcome to the Grand Island Hotel.
04:11That is crumbling before our hearts.
04:20Sinking our money into this building, trying to save it, trying to etch a living out of it.
04:24It's an unusual way to invest your money.
04:26And then, like, at the end of the day, you know, this isn't even a house either.
04:30We'll never own this.
04:33In 2018, the island made history, backed by the Scottish Land Fund.
04:39The people of Mull and Ulva came together to buy the island, ending centuries of private ownership.
04:45Their mission was bold, to breathe life back into the island and to shape their own future.
04:51Now the island and its properties are run by a charitable trust on Mull.
04:56On the board, there are six people.
05:01We've got some crofters.
05:03We've got some business people.
05:05And we've got some retired people.
05:07That's me.
05:08Banjo and Ro have got over house on a rent and repair lease.
05:13So they don't pay any rent while they're doing the work.
05:16Wait, we're not going to own this house.
05:18We're renting it off the board.
05:20So this is, like, the world's biggest rent-a-vation.
05:24Yeah.
05:25I think it's a risk, but the reward is too great not to try.
05:29Since the community buyout, Banjo and Ro have been the only souls daring enough to tackle this formidable restoration.
05:37For seven years, the locals have observed Ulva House slowly rot, powerless to intervene.
05:50My name's Rudy.
05:51I'm the ferryman on the Isle of Ulva.
05:53And I've lived here most of my life.
05:55To see it laid empty for so long has been a bit upsetting to see.
05:59And from what I can see, Banjo and Ro have enough energy to take it on.
06:04So I'm really pleased for them.
06:06The Trust had professional surveys done to renovate the house, and the quotation was £2 million.
06:15We've got £150,000 of our own money. That's to live on to invest in this place.
06:21Oh, wow. Yeah.
06:26Um, actually, no. Change my mind. I do think they're mental with that kind of money.
06:30Um, yeah. Good luck to them.
06:33It's a massive job to take on for anybody.
06:36And you have to be mad to think you can do it.
06:40There's beyond no going back once this is signed.
06:44It's a legal document binding us to the responsibility of that house for the next 25 years.
06:51We're leasing the building for a reasonable price,
06:55because we're going to be investing our own money into repairing that building.
06:58In addition to that, once we have an established business,
07:01a percentage of the profit that we make will then also go back to the trust,
07:05which will then in turn go back to the iron.
07:06But I didn't know we had to repair the roof.
07:09Of course we've got to repair the roof.
07:11Replace all the chimney flushing.
07:12Yeah.
07:13Have you looked into septic tanks? How much they are?
07:16No, I haven't. Have you?
07:18Husband, oh my gosh, please.
07:25It's all a sewing room.
07:27Okay, stop. I can't. I can't.
07:31It's a lot.
07:32It is a lot.
07:33It's a bit scary.
07:34But we can look after it. We can be custodians of it.
07:37And then it can hand over to someone else.
07:39That's history.
07:40And I think that's important.
07:41And I think it's a great thing that we're a part of.
07:43Yeah.
07:46It's got to be okay.
07:47It's good. It's great.
07:48It's great.
07:49It's great.
07:50It's great.
07:51It's great.
07:52It's good.
07:53I love you.
07:55I love you too.
07:57With the paperwork signed, Banjo and Ro can move in and the work can officially begin.
08:04In a house with no heating, water or electrics, they've prioritised the library.
08:11It's the kind of room that I've always dreamed of.
08:16This is going to be magic.
08:18Yeah, no, I think we should keep it simple.
08:20No.
08:21Like, imagine if Michelangelo's boss said, you know what, let's dial LaVision back a bit.
08:27I bet he didn't have a supportive partner either.
08:30But honestly, are you not there?
08:33Imagine whiskey lit up and then a gorgeous big bar, statement green marble top.
08:39Okay, I do like green marble.
08:41I know you love green marble.
08:42Yeah, yeah, that's why you put that in there.
08:44The library will be reborn in high gloss black, set against an earthy green limewash on the walls.
