- 2 days ago
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00:00Music
00:05Ulva for me is a mini version of Mull, which we're already in love with.
00:12It's beautiful. The landscape is stunning.
00:16The produce is amazing. The people are incredible.
00:22Not often in life do you get a chance to make a home somewhere really special.
00:36Oh my gosh. What are you doing?
00:39Red stag. Young animal. Second year.
00:42And we'll now take all the organs out and dress it for the larder.
00:47Well, good shot. You got it.
00:49We now take the knife and go up.
00:52That's the esophagus. That's the food pipe.
00:54Split the food pipe and plate it off.
00:57And that keeps the contents of the stomach in the stomach.
01:00So it doesn't contaminate the meat.
01:02So you just tie that off like that.
01:04And you take the bowel out.
01:06Nice liver.
01:08There's a nice healthy kidney.
01:11That's the bowel out.
01:12Start the gut coming out.
01:14Go back in with the knife and go round the diaphragm.
01:18When you live on the mainland or you live in a city, you're completely disconnected from your supply chain.
01:23You know, this is land management, pest management, also food.
01:32You know, like, it's a resource. Yeah.
01:44Our newcomers to the island aren't exactly newcomers anymore.
01:49It's been approximately two months since Banjo and Ro took on Ulva House, seeking to transform this magnificent building into
01:58a boutique hotel of questionable practicality, but undeniable charm.
02:03In that time, Ulva House has acquired a tempting whiskey library, an inviting hotel lobby, smelling faintly of fresh paint,
02:12and most recently, two very small guests who arrived without luggage.
02:17Banjo has gone out and got a couple of pigs.
02:21My babies.
02:23Come on, bubba.
02:24But they're never to be eaten.
02:26No, gosh, no.
02:27Are you, darling?
02:28Oh, this is the best day of my life.
02:30I agree.
02:33Pigs running around everywhere, pooping everywhere.
02:37Um, yeah, I think we could have timed that a bit better.
02:41But taking on a building of this size and age has led to inevitable lengthy building struggles, such as restoring
02:48antiquated water pipes, rewiring the entire property, and dealing with a leaky roof.
02:59So, the flat roofs have collapsed because of an ingress of water.
03:03In this country, this volume of water, it won't flow off quick enough.
03:07And so, it's ingressed into the house, and probably been out of sight probably for quite a while, and then
03:12the ceilings have collapsed, and then it's exposed it as an issue.
03:15And that's what worries me about this house, is what's going on behind the ceilings and walls.
03:21Today, an off-site trades team have arrived to entirely dismantle those roof sections.
03:27We're literally about to start the biggest piece of construction on the entire project, and that's doing the roof, and
03:34the builders are coming in.
03:35They're gonna rip that off.
03:37Right off.
03:38Yeah.
03:38We're not gonna have a roof.
03:39I know.
03:40It is wild.
03:41If the weather turns, or if we just miss that window to get the roof on, we're cooked.
03:48Yeah, I know.
03:48It's Scottish weather.
03:49That's what I'm worried about.
03:50It can change like that.
03:52I know.
03:52It'll be fine.
03:53It'll be fine.
03:54But with the continual building endeavours around the house devouring their meagre budget,
03:59the hotel opening date seems a distant promise.
04:03Banjo and Roe must look to generate income from elsewhere.
04:10Occupying a position of quiet authority at the island's edge, directly beside the ferry slipway,
04:16the boathouse represents a time when Ulva's livelihood came not from menus, but from nets, kelp, and the sturdy rhythm
04:24of oars.
04:25When Banjo and Roe took on the big house, they also took over the lease and management of this business.
04:32Now this café offers a potential solution to their financial woes.
04:37I remember when we first arrived on Mull, people saying to me, you have to go to the boathouse on
04:41Ulva.
04:42Like, and that was 10 odd years ago.
04:44If we can make that a destination, we can make this more of a destination, and in other words, we
04:49can make Ulva more of a destination.
04:51But most importantly, we need money to do the house.
04:55This house is taking over our lives and cleaning out our bank accounts, so the boathouse for us has to
05:01work.
05:04We've got all this beautiful fresh produce all around us. We've got fresh island meats, that's beef and lamb.
05:10The seafood, you know, we've got fresh langoustines, fresh crab, fresh lobster.
05:15We need this to work to make the big house work.
05:18If I can take a wage from here, and then reinvest that money back into the big house.
05:23You've got to kind of make your own luck here, don't you?
05:27Well, that's island living, isn't it?
05:29Also running this operation as joint restaurant manager with them is an old friend from Mull.
