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  • 7 hours ago
Love Your Weekend With Alan Titchmarsh - Season 8 Episode 2
Transcript
00:00:00Oh, how about that? There's something rather wonderful about an old tractor on a winter's
00:00:11morning. Still ready for work, still proud of its place in the landscape, and still managing
00:00:16to start and stop, fortunately. A reminder that the evening January is chill. There's
00:00:23warmth, heritage and heart to be found all around us. It's time for Love You Weekend.
00:00:53For much of Britain, January represents the very heart of winter. The frosts lie thick
00:01:11across the fields, the mornings arrive in shades of silver, and the countryside settles
00:01:17into a quieter, more contemplative rhythm. It's also a month of promise. We're never
00:01:22quite sure when the first signs of spring will dare to appear. But here in Hampshire,
00:01:27we're ready to greet whatever the season sends our way, even fine drizzle like this. And it's
00:01:33a packed morning ahead. Coming up, from keeping Adina and Patsy in check as Safi in Ab Fab,
00:01:41to charming Sunday night audiences in Lark Rise to Candleford, Julia Sawala on teaming up
00:01:47with the good Padre as she enters the world of Father Brown. And it's nearly 30 years since
00:01:53we warmed to him in the full Monty, and we've been enjoying his company ever since. Mark Addy
00:01:59on returning home to Yorkshire and taking on a Robbie Coltrane classic. And wine expert,
00:02:06Tony Oshoba, brings her top picks of rich, hearty reds, the perfect companions for a January evening.
00:02:14And devoted to enriching lives through horses. How these gentle creatures help riders and carriage
00:02:21drivers of all ages grow in confidence, strength and joy.
00:02:25Now she slips seamlessly between stage screen and Sunday night favourites, and he slips seamlessly
00:02:36between Nights, Kings and West End Musical. Welcome to Julia Sawala and Mark Addy. And you've
00:02:43met before. You worked before. Yes, we did a Flint Street Nativity where we were playing
00:02:49tiny children. And then we... Remember me. Remember me. Do you remember me? I do remember you. Surely
00:02:57good. This is Michael Palin's Remember Me, yes? Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes. And Jodie Comer.
00:03:04A young, very young Jodie Comer. A young Jodie Comer. And I was thinking, you're good. You weren't
00:03:10wrong, were you? No, I don't know anybody who's worked with Michael Palin who has a bad word for
00:03:15him. I mean, he's such a lovely guy. Well, he pays a lot, you know. He's a charmer.
00:03:20The lovely thing about having you both on, is particularly on this programme, which is very
00:03:24much predicated on the British countryside, is that you are both country people. I mean,
00:03:29you live down in Wiltshire now. Your gardening is quite good, I'm told. I do live in Wiltshire.
00:03:33I used to live in Somerset. My gardening is spectacular. All because of you, Alan. And I mean
00:03:40that, but I don't like to say it because you must get sick of it. No, never. I've got
00:03:44your hard copy books. I open them. And all the time that I garden, this is the honest
00:03:50truth, whenever I'm gardening, it makes me tearful. I always think of you. I always hear
00:03:57your voice. And I think, what would Alan do when I get a bit frustrated? You gave me a
00:04:03love of gardening, which I did. I've always loved nature since a tiny girl. And when I got my
00:04:09first house, and I was growing vegetables and all sorts of things, and things were going
00:04:12wrong and right, I relied very heavily on your books. I never miss Gardener's World.
00:04:20And so, it is because of you, truly. Well, I'm deeply honoured. I think when you go out
00:04:25trying to go and enthuse people about something, there's no greater compliment when they say
00:04:29that you did, and it worked. Yeah, honestly. But, so, gardening? I'm not a great gardener.
00:04:36I've tried and failed many, many occasions. Julia will lend you a book. Yes. Oh, excellent.
00:04:41I bet you'd be good at digging. Oh, I'm a digger. You're really good at digging. Oh, I'm a digger.
00:04:45Yeah. In terms of growing anything, nah. You get no joy from that. Nah. I've just failed
00:04:52sensationally several times. But you are a countryman. Yeah. I love being out in the countryside.
00:04:57We live at the edge of the Yorkshire Walls. So, you're surrounded by... David Hockney did a series of his iPad
00:05:06paintings in that area. He loves it. So, define the Yorkshire Walls for it, because I'm a Dalesman,
00:05:12so I'm from the up and down bit of York, which is flatter. Yeah. The Yorkshire Walls sit where, Mark?
00:05:17Well, the Dales are, as you know, higgily-piggily, dry stone walls, kind of more picture postcard-y.
00:05:27The walls are much more gently rolling countryside, glacial formations. Yeah. What does walled...
00:05:34Where does that come from, the word? Do you know? Sorry. It's an old word. Yeah, it is.
00:05:39But, er, I wouldn't know where, er... Wolds. Well, there's the, there's the Cotts,
00:05:43wolds. Yeah. I mean, I think it is, I mean, it is a rolling landscape, I think, really.
00:05:48And where, where we are, it's chalk, erm, a chalk band, which runs, it comes out somewhere
00:05:54down in Dorset, or I'm not sure exactly where. There's a great, if you look at, there's a raft
00:05:59of chalk that goes from bottom left to halfway up on the right, that runs right through here,
00:06:05through Hampshire, erm, and goes on that way. So, yes, we're in that, and maybe that's why I can't
00:06:09grow anything, er... Well, blame it on the chalk, yeah. Blame it on the chalk, yeah.
00:06:14I've been on the own chalk for 45 years now. It's a thin excuse.
00:06:19Foiled again. But at least we know that you like living in the countryside, which is the
00:06:24most important thing. Oh, absolutely, yeah, yeah.
00:06:26Now then, I've got to ask you both, because I've, I've heard rumours, erm, of mistaken identity.
00:06:31Don't believe them. People coming up to you, I mean, I remember somebody coming up to me
00:06:35once saying, I used to love it when you used to do the weather.
00:06:39No, I know, I've never done the weather. Random. Very random. Oh, right, OK. And
00:06:45another one who said, erm, that jumper you were wearing on Gardeners World last week,
00:06:49I gave it to Oxfam. Did you go into it? No, I didn't buy an Oxfam. Who have you been mistaken?
00:06:55Who was the weatherman, though? I don't know, I have no idea. Oh. It's a long time ago now,
00:07:00I'm mistaken. Er, well, I mean, I've got a cracker. Helena Bonham Carter. Oh.
00:07:07Mmm. In the early days. We, we, we, we used to go, we used to go to places, you know,
00:07:13I don't know, events, like award events, and I'd say, where am I sitting? And they'd say,
00:07:18over there. And I'd go and sit on this table, it'd say Helena Bonham Carter, and I'd be sitting
00:07:21with some very special people. Oh, no, that's not my table. And I'd go and I'd see Helena
00:07:28sitting in, at my table, with all my very special people. Er, yeah, there have been many occasions.
00:07:35At events, or at places, you know, not, not in real life. Yeah, but when you're, where you're
00:07:41meant to be at the same place together. Yes. Mark, what about you? I, the one that I get
00:07:47mostly. People, er, confuse me with John Thompson. So, people say, oh, loved you in cold feet.
00:07:54And I'm like, no, no, that's the other guy. So, but it's, er, it could be worse. It could be worse.
00:08:01As long as they, they know they've seen you somewhere. Yeah. Even if it wasn't you.
00:08:06Much more from Mark and Juliet, a little bit later. In the meantime, now, do help yourselves
00:08:10to everything you fancy love. Pastel Donata there. We even have proper Yorkshire Park. Oh, Park.
00:08:16Parking. There you are, parking from Yorkshire. Just makes Mark and me feel very much at home.
00:08:21I would eat one, but I've got to say a few words. So, still to come, a few comforting tipples
00:08:26to take the edge off the coldest of winter nights. Wine expert Tony Ashoba brings us her
00:08:31top picks of hearty reds. Perfect for a January evening or morning. And we have some rather
00:08:38majestic equine visitors today. We meet the horses and ponies who help riders and carriage
00:08:44drivers of all abilities and ages discover confidence, joy, and independence. And she's
00:08:51back with her 2026 New Year calendar. Camilla Bassett-Smith showcases her top plant pick for
00:08:57the year ahead. And let's just say it's small in size, enormous in personality, and absolutely
00:09:03impossible to ignore, much like someone else I know. I'll be back with Camilla by Just
00:09:08The Break.
00:09:10With January in full swing, there's a certain quiet charm to the British countryside. Walkers
00:09:30wrap up and head for the hills, where frost clings to the heather and the moorland feels
00:09:36almost otherworldly, and equally enchanting, is what's still to come this morning. From
00:09:42holding her own against Idina and Patsy, to puzzling out mysteries in Jonathan Creek, to
00:09:48fluttering her eyelashes through Pride and Prejudice as Lydia Bennet. She's given us some
00:09:53unforgettable moments. Julia Sawala on life, laughter, and the roles that have made her a
00:09:59fan favourite. And a little journey into Britain's agricultural past. We're taking a spin through
00:10:05some magnificent vintage tractors, the grand old workhorses of British farming, still turning
00:10:11heads and churning fields long after their sell-by date. But first, once upon a time, bonsai
00:10:19was seen as a bit of a specialist's treasure. The kind of thing that was admired from a distance
00:10:24at garden shows, certainly it was far too fiddly to have on your own windowsill, but over the
00:10:30past few years, these tiny trees have quietly taken root in Britain. So much so, in fact,
00:10:36that Camilla has declared bonsai her plant of 2026. So, how come you've fallen for these
00:10:43little cuties? Well, firstly, they represent luck and prosperity, and I think we all need some of that
00:10:49in a new year, don't we? Yeah, quite. But they are so beautiful. And I think people often think that
00:10:53bonsai is a type of tree. But it's the art of cultivating miniature trees in containers, isn't it?
00:10:59So you can grow an oak tree as a bonsai? Yeah, you can. Or a pine. Yeah, and just keep it small
00:11:03because those roots are contained. And it's really accessible to all. And what you say about
00:11:07specialists, we all tend to be a little bit perhaps nervous, certainly I do, of growing them. But I don't
00:11:13think we need to be. Now, you have outdoor bonsai and indoor bonsai. And it's important to know the difference, really,
00:11:18of what tree you have. I've got two evergreen outdoor specimens here. First, this gorgeous Aleppo pine.
00:11:25And isn't it so pretty? The appeal is in the miniature-ness, isn't it, really? I mean,
00:11:29if you're on a close-up of that little cypress down there, with its roots, I don't think you can see
00:11:34that this side here, where the roots are sort of clinging to the surface of the soil. If you were close
00:11:40in on that, you could think it was a full-sized tree. And it's the charm of everything in miniature,
00:11:45isn't it, that really makes them so popular. That's right, that intricacy. And the meaning behind them,
00:11:49as well. I think it's good for your well-being growing these, because you're right,
00:11:53they're so beautiful, they're so intricate. But the pine, meaning longevity, and the Chinese juniper,
00:11:59that meaning strength, because they're quite hardy little chaps, aren't they? Both of these can grow outside.
00:12:04Presumably, you have to avoid them being frozen solid, because it's a tiny root ball.
00:12:08You do. And if you put them outside, you want to put them in a really sheltered, warm spot.
00:12:12But then moving indoors, and this one, the money tree, the jade plant. A lot of people know this plant, don't they?
00:12:19Yeah, but of course, when you're growing it like this in a tiny pot, and you're trimming it back,
00:12:22the leaves are much smaller. Normally they're about that big, aren't they? Yes, really big, fleshy leaves.
00:12:26And I'd say this is quite an easy one to grow. So if you're starting off, I think this one is great.
00:12:31Also represents wealth as well, so good for the year to come, hopefully.
00:12:34There's a lot of wealth and prosperity here, isn't there? There is, yeah, I think that's what we all need.
00:12:38But looking after these, a bright spot inside on a windowsill, avoiding things like draughts or central heating.
00:12:44Do you grow them, Alan? Do you? I have one. It's a little tiny hornbeam, and it's beautiful.
00:12:49Oh, that's so beautiful. And they last for years, don't they? That's another thing.