08:52At its heart, a bold, unapologetically theatrical bar.
08:56Around it, mohair armchairs and vintage furnishings will create a room where guests will lose track of time and perhaps themselves over a wee dram.
09:07The Whiskey Library.
09:09I want to put a high gloss lacquer finish on it, so it's almost like a mirror.
09:15I'm talking shiny.
09:17The only thing is, if you do that high gloss.
09:19Yeah.
09:20Like, gloss shows up everything, because it's all bubbled and blistered.
09:24Yeah, so you will need to sand that back to nothing.
09:28So this can't have a speck of dust or any bumps.
09:32So to put the high gloss on, it needs to be like day one new.
09:36There's a lot.
09:37And that's before I've even added all my furniture.
09:39I need to pick fabric.
09:41I need to reupholster all my lounges.
09:43I need all the little...
09:45I think we do have actually quite clear and defined roles.
09:47I'm going to be head of manual labour and...
09:50And building and construction.
09:52Building and construction.
09:53Waste management, electricity, water.
09:55Yeah.
09:56I'm the chief imagination officer.
09:59Yeah.
10:04While the plan is to transform rooms one by one, over the next few months the urgent structural issues with the house must also be resolved.
10:13It might be summer now, but winter is coming.
10:16There is an urgency to it because the reality is it's about to get harsh and it's almost going to come to a grinding halt.
10:21The insurance will be crippling if we can't get this house wind and watertight.
10:27Bottom line is the house needs to be wind and watertight by winter.
10:32To make Ulva House wind watertight and habitable, Banjo and Roe must tackle the essentials.
10:40They must repair the roof and replace any rotten windows.
10:45Install a working plumbing system to reinstate running water and rewire the entire house.
10:53Their first task is the electrics and luckily the island has its own resident electrician.
11:00Who's also a local deer stalker.
11:07Everything in the house will get wired back to here.
11:09Yep.
11:10And this will be the main hub.
11:11Okay.
11:12Heating electrics.
11:13Gives you a proper plant room to function.
11:15I don't want to put you on the spot.
11:16How long Jack and the job will take?
11:19For the ground floor?
11:20Yeah.
11:21But even if it's not...
11:23Oh, yeah.
11:24Four weeks.
11:25Why?
11:26For the ground floor.
11:27Like, saw some money fly out the window.
11:30Yeah, yeah.
11:31Well, definitely flying out the window.
11:38It's cold.
11:40It's just cold at night though.
11:42That wind is howling through those walls and windows.
11:46Now might be a good time to talk about the budget.
11:49Like their roles?
11:51I think it's kind of going up in smoke.
11:56We're kind of hemorrhaging money.
11:58We want to get, you know, the baseline stuff done, but that's all hidden.
12:02And then by the time, you know, it comes to make it look nice, you've got no money.
12:08We have to be so careful with every penny that flies out the door.
12:13Yeah.
12:14And I've bought a couple of new shirts.
12:16A couple of new shirts?
12:18Well, I can't be walking around naked.
12:21Everything that we can possibly do ourselves needs to be done ourselves.
12:27If we don't get this where it needs to be to be able to start generating some sort of income,
12:32it's a dead end.
12:33It's a bloody scary thought.
12:40Definitely no more new shirts.
12:42I'm going to take a look.
12:49Banj wants some sort of, like, glazy, polishy finish on this that's going to make it really shiny.
12:54The problem with that is any imperfections in the wood is going to show up.
12:58So the wood has to be smooth as glass.
13:00I'm going to sand all of this down.
13:02Because we don't have power at the moment, we're limited in how we do it.
13:05So I've got, like, old school hand sand.
13:09Or I've got paint stripper.
13:11So I'm going to test both and see which works.
13:13Safety first.
13:21Whatever this lacquer was that was previously on it has, like, split and crackled,
13:25but it's quite thick.
13:26And what I don't want to do is sand the wood,
13:28because I'm going to end up with these pockets and these divots.
13:31I'm going to try the paint stripper.
13:33I've never used it before.
