- 18 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00.
00:05Ulver, for me, is a mini version of Mull,
00:08which we're already in love with.
00:12It's beautiful.
00:14The landscape is stunning.
00:16The produce is amazing.
00:18The people are incredible.
00:22Not often in life do you get a chance
00:24to make a home somewhere really special.
00:36Oh, my gosh.
00:38What are you doing?
00:39Red stag, a young animal, second year,
00:42and we'll now take all the organs out
00:44and, you know, 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 oesophagus, that's the food pipe.
00:54Split the food pipe and pleat it off,
00:56and that keeps the contents of the stomach.
00:59Mm-hm.
01:00In the stomach, so 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,
01:20you're completely disconnected from your supply chain.
01:23You know, this is land management,
01:29pest management,
01:31also food.
01:32You know, like, it's a resource.
01:34Yeah.
01:45Our newcomers to the island aren't exactly newcomers anymore.
01:49It's been approximately two months since Banjo and Ro took on Ulva House,
01:55seeking to transform this magnificent building into a boutique hotel
01:59of questionable practicality but undeniable charm.
02:03In that time,
02:05Ulva House has acquired a tempting whiskey library,
02:08an inviting hotel lobby,
02:10smelling faintly of fresh paint,
02:12and most recently,
02:14two 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?
02:29Oh, this is the best day of my life.
02:33Pigs running around everywhere,
02:35pooping everywhere.
02:38Yeah, I think we could have timed that a bit better.
02:41But taking on a building of this size and age
02:44has led to inevitable lengthy building struggles,
02:47such as restoring antiquated water pipes,
02:50rewiring the entire property,
02:51and dealing with a leaky roof.
02:59So, the flat roofs have collapsed
03:01because of an ingress of water.
03:02In this country, this volume of water,
03:04it won't flow off quick enough.
03:07And so it's ingressed into the house
03:09and probably been out of sight probably for quite a while,
03:12and then the ceilings have collapsed
03:13and then it's exposed it as an issue.
03:16And that's what worries me about this house,
03:17is what's going on behind the ceilings and walls.
03:21Today, an off-site trades team have arrived
03:24to entirely dismantle those roof sections.
03:27We're literally about to start the biggest piece of construction
03:30on the entire project, and that's doing the roof,
03:34and the builders are coming in.
03:35They're going to rip that off.
03:37Right off.
03:38Yeah.
03:38We're not going to have a roof.
03:39I know, it is wild.
03:41If the weather turns,
03:42or if we dismiss that window to get the roof on,
03:46we're cooked.
03:47Yeah, 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
03:57devouring 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,
04:14directly beside the ferry slipway,
04:16the boathouse represents a time when Ulva's livelihood
04:20came not from menus, but from nets, kelp,
04:23and the sturdy rhythm of oars.
04:25When Banjo and Roe took on the big house,
04:28they also took over the lease and management of this business.
04:32Now this cafe offers a potential solution to their financial woes.
04:37I remember when we first arrived on Mull,
04:39people saying to me,
04:40you have to go to the boathouse on Ulva.
04:42Like, and that was 10 odd years ago.
04:44If we can make that a destination,
04:46we can make this more of a destination,
04:48and we can 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
04:57and cleaning out our bank accounts.
04:59So the boathouse for us has to work.
05:04We've got all this beautiful fresh produce all around us.
05:08We've got fresh island meats, that's beef and lamb.
05:10The seafood, you know, we've got fresh langoustines,
05:13fresh crab, fresh lobster.
05:15We need this to work to make the big house work.
05:18If I can take a wage from here
05:20and 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, it's all a living, isn't it?
05:29Also running this operation as joint restaurant manager with them
05:33is an old friend from Mull.
05:39Before I came here, I was milking cows,
05:42rearing pigs, shearing sheep.
05:44I was a farmhand at the cheese farm in Tobermory.
05:48What's that?
05:49What?
05:49Fresh mushroom.
05:50You beauty.
05:52And I always wanted to run my own restaurant with a farm kitchen
05:55and Ro said,
05:56oh, we'll go in with a 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,
06:37you 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.
06:47Yeah.
06:47Yeah, definitely.
06:48It's our pantries.
06:49The whole community's pantries.
06:50I love that.
06:50Yeah.
06:51Yeah.
06:51Well, let's see upstairs then.
06:54Okay.
06:55It doesn't feel nice.
06:56Outside feels nice.
06:57The most amazing scenery.
06:59And you come up the stairs.
07:00Mm.
07:01So this room has to work even harder.
07:04Yeah, it's a head-scratcher.
07:05Even 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.
07:57You 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.
08:13Well...
08:15Banjo's big idea for the boathouse is all about creating a space
08:19which reflects the breathtaking beauty of the island.