00:12:52They do, well, I've kept this from going. And it's a case of, I mean, this one's a big one.
00:12:55And it's a case of, I mean, this one I love here, you've got the raked sand.
00:12:58Yes, indeed. They do this raking.
00:13:00Yeah, you could put Alan Woz here, maybe not.
00:13:04So pruning the top, obviously, but you pruning the roots as well.
00:13:07Yes, you do. And it's just, it's almost little and often. It's not going in there and being heavy-handed.
00:13:11You get these little bonsai scissors and just taking those new shoots in June time to keep them shaped.
00:13:16And these little Zen gardens, as you said, with the sand and the rocks,
00:13:19there's something that everybody can do, and I think children can get involved as well, which is great.
00:13:23And also, you can start quite small and quite inexpensive.
00:13:26When you get the larger ones, that are sometimes over 100 years old, aren't they?
00:13:29Yes.
00:13:30They've been handed down and down, and they're very expensive.
00:13:32And they can be thousands of pounds. I mean, these ones are probably maybe 10 years.
00:13:34And these, I mean, even these ones, you're looking at over 100.
00:13:36Yes.
00:13:37But perhaps more of the £30 mark, but you can get the little kit.
00:13:40Start from young and, yeah.
00:13:41Lovely, really pretty. A life in miniature.
00:13:44Thanks, Camilla, and you'll be back later.
00:13:46I shall indeed. We'll be doing a bit of cleaning as well.
00:13:48I'll get my opinion.
00:13:49The glamorous bit's over for now, then. Okay.
00:13:56Now, for centuries, horses have played an extraordinary role in people's lives.
00:14:01Calm, patient, and wonderfully intuitive.
00:14:05The bond between human and horse is unlike anything else in the natural world.
00:14:10And that's what makes them such remarkable partners at Park Lane Stables,
00:14:15where assisted riding, carriage driving, and equine therapy
00:14:19all help riders build confidence, strength, and independence.
00:14:24The stables founder, Natalie O'Rourke, joins me now, along with riders
00:14:29Philippa, Dan, and Lauren, and their wonderful horses, Mac and Sam.
00:14:34Welcome, Natalie. Thanks for coming.
00:14:37On this grey and drizzly day, not really the perfect riding day,
00:14:42but there you are, turning out in all weathers.
00:14:44Yeah, we keep going in all weathers, don't we, Dan?
00:14:46Yes, you do, yeah.
00:14:47So, how long have you been doing what you do?
00:14:49I've been at Park Lane Stables for 17 years.
00:14:52Oh, God.
00:14:53So, I started it as a little, tiny, small a corner of a stables.
00:14:58We say it's the tiny stables with the big heart, and it's evolved into the charity that it is today.
00:15:04And last year, we helped over 1,000 families who come to the stables
00:15:08and just benefit from being around the horses in whichever way that is.
00:15:11So, we do equine therapy, we do the carriage driving, we do riding,
00:15:16and we do lots of equine assisted learning, so ground-based activities with the horses.
00:15:21What made you want to do it at the outset?
00:15:23I mean, you could just run a stables.
00:15:24Yeah.
00:15:25Folk come in and go out for a ride and bring them back and do all the donkey work.
00:15:28Yeah.
00:15:29Because I'm really passionate about horses, and I did start the stables as a riding stables,
00:15:34a traditional riding stables.
00:15:36I wanted it to be friendly, and that's what it was.
00:15:39But then what I really wanted was for people to come that would really benefit from the horses
00:15:44and would really get that added value.
00:15:46So, that's why I stopped being a little normal riding school and turned it into the charity.
00:15:51So, anybody that comes has got a need, so that might be a disability or it might be a mental health need.
00:15:58And the horses just really, really help them so much, increases their confidence, makes people feel calmer.
00:16:05It really combats social isolation because a lot of the people that come to the stables,
00:16:10you know, they're coming out of their home to come and be with the horses
00:16:13and then they make friends with other like-minded people as well.
00:16:16And you're talking about a wide range of disabilities from deafness.
00:16:19Absolutely, yeah. So, we're lucky enough to offer carriage driving, so people that are wheelchair users
00:16:24can stay in the wheelchair and take part in the carriage driving, which is a massive thing
00:16:28because for lots of people, riding is just not appropriate or accessible, so that's a huge thing.
00:16:34But yeah, we have lots of people with autism or learning disabilities,
00:16:38not necessarily just physical disabilities, and a lot of people with mental health needs as well
00:16:43that hugely benefit from being with the horses.
00:16:47What is it about horses? I was saying they're intuitive. They do seem to know, don't they?
00:16:52Yeah.
00:16:53You know, we've all been on a horse that's gone ape.
00:16:57It's a generalisation, I know. But in certain circumstances like yours and with the horses you've got,
00:17:03what is it about them that they suddenly, they seem to connect with the person they're with and know what to do?
00:17:10They're really intuitive, you're absolutely right, but they're also great mirrors.
00:17:14So, however you present to the horse is what they will give you back.
00:17:17So, often if people are having a bad time, their body language is quite different,
00:17:23they won't make eye contact and they're trying to make themselves smaller and smaller.
00:17:26And horses actually love those people.
00:17:28Whereas if you were a really confident person and presented like this, making eye contact with everybody,
00:17:33the horse would back away from you.
00:17:35So, actually what happens is when people present as a smaller version of themselves,
00:17:39the horse is drawn towards them and then that empowers them and increases their confidence
00:17:44because they've made a friend out of the horse.
00:17:46And then we give them tasks that are achievable that they complete with the horse
00:17:50and then incrementally we build up their confidence.
00:17:53So, it's the horses that do the work, we just facilitate it so that it happens.
00:17:58I think you're underselling yourself quite a bit.
00:18:00Philippa, you clearly love this, you're grooming over there.
00:18:02How long have you been involved with the stables?
00:18:05I've been at the stables for 14 years.
00:18:08Gosh, quite a while.
00:18:10Yeah.
00:18:11And it obviously makes a difference to your life.
00:18:13Yeah, really big difference and I love it so much.
00:18:16What do you think is special about working with horses as opposed to doing anything else which you might enjoy?
00:18:21Horses are just like magical animals because they help people when they come out of their shells
00:18:27and like people might feel like shy and nervous when they first come
00:18:32and then after a few sessions they're like a totally different person because of the horses.
00:18:38So, how have you changed when working with horses?
00:18:41I've become more confident and especially with like doing lots of public speaking
00:18:48and it's helped me to get my first page job as well because it's made me more confident.
00:18:55So, a real, not just an emotional difference but a practical difference for you as well.
00:18:59Yeah.
00:19:00What we've found is that even though people might only attend for an hour a week,
00:19:04actually the impact ripples out so it has a much bigger, wider impact than the hour that they're with us.
00:19:10Philippa's a really great example.
00:19:12So many people with disabilities unfortunately are unemployed
00:19:15so if we can be that stepping stone to help them with their confidence
00:19:19and do achievable tasks to get a job, that's life-changing, isn't it?
00:19:23And must improve your self-respect as well, Philippa.
00:19:25You feel you're contributing something, you're giving something.
00:19:29I'm an ambassador.
00:19:31Yes, and encouraging other people to do the same. You're a good ambassador.
00:19:34Yeah, thank you.
00:19:36It requires something very special in your horses, doesn't it? How many of them have you got?
00:19:39Yeah, we've got a lot of horses. We've got 24 horses.
00:19:42As long as they like people and they're kind, then they're great for what we're doing.
00:19:47So you choose them very carefully? I mean, because you don't want people to be spooked by them, do you really?
00:19:51No, but we train them. You've got to spend time with them and get to know them.
00:19:55What do they like? What don't they like? What makes him happy? What makes him sad?
00:19:59And then kind of fit the job for his needs like you would with a human in the workplace, really.
00:20:04And are you happy to carry on doing this? I mean, you say you've been doing it for quite a long time.
00:20:08Yeah, yeah.
00:20:09Huge congratulations. You've got the MBE.
00:20:11Thank you, yeah.
00:20:12Well deserved, goodness me. Thank you so much.
00:20:14Yeah, I absolutely love it. And I can't imagine not going to work, but I have got some young people coming through that hopefully will be the future because I want it to carry on forever and ever when I'm not there anymore.
00:20:25So that's the plan.
00:20:27Well, you had great local support because you were struggling a few years ago because you thought you might lose your site.
00:20:32Yeah.
00:20:33So tell me what happened there.
00:20:34Well, we nearly lost the stables because I rented the site for many years and then the landlord had to sell.
00:20:40So he wanted a million pounds basically and I didn't have a million pounds and the bank wouldn't lend me a million pounds, funnily enough.
00:20:46So I just had a crazy idea to crowd fund it and I managed to raise a million and a half pound in six weeks.
00:20:53And I saved the stables and now the stables is there forever.
00:20:57Are there things you want to do that you haven't yet been able to do?
00:20:59Do you still have ambitions for the stables? Is it really just to keep doing what you're doing?
00:21:02Just to keep doing what we're doing really and just with the help of people like yourself to let people know that there's people like us all the way around the country.
00:21:10So if they're not where we are in the country, they can go and find their local RDA group and they can get involved in exactly the same way.
00:21:17They can participate or they can volunteer and really, really benefit from the horses.
00:21:22Well, riding for disabled associations are so well established. You've got the Princess Royal as your patron.
00:21:26Yeah, we have. She does an awful lot of work.
00:21:28She works so hard, yeah.
00:21:29There's Philippa nodding over there. Have you managed to meet her yet, Philippa?
00:21:32Yeah, I've met Princess Anne like four times.
00:21:35Oh, goodness me. Bosom pal.
00:21:38And she is incredibly...
00:21:40She's amazing.
00:21:41She's a very active patron. She doesn't just put her name to it. So yeah, we're very, very lucky to have her.
00:21:47Well, horses, relatively straightforward to manage and grooming straightforward, but carriage driving, that's a whole different ball game.
00:21:53Yeah, that is much more complicated. We're really lucky that we've got a strong team. And we were saying before about training the horses, but with the carriage horses, it's even more important because the wheelchair users stay in their wheelchair.
00:22:05The carriage is specially adapted and we push the wheelchair up onto the carriage. So the horse has got to be even better trained than the riding horses.
00:22:13So how many horses that will pull carriages have you got there?
00:22:16Not enough.
00:22:17Hint, hint.
00:22:19We've got one in training at the moment and we've got some that we've had for a long time. So we're trying to bring horses up through succession planning really, but it isn't that easy because it is a tall task for them.
00:22:32There's a lot of training involved for them to pass the assessment to be part of the Riding for the Disabled Association carriage driving team.
00:22:39But the benefit to the participants is just enormous. So a lot of the participants that we have, it's the only sport that they can take part in.
00:22:46And they're still getting all the sensory benefits of being with the horse, but without riding the horse.
00:22:52What about you? Do you ride for pleasure on your own?
00:22:54Yes, I get charged. Without worrying about anybody else.
00:22:56Yeah, I do. I sneak off sometimes. They wonder where I'm going and say, I've gone to a meeting, I'm off on the horse.
00:23:02Meeting with a horse.
00:23:04It's lovely to meet you all. Dan, thank you very much.
00:23:08Thank you. Thank you for having us.
00:23:10It's a pleasure, Philippa. Thank you. Keep on doing your ambassadorial work.
00:23:13I will. Don't worry.
00:23:14It's wonderful. And we wish you well. And just to prove, you see, that whatever the weather.
00:23:19We keep going.
00:23:20They keep going.
00:23:21That's literally about Dan, everybody. Thank you very much indeed.
00:23:24Thank you. Well done.
00:23:25Till to come, his varied career has seen him get his kit off in a British film classic and sit on the Iron Throne in one of the biggest TV series of all time.
00:23:34Mark Addy on swapping kings and quests for Yorkshire grit, musical adventures and giving his own unmistakable stamp to Harry Potter's favourite gentle giant.
00:23:45I'll be back with Mark right after this.
00:23:52Welcome back. Still ahead, they're shiny, noisy and icons of the great British countryside.