13:34Yada, yada, yada.
13:35Apply a generous coat onto the surface.
13:41Okay, it's been about an hour.
13:46I don't know.
13:47It looks like it's changed colour.
13:48So I'm hoping that that's because it's come off.
13:51Okay.
13:53Oh my god.
13:55Are you joking?
14:00That's bloody amazing.
14:01That's a game changer.
14:02I definitely didn't buy enough.
14:03Like, that didn't...
14:04Yeah.
14:12Originally built as the seat of the Laird, the head of the Macquarie clan who once owned the island,
14:17Ulver House has been rebuilt over the centuries, and its constant presence has become a defining landmark,
14:24linking the island's past and future.
14:27For a wee island, Ulver has a whole lot of history, and I really want to get a sense of that.
14:33I've invited the local mime artist, historian, and podcaster, Alistair, and his sidekick, Andrina,
14:40to record a little episode of their podcast.
14:44The aim of this episode is to explore the context and history of Ulver in relation to kind of the world around it.
14:49Were there any significant visitors that were associated with the Isle of Ulver at all?
14:53Well, yes, of course.
14:54Queen Victoria came here in the 1840s.
14:57Captain Cook, he discovered Australia.
15:00And then we've got Sir Walter Scott.
15:01Yes.
15:02And he did a lot of sailing round here.
15:04Well, of course, the island was the stronghold of the Macquaries.
15:08So Loughlin Macquarie, born here in Ulver in the late 1700s, goes to Australia,
15:14and is now regarded as the founding father of the country.
15:20It's just crazy.
15:22Like, Loughlin Macquarie set up my hometown in Australia.
15:29And he came back in disgrace.
15:32Well, I mean, he did lose his money, loved a drink, and married his cousin, say.
15:38It's quite overwhelming how many people have passed through here.
15:41Beatrix Potter holidayed on Ulver, Wordsworth, Keats, Walter Scott.
15:47They've all stepped foot on the island.
15:50I want the hotel to feel like us, but it has to feel like it's on Ulver.
15:55Getting that balance right is tricky.
15:58I like to build a room around the things that I find.
16:06So I'll go to salvage yards, secondhand shops,
16:09and what I find will help me build the room.
16:16OK, I've got my eye on this.
16:18When I'm searching for treasure,
16:20I'm always trying to find something that I think belongs in a space.
16:24I'm waiting to find that wow piece.
16:26Yeah, I've got something you might be interested in.
16:28Yeah.
16:32So this is quite interesting.
16:33It's a plan.
16:35It's an old legal document of some kind.
16:38And as you can see, it's the Isle of Ulver.
16:42Wow, that's beautiful.
16:43So that's the old house.
16:451771 to 1835.
16:48Wow.
16:49Oh, Colonel Macquarie of Ulver.
16:51I lived in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere,
16:54and he found that town.
16:56Really?
16:57Yeah.
16:58Wow.
16:59Yeah.
17:00So he travelled a long way from Ulver.
17:02Yeah, he certainly did.
17:03To get to the bush in Australia.
17:05And so did you.
17:06Yeah, exactly.
17:07Gosh, that's a good-looking piece of history.
17:09All right, we'll take this.
17:11Good stuff.
17:12Banjo has found that link to the island's past that he was looking for.
17:17And through one of his contacts, he has also secured a statement piece,
17:21which will truly transform the room into the whiskey library of dreams.
17:26Oh, that's beautiful.
17:29And this is a beast.
17:30That's pretty impractical.
17:32But you know that feeling, you've just got to have it.
17:35I don't know if Roe will have that feeling.
17:37I'm just gonna, I'll get it back to Ulver Ferry.
17:41My job's done.
17:42Roe has to get it in the house.
17:45You're not telling me you don't like this?
17:47I love it.
17:48What a beast.
17:49It's a beast.
17:50It's a beast.
17:51It's too big.
17:52I just don't know, I just...
17:53You're not a visionary.
17:55No, I'm a practical person.
17:57Well, the window will just have to come off.
17:59How did you even get it here?