05:39Before I came here, I was milking cows, rearing pigs, shearing sheep.
05:44I was a farmhand at the cheese farm in Tobamori.
05:48What?
05:49Fresh mushroom.
05:50You beauty.
05:52And I always wanted to run my own restaurant with a farm kitchen, and Ro said,
05:56Oh, we'll go in with the business with you if you want to do it.
05:59So it was kind of their little nudge that made me do it.
06:04The boathouse is a pretty chaotic place.
06:06We don't really have much space.
06:08And what space we do have is not very usable.
06:10When the sun isn't shining and people want to go upstairs,
06:12you're met with this weird empty space.
06:15Yeah, that would be a nice thing to change.
06:17There was once upon a time a sign there.
06:19Yeah, there was.
06:20I remember there used to be a different sign.
06:22It's kind of iconic.
06:23It's a shame that that's not there.
06:24It would be good to bring that back.
06:26Oh, yeah.
06:26That's what we want.
06:27You want boats sailing past to really see that.
06:30Yeah.
06:30Okay.
06:31Paint the sign back on.
06:35Okay.
06:36So this space, you want it to feel like a general store for the island,
06:40because it kind of is.
06:41So all the produce that we make on the island,
06:44like have it so people are walking into our larder.
06:46Yeah.
06:47Yeah, definitely.
06:48It's our pantry.
06:49It's the whole community's pantry.
06:50I love that.
06:50Yeah, yeah.
06:51Well, let's see upstairs then.
06:54Okay.
06:55It doesn't feel nice.
06:56Outside feels nice.
06:57It's the most amazing scenery.
06:59And you come up the stairs.
07:00Mm.
07:01So this room has to work even harder.
07:03Yeah, it's a head scratcher.
07:06Even for a design visionary like me.
07:11The boathouse is a tough little space.
07:13It's a shop.
07:14It's a restaurant.
07:15It needs to work really hard.
07:17They're already coming to enjoy the scenery.
07:20I want them to come to the restaurant.
07:22I want that to be the destination.
07:24But for me, inspiration's everywhere.
07:27I'm not short of it here.
07:28I think I can just look out the door and I've got a million and one ideas.
07:39This is what I'm thinking for the boathouse.
07:41This kind of patina.
07:43This is gorgeous.
07:45It's weathered, windswept.
07:48It's rotten and falling apart.
07:50Perfect.
07:51What we get is some gorgeous kind of scaffold boards on the wall.
07:56Scrape back the ceiling.
07:58You want it to feel like it's been there forever.
08:00You know what I mean?
08:01Yeah.
08:03Out, out, out, out, out.
08:05Get out of the boat.
08:05What's my plan B?
08:07Honestly, we've got not much money and we've got some timber to scrape.
08:10Work with me.
08:12Well...
08:14Banjo's big idea for the boathouse is all about creating a space which reflects the breathtaking beauty of the island.
08:22Upstairs, he is drawing inspiration from an abandoned boat, cladding the walls with upcycled scaffold boards to bring that worn
08:30weathered look and building new furniture from treasures found at the water's edge.
08:35Downstairs, he will restructure to create a more usable space, refresh the menu to showcase produce from the land around
08:43them, and outside reproduce the original much-loved sign.
08:47All right, we've got to get scaffold boards, any old bit of timber lying around.
08:52If it's free and it's not nailed down, we're taking it.
08:56To manage both projects simultaneously, Banjo and Roe have acquired the use of a vehicle.
09:02It's a 20-minute walk from the house to the boathouse.
09:06That's fine, but that's like multiple times a day, and these legs are not made for walking.
09:12But for an island with no roads, this requires permission from the Trust.
09:21The biggest hurdle for anybody who's going to do any major work on Ulva is logistics.
09:29So it's getting materials over to Ulva.
09:32So that's going to be the biggest problem.
09:36It's smaller than a car.
09:39It's smaller than a tank.
09:42You didn't read the email from the Trust.
09:45It says, the Board has agreed the original proposal included a possible maximum width, length and weight limit for private
09:54vehicles.
09:54But it's clear that setting hard numbers has made vehicle shopping quite difficult.
09:59The Board has agreed to take a more flexible approach and Trust residents to choose a quad ATV or UTV
10:04that's appropriate for the size and condition of the tracks.
10:13You didn't tell me it was ugly.
10:17It's perfect. It's a people mover.
10:19It's not cute.
10:20It's not here to be cute. It's here to be practical. It's here to move people and things.
10:24You're cute and practical. It can be both.
10:27That's really sweet.
10:28But that is not cute.