00:24:08We get up close with some vintage tractors, proof that horse power never truly goes out of fashion.
00:24:16And the winter jobs are bright ideas to see us through the coldest weeks of the year.
00:24:21Camilla Bassett-Smith shows how to winter-proof your garden.
00:24:24Now, from stripping off in the full monte to leading the Seven Kingdoms in Westeros, there's nothing this man can't turn his hand to.
00:24:33But few things beat the joy of donning a tunic and giving the world a hearty yabba-dabba-doo.
00:24:39And do you, Fred Flintstone, take Wilma Slaghuppel to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward?
00:24:50I yabba-dabba-doo.
00:24:53Do you, Wilma, take Frederick to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward?
00:24:59I do.
00:25:03Then, by the power bested in me by the city of Rock Vegas, I now pronounce you husband and wife.
00:25:10You may kiss the bride.
00:25:14Why is this like a book?
00:25:16Oh, where am I?
00:25:17Where is this place?
00:25:20An OTT family wedding featuring puppet dinosaurs, trademark catchphrases, and Joan Collins.
00:25:27Joan Collins, of all people.
00:25:29Yes.
00:25:30I guess all you could do was really go for it, wasn't it, really?
00:25:32Absolutely.
00:25:33Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:25:34So, didn't they approach you quite a lot to do that part?
00:25:37Yes, they kept sending me a script and I kept sending it back and saying, I think you're
00:25:42thinking of the wrong bloke.
00:25:44But they were keen, they were very keen on having me.
00:25:48And in the end, I just, I relented.
00:25:51Well, the fact that it was Spielberg might about so well.
00:25:54Well, it did, yes, executive producing it.
00:25:57It was an extraordinary experience because there was, this was, there was very little CGI
00:26:02in that movie.
00:26:04They'd built the Vegas Strip in a, you know, a quarry in Sun Valley.
00:26:11So we were, we were barefoot in a, in a, in a quarry for, for three months.
00:26:16Erm, but extraordinary experience.
00:26:19Not bad for my lad for Yorkshire, is it really?
00:26:22Talking of which, it's nice that you're able to use your native tongue and your native vowels
00:26:28in the thing that you've done most recently, which is Alan Bennett's film, The Choral.
00:26:35Now tell us about the story because it's set during the First World War.
00:26:39Yes, we're in 1916 in a fictional mill town in Yorkshire.
00:26:44And their local choral society is running short of male voices
00:26:50because they're all heading off to France to fight in the trenches.
00:26:54Conscription is just coming in.
00:26:57It's been, you know, the professional army and then volunteers up to this point.
00:27:01But now people are starting to be called up.
00:27:04So it's Alan Bennett's obvious, beautiful, er, trademark humour.
00:27:10But there's a kind of undercurrent of threat, er, that's, you know, a distant war is affecting people.
00:27:18And it's, it's sort of, it's resonant for today as well.
00:27:22Yeah.
00:27:23Because, you know, the, the state of the world is, er, you know, perhaps not as peaceful as it could be.
00:27:28A new play?
00:27:29I play Joe Fitton, who's the local photographer.
00:27:32Largely, er, his job, er, current, er, at that time is photographing young men in their brand spanking new uniforms before they, they go off to fight.
00:27:44It's, it was one of those, we, I, I, we have a, a family album at home and there's a photograph of a, a relative.
00:27:52Ah, Uncle Albie, yeah, he didn't come back.
00:27:55So all you have is that sepia photograph of a young, a young man full of hope in his brand new uniform.
00:28:03Going to do his bit.
00:28:05Yeah, yeah.
00:28:06Yeah.
00:28:07Let's have a look.
00:28:08The choral.
00:28:09Dr. Guthrie.
00:28:10Oh.
00:28:11What?
00:28:12Henry Guthrie.
00:28:13No.
00:28:14No.
00:28:15No, no.
00:28:16He's back.
00:28:17I dare say he is.
00:28:19And, frankly, in other circumstances he wouldn't even consider the likes of us.
00:28:24Isn't Guthrie...
00:28:26Yes.
00:28:27He's been living and working in Germany, by choice.
00:28:31He had musical opportunities, you can understand it.
00:28:34He had musical opportunities here, but he preferred Germany as having better choirs.
00:28:40Treachery.
00:28:41He worked wonders at Leeds.
00:28:43He was despised.
00:28:44Folk were terrified.
00:28:46He's an atheist.
00:28:47That's why Leeds got rid of him.
00:28:49Well, there are atheists now.
00:28:52There's one in Bradford.
00:28:53Not conducting the Matthew Passion.
00:28:55I heard his Mozart Requiem.
00:29:00So did I.
00:29:04It was wonderful.
00:29:05It's a reminder too, isn't it, of the fear of anything to do with Germany, whether it
00:29:10was Wagner or, you know, they chose Dream of Gerontius by Elgar because it was British.
00:29:15Yes.
00:29:16To do.
00:29:17All the other composers they could think of were German.
00:29:19Yeah.
00:29:20So, we'll have to go with Elgar.
00:29:22The wonderful Benetian lines there.
00:29:26There's atheists.
00:29:27There's one in Bradford.
00:29:28I mean, no one with Alan can write a line like that.
00:29:31And, but you can hear, you know, because you and I are both from the same county, you
00:29:34can hear the words, can't they, coming out of your auntie or somebody.
00:29:38Absolutely.
00:29:39Absolutely.
00:29:40Absolutely.
00:29:41Now, there's a lovely line where Ralph Fiennes, as their new choir master, is asking the ladies,
00:29:48do you know any men who can sing or join the choir?
00:29:52And one of them says, my husband.
00:29:54Well, does he sing?
00:29:55He'll do as he's told.
00:29:57A classic Alan Finnehan's.
00:29:59Did you get to meet him?
00:30:01Did he come along?
00:30:02Yes.
00:30:03Yeah.
00:30:04Yeah.
00:30:05He's just, well, he's a national treasure.
00:30:08Yes.
00:30:09And especially being from Yorkshire, you know, he does mean a lot to us.
00:30:15Yeah.
00:30:16When we look back, Mark, I mean, I always, it's rather like people talk to me about Ground Force,
00:30:21which I really don't mind.
00:30:22I honestly don't mind.
00:30:23It's a great treat to be remembered for anything.
00:30:26And for you, it will always be the full Monty.
00:30:28Yes.
00:30:29Until that moment, you know, you were sort of there, but it really did establish you
00:30:35that.
00:30:36But I mean, was it a smaller film as we were led to believe when you were making it?
00:30:41It was, it had a tiny budget.
00:30:45We shot it in six weeks in Sheffield.
00:30:50It was funded and distributed by Fox Searchlight.
00:30:53So you have what was 20th Century Fox back then behind you.
00:30:59So that means that it will be trailed in all their cinemas.
00:31:02It has the, that they have the kind of power to show an audience what is, what is to come.
00:31:10So that was really useful for us.
00:31:12Let's have a reminder, beautiful Monty.
00:31:14That's it.
00:31:15From the 70s, it's Donna Summer with Hot Style.
00:31:19Come with me.
00:31:20Drop us or let me know what it has for us.
00:31:24I'll say again.
00:31:24Come get ready, come get ready.
00:31:25NT$
00:31:35We'll do a kalelyn тысячel bulletin with hotət.
00:31:37спрос –
00:31:39було I should do…
00:31:42Just perfectly synchronized
00:32:11Such a subtle start to it
00:32:13And then you're all in
00:32:15I love the fact that it was given time
00:32:17There was no rushing there
00:32:19And you think, oh, yes
00:32:21They were patient
00:32:23Because they knew what was coming
00:32:25Directorially
00:32:25Absolutely, yeah
00:32:27And if ever I'm in a queue these days
00:32:29Occasionally it happens
00:32:32Well, even if they're doing it for you
00:32:36Exactly, yeah, and I join in, of course
00:32:38You'd be rotten not to, wouldn't you, really
00:32:42But stage as well
00:32:43I mean, the great thing now
00:32:44And I guess the great thing that's come from Full Monty
00:32:46Particularly and then on and up
00:32:48Whether it's, you know, going into Game of Thrones and whatnot
00:32:51Or now, stage plays
00:32:54You know, the parts you get offered now
00:32:55Are parts worthy of you
00:32:56I mean, the unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry
00:32:59Which you did in the Minerva at Chichester
00:33:01Is now going to the Haymarket in the West End
00:33:04And that's a nice treat, I think, isn't it?
00:33:06Oh, it's amazing
00:33:07It's an utterly beautiful show
00:33:09My first musical that I've been involved in
00:33:12And it's hard to describe the sort of beauty of it
00:33:17Because it's about a retired couple
00:33:20A man who's dealing with grief
00:33:24And he sets out on a very unlikely journey
00:33:30In order to try and save an old colleague of his
00:33:36But the journey takes him to some dark places
00:33:41But also the friendship of people that he meets on this journey
00:33:46Change his way of thinking about the world
00:33:49So it's about loss and love
00:33:55And it's about redemption
00:33:56And second chances
00:33:57It's never too late for a second chance
00:34:01So there's hope
00:34:02Playing a role, a characterisation, a character
00:34:05As actors
00:34:06Your whole ethos is of communicating something to an audience
00:34:12And hopefully in some small way
00:34:14Perhaps changing their perception of something
00:34:16Or changing their lives
00:34:17Therefore, as an actor
00:34:19Do you find parts like this actually alter your perception of life?
00:34:23They change the way you look at things?
00:34:24I think it's true of Harold Fry
00:34:27Yeah
00:34:28Through rehearsals at Chichester and performing it there
00:34:31I think I've become a kinder person
00:34:35To strangers
00:34:39Or even to people that you know
00:34:41But also you do that glorious thing of tragedy being next door to comedy
00:34:47You're very good at sentiment
00:34:49I don't mean mawkishness
00:34:51I mean
00:34:51When I watch you in a role
00:34:53Going back to the role in the full Monty
00:34:56I mean the tears aren't far away
00:34:58You can really
00:34:59You're very good at pressing our buttons emotionally
00:35:04Which means communicating what you're feeling with clarity
00:35:07I think
00:35:08Oh well that's good
00:35:09That's very kind
00:35:11That's what I try to do
00:35:13And try to make the characters that I play
00:35:17Believable human beings
00:35:21Is it important to you to keep both aspects of acting
00:35:26The theatre and the screen
00:35:28Whether it's large or small screen
00:35:29Do you like the combination of the two
00:35:31And the variety that they give you?
00:35:33Yes because I think one informs the other
00:35:37I mean in terms of
00:35:38I always like
00:35:40I'm always learning
00:35:42With every job I do
00:35:43You learn something new
00:35:44And you know stage work
00:35:48Helps you when it comes to film work
00:35:51And vice versa
00:35:52How important is it to live in Yorkshire?
00:35:55Because there's a lot of us doing missionary work down south now
00:35:58You know
00:35:59And I've been for a while
00:36:00But from your point of view
00:36:02I mean do you like
00:36:02Is Yorkshire important to you?
00:36:04I do
00:36:05I love it
00:36:05It's
00:36:05I feel at home there
00:36:09York is my hometown
00:36:13That's where I was born
00:36:14We live now on the edge of the Yorkshire wall
00:36:17So the countryside is stunning
00:36:20And it's home
00:36:23Following on from other people who've done roles
00:36:25Is one of the most tricky things I think to do
00:36:27And you're doing Hagrid in the audio
00:36:29The new audio version
00:36:30Yeah
00:36:31Of Harry Potter
00:36:32Following on in a way from Robbie Coltrane
00:36:35Fun part to do?
