Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh S08E15

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Transcript

00:00:00How doth the little busy bee improve each shining hour and gather honey all the day from every opening flower?

00:00:08An excerpt from a poem by Isaac Watts, the perfect spring poem as buzzing bees make their return to our

00:00:15gardens.

00:00:16And while bees are swarming and buzzing into action, here at Manor Farm it's horses and riders who are trotting

00:00:23into action

00:00:23as they gear up for the prestigious Royal Windsor Horse Show.

00:00:27And we're gearing up for today's Love Your Weekend.

00:01:06I think we can agree it's not been the driest start to the year, but as carpets of colour emerge

00:01:13from rain-soaked ground,

00:01:15rivers recede, giving coots and moorhens riverbanks on which to nest.

00:01:19April is the perfect time to enjoy what the British Isles has to offer.

00:01:24We've a lot to offer you this morning too.

00:01:26Coming up, you might have heard it on the grapevine, but have you heard it from Tim Vine?

00:01:32Comedian and actor Tim Vine talks one-liners, not going out, and playing a plastic version of Elvis Presley.

00:01:39And from Barbara Windsor to June Brown to Wendy Richard, they're the EastEnders legends, she says, helped shape her career.

00:01:48Natalie Cassidy on working and learning from the best.

00:01:51What if she's brought the trumpet?

00:01:53And primroses, tulips, and a fruit that whispers of tennis rallies and eaten less, a strawberry.

00:02:00Horticulturist Camilla Bassett-Smith celebrating the joys of the warmer weather with her April diary.

00:02:06And under starter's orders, we meet some of the magnificent horses and riders competing in this year's Royal Windsor Horse

00:02:12Show.

00:02:18But first, the cock has crowed, the starlings have awoken, and the sound of celebrity murmuration brings a sense of

00:02:25expectation across Manor Farm.

00:02:27The dulcet tones of actress and EastEnders legend Natalie Cassidy, and actor and comedy legend Tim Vine.

00:02:35Welcome to your verse.

00:02:36I thought someone else was on there for a minute.

00:02:39Thank you for having me.

00:02:40You're very welcome.

00:02:41If you weren't here, what would you be doing?

00:02:42What are your weekend pursuits, Natalie?

00:02:44Well, at this time, I'd probably be climbing out of bed after a nice lay-in.

00:02:49I do like a nap.

00:02:49I really do like a lay-in.

00:02:51I'm a bit of a sleeper.

00:02:52Yeah.

00:02:53And as the children have got older, they can get up and sort of tend to themselves.

00:02:57So, you know, after lots of lack of sleep with the kids, it's quite nice now to have a lay

00:03:02-in.

00:03:02Yes.

00:03:03It's nice.

00:03:03And Sunday lunch are your roasts, girl.

00:03:05Oh, I'm a huge...

00:03:06I love making a Sunday lunch.

00:03:08It's my favourite to make.

00:03:11And I usually do all my cauliflower cheese early, peel all my potatoes quite early on.

00:03:15So, yeah.

00:03:16Well done.

00:03:17Merry Berry's worked, hasn't it, really?

00:03:19Watching all those.

00:03:20Tim, Sunday's?

00:03:21Yes.

00:03:22Yes, I do Sundays, yeah.

00:03:24I sleep as well.

00:03:25I like sleeping too.

00:03:27But, do you know, the first thing I do every day, and I don't cut it out on Sundays, is

00:03:31I try and do a 501 darts ending on a double before the kettle boils.

00:03:36Are you serious?

00:03:37Yes.

00:03:38So, I fill up the kettle and then I start and I'm trying to hit the double before it boils.

00:03:43So, you can adjust the amount of water you've got in the kettle to make it easier or harder.

00:03:48And currently, I'm not playing that well, so I would tend to fill it right to the top.

00:03:52Right, so your success rate's pretty low at the moment.

00:03:54A little bit, yeah, yeah.

00:03:55But that's how I start a Sunday morning, yeah.

00:03:57You've always fancied a bit of stand-up, haven't you, Natalie?

00:04:01Isn't that one of your ambitions?

00:04:03I love it.

00:04:04I'm obsessed with stand-up.

00:04:05I watch it and I love it.

00:04:07And I just, I find it incredible that someone can stand on their own and make people laugh.

00:04:12I love it.

00:04:13I would love to try it one day.

00:04:14Well, you can stand on your own.

00:04:16That's a start, isn't it?

00:04:17And then, you know, I mean, I always say to people, have a go.

00:04:19You should have a go, Natalie.

00:04:20I mean, you've got to.