08:22Upstairs, he is drawing inspiration from an abandoned boat,
08:26cladding the walls with up-cycled scaffold boards
08:29to bring that worn, weathered look and building new furniture
08:33from treasures found at the water's edge.
08:35Downstairs, he will restructure to create a more usable space,
08:39refresh the menu to showcase produce from the land around them
08:43and outside reproduce the original much-loved sign.
08:47All right.
08:47We've got to get scaffold boards, any old bit of timber lying around.
08:51If 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
09:10and 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,
09:46The board has agreed.
09:47The original proposal included a possible maximum width, length and weight limit for private vehicles.
09:55But it's clear that setting hard numbers has made vehicle shopping quite difficult.
09:59The board has agreed to take a more flexible approach
10:01and Trust residents to choose a quad ATV or UTV that's appropriate for the size and condition of the tracks.
10:10Right.
10:12Yeah, Tal.
10:14You didn't tell me it was ugly.
10:17It's perfect.
10:17It's a people mover.
10:19It's not cute.
10:20It's not here to be cute.
10:21It's here to be practical.
10:22It's here to move people and things.
10:24You're cute and practical.
10:25It can be both.
10:27That's really sweet.
10:28But that is not cute.
10:31Banjo and Roe have allotted themselves just one week to reinvent the boathouse,
10:35while the steady process of roof removal occurs 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,
11:00whilst also keeping it open to passing trade.
11:03When you're useless like me, it really pays to have handy friends.
11:07So I'm the captain of the ship.
11:09I've got Awin, my carpenter.
11:15How old is that sweet book?
11:1619.
11:18It's old and ugly, but it's a hell of a good book.
11:21Yeah, definitely not.
11:24He's going to knock up some walls and some shelving.
11:27Zoe, she's a decorator, she's going to splash some paint around.
11:34Howdy Zoe.
11:35Hey mate, how are you doing?
11:37Thank you for coming.
11:38Louie and Pilar.
11:42They're going to keep the ship running.
11:43They'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,
12:02paint the pine toilets and sand the church pews.
12:05That's by lunch.
12:07That's the lunch menu.
12:08You guys got to run the cafe as well.
12:11We need money.
12:11But 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.
12:51It'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.
13:13So I'm peeling all of this back.
13:15Then I want to clad this in.
13:19Put 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.
13:36And 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 quite 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?
14:15So it's split the distance there and then go six mil longer?
14:21Oh yeah.
14:32Row, the pigs have escaped.
14:35The pigs are out.
14:36up. We need to get up to the house. I had them locked up. The guy said it was up
14:43behind
14:43the house, but heading down towards the water. Oh, God. Where are all these people coming
14:48from?
14:56You haven't noticed a piglet.
14:59Yes, I'm not by the house. Okay. Was there just one or was there two by the house?
15:03Okay. Piggy! Piggy!
15:14That's one pig secured. Maybe his brother will hear him. Piggy!
15:37That's always the little one. While both pigs are now safely in their quarters, the flat-roof
15:43sections of all the house are steadily being dismantled.
15:53With the trades now occupying both house and restaurant, it's time for Banjo to do what
15:59he does best. Transform another man's trash into boathouse treasure. Here we go. Banjo's
16:05Emporium. What is that? Vintage sale. That's good stuff. That's a French sale.
16:20Oh, my fishing line. That's a good-looking haul.
16:33Not content with the vintage spores from his own supplies, Banjo and his team have also
16:38joined a local beach clean, back on Ulva, in search of flotsam and jetsam.
16:43I'm going to have to be inventive. I'm going to go hunting. I'm going to hit the beach. If
16:48it ain't tied down, I'm taking it.
16:56How do you get down?
17:01So much stuff. So much plastic, so much fishing waste. If you're not disposing of stuff carefully,
17:09you could end up on a little windswept beach in the Hebrides. Weird little man might repurpose
17:15it into something for his cafe.
17:22Old sign.
17:24That's nifty.
17:25How far? We've got to walk.
17:26OK. 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.
17:37Look at them. They're beautiful. I think they'll be stunning.
17:42It's real bog.
17:43That stinks.
17:45Oh, God.
17:47Rotten cementing seaweed.
17:52Bloody hell.
17:53Made a hander.
17:55Yeah.
18:01Lucky I love you.
18:02Aw, I love you too.
18:04A lot.
18:05Aw.
18:05Aw.
18:09The vote house 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.
18:24We need to hit all of those targets today, otherwise we're in danger,
18:29because we need to 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...
18:46Vinyl.
18:46Vinyl on top.
18:47No, it's a bit of lemonade.
18:48You don't even know what's under it.
18:49It's timber.
18:50It's a beautiful looking table.
18:51It'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
19:05and eat my words off it.
19:10Okay, let's just have a look at this table.
19:12I don't know how you get.
19:14It's 1940s glue whatever off the table.