00:36:37Yeah
00:36:38I'd forgotten quite how emotional Hagrid gets
00:36:43Over the course of seven books
00:36:45So you know
00:36:46And they say at the end of the day
00:36:48Right we need five minutes of sobbing
00:36:50Or you know
00:36:51Wailing
00:36:52Laughter
00:36:54Whatever it meant
00:36:54Wow
00:36:55But really it's an extraordinary achievement
00:36:59These full cast audio editions
00:37:02And the way you hear it in the headphones
00:37:07And there are voices behind you
00:37:10There are things flying over your head
00:37:12There's a whole brand new score
00:37:16That plays along with it
00:37:19It's just
00:37:20It's not like anything else
00:37:22It's quite remarkable
00:37:23Lovely to have you with us again Mark
00:37:26The very best of luck with Harold Fry
00:37:28At the Haymarket Theatre in London
00:37:29Lovely theatre
00:37:30One of my favourites
00:37:31So lovely to see
00:37:33And you'll stay for a glass or two
00:37:34Oh it'd be cheerless not to
00:37:36Well it would
00:37:37Bless you
00:37:38Thank you
00:37:39Now
00:37:40A single picture
00:37:41Can stir up all manner of feelings
00:37:43A flicker of nostalgia
00:37:45A moment of wonder
00:37:46Or even a glimpse of the wild world
00:37:48We sometimes miss
00:37:50Right on our doorstep
00:37:51Yep
00:37:51It's time
00:37:52For Walk on the Wild Side
00:37:54Your dose of nature
00:37:57Sorted
00:37:58Walk on the Wild Side
00:37:59On Love Your Weekend
00:38:01Sponsored by WWF
00:38:03And the Wild Side
00:38:06For Walk on the Wild Side
00:38:06And the Wild Side
00:40:09Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.
00:40:11Coming up, proof that they don't make them like they used to.
00:40:14Yes, the vintage tractors are in town, older than the average motorway and twice as reliable.
00:40:20And from the marvels of the great British countryside to the small pleasures that brighten a winter evening,
00:40:27Tony Osoba brings us the rich, comforting reds, perfect for a crisp January night.
00:40:33Before all that, it's time for your voice of nature.
00:40:36Here's Bonnie Langford and Sheep in Winter by the great John Clare.
00:40:42The sheep get up and make their many tracks and bear a load of snow upon their backs
00:40:55and gnaw the frozen turnip to the ground with sharp, quick bite and then go noising round.
00:41:03The boy that pecks the turnips all the day and knocks his hands to keep the cold away
00:41:08and laps his legs in straw to keep them warm and hides behind the hedges from the storm.
00:41:14The sheep, as tame as dogs, go where he goes and try to shake their fleeces from the snows,
00:41:22then leave their frozen meal and wander round the stubble stack that stands beside the ground
00:41:28and lie all night and face the drizzling storm and shun the hovel where they might be warm.
00:41:36Thank you, Bonnie, the words of the great John Clare,
00:41:47highlighting nature's brutal beauty and the quiet endurance of country life.
00:41:53Now, when it comes to getting outside in January, it's not always the most inspiring time.
00:41:58The days are short, the soil's cold and the garden seems to be holding its breath.
00:42:03But look a little closer, and there's still quiet promise.
00:42:07The first tips of bulbs stirring, buds sitting tight on bare branches
00:42:11and those small winter tasks that set the stage for spring.
00:42:16Here to guide us through the best of the January jobs,
00:42:20with plenty of inspiration along the way, Camilla Bassett-Smith.
00:42:23And I can see scrumming brushes and soapy water.
00:42:26It'd be a nice being with you.
00:42:28You can't contain the excitement.
00:42:29No, no, the excitement is palpable.
00:42:31Yeah, it is. But it's an important job, isn't it?
00:42:34And my pots, I mean, my pots look like this.
00:42:37I bet yours don't, Alan.
00:42:38They do, oh, they do, yeah, because when you knock them out,
00:42:40you put them to one side, and then when you start to use them again,
00:42:42you think, oh, I ought to get that out.
00:42:44But you know how to tell how old a pot is?
00:42:46You see these...
00:42:47Do I hug it?
00:42:48Well, yeah, but that one's a moulded pot, made in a mould,
00:42:52and this one's hand-thrown.
00:42:54And all the hand-thrown ones stopped being hand-thrown in about 1930 or something.
00:42:58Oh, I didn't realise that.
00:42:59So you can tell the age of your pots.
00:43:00Oh, that's really interesting.
00:43:01The hand-thrown ones in pre-30s or pre-40s.
00:43:02And they're so beautiful, aren't they?
00:43:03I mean, terracotta pots are lovely to look at.
00:43:05Shall I do it, just to show I'm not shy?
00:43:07So you've got this brush.
00:43:08They're very useful.
00:43:09They're special pot-cleaning brushes,
00:43:10which are a thing of beauty in themselves, aren't they?
00:43:12They are.
00:43:13Oh, I'm just going to sit back now, Alan.
00:43:15Yeah, that's all right.
00:43:16Well, I haven't been rude about it.
00:43:17I'd better give you a go.
00:43:18Get rid of them.
00:43:19And then you've got soapy water, too.
00:43:21Yeah, soapy water.
00:43:22There we go.
00:43:22And just a scourer, actually, a standard scourer.
00:43:25This is one of the first jobs I had to do in a policy department
00:43:27as a 15-year-old boy, OK, in winter,
00:43:30washing that cold water.
00:43:31This is warm water.
00:43:32And a scrubbing brush to add a severe case of creeping alopecia
00:43:35because all the bristles come out.
00:43:38It's bringing back all the memories, isn't it?
00:43:39Well, at least you're allowed warm water.
00:43:41I know, I know.
00:43:42But it's so easy to do.
00:43:43And it's important, isn't it?
00:43:44Because messy pots, dirty pots harbour bacteria.
00:43:47Yeah.
00:43:47And that can get onto your new plants.
00:43:49So no-one wants that.
00:43:50But you can also buy as well.
00:43:52This is a natural antiseptic with time.
00:43:54So you can actually spritz your pots with it.
00:43:56What are you going to do?
00:43:57I mean, I should clean that one first.
00:43:58Spritz your pot.
00:43:59It's quite...
00:44:00I mean...
00:44:00Could give a little spritz.
00:44:01Honest.
00:44:04Anyway, clean your pots.
00:44:05Clean pots.
00:44:06This is the time.
00:44:06Don't have a great mullet.
00:44:08No, that's it.
00:44:08Just a little bit now and then with warm water.
00:44:11But then on to the patios.
00:44:12And patios can get so mucky, can't they?
00:44:14And it's so dangerous at this time of year for slipping and algae building up.
00:44:18This is a serious brush.
00:44:19It is.
00:44:20It's a miracle patio brush.
00:44:21And it has plastic bristles around the edge.
00:44:23And then in the centre, metal, which is really, really strong.
00:44:27We've got one...
00:44:27That's it.
00:44:29I mean, have you noticed I suddenly seem to be doing a large labour?
00:44:34It's fine by me.
00:44:34She's very neat at this.
00:44:35Just a look at that.
00:44:36Oh, yes.
00:44:37It's very gentlemanly, Alan.
00:44:38It's very nice.
00:44:39Well, it does work.
00:44:39It does.
00:44:40Do you want to swallow it all?
00:44:41Yeah.
00:44:42And actually, you do, yeah, the instant effects.
00:44:45And quite rewarding.
00:44:47Well, it's also sensible because it stops them being quite so slippy.
00:44:50It does.
00:44:50It does.
00:44:51And then you've got over here, for those little cracks in between the paving,
00:44:55these are paving kind of brushes.
00:44:57It's beginning to be something like something out of the Bridget Jones films.
00:45:00For those little cracks, there's nothing else to match.
00:45:03As used by, and All Highness, the Duchess of Kent in the...
00:45:07Yes.
00:45:07Anyway.
00:45:08I feel like I ought to do some work.
00:45:10So do I.
00:45:11Down your cracks.
00:45:12You see, I quite like the moss between the others.
00:45:14It does look pretty, but sometimes it can be a bit slippery, can't it?
00:45:16So you can get that.
00:45:17But that's quite good because, again, metal bristles.
00:45:19Or you can get one of these, which is serious.
00:45:22I ought to be not let loose with this, really.
00:45:24Taking out the weeds.
00:45:25Yeah, that's it.
00:45:25And that's quite good as well.
00:45:26That's neat, isn't it?
00:45:27A little hand weeder.
00:45:28Nicely made bit of kit.
00:45:30So, patios dirt weed, unless it snows.
00:45:32And if it snows, I think you ought to get manual.
00:45:35Now, you can have...
00:45:36Oh, hold on.
00:45:37I have to say, here we are, all knotted up.
00:45:41I don't think I'll ever push the snow plow.
00:45:45Serious, serious piece of kit, that, isn't it?
00:45:48And it would do the job.
00:45:49That's for serious snow, really.
00:45:50It does not find drizzle like this.
00:45:52Or a few flakes.
00:45:53Yeah.
00:45:53Or just a standard plastic shovel.
00:45:55And I think grit and sand, yes, people use.
00:45:57But actually, I think just get in there with one of these, and that does the job, doesn't it?
00:46:01And then plant protection as well, because you have to think about our plants.
00:46:04And they're often January and February, the coldest months, aren't they?
00:46:07So, fleece, we have it in a roll in white.
00:46:10That's what we're used to seeing.
00:46:11But you can get these.
00:46:13Oh, a fleece tunnel.
00:46:14Little tunnels.
00:46:15So, if you've got the sort of veg outside that you want, just give a bit of protection.
00:46:18Yes.
00:46:19It's got the worse the weather off.
00:46:20And it's instant.
00:46:20It's not going to raise the temperature much, is it?
00:46:22But it will just...
00:46:23It just protects them a little bit.
00:46:24And it's really quick and easy as well.
00:46:25You can just pop out and do that.
00:46:27Neat.
00:46:27But until recently, I didn't realise you can also get fleece in green.
00:46:33Look at this amazing fern design.
00:46:36This is a fleece jacket that you just pop over, say, a tree fern or something like that.
00:46:40But really blends in nicely.
00:46:42Yeah, and so it's not quite as a start from a distance.
00:46:44Unless it's snowing, in which case, the white will be better.
00:46:47One of each, maybe.
00:46:48But that's really good.
00:46:50OK.
00:46:50And then covering plants with cloches as well.
00:46:53The bell cloches, cloches from the French word for bell, but they just cover up perennials,
00:46:58tender perennials, don't they?
00:46:59And you get some lovely, newly made, Victorian-style cloches that are made for iron and glass.
00:47:04And possibly glass, as they would have been.
00:47:05Yeah, and they're beautiful.
00:47:07They're good garden ornaments.
00:47:08Yeah, they look really good year-round.
00:47:09And then the long ones for perhaps salad crops.
00:47:11But, yeah, so plants all happy.
00:47:13Just about time to do a new year planter.
00:47:16Right.
00:47:17You feel like a good sit-down after all.
00:47:19Well, I'm going to let you do this now.
00:47:20Yes, yes.
00:47:21That's fair enough.
00:47:22You have.
00:47:22You've been working hard.
00:47:23So we've gone for a green-glazed bowl.
00:47:26Green in feng shui for growth and vitality.
00:47:28Ooh.
00:47:29So important for a new year.
00:47:31A couple of bamboos here.
00:47:32Now, with bamboos, this is a Fargesia roofer.
00:47:36You have to be careful with bamboos, don't you?
00:47:37Because they can run away with themselves.
00:47:40Well, they're all right in the pub.
00:47:41Yeah.
00:47:41And Fargesia is generally the one which is safer than Phyllostachis, which is the one that
00:47:44really does run.
00:47:45It's a good one.
00:47:46And there's a backdrop as well.
00:47:47They're good because they're evergreen.
00:47:49So popping plants up against that.
00:47:50And you get lovely...
00:47:51You do, don't you?
00:47:53Yeah.
00:47:53And when the wind rustles and the sussurations.
00:47:56Oh, nice word.
00:47:57I like that sussurations.
00:47:57It's sort of onomatopoe.
00:47:59Yeah, it is.
00:48:00And you've got a little skimier rubella.
00:48:01I have.
00:48:02This is the male one, isn't it?
00:48:03Because it flowers with those red buds.
00:48:05Now, I'm using garnet red because garnet is the birthstone for January.
00:48:09In fact, I'm wearing my grandmother's garnet ring there.
00:48:12Amongst the soil.
00:48:13I'm getting it in the...
00:48:13I mean, look at this.
00:48:14I am.