10:31Banjo and Ro have allotted themselves just one week to reinvent the boathouse, while the steady process of roof removal
10:38occurs back at the house.
10:40So while this is all going on in the house, I think it's a good opportunity that we go down
10:43to the boathouse.
10:44That way, this can carry on here.
10:46We can carry on down there.
10:48Finish up that.
10:49Come back here.
10:49All good to go.
10:51Yes, because the best thing to do is just run away from your problem.
10:55Yeah.
10:55A small but formidable team has been assembled to transform the restaurant, whilst also keeping it open to passing trade.
11:02When you're useless like me, it really pays to have handy friends.
11:07So I'm the captain of the shit.
11:09I've got Awin, my carpenter.
11:15How old's that sweet boat?
11:161990.
11:181990?
11:19It's old and ugly, but it's a hell of a good boat.
11:20Yeah, definitely.
11:24He's going to knock up some walls and some shelving.
11:27Zoe, she's a decorator.
11:29She's going to splash some paint around.
11:34Howdy Zoe.
11:35Hey mate.
11:36How you doing?
11:37Thank you for coming.
11:38Louie and Pila.
11:42They're going to keep the ship running.
11:44They're going to knock out some food while we're still open, which is a bit scary.
11:48Then I've got the farmer and this one, and hopefully together we'll make a craft team.
11:55Menu of works today.
11:57Scraped ceilings and returns.
11:59We need to paint the black sign, paint the end walls, measure the sail curtains, paint the pine toilets and
12:03sand the church pews.
12:05That's by lunch.
12:06That's the lunch menu.
12:08You guys got to run the cafe as well.
12:11We need money.
12:12But do you know what the most important ingredient is?
12:15Love.
12:15I was going to say love.
12:17Love.
12:17We love each other and we love being here.
12:30A shipment of salvaged scaffold boards sourced from various construction sites has appeared.
12:36Ready for the next chapter of life.
12:39This is the downstairs.
12:40They want storage.
12:41They want a shop.
12:42They want their freezer.
12:43We want to get punters inside.
12:45And if it's full outside, we want them to sit inside.
12:48Design for me is like making a smoothie.
12:50It's all the different ingredients.
12:52I've got some scaffolding boards, some pottery boards, all of these raw ingredients.
12:57I'm going to chuck in the blender and then see what comes out.
13:10I've been busy in here.
13:12All right, so I'm peeling all of this back.
13:14Mm-hmm.
13:15Then I want to clad this in.
13:19What, the handrail?
13:20Yeah.
13:21All the way, both sides?
13:22Yeah.
13:23Well, that whole wall from the corner downstairs.
13:25Yep.
13:26Clad all the way up.
13:28Staircase.
13:29Add a bit of architecture to it.
13:31I hope you've got enough boards.
13:3370 scaffold boards.
13:35Okay.
13:35And then what about this wall?
13:39I've got a long church pew for that wall that you might just need to connect together.
13:44Mm-hmm.
13:45Many hands may play work.
13:55At the moment, we're just trying to get everything prepped and ready for the design.
13:58And it just feels like there's a lot of pieces to that puzzle that need to be done.
14:02Also while trying to run a cafe and lots of moving parts.
14:07I think as long as we don't fall behind, I think we're okay.
14:10It's just all hands on deck and just keep moving.
14:14Do we make it like that, sort of split the distance there and then go six mil longer?
14:21Okay.
14:32Ro, the pigs have escaped.
14:35The pigs are out.
14:37We need to get up to the house.
14:40I had them locked up.
14:42The guy said it was up behind the house, but heading down towards the water.
14:46Oh, God.
14:47Where are all these people coming from?
14:50Oh, God!
14:56You haven't noticed a piglet.
14:58Yes, I'm not by the house!
15:00Okay.
15:01Was there just one or was there two by the house?
15:07Piggy!
15:09Piggy!
15:14Piggy!
15:15That's one pig secured.
15:17Maybe his brother will hear him.
15:20Piggy!
15:37That's always the little one.
15:39While both pigs are now safely in their quarters,
15:42the flat-roof sections of Ulver House are steadily being dismantled.
15:53With the trades now occupying both house and restaurant,
15:57it's time for Banjo to do what he does best,
16:00transform another man's trash into boathouse treasure.
16:03Here we go.
16:04Banjo's Emporium.
16:06What is that?
16:08Vintage sale.
16:09That's good stuff.
16:11That's a French sale.
16:20Oh, my fishing line.
16:22That's a good-looking haul.