18:01I drove it.
18:03I picked it up.
18:04I got it in the back of a truck with a bloke.
18:06Well, you'll be getting it in the back of a boat,
18:08in the back of a tractor, in the back of a...
18:10How are we ever gonna get it up to the house?
18:11Do you think that I'm just on the road buying little fluffy cushions?
18:14No, I don't...
18:15I'm making power moves here.
18:16This is a bargain.
18:17It was a beast.
18:18I don't even say no to it.
18:19It's coming.
18:20Why can't you just...
18:21I just...
18:22I know you don't mean it.
18:23I just feel like sometimes you make things harder than the...
18:25Like you add layers.
18:27What have you got here or no?
18:30Just a little delivery.
18:31I was not part of this decision-making process.
18:34Doable.
18:35I'll give it a go.
18:37See?
18:38He's a yes man, Ray.
18:40That's what we need more of.
18:41You're encouraging the behaviour, Rory.
18:42Yeah, you got up this end.
18:47Oh, bloody hell.
18:52A wee bit more.
18:54Here we go.
18:55You bet.
18:56Hey, go down here, Rory.
18:57I didn't think you'd get it on.
18:59Let's see if we can get across first.
19:02Oh, it's big.
19:03Yeah, I know it's bloody big.
19:04Is it too big?
19:05Yeah, of course it's too big.
19:06We have to take out a window.
19:07Are you joking?
19:08Yeah.
19:09Yeah.
19:10Yeah.
19:11Yeah.
19:12Yeah.
19:13Yeah.
19:14Yeah.
19:15Yeah.
19:16Yeah.
19:17Yeah.
19:18Yeah.
19:19Yeah.
19:20Yeah.
19:21Yeah.
19:22Yeah.
19:23Yeah.
19:24Yeah.
19:25Yeah.
19:26Yeah.
19:27Yeah.
19:28Yeah.
19:29Yeah.
19:30Yeah.
19:31Yeah.
19:32Yeah.
19:33Yeah.
19:34Yeah.
19:35You're guilty.
19:36Oh, thanks so much, gentlemen.
19:38I've done it again.
19:39Oh, shut up.
19:40It's so annoying.
19:41Because he's right.
19:42That's perfect for the place.
19:43Hey.
19:44Hey.
19:45I did it.
19:46Good job.
19:47I listened to the wind.
19:48I've done it again.
19:49I've done it again.
19:50Oh, shut up.
19:51So annoying.
19:52Because he's right.
19:53That's perfect for the place.
19:54Hey.
19:55Hey.
19:56I did it.
19:57Good job.
19:58I listened to the wind, to the wind of my soul.
20:11To balance that really shiny black gloss, I need the room to feel a bit more grounded.
20:18We need to bring it down to earth.
20:20So I want to put this wash on the wall.
20:22And Lydia is an incredible decorator.
20:25She has got this gorgeous lime wash effect that's going to add a touch of romance to the space.
20:35If in doubt, go darker.
20:36Darker.
20:37Moody-er.
20:38Because this kind of, it has to kind of talk to the black.
20:41Richer.
20:42Richer.
20:43Warmer.
20:44Richer and warmer.
20:45Yeah.
20:46Both of the things I wish I were.
20:48So I'm just doing this in all directions.
20:52So the texture's good for that lime wash look.
20:55So you can roller it.
20:57And I think you get a bit more out of the colour if you've got this kind of two-dimensional brushed look.
21:03It's going to create the mood that I want in that space.
21:07I want it to kind of feel like you're under a canopy of trees.
21:11I want to have the room finished for Ro.
21:18Just because he just wants one room finished.
21:21That he can just sit in and be clean and relax.
21:25I don't want people to feel that we're just coming here and ripping the soul out of the place.
21:32We're trying to bring the soul back into the building.
21:37We're kind of custodians of this house.
21:39So Anne, the president of the board, she has all the books for the library.
21:45She's going to come and deliver it.
21:47And she's going to sit.
21:48I'm nervous for her to see this because she, you know, she kind of has trusted us as caretakers of this house.