00:48:15Granny, do not be upset.
00:48:16No.
00:48:17God, dear.
00:48:18It's not the most practical for garnet, is it?
00:48:20And then at the front, some little cyclamen as well.
00:48:22And red in the Chinese New Year.
00:48:24I'm just popping these in.
00:48:25Oh, thank you.
00:48:26It's a really important colour.
00:48:27I think the most important colour in the Chinese New Year.
00:48:30For a good year ahead.
00:48:31That's lovely, isn't it?
00:48:32That looks...
00:48:33Yeah.
00:48:33There you go.
00:48:35Done.
00:48:35Wonderful.
00:48:36So, and the thing about winter containers is they don't need a lot of attention when
00:48:39it comes to watering.
00:48:40We've got this gentle drizzle now just coming down.
00:48:43Yeah, it's fine.
00:48:43And then you can swap out the cyclamen, actually, as they die off.
00:48:47Yeah.
00:48:47Because the rest of it is...
00:48:47And they will because these cyclamen, the larger flowered ones, they're not going to be
00:48:51hardy.
00:48:51No, they're not the most hardy.
00:48:52But in a shelter...
00:48:53In towns and cities where the heat is...
00:48:55The city heat is that much higher.
00:48:56Yeah, or on a doorstep.
00:48:57Something like that.
00:48:58Yeah.
00:48:58But out in the country particularly, it's the little tiny...
00:49:01ones which are tough and these are not.
00:49:03But as you say, these can be your sort of this and the skimier...
00:49:06That's your layers in your backdrop.
00:49:07Your nucleus, really.
00:49:08Yes.
00:49:09And then you can replace the stuff around the front.
00:49:11And a bit later of sticking bulbs in now.
00:49:13You can get little potted bulbs and pop those in.
00:49:14Yeah, you can pop those in.
00:49:15Or even red pansies as well, which would be hardier, wouldn't they, if you used that?
00:49:18If you're sticking with the garlic, you'd better go and wash the brownies ring now.
00:49:21That's right, I know I'll be in trouble.
00:49:22She'll be telling me off.
00:49:23Why did you let her put her hands in that compost with that ring on?
00:49:25Exactly, I know, I know.
00:49:26Do you know how long that's been in the tunnel, eh?
00:49:27I know, you're going to be in trouble now.
00:49:30Thanks, Camilla.
00:49:31Happy New Year.
00:49:31Now go and wash.
00:49:32Now, a couple of weeks back, we watched survivalist Ray Mears and YouTuber turned Strictly star Joe Sugg
00:49:45build a shelter in the heart of Sussex.
00:49:48Well, the boys are back.
00:49:49And this time, they're turning their attention to the ancient art of firelighting.
00:49:54So I think you'd agree that we've hardly used any energy to build this shelter.
00:50:11We can survive longer because we've still got energy inside us to keep warm.
00:50:15It's been an adventure for me as well.
00:50:16I mean, I've turned up, we've built this shelter.
00:50:19I've contributed with my thatching skills, just taking me back down memory lane a little bit as well.
00:50:24But it's just nice to know that if the weather turned really bad or I was injured, knowing this skill is just so useful.
00:50:31So we've got a windbreak, we've got shelter from rain, and now we need warmth.
00:50:36Once we have achieved that, we have made life survivable.
00:50:41This fungus has got this lovely name, King Alfred's Cakes or Cramp Balls.
00:50:46If they're dry, you can ignite these with a spark and they glow like charcoals.
00:50:50These are at their best in the winter when you need them most.
00:50:53It's like nature has given us something to help us.
00:50:56You normally find them on the underside of logs.
00:50:58They have got that kind of mushroomy smell.
00:51:00Mushroom mix of like children's shoe shop.
00:51:03Do you know what I mean?
00:51:03A new pair of school shoes.
00:51:04No, I'm getting sunset over Solihull.
00:51:08Fruity note.
00:51:09It's a real full circle moment for me this because I watch Ray all the time as a young child growing up and I never thought I'd be in the woods with him.
00:51:20So what we're doing now, we're looking in the top of the trees to try and find twigs.
00:51:25That can be used as kindling for getting the fire started.
00:51:29That is hazel.
00:51:34Is this a hazel?
00:51:35So I'm gathering these pine needles right so they've got like a resin in them which could be useful if it's dried for helping getting the fire going.
00:51:45So Joe, we've got permission to make fire here today.
00:51:49Also, while we're building the fire, this is mineral soil.
00:51:52This soil won't catch light.
00:51:53It's not peat.
00:51:54We need to create a base for our fire and it gives ventilation as well.
00:51:59But the most important thing is early on in the life of the fire, this will start to glow and give heart to the fire.
00:52:04Right.
00:52:04Which makes it more certain in bad weather.
00:52:06Yeah.
00:52:06So now we need to think about the small stick that we gathered.
00:52:09And what I'm going to do is I'm going to divide this big bundle into two halves and I'm going to put those down at an angle across our platform.
00:52:20Ah, 45 across the degrees.
00:52:22And this is where we want to introduce our flame.
00:52:24This is a ferrocerium rod.
00:52:26It's a mixture of iron and cerium and it gives good sparks.
00:52:29It's the best tool to carry for fire lighting in the wilderness because it doesn't matter if it gets wet.
00:52:34And you can get thousands of fires from it.
00:52:36Wow.
00:52:36You can even signal with it because it's so bright.
00:52:40Okay.
00:52:41It's like Harry Potter's wand.
00:52:43So here's the fungus we collected earlier, the cramp balls.
00:52:46I'm going to try and ignite that now.
00:52:47I have lit many fires in my time but never this way.
00:52:50It's a matter of getting them to land in the right spot.
00:52:52Here we go.
00:52:55Now, once we've got one going, we'll try and ignite three of them.
00:52:59Right.
00:53:05Pack those together tightly and blow.
00:53:09Aren't the needles catching?
00:53:11No, not really.
00:53:12Shall I have a...
00:53:13It's like, it's ignited, it's like glowing but then it makes you get light-headed.
00:53:20I'm trying to inflate a lilo in my nieces.
00:53:23That's how you do it.
00:53:26Can you imagine when the first human discovered how to do this?
00:53:29It's quite difficult if you've never done this before.
00:53:33Do you not get light-headed?
00:53:34No.
00:53:35It's just me, I'm just a wimp.
00:53:39Now, I'm going to pop that under there.
00:53:42And continue blowing.
00:53:46Hey!
00:53:49That's really good.
00:53:50Joe, you've been really helpful.
00:53:52You can see this is quite a skill.
00:53:53Yeah.
00:53:53It's not so simple.
00:53:55You have to practice these things.
00:53:56This all started from that one spark in a bit of fungus.
00:54:01Tiniest of embers but you've managed to turn it into this.
00:54:05Part of the magic.
00:54:06But if you could collect some firewood, I think we'll make some coffee.
00:54:10Yeah.
00:54:10Joe told me that he gets a bit of a buzz off of coffee.
00:54:14I love everything about coffee but it makes me really jittery and like wired.
00:54:19Because I'm with Ray, I'm just going to go with it.
00:54:21A proper woodland fire smell.
00:54:24It really lifts your spirits there, doesn't it?
00:54:25It does, yeah.
00:54:26Obviously, you've got the loose grounds in here.
00:54:29There's no filter.
00:54:30But without a doubt, there is one really good way to get rid of the grounds
00:54:33and that's to centrifuge the pot.
00:54:35I think the handle stays in place.
00:54:37You need a good handle.
00:54:38Yeah.
00:54:39That'll do, mate.
00:54:41Thanks.
00:54:42Here you go.
00:54:46Not bad, eh?
00:54:47That's very good.
00:54:48We've got rain shelter, wind shelter.
00:54:50We haven't put a bed in yet.
00:54:51We've got warmth and we've got good coffee.
00:54:53What else do you need?
00:54:54Good company, which we also have.
00:54:56Cheers.
00:54:56Cheers.
00:54:57Very good help.
00:54:59Thanks, Ray and Joe.
00:55:01Wonderful to see you both reminding us how to appreciate and survive the great outdoors.
00:55:07Coming up, rich, comforting and perfect for a winter's day.
00:55:11Tony Oshoba opens up our best of British bar with her selection of reds that bring a little
00:55:17warmth and reassurance to even the chilliest Sunday.
00:55:21And brace yourselves, heavy metals are riding at Manor Farm.
00:55:25Yes, the vintage tractors are here.
00:55:28Older, louder and far more dependable than any band you listen to in the 70s.
00:55:33See you with the tractors and their very proud owners.
00:55:36Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.
00:55:53Coming up, she first stole our hearts as Linda Day in Press Gang and gave us one of television's
00:55:59most iconic eye rolls as Safi in Absolutely Fabulous.
00:56:03Julia Swala, keeping us all entertained, this time as Mrs Wendell in Father Brown.
00:56:09Now, they're sturdy, they're reliable, and once upon a time, they were the absolute backbone
00:56:15of the British countryside.
00:56:17These days, these fine old tractors are polished, cherished and celebrated at shows right across
00:56:23the country.
00:56:24Here to reveal all about their impressive machinery and the stories behind them are Lewis, Matt,
00:56:30Sam, Kevin and Claire.
00:56:34Starting with you, Lewis, the youngest of the lot, from the New Forest Tractor and Engine
00:56:40Preservation Society.
00:56:42Yeah.
00:56:42I'm glad I got that out of the way.
00:56:44So, tell me about this.
00:56:46Is this the classic little grey Fergie?
00:56:48Yes.
00:56:48It is a Ferguson tractor.
00:56:49How old?
00:56:5078 years old.
00:56:52Goodness me, only slightly older than me.
00:56:54I've nose-wearing better.
00:56:55So, how did you come upon it?
00:56:58I went one day to go and get some pigs, and I got told in the hedge there was a tractor
00:57:01for sale.
00:57:02In the hedge?
00:57:03In the hedge.
00:57:03It's been sat there for about 50 years, we reckon.
00:57:06Really?
00:57:06And when we bought it, the front tyres were shredded.
00:57:10Yeah.
00:57:10And the front rims were rusted.
00:57:12Yeah.
00:57:12The rims down here, they're original.
00:57:15These tyres, they were the most expensive bit, and pretty much everything else on here is
00:57:18original.
00:57:19Wonderful.
00:57:20And you got it going.
00:57:21Yeah.
00:57:21It took us £42 to get it going.
00:57:25£42?
00:57:26Yeah, we got some new spark plugs, some new leads for it, then petrol.
00:57:30Yeah.
00:57:30And then that got the engine to turn over.
00:57:32And that was it.
00:57:32It started after 50 years.
00:57:34It's a good advert for little grey Fergie's, isn't it?
00:57:36And when we got it, it was the original oil in it as well.
00:57:39How astonishing.
00:57:40So, what's the fascination for you with a tractor?
00:57:43Well, with a tractor, I feel like they're quite fun to enjoy.
00:57:46Yeah.
00:57:47You can just pretty much fix them when you want.
00:57:49Yeah.
00:57:49And if they break down, and they're really simple to run.
00:57:51Well, I mean, you've proved the fact that they're durable, aren't they?
00:57:54It's been at the edge of the line.
00:57:55You're a farmer's son, then, are you?
00:57:57I work at a farm in the New Forest.
00:57:59And one day, do you think you'll have your own?
00:58:00Yeah.
00:58:01What do you particularly love about this particular model?
00:58:04With this one, it's very simple.
00:58:05Yeah.
00:58:06You've got four gears, and like most tractors, you start on the key.
00:58:11With this, you start on the gearbox.
00:58:13And it's a very simple engine as well.
00:58:16Yeah.
00:58:17Can you start it up and give us a...
00:58:19Here we go.
00:58:19Watch this now, then.
00:58:21Key.
00:58:23Ah.
00:58:24Oh.
00:58:24And you start it by pushing the gear lever.
00:58:29Yeah.
00:58:30It's a lovely sound.
00:58:32Did it sound like that when you first started it up?
00:58:34It was a lot louder because it didn't have an exhaust.
00:58:36Right, turn it off now.