16:24So many lives
16:29Come on this evening, make me smile
16:32Not content with the vintage spores from his own supplies,
16:36Banjo and his team have also joined a local beach clean,
16:40back in Ulver, in search of flotsam and jetsam.
16:43I'm going to have to be inventive.
16:45I'm going to go hunting.
16:46I'm going to hit the beach.
16:48If it ain't tied down, I'm taking it.
16:56How do you get down?
17:01So much stuff.
17:03So much plastic, so much fishing waste.
17:05If you're not disposing of stuff carefully,
17:09you could end up on a little windswept beach in the Hebrides.
17:13Weird little man might repurpose it into something for his cafe.
17:22Old sign.
17:24That's nifty.
17:25How far? We've got to walk.
17:26Okay, I'll take it.
17:29Do you think this is going to be a crucial piece of your design?
17:32You never know.
17:36All right, here they are.
17:38Look at them.
17:39They're beautiful.
17:40I think they'll be stunning.
17:42It's real bog.
17:43That stinks.
17:46Oh, God.
17:47Rotten, cementing seaweed.
17:52Bloody hell.
17:54Need a hand, Dar?
17:55Yeah.
18:01Lucky I love you.
18:02Oh, I love you too.
18:04A lot.
18:05Aww.
18:09The boathouse has been stripped back to its skeleton.
18:13But such upheaval has compelled the business to close its doors
18:17until the building has been pieced back together.
18:20I don't normally have a plan, but today I have a plan and I'm sticking to it.
18:25We need to hit all of those targets today, otherwise we're in danger, because we need
18:29to be open at the end of the week.
18:31We've got enough boards to make two big tables.
18:35Yeah.
18:37And seven wee tables.
18:38I think you need our dining room table from the big house.
18:41We don't need the dining room table from the big house.
18:42Absolutely do, I guarantee it.
18:43And that table is not even prepped.
18:45It's got some sort of vinyl on top.
18:47No, it's a bit of lemonade.
18:48You don't even know what's under it.
18:50It's a beautiful looking table.
18:52It's free and it's available today.
18:55So we're working with what we've got.
18:57I'll sand the top.
18:58You don't even have to look at a sander again.
19:00You promise?
19:00What I need is the kitchen table.
19:02And if we don't need it, I'll march that table right on back and eat my words off it.
19:10OK, let's just have a look at this table.
19:12I don't know.
19:13How do you get?
19:14It's 1940s glue, whatever, off the table.
19:20Oh, wow.
19:23Nice table.
19:26Don't encourage him.
19:28Right, should we try and get this out of here?
19:30Yeah.
19:39I don't think it's going to fit through the door.
19:42I can't.
19:43I just can't cope with anything right now.
19:46This is not going to work.
19:52Door handle.
19:54The decorative cannon.
19:56Yep.
19:57Two, three.
20:06I don't know how you're going to get it in there.
20:08We've got nowhere to have dinner tonight at home.
20:10We'll get it off.
20:11I'll strip it back.
20:12We'll take it apart.
20:14We'll get it up and we'll be having oysters on here tonight.
20:18Oh, it's tired.
20:19I'm tired.
20:23Banjo and his team are on the final stretch
20:26in anticipation of a grand reopening.
20:44He's bought half of them in grey
20:47and he's bought half of them in green
20:50and he wants them all green.
20:52This was one of the grey chairs
20:53and I'm just trying to match it to the green
20:56but he likes this worn effect.
21:03I'm stripping this because Banjo bought a bench.
21:06Then he said he wanted it back to its natural pitch prime.
21:09I'm just sick of scraping paint, to be honest.
21:17Which one is the new one?
21:21Yes.
21:21You're good.
21:27Yes, this is going to be a rope chair back.
21:29That's smart.
21:30That looks quite...
21:31That's high-end, actually.
21:33That's gorgeous.
21:35Everything is feeling very natural in here.
21:37But we need to do natural but a little bit elevated,
21:40kind of like what we're doing on the menu.
21:43And the berry is not too early for them?
21:45Yeah.
21:46OK.
21:49So have we got everything in there?
21:50No emission liquid.
21:52You've got to leave it for seven to 14 days.
21:54Ah, so like a kombucha.
21:55More like a wine, I think.
21:56OK.
21:57Yeah.
21:59I love it.
22:00I absolutely love it.
22:02It's the good old days.
22:03Good job.
22:04You're doing good.
22:04Well done, Zoe.
22:05That's a good-looking sign.
22:07It'll make a lot of people happy to see us restoring to what it used to be.
22:11Barry.
22:13What do you reckon?
22:14Good as old?
22:15Yeah.
22:16Good.
22:16Good.