19:20Oh, wow.
19:23Nice tea.
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.
19:45This is not going to work.
19:52The door handle.
19:54The decorative can I have.
19:57Yep.
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.
20:13We'll get it up and we'll be having oysters on here tonight.
20:18Oh, it's tired.
20:19I'm tired.
20:22Banjo and his team are on the final stretch in anticipation of a grand reopening.
20:44He's bought half of them in grey and he's bought half of them in green and he wants them all
20:51green.
20:51This was one of the grey chairs and I'm just trying to match it to the green but he likes
20:57this worn effect.
21:03I'm stripping it.
21:04I'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 stroke and pain to be honest.
21:17Which one is the new one?
21:21This.
21:22You're good.
21:27This.
21:27This is going to be a rope chair back.
21:29That's smart.
21:30That looks quite, that'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.
21:43Yeah.
21:43Elderberry is not too early for them?
21:45Yeah.
21:46OK.
21:49So have we got everything in there?
21:50No emission liquid.
21:51You'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.
22:05It'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.
22:17It's like the old days.
22:18Feels nice.
22:20Yeah.
22:20You'll have to come down for a coffee.
22:21Yeah.
22:22How are you with the hammer?
22:25Retired.
22:26Barry.
22:31The boathouse restoration is complete.
22:33The flat roof back at the house has been successfully dismantled.
22:37Now naturally, only one thing remains.
22:40A celebration.
22:42Pulling the space together.
22:44Even just existing on a little island.
22:46You really do rely on each other.
22:48And these guys have all helped us to create this beautiful space.
22:52To actually create our beautiful life that we have here.
22:55So we want to thank them.
22:56Okay.
22:58Ro.
22:59Present.
23:00Present.
23:00Grandpa.
23:02Present.
23:03Banjo.
23:04Present.
23:04Okay.
23:05Boathouse party.
23:07Yeah.
23:08Really 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
23:14us along the way.
23:14The local suppliers currently support us and say thanks.
23:17Yep.
23:18Local food producers, pals, Ruri and Rebecca.
23:24What are we serving?
23:25A seafood feast.
23:26Yeah.
23:26I 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.
23:35Well get in there and cook.
23:37Yeah.
23:37Well 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?
23:5625.
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.
24:04Maybe just slightly above average.
24:06Just tell me bang on middle.
24:07You know what I mean.
24:08Like that height.
24:11Yeah.
24:12Oh.
24:13Need to push.
24:13You 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 rusted.
24:21There.
24:23Yeah.
24:40And that's what I think.
24:42It's rusted there.
24:43I love.
24:43Yeah.
24:43Yeah.
24:49So.
24:51I think it's great. Honestly, when you go upstairs and you see that space, it looks
24:57and feels beautiful. You know, we've put our stamp on it, but it's also like a beautiful
25:01space that people can come and visit and eat and enjoy. And it's going to help us then
25:06generate money that we can then reinvest. Yeah, no, I'm really proud of, yeah, what
25:11it looks like and how it is. Aw. It's completely transformed the place, not just in looks, but
25:22the way that we work. Banjo's great at coming up with ideas. I don't think he always knows
25:27how he's going to pull them off, but he has a vision, and by the end of the day, that
25:31vision's been met. And nobody knew how it was going to happen or if it was even possible,
25:36but by the end, something magical's happened. We're really grateful that you're all here,
25:48and we're grateful for Louis and Pila, who are our amazing chefs, and they've really brought
25:54it to life, and Sam and Ro have worked really hard to scrape the ceiling. Scrape the ceiling,
26:00and everyone that's, like, supported us. As I always say, shoot for the stars, and if
26:06you get halfway there, you'll still be over the moon. Isn't that beautiful? That is so
26:11beautiful. Do you like that? It's not beautiful. I thought of that. Our island dwellers and their
26:18band of merry trades have accomplished the boathouse reinvention. In just one week, they've
26:23transformed the space into a welcoming, somewhat magical headquarters for the island community
26:30and beyond. Tonight's entertainment, a travelling troupe of musicians in search of a quiet drink
26:36and perhaps a jig.
26:45Great job, team. Like, bloody hell, it was a ride. It was a ride. I think what you're trying
26:52to say is thank you. And you know what? You're welcome. I did it. I did it. Listen to him.
27:00No, we did it. We. No, it's beautiful. It's beautiful. That makes it worthwhile. It's nice
27:05bringing all these people together because they've been part of our lives before this.
27:07Yeah. And now we've got something to kind of, they've helped us on this journey, and then
27:11we've got a way of saying thank you. You're doing it to run a beautiful business. You're
27:16doing it for the tourists that come, but we're here because of the people, aren't we? The people
27:22are what make our life better. I think we've created something really special here.
27:52the fam.
27:56Woohoo!
Comments