00:58:37What we were saying, if you couldn't hear us then, was it was a lot louder when Lewis first
00:58:45started it up in the engine because it didn't have an exhaust pipe.
00:58:48And is it a working Fergie now?
00:58:49Do you use it now?
00:58:50It does get used around the yard and taken to shows as well.
00:58:53Take to shows.
00:58:53Have you won any prizes with it?
00:58:55Yeah, I've won a few prizes with it.
00:58:56Well, good for you.
00:58:57Look, it's lovely to meet you.
00:58:59Good luck to you with your little...
00:59:00I'm quite envious of this now.
00:59:02I like a classic car, but I think, you know, I like a classic tractor too.
00:59:05Well, I'm turning now to some of your comrades here.
00:59:08Now, Matt, you're from the Wessex Historic Tractor and Implement Club.
00:59:13You're good at snappy titles, you tractor enthusiasts, I tell you.
00:59:16So, tell me about the area you cover.
00:59:18So, we've got members from, I'd say, mostly Hampshire.
00:59:21Yeah.
00:59:22A couple from Berkshire.
00:59:23We run all the way across Surrey and Sussex as well.
00:59:25Right, so it's that lump of the old-fashioned Wessex.
00:59:28Wessex, yeah.
00:59:28All coming.
00:59:28But this, I mean, this is shiny in the extreme, Claire.
00:59:32And a gold undercarriage, as it were.
00:59:36Fabulous.
00:59:37So, tell me about this, Kevin.
00:59:38I mean, what age is this one?
00:59:41This was built in 1957.
00:59:42Yeah.
00:59:43So, it's exactly ten years younger than next door.
00:59:46Exactly, yes.
00:59:46Yeah.
00:59:47But very flashy.
00:59:48Was it regarded as a kind of posh new thing?
00:59:51It was in between when the Queen got coronated in 1954 and 57.
00:59:56Yeah.
00:59:56And that's why they painted it, the actual, it's known as the gold belly.
01:00:01Yeah.
01:00:01And that's why they painted it gold.
01:00:03So, now, Lewis found his inner edge room.
01:00:05It's been there 50 years.
01:00:06What's the story behind yours?
01:00:07This actually belonged to Claire's brother.
01:00:09I bought it off of him.
01:00:10Is that why you married her?
01:00:11Oh, no, don't go there.
01:00:13No, sorry.
01:00:13Right.
01:00:15Married your future other stractor.
01:00:16Yeah.
01:00:16And bought it off of him.
01:00:18And when I started to restore it, I found out, obviously, the bonnets are different and little
01:00:22things I picked up on it and found out it was a grain gold.
01:00:26Could you get sparse?
01:00:27Can you get sparse for it?
01:00:28You can get most parts for it, but it's just tin work part to try and keep it original.
01:00:32Yeah.
01:00:32You can buy paint and parts, but, you know, I tried to keep it as original as I could.
01:00:37It's absolutely glorious.
01:00:38A little bit more sophisticated, presumably, than that one, Claire.
01:00:41I guess.
01:00:41I'm not mechanically minded.
01:00:43I just drive it.
01:00:45It's exactly the same.
01:00:47And do you enjoy driving it?
01:00:48Do you like it?
01:00:49I do, yeah.
01:00:49It's good fun.
01:00:50Everybody comes out, smiles and waves.
01:00:52Yeah, well, you would, wouldn't you?
01:00:53Because it's such a beautiful thing.
01:00:54But then they all are.
01:00:56How many have you got altogether, Kevin?
01:00:58In total, between my dad and myself, it's about 18.
01:01:01Good heavens above.
01:01:02And are they all going?
01:01:03They all run.
01:01:04Wonderful.
01:01:05So, 1947, 1957, where are we going next, Matt?
01:01:10I'll let Sam tell you.
01:01:11Sam, hi.
01:01:12Hiya.
01:01:12So, this is a super Dexter.
01:01:14Yeah.
01:01:15Fordson.
01:01:16Fordson, yeah.
01:01:16The other famous name, really, in tractors, isn't it?
01:01:19Fergie, Ferguson, and then, and massive Ferguson, and Fordson.
01:01:23Tell me about this one.
01:01:24How long have you had this?
01:01:25So, this is, was built in 1962.
01:01:27Yeah.
01:01:28I've owned it for probably two years now.
01:01:31Um, chap I bought it off of, done this to it.
01:01:35And this was sort of bought back from the dead as well.
01:01:37Is this a favourite, the Fordson?
01:01:39This is up there with one of them, yes.
01:01:40Why?
01:01:41Why is it special about this particular one?
01:01:43It's just something from a young age I've been bought up with.
01:01:46Yeah.
01:01:47We're driving a Fordson major.
01:01:49And a good drive, an easy drive?
01:01:51Yeah.
01:01:51Yeah, real easy.
01:01:52Yeah.
01:01:52Real easy, yeah.
01:01:53Yeah.
01:01:53Well, look, Matt's standing in front of his.
01:01:55Have you seen this?
01:01:56I mean, size isn't everything, Matt.
01:01:59Somebody ought to tell you that.
01:02:00But this is a monster.
01:02:01Let's go and have a look at this.
01:02:02So, we've had 47, 57, 62.
01:02:06This is the 8,000 Ford.
01:02:09What date's this?
01:02:101971.
01:02:11I'm getting a crick in my neck here.
01:02:151971.
01:02:15So, this is roughly sort of 10 years in between each of them, really.
01:02:17You can see the decades as they go along.
01:02:19Now, this, I don't think I've seen anything like this in a British field.
01:02:23No, you won't have done.
01:02:25They were, Ford went up to the 7,000, which was the biggest that they did over here, which
01:02:29was a four-cylinder tractor.
01:02:31Yeah.
01:02:31These were produced in America, so they did an 8,000 and a 9,000.
01:02:35First big six-cylinder engine that Ford produced, put into a tractor.
01:02:40They were attempted to be sold over here, but they were deemed too big back in the 70s.
01:02:46They didn't sell in big numbers.
01:02:47There's a few over here.
01:02:48Yeah.
01:02:48But they definitely didn't sell in big numbers.
01:02:50That's quite rare, then.
01:02:51Yeah.
01:02:51There's a handful that I know of, but apart from that, there's not many over here.
01:02:56Yeah.
01:02:57And if somebody wanted to get into the tractor, you know, I want a tractor, what's the sort
01:03:01of ballpark figure you'd have to pay to buy one?
01:03:03You can still pick a Fergie up for probably 1,000 pounds still.
01:03:07Yeah.
01:03:08And the sky's the limit.
01:03:10Fine.
01:03:10But you can still get into it relatively cheaply, and I think that's the reason a lot of people
01:03:14do.
01:03:14And if you're looking like Lewis, you see it, because you're observant,
01:03:17lying in the edge row for 50 years, and say, can I have that?
01:03:21Yeah, take it away.
01:03:23He's looking very small.
01:03:24I think looking at your little one at the end, Lewis, you know, that's the one I think
01:03:28that will warm people's hearts.
01:03:30But I have to say that your passion, guys, for what you own and what you run is just
01:03:36laudable.
01:03:37It's always wonderful meeting enthusiasts and hearing them waxly rickle about their vehicles.
01:03:42Well, we heard Lewis's beautiful throaty growl.
01:03:45I think we ought to hear the other three as well.
01:03:46Claire, would you like to turn on yours?
01:03:48See, that's the sound I remember from my childhood.
01:03:54It's that little bit younger.
01:03:56Lovely.
01:03:58Right.
01:03:58Sam, can you match that one?
01:04:00They sort of get throatier, don't they?
01:04:13I'm a bit frightened of asking Matt to start this up now.
01:04:16That's what we think part of the way.
01:04:17Go on, Matt, then.
01:04:18Give us a go.
01:04:18Show on.
01:04:19That's a boiler house chimney on that one, isn't it?
01:04:29Not an exhaust pipe.
01:04:30Wonderful.
01:04:31Lovely to be with you all.
01:04:32Thank you so much for bringing you along.
01:04:34Wonderful.
01:04:39Coming up, when January throws its worst at us, sometimes only a glass of something red
01:04:45will do.
01:04:46Wine expert, Tony Ashoba's here with the best of British tipples that put the glow back
01:04:52in your cheeks.
01:04:53And speaking of lifting the spirits, the sharp-witted Julia Sawala on her illustrious career and
01:04:59stepping into the world of cosy murder mysteries in Father Brown.
01:05:04We'll be having an absolutely fabulous time with Julia after the break.
01:05:16Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.
01:05:22It's still ahead.
01:05:23What's rich, red and guaranteed to lift the spirits on a January morning?
01:05:27No, not my long johns.
01:05:29Tony Ashoba's brought us her warming best of British vino selections.
01:05:33But first, Julia Sawala has given us so many memorable characters over the years.
01:05:38Comic, dramatic and delightfully unpredictable.
01:05:41But there's one role that truly cemented her in the nation's heart, as the wonderfully exasperated,
01:05:47ever-sensible Safi in this comedy classic.
01:05:51Morning, Weddingdale.
01:05:52Morning.
01:05:55Did you sleep well, darling?
01:05:58No, I could hardly sleep at all.
01:05:59Well, that's just wedding butterflies, you know.
01:06:01I never had those, but I never had the build-up, you know.
01:06:05Oh, guess who I spoke to this morning, Serge?
01:06:07Oh, is he coming?
01:06:08No, he can't make the wedding, but he's coming to the reception.
01:06:09Oh, yes.
01:06:12Nice.
01:06:12You don't normally come up and see me in the morning.
01:06:14No, I don't.
01:06:15Do I, darling?
01:06:16Right, come in, Pat.
01:06:16What are you doing?
01:06:17I've got it, I've got it, I've got it, I've got it.
01:06:18Get off me!
01:06:19I've got it.
01:06:19The redness will go, the redness will go.
01:06:35It's just I'm a perfectionist.
01:06:36I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm a perfectionist.
01:06:39Safi once again at the mercy of her mother and Patsy.
01:06:42I mean, the physicality of the comedy in that was quite dramatic,
01:06:47but the interplay, you know, you're always thought of as the serious.
01:06:49one, in a way, but then in other ways,
01:06:52the counterpoint between the two of you, the three of you,
01:06:55was quite remarkable.
01:06:56How did Dickens, you kept a straight face most of the time,
01:06:59I've no idea.
01:07:00Well, I got a lot of my laughing out in rehearsals.
01:07:04Yeah.
01:07:05But also, you know, you are in front of a,
01:07:08I'm not going to say live audience, because what else would it be,
01:07:10in front of an audience, you have a theatre, really,
01:07:13and then you have camera.
01:07:14And so Jennifer and Joanna's performances in rehearsal are very,
01:07:21very funny, and so I prepare myself, get all my laughter out then.
01:07:25Then on the night, the audience kind of ramp up the adrenaline,
01:07:29and things come out of the two of them that you never saw in rehearsals,
01:07:32and it gets such a huge laugh.
01:07:35But if I were to laugh, then I've broken it for them.
01:07:39They've got to do it again, and it's not the same.
01:07:41The audience will willingly laugh again,
01:07:44but it's never the same as that real impulsive laugh.
01:07:48So it's out of respect for them.
01:07:51And sometimes I am just standing there in awe,
01:07:53watching their performance.
01:07:54You know, it's quite extraordinary to see it live.
01:07:59And also, if they are impro-ing, their improvises as they go along,
01:08:04knowing quite when your moment is going to come in,
01:08:07it sharpens your timing up, I think.
01:08:08Yes, well, I mean, that scene is a classic example of us,
01:08:12you know, we just blocked it in rehearsal, very simple.
01:08:15You know, she's lying in bed, and it's all, you know, very sweet,
01:08:18and Patsy's going to come in and rip my moustache off.
01:08:20We had no idea that it was going to bring the house down like that,
01:08:24so that's when Patsy starts doing that,
01:08:27because we're actually waiting for the laugh to be over,
01:08:29and I'm lying there, you know, you can sort of feel the director,
01:08:31just keep on acting, because you've got to let that laugh roll.