22:17Good.
22:17It's like the old days.
22:18Feels nice.
22:20You'll have to come down for a coffee.
22:21Yeah.
22:21How are you with the hammer?
22:25Retired.
22:26Barry.
22:30The boathouse restoration is complete.
22:33The flat roof back at the house has been successfully dismantled.
22:38Now, naturally, only one thing remains.
22:40A celebration.
22:42Pulling the space together, even just existing on a little island, you really do rely on each other.
22:48And these guys have all helped us to create this beautiful space, to actually create our beautiful life that we
22:54have here.
22:55So we want to thank them.
22:57Okay.
22:58Ro, present?
23:00Present.
23:00Grandpa?
23:02Present.
23:03Banjo, present.
23:04Okay.
23:06Boathouse party.
23:07Yeah.
23:08Okay, so really important.
23:09This goes off with a bang.
23:11I want it to be a nice opportunity to say thank you to the different people that have helped us
23:14along the way.
23:14The local suppliers that currently support us and say thanks.
23:17Yeah, local food producers, pals, Riri and Rebecca.
23:24What are we serving?
23:25A seafood feast.
23:26Yeah, I like that.
23:28It has to be fresh.
23:29Yeah.
23:29It has to be local.
23:30Yeah.
23:31It has to be bountiful.
23:32Yeah.
23:33And it has to just be visually stunning.
23:35We'll get in there and cook.
23:37Yeah, well, I'm going to.
23:37Start cooking.
23:38I've got to get the place ready.
23:51It's a nice big bucket of fish.
23:53They're not bad.
23:55How many are there?
23:56Ah, 25.
23:57So we've got some mackerel.
23:59Such a pretty fish, aren't they?
24:00The colour.
24:01They're a decent size.
24:03There's a few bigger ones in there, maybe just slightly above average.
24:05Just tell me.
24:06Bang on, middle.
24:08Yeah, man.
24:08Like that height.
24:11Yeah.
24:12Oh, you worked hard for this sign.
24:15Don't ruin it now.
24:17I thought we were going to do it up, but I actually like it.
24:19I like it.
24:20It's rusty.
24:51I think it's great. Honestly, when you go upstairs and you see that space, it looks and feels beautiful.
24:58You know, we've put our stamp on it, but it's also like a beautiful space that people can come and
25:02visit and eat and enjoy.
25:04And it's going to help us then generate money that we can then reinvest.
25:08Yeah, no, I'm really proud of, yeah, what it looks like and how it is.
25:12Aww.
25:19It's completely transformed the place, not just in looks, but the way that we work.
25:23Banjo's great at coming up with ideas. I don't think he always knows how he's going to pull them off,
25:28but he has a vision, and by the end of the day, that vision's been met.
25:32And nobody knew how it was going to happen, or if it was even possible, but by the end, something
25:37magical's happened.
25:45We're really grateful that you're all here, and we're grateful for Louis and Pila, who are our amazing chefs, and
25:53they've really brought it to life.
25:55And Sam and Ro have worked really hard to scrape the ceiling, and everyone that's supported us.
26:02As I always say, shoot for the stars, and if you get halfway there, you'll still be over the moon.
26:09Isn't that beautiful?
26:10That is so beautiful.
26:12Do you like that?
26:13It's not beautiful.
26:14I thought of that.
26:15Our island dwellers and their band of merry trades have accomplished the boathouse reinvention.
26:22In just one week, they've transformed the space into a welcoming, somewhat magical headquarters for the island community and beyond.
26:31Tonight's entertainment, a travelling troupe of musicians, in search of a quiet drink, and perhaps a jig.
26:38One, two, three.
26:45Great job, team.
26:46Like, bloody hell, it was a ride.
26:50It was a ride.
26:51I think what you're trying to say is thank you.
26:54And, you know what?
26:56You're welcome.
26:57I did it.
26:58I did it.
26:59Listen to him.
27:00No, we did it.
27:01We.
27:01No, it's beautiful.
27:03That makes it worthwhile.
27:04It's nice bringing all these people together, because they've been part of our lives before this.
27:07Yeah.
27:08And now we've got something to kind of, they've helped us on this journey, and then we've got a way
27:12of saying thank you.
27:13You're doing it to run a beautiful business.
27:16You're doing it for the tourists that come.
27:18But we're here, costs of the people, aren't we?
27:22Yeah.
27:22The people are what make our life better.
27:24I think we've created something really special here.
27:41Yeah.
27:41Yeah.
27:41Yeah.
27:41Yeah.
27:41Yeah.
27:58I'll see you next time.
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