21:58And first thing I've done is paint the beloved library black.
22:04So I'm a bit worried what she might think.
22:06I'm desperate for their approval.
22:09The library, newly restored, stands ready for Banjo's eclectic vintage furnishings.
22:20Oh, my guillemot.
22:22Oh, my marble side table.
22:25Oh, my gosh.
22:27You'd kill me.
22:30Do you like my feather?
22:32Um, no.
22:34I wonder what grandpa's going to think of the feather.
22:37Hey, he's not.
22:38Oh, grandpa.
22:39Uh-oh.
22:42Elsewhere, the electricians have begun the daunting task of rewiring the property.
22:47And a temporary generator breathes life into the library once more.
22:51Brilliant.
22:52Brilliant.
22:56Wow.
22:57What?
22:58That's lovely.
23:00Nice.
23:07I'm thinking Anne might think the library's going to be a lovely little subtle restoration job.
23:21But it's a full blown makeover.
23:23So I don't know what she's going to make of it.
23:27Hello.
23:28This is the first time someone from the Trust or the island has actually come in and had
23:33a look at what we've been doing.
23:34So it's a little bit nerve-wracking.
23:35Let's keep an eye on the books, Banjo, because I don't want them to get damaged.
23:42They're over a hundred years old, some of them.
23:44Oh, really?
23:45Almost as old as you.
23:46Oh, thank you.
23:47Just kidding.
23:48Come in.
23:50Hi, Anne.
23:51Hiya!
23:52Oh, hello, hello, hello.
23:56Oh, well.
23:57Oh!
23:58Oh, hello!
23:59Oh!
24:00Oh!
24:01Oh!
24:02Oh!
24:03Oh, no!
24:04Oh!
24:05Oh!
24:06Oh!
24:07Oh!
24:08Oh!
24:09Oh!
24:10Oh, oh!
24:11Oh!
24:12Oh!
24:13Oh!
24:14Oh, oh!
24:15Oh, oh!
24:16Oh.
24:17oh look the fire oh it's gorgeous
24:24it is lovely and the lovely shiny black on the bookcases that is just so chic
24:32i mean it's not exactly the library maybe you're expecting no i mean i was quite a surprise to see
24:43that i'm surprised but not in a bad way i love it well done oh you like it i love it oh phew
24:51you've even got a library ladder wow you've bought us the present what's this well this is um part of
25:01a complete set of sir walter scott's uh waverley novels it's on handmade paper they're not that
25:09precious in terms of money but they're precious in terms of the story yeah not only that they tell
25:16us a book yeah but of what they say about the people who lived here in the past so these were
25:22here in the house before yes so they're coming home yeah they are i love that we have got gaps
25:28to fill on the bookshelf and okay so these will go perfectly yeah okay
25:32it was very emotional to see what they've done with the room and with a bar on one side and the
25:39books on the other side that's a nice touch there's bound to be somebody who says oh i don't like this
25:45it's black and oh well why has it got a bar in it there's bound to be there's bound to be especially
25:49from the older residents the people who've been here longer so we'll just have to wait and see
25:56plan with a bit of drink first and get them in then that's the first step in opening the grandest
26:06little hotel in the hebrides okay rose switch it on switch the generator on
26:18a new islanders have successfully completed their first room secured a temporary source of power to
26:31the house and have begun to gain the trust of the new neighbors a new chapter of island life has
26:39officially begun oh how lovely yeah it is it feels like this is just a little haven amongst the
26:50chaos there's so much dust and uh and noise all out there we've built a little sanctuary i'm
26:58exhausted i'm wrecked i think you did an amazing job i think we did an amazing job i'm blown away
27:06but look at it it's just lovely feels like the library this poem always deserved you do a very
27:14good job of making something new feel like it's always been there and this is what this feels like
27:23no it's that generator that's the generator has it got enough fuel no
27:37it's hard to get by just upon the spot
27:43oh baby baby it's a wide word
27:49i'll always remember you like a child girl
Comments