01:08:35But, you know, it must have been good for you to get one over,
01:08:39in a way, on Jennifer Saunders when you went on The Masked Singer,
01:08:42because there she is on the panel.
01:08:44You are one of the contestants in The Masked Singer,
01:08:48and she doesn't get you.
01:08:50Here we are.
01:08:51Take it off!
01:08:53Take it off!
01:08:54Take it off!
01:08:55Where are you?
01:08:56No watching.
01:08:57Take it off!
01:08:59Take it off!
01:09:00Take it off!
01:09:02Take it off!
01:09:03Take it off!
01:09:04Oh, my God, who is it?
01:09:05Take it off!
01:09:06Take it off!
01:09:07Take it off!
01:09:08Oh!
01:09:09Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
01:09:13It's absolutely fabulous.
01:09:15Oh, my word.
01:09:17Cheerio to water, everyone.
01:09:19Mommy!
01:09:20Darling!
01:09:21What are you doing?
01:09:22That's amazing.
01:09:23You're a silly girl.
01:09:24That's amazing.
01:09:25Hello.
01:09:26What?
01:09:27What are you doing, darling?
01:09:28Me too.
01:09:29No.
01:09:30You've got yourself in a mess.
01:09:32But you are very good.
01:09:34Oh, the justice.
01:09:35I love it when Jennifer does that.
01:09:36Yeah.
01:09:37The gutting your own back.
01:09:38You can see the shock on her face.
01:09:40Really?
01:09:41Yeah.
01:09:42Oh, the justice.
01:09:43I love it when Jennifer does that.
01:09:45Yeah.
01:09:46The gutting your own back.
01:09:47She can see the shock on her face when you put that up.
01:09:49Oh, yeah.
01:09:50Did you see it?
01:09:51Well, I said to her, everybody's going to think it's fixed afterwards.
01:09:53She went, not with the look on my face.
01:09:55She said she didn't have a clue.
01:09:57Yeah.
01:09:58Because also, from where she's sitting, the singers look very, very tall.
01:10:03Because you've got the extra, you know, mask on.
01:10:06I mean, they did tell me that Jennifer was going to be on the panel.
01:10:10Because if they hadn't, I'd walked out.
01:10:13It's scary enough as it is.
01:10:15If I'd seen her on the panel, I don't think I would have made it.
01:10:19Did you enjoy doing it?
01:10:20Scary.
01:10:21I loved it.
01:10:22Yeah.
01:10:23I mean, again, it's live.
01:10:24You don't get a second chance if you mess up on your song.
01:10:28And you can't see, hear, smell, taste, walk, anything.
01:10:31And I said to my costume lady, I said, I don't know what I'm doing.
01:10:36She said, you're doing the Masked Singer.
01:10:37And I thought, yeah, haha, funny.
01:10:39But she was, she absolutely knew what she was doing.
01:10:41I said, I don't know what I'm singing.
01:10:43It obviously happens to a lot of people in that situation.
01:10:45Horrendous.
01:10:46Because you got nothing.
01:10:47You can't escape, you see.
01:10:48And so you go into freeze mode.
01:10:50And what your body's actually doing is resting itself before the hard hit of adrenaline.
01:10:56Yeah.
01:10:57But I'm a changed woman after that.
01:11:00Are you?
01:11:01For the better or worse?
01:11:02I am.
01:11:03Yeah.
01:11:04But no, for better, because I think if I could do that, because it wasn't stage fright.
01:11:09It was something way beyond.
01:11:10I could not pull a thing from my brain.
01:11:13It had gone totally black.
01:11:15I don't think I could have even known who I, my name, what my name was.
01:11:19And I could hear somebody singing and I knew I was going on and I could not escape the situation.
01:11:24And it was, yeah, it was, I thought there's something wrong with my brain.
01:11:28But I was told later on it was.
01:11:31It happens.
01:11:32Yes, it's your body going into protection mode.
01:11:34It's really interesting.
01:11:36Much more comfortable playing a part in Father Brown.
01:11:40Yes.
01:11:41Back within your comfort zone.
01:11:42You're enjoying the cast of love.
01:11:43Let's have a look at you in Father Brown.
01:11:48Are you all right, Mrs. Wendell?
01:11:49Yes.
01:11:50Just a little bit stressed.
01:11:52We've got this rather complicated bourbes to make, which means that we have fish to fill it,
01:11:58I don't know, 22 herbs and spices, and we haven't even started the stock yet.
01:12:01That does seem a Herculean effort.
01:12:04Yes, but if we want to get into the Anderson's Guide...
01:12:07You might try making things people like to eat?
01:12:10Oh.
01:12:13Oh, yes, you're right.
01:12:16We could change the menu.
01:12:19Oh, fish pie.
01:12:21Everyone loves fish pie.
01:12:23Mrs. Wendell, may I have a word?
01:12:27Yes.
01:12:28There we are, working with Claudie Blakely again.
01:12:32Yeah.
01:12:33You were together in Lark Rise.
01:12:34Yes.
01:12:35Yeah.
01:12:36Yes, that was a game-changer for me.
01:12:38Well, I love Father Brown, but I thought Claudie, because I love working with Claudie.
01:12:42It gets on very well, and we didn't have much to do together in Lark Rise.
01:12:45And when we did, we had fantastic days together, and I just, I love her very much.
01:12:50And so it was very nice.
01:12:52Costume drama seems to call you quite a lot.
01:12:55I mean, you and I first met, like, 30 years ago probably now, on the set when I was at Pebble Mill,
01:13:01doing the set of Martin Chuzzlewitz with Emma Chambers, I remember, and Paul Schofield.
01:13:06Sir Paul Schofield, yes.
01:13:07Working with Paul Schofield, I mean, what a treat.
01:13:10I know, and it was only my second week of production, I think, and it was my first day with Sir Paul Schofield,
01:13:15and everyone was more excited that Pebble Mill were turning up, and Alan Titchmarsh was turning up.
01:13:20Oh, yeah.
01:13:21And I was like, oh, my God, I've got a scene with Sir Paul Schofield, and they were interviewing,
01:13:26calling people to be interviewed with you, and they called me, and I was like, me?
01:13:29I don't know, why did you want to speak to me?
01:13:32I felt really, really inadequate.
01:13:33We went behind a wall, and you were so lovely, and you were so interested, genuinely interested in me, Alan.
01:13:40Well, I am.
01:13:41And I won't ever forget that.
01:13:42Well, you're very kind.
01:13:43Well, you're very kind.
01:13:44Well, I am interested in people.
01:13:46I know, I know.
01:13:47You're excellent at Sir Paul Schofield.
01:13:49Oh, bless you.
01:13:5050 quid, we said.
01:13:5120 lop.
01:13:52But, I have to say, the one thing for which you will always remember, and certainly in our household,
01:13:58is Lydia Bennet in THE Pride and Prejudice, which is still forever talked about, and still held up as the definitive Pride and Prejudice.
01:14:08This ghastly woman, Lydia Bennet, I mean, but, you know, she's a puppet, really.
01:14:13Oh, it seems an age since we were at Longbourn, and here you all are just the same.
01:14:20Oh, my dear, dear Lydia.
01:14:23Fast.
01:14:24Oh, I don't believe you've grown.
01:14:27Oh, how we've missed you.
01:14:29Oh, we've been far too merry to miss any of you.
01:14:32Well, here we are.
01:14:35Haven't I caught myself a handsome husband?
01:14:37Indeed you have, my love.
01:14:40You are very welcome, sir.
01:14:42You're all goodness and kindness, ma'am, as always.
01:14:46Oh, let me give you a kiss, then.
01:14:48Well, shall we go in?
01:14:53Oh!
01:14:54No, Jane.
01:14:55I take your place now.
01:14:56You must go lower.
01:14:57Because I am a married woman.
01:14:58Mrs Wickham.
01:14:59Hmm?
01:15:00Lord, how droll that sounds.
01:15:01Oh, I should have made more of that moment.
01:15:04You made quite a lot of that moment, haven't you?
01:15:05A little bit of a shy actress there, I think.
01:15:06Really?
01:15:07Yeah, I think so.
01:15:08I could have done more with that.
01:15:09Yeah.
01:15:10I know, it's astonishing, but it's held up so well.
01:15:11I mean, you must go lower.
01:15:12You must go lower.
01:15:13You must go lower.
01:15:14Because I am a married woman.
01:15:15Mm-hmm.
01:15:16Mrs Wickham.
01:15:17Mm-hmm.
01:15:18Lord, how droll that sounds.
01:15:19Oh, I should have made more of that moment.
01:15:21You made quite a lot of that moment, haven't you?
01:15:22A little bit of a shy actress there, I think.
01:15:23Really?
01:15:24Well, you said 30 years ago now.
01:15:25Yeah, I could have done more with that.
01:15:26Yeah.
01:15:27I know, it's astonishing, but it's held up so well.
01:15:28And I'm going through most of the cast, Alison's sat where you're sitting.
01:15:29Yes.
01:15:30And Luke has been there as well.
01:15:31But what a lovely cast.
01:15:32I mean, Benjamin Whitrow, I always thought, was a wonderful watch, as Mr Ben is.
01:15:46Oh.
01:15:47Yeah, we all blended so well.
01:15:49I came on a month later, because I was doing Chuzzlewit.
01:15:53Oh, of course.
01:15:54With you.
01:15:55And so I came on late, and they'd already shot quite a bit.
01:16:00And it was just instantly, like a bit naff to say it, like a family.
01:16:06Yeah.
01:16:07We all really very much respected what a difficult job everybody had with Austin's words, which
01:16:14Andrew Davis did a brilliant job, especially for me, because Lydia is much bigger in the
01:16:20series than she is in the book.
01:16:23Yeah.
01:16:24And, you know, it was just one of those productions that had pixie dust all over it.
01:16:28I watched it about a year after it had been on, already broadcast.
01:16:33And, obviously, I'd seen Colin Firth.
01:16:35Yeah.
01:16:36Daily.
01:16:37And, you know, lovely.
01:16:40And when I watched it, I was like, oof.
01:16:44Because, obviously, I hadn't seen him, you know, Darcy, Darcy-ing it up.
01:16:49You know, Colin Firth.
01:16:50Not that he isn't lovely.
01:16:52But I rang my mum.
01:16:53I said, mum, have you watched my impression?
01:16:55She said, of course I have.
01:16:56And I said, have you seen Colin Firth?
01:16:59Colin Firth.
01:17:00He's absolutely gorgeous.
01:17:01And she said, have you only just noticed, half the nation had been spooning over him for
01:17:06the past year.
01:17:07And I didn't, I didn't really have any idea.
01:17:10You were just working with him.
01:17:11The success of the, yeah, of the whole programme.
01:17:13Yeah.
01:17:14And I did, it's the only thing that I don't, that I will actually sit down and watch that
01:17:19I'm in.
01:17:20And I just love it.
01:17:21I think it's brilliant.
01:17:22So do we.
01:17:23And we'll sit down and watch you in anything.
01:17:24You're alright.
01:17:25Lovely to have you with us.
01:17:26Lovely to be here.
01:17:27Thanks for coming.
01:17:28A chance now to relax and unwind with some stunning footage set to some equally stunning
01:17:32music.
01:17:33It's time for today's Ode to Joy.
01:17:40I'm sorry.
01:17:59I'm sorry.
01:18:03I missed you.
01:20:31Tony.
01:20:32It is the time of year for reds isn't it?
01:20:33It is indeed.
01:20:34And thank you so much for having me.
01:20:36We've got a lovely selection of comfort reds today.
01:20:38So when you want something a little bit cosy I feel like these are absolutely perfect.
01:20:42So starting off we've got an alcohol free option from Beaver Farms.
01:20:46That's this one.
01:20:47Ease us in gently.
01:20:48Exactly.
01:20:49So this is a sparkling cherry and raspberry and it's made with all natural fruits.
01:20:54So have a taste.
01:20:55See what you think of that.
01:20:56Oh it's very raspberry.
01:20:57It's yummy.
01:20:58Yeah.
01:20:59Easy.
01:21:00Yeah.
01:21:01Lovely isn't it?
01:21:02And you can really taste that real fruit.
01:21:03And to me I think this is perfect after a nice winter walk.
01:21:06You want to come home have something cosy but refreshing.
01:21:09This is that drink.
01:21:10It won't send you to sleep.
01:21:11No.
01:21:12Mark has it got enough bite for you?
01:21:14It's nice and easy and yes I could drink quite a lot of that easily.
01:21:20Who knows what the others will drink.
01:21:22Nice to see.
01:21:23Julia nice.
01:21:24Do you like it?
01:21:25I do like it but I'd like it in a kind of like a tippy top top like a kids cup.
01:21:30Yeah well.
01:21:31It's very drinkable.
01:21:32You know what I mean?
01:21:33I know where you're going.
01:21:34Yeah yeah.
01:21:35It feels odd having it in that glass but it's I feel like I'm being tricked.
01:21:39It is a fruit drink isn't it?
01:21:40It's beautiful.
01:21:41Yeah but if you want to elevate it a little bit you can have it in a nice flute it's something
01:21:44a little bit different.
01:21:45Yeah.
01:21:46But yeah really delicious and you'll get lovely notes of cherry, raspberry and a bit of apple from
01:21:49you see.
01:21:50Right okay.
01:21:51Moving on.
01:21:52Yes.
01:21:53Moving on.
01:21:54We've got the Four Daughters Pinot Noir.
01:21:56This is a group of four sisters and they're all about bringing something new and different
01:22:00to the wine world.
01:22:01This is a very approachable Pinot Noir that you'll find but it's still got a nice depth.
01:22:05The lovely words that you use in wine making.
01:22:08This is approachable.
01:22:09It's approachable.
01:22:10Hello little wine.
01:22:11Tell me you're very approachable.
01:22:12Come here.
01:22:13You can approach it and enjoy it.
01:22:14It's got lovely notes of summer fruits, bit of cherry and a bit of raspberry as well.
01:22:18So have a taste see what you think of that.
01:22:20Ooh.
01:22:21Ooh that's very, that's fruity but in a wine way.
01:22:24Yeah it's lovely.
01:22:25I don't drink red wine so I'm just going for the smell.
01:22:28It's sniffing.
01:22:29Slightly sharp.
01:22:30Yeah.
01:22:31For me but.
01:22:32Yeah.
01:22:33It smells tart.
01:22:34Would that be a good word to use?
01:22:36Yes.
01:22:37Very good word.
01:22:38Exactly.
01:22:39And so it's quite low in tannins this one.
01:22:40So it would go really well with spicy food.
01:22:42So I'd have this with like a spicy stew or a spicy curry and it would pair just so beautifully
01:22:47and feel really comforting.
01:22:48Because it's not, it's not too heavy is it Mark?
01:22:50No it's not.
01:22:51It's not a heavy red.
01:22:52I mean it's.
01:22:53You can, some people have red wine chilled.
01:22:56Yes.
01:22:57And it's, this seems like one that might.
01:23:00Yeah work with that.
01:23:01Exactly.
01:23:02Be towards that.
01:23:03Yes.
01:23:04Definitely.
01:23:05Because it's really nice and light bodied so definitely you can.
01:23:06Yeah.
01:23:07What do you think of this from Terri?
01:23:08Do you like this?
01:23:09I really like this.
01:23:10It's really subtle but it's got some layers to it as well.
01:23:12So those summer fruits but then also a hint of vanilla so it gives it a good complexity.
01:23:16I really like this one.
01:23:17It is, it is quite complex you're right but not overpowering.
01:23:19Exactly.
01:23:20There's enough body there.
01:23:22Yeah.
01:23:23But it's not kind of ooh you can feel headache coming on already you know.
01:23:26Not one of those.
01:23:28Man you're looking at this next one.
01:23:30Yeah.
01:23:31So this has got a bit more body.
01:23:32I thought it might.
01:23:33I'm bowing in mind the depths of colour.
01:23:36Lovely.
01:23:37Is this approachable or have we already approached?
01:23:39It is.
01:23:40But it's got a bit more to it.
01:23:41Approaching where really?
01:23:43So this one is a really interesting one.
01:23:45It's made from a grape called Cabaret Noir.
01:23:48So it's a distant relative of a Cabernet Sauvignon grape.
01:23:51But because of strict wine rules you can't call it Cabernet.
01:23:54So it's Cabaret Noir and it does really well in England.
01:23:56It gives you these really nice delicate but elegant wines is the words I'm using.
01:24:00Oh this is quite grown up this one.
01:24:02And this has got a bit of depth to it.
01:24:04It smells quite smooth.
01:24:05It is.
01:24:06It is.
01:24:07Your nose is not deceiving you.
01:24:08Yeah.
01:24:09Really nice and smooth.
01:24:10So you'll get blackberry, maybe a bit of sour cherry, a bit of plum as well.
01:24:14I like that.
01:24:15And go and I think the roast dinner.
01:24:16Yes.
01:24:17Yeah.
01:24:18Roast dinner.
01:24:19Yeah very nice.
01:24:20A bit of cheese, a bit of risotto.
01:24:21Like it's really nice and subtle and smooth.
01:24:23I think that's the best one so far.
01:24:25Remind us again what it is.
01:24:26So it's the Abingworth to a Skylark.
01:24:28Right.
01:24:29Oh.
01:24:30To a Skylark.
01:24:31So that's a poetic reference.
01:24:32Yeah.
01:24:33So Percy Shelley the poet actually used to live in the farmhouse where this wine is made
01:24:36alongside his wife who's the writer of Frankenstein.
01:24:39Oh wow.
01:24:40So yeah a nice poetic reference.
01:24:41Mary Shelley.
01:24:42Yes.
01:24:43Exactly.
01:24:44Well I never.
01:24:45Not remotely ghostly is it.
01:24:47Oh well that's fab.
01:24:49I like that a lot.
01:24:50That's nice.
01:24:51Yeah.
01:24:52So we could drink that one Mark do you reckon?
01:24:53Yeah.
01:24:54Oh yeah.
01:24:55So the next one comparing that with that.
01:24:58Yeah a little bit heavier.
01:24:59Even in darker bodies this one.
01:25:01Exactly.
01:25:02This is really full bodied and complex.
01:25:03You'll get a lot from this one.
01:25:05It's not just the fruity notes but also a bit of vanilla.
01:25:08A bit of oak.
01:25:09This one I feel you can actually have on its own because that's how complex it is.
01:25:13And it's really fruity.
01:25:14Really enjoyable this one.
01:25:16Oh now we're talking.
01:25:18Oh.
01:25:19Now this has got bottom hasn't it.
01:25:21It's got everything.
01:25:23But it's not overly strong in that kind of put you off way.
01:25:29Yeah.
01:25:30It's just really rich indeed.
01:25:31Yeah.
01:25:32Exactly.
01:25:33There's a lot going on in that glass.
01:25:34It's gorgeous.
01:25:35It really is.
01:25:36I think it's the fruitiness of it all.
01:25:38It really gives a lot to the palette so you don't feel like you're missing anything
01:25:41when you have this one.
01:25:42And this is the Radlow 100 Rondo.
01:25:45So they're specialists in still wine.
01:25:47So I think you can tell and agree that they do it really really well.
01:25:50They're quite small plots so they don't do much wine.
01:25:53But what they do is really great.
01:25:54So small and mighty I would say.
01:25:56There's not into sourness in this at all.
01:25:58No.
01:25:59It's wonderfully rich and velvety almost.
01:26:01Yeah.
01:26:02Really balanced.
01:26:03What would you have it with?
01:26:04I would have this on its own to be honest.
01:26:06Yeah.
01:26:07Just on the sofa in front of the TV.
01:26:08But you could have it with dark meats if you want to have it with some food.
01:26:11The nose.
01:26:12Do you want to have the nose?
01:26:13Well I don't know.
01:26:14Did you say notes?
01:26:15Nose.
01:26:16Nose.
01:26:17I was going to talk about notes.
01:26:19Is that such a thing?
01:26:20Or is that music?
01:26:21Yeah.
01:26:22That's right.
01:26:23Tasting notes.
01:26:24They seem like there are loads and loads of them.
01:26:25Exactly.
01:26:26Yeah.
01:26:27Yeah.
01:26:28It's really complex.
01:26:29Yeah.
01:26:30Exactly.
01:26:31Completely agree.
01:26:32Yeah.
01:26:33That's what I love about it.
01:26:34Yeah.
01:26:35Exactly.
01:26:36This is exceptional.
01:26:37I like that a lot.
01:26:38Yeah.
01:26:39Me too.
01:26:40Very good.
01:26:41Fab.
01:26:42Lovely.
01:26:43And then last but not least we've got the Cuvée Noire from Bolny.
01:26:44So this is a sparkling red wine.
01:26:45So something a little bit different.
01:26:46I know some people get put off by the idea of sparkling red.
01:26:48This is quite a light expression of it.
01:26:50So not too heavy and not too dense and overwhelming.
01:26:53Let's have a taste of this.
01:26:54See what you think.
01:26:56It's always interesting with these to not look at the colour and think,
01:27:01if you were doing a blindfold tasting, would you know this was red?
01:27:04Mmm.
01:27:05That's a good test.
01:27:06Would you?
01:27:07I can't smell anything.
01:27:09I don't think I would, to be honest.
01:27:11It's quite light.
01:27:12No.
01:27:13Yeah.
01:27:14So not as heavy as some red.
01:27:15There's no real nose to it, Gerard.
01:27:16I can't knock this in.
01:27:17It's quite light.
01:27:18I don't know if that's because of the glass that it's in.
01:27:19Perhaps, yeah.
01:27:20That could be it.
01:27:21So less opportunity for us to swirl.
01:27:23But yeah, it is quite light in comparison to lots of other sparkling reds.
01:27:27Really enjoyable.
01:27:28And because it's so light, I would have this as like a chocolate mousse.
01:27:31Yeah.
01:27:32So keeping a nice lightness of the palette.
01:27:34I think it would go perfectly.
01:27:35You don't have that zesty feel of a champagne or a Prosecco.
01:27:40So there is a little bit more depth to it.
01:27:42Yeah.
01:27:43But you don't get, maybe it's having had to all the others.
01:27:46You know that kick, that hit you get from a first mouthful of champagne?
01:27:49It's going, oh, I really needed that.
01:27:52It's jettler than that.
01:27:53It is, yeah.
01:27:54Easy drinking, definitely.
01:27:55Mark, do you like that?
01:27:57I do.
01:27:58I mean, this is the first time I've had sparkling red wine.
01:28:02Red, yeah.
01:28:03And yes, I don't dislike it.
01:28:06It's quite nice.
01:28:07You see, now that is a Yorkshire expression.
01:28:10That's a Yorkshire compliment.
01:28:11You get next door in when you've just decorated your front room.
01:28:15And she says, you know, I don't dislike that wallpaper.
01:28:17Oh, really?
01:28:18That's as good as it gets.
01:28:19Wow.
01:28:20That's a win.
01:28:21Wow.
01:28:22That is a win.
01:28:23Thank you both very much.
01:28:25Thank you, Tony.
01:28:27That's it for today's show.
01:28:28Thank you to all my guests, Julia Mark and, of course, Tony, with the wines that we don't
01:28:33dislike.
01:28:34Join me next week for more mischief here at Manor Farm with comedian Chris McCausland, the
01:28:39stars of crime drama Patience, Ella Mai Purvis and Nathan Welsh, plus some of the cutest
01:28:45piglets you'll find this side of Hampshire.
01:28:48But until then, keep warm, keep well and keep a bottle of something red within arm's reach
01:28:54for those coldy nights and chilly days like today.
01:28:58I think it's probably gonna be that one, Mark, don't you?
01:29:01Cheers, all.
01:29:02Cheers.
01:29:03Cheers.
01:29:04Cheers.
01:29:05Cheers.
01:29:06Cheers.
01:29:07Cheers.
01:29:09Cheers.
01:29:11Cheers.
01:29:15Cheers.
01:29:16Cheers.
01:29:17Cheers.
01:29:19Cheers.
01:29:20Cheers.
01:29:21Cheers.
01:29:22Cheers.
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