00:04:21You've obviously got the, you know, you can stand in front of people.

00:04:23That you do, you know, second nature.

00:04:25Yeah.

00:04:25So just do it.

00:04:26Yeah.

00:04:27Write five minutes or something and get up there.

00:04:29Oh, goodness.

00:04:29But is there difficulty finding your style?

00:04:33Because, you know, you could do one style and it wouldn't work for you.

00:04:36Your style's become one-liners.

00:04:37But I think, well, yeah, but that was sort of, it's happened kind of organically.

00:04:40But I think the main stumbling block for most people is the fear of making a fool of yourself.

00:04:45And I say to everyone, if you can get past the fear of making a fool of yourself, there's

00:04:49a whole world of fun on the other side of that, you know.

00:04:51I make a fool of myself quite a lot, actually.

00:04:54So I should be good at that.

00:04:55Oh, if you don't, you've got to go into it ready to fail, haven't you?

00:04:58Yeah, oh, yeah, I was.

00:04:59Yeah, you've done it, yeah.

00:05:00But you've done a job, you've been in Neighbours when you were writing in Australia.

00:05:04Well, it was very, very brief, yes.

00:05:06Now, I was doing the comedy festival in Melbourne and I said to my agent, as a bit of a

00:05:10joke,

00:05:10I said, can you get me on Neighbours, see if, you know.

00:05:12And he asked and they, I think they must have thought it was someone else.

00:05:16And they said, yeah, right, well, he's got two choices.

00:05:19He can either be doing his act in Lassiter's or he can be asking for directions, you know.

00:05:25And I thought, well, I'd like to be acting slightly.

00:05:27So I asked for directions outside Lassiter's.

00:05:29That was it, you could have been the turn, you could have done your act.

00:05:32Well, I thought I wanted to be sort of, you know, I'm going to do some action.

00:05:36So I said to someone, I said, can you tell me where Lassiter's is?

00:05:40You know, they said, well, it's right here, it's Lassiter's.

00:05:41I said, all right.

00:05:43Lassiter's.

00:05:45But it was great fun, though.

00:05:47I mean, it was, because I remember watching that, you know, back in the day.

00:05:49Yeah, I loved Neighbours.

00:05:505.35 after school.

00:05:52Yeah.

00:05:53Just pushed the sofa around.

00:05:54Very worried, though, when my daughters who were growing up during it,

00:05:56they used to come home and say, hello, we do not live in Melbourne.

00:06:00No, it's true.

00:06:01Hello.

00:06:02It's changed now.

00:06:03Down in the room, you're doing that.

00:06:07It's a good job you can make people laugh.

00:06:11Because I've got a couple of clips now for you to show you making people laugh,

00:06:14probably somewhat unintentionally, in Dance for Comic Relief.

00:06:19Here we are.

00:06:19Oh, God.

00:06:19First up, here's Natalie Cassidy with a bit of hairspray.

00:06:23I'd say, try and stop my dancing feet.

00:06:26Well, I just cannot stand still.

00:06:29But the world keeps spinning round and round.

00:06:32I'm a hard time, if the feet don't stop.

00:06:34I'm a hard time, if the feet don't stop.

00:06:36I'm a hard time, I'm a hard time.

00:06:40I'm a hard time, if the feet don't stop.

00:06:41I've ever seen this whole world again.

00:06:43I'm a hard time, if the feet don't stop.

00:06:45An exuberant and playful dance, you can't stop.

00:06:48Dean Gaffney in there.

00:06:50Claire Sweeney.

00:06:51Difficulties with that routine, because you were really giving it some, weren't you, Joanna?

00:06:54I was giving it some, but we had quite a few rehearsals, if I remember rightly, didn't we?

00:06:57A few days rehearsal.

00:06:58Well, I had none for your...

00:07:00I was rehearsing my one.

00:07:01But your...

00:07:02Oh, you mean...

00:07:02Yes, it was going to be both gesture right now.

00:07:04You couldn't live with him, could you?

00:07:05You couldn't live with him, could you?

00:07:06Could you imagine?

00:07:07You'd go nuts.

00:07:08You'd have your own one-liners, wouldn't you?

00:07:10Or a dartboard.

00:07:10Most of them would be rude.

00:07:12He'd be the human dartboard, wouldn't he, in the house?

00:07:15Anyway, but it was hard work, though, was it?

00:07:17It was hard work.

00:07:17But there was a lot of rehearsing, wasn't there?

00:07:18Lots of rehearsing, hard work, but great laugh.

00:07:22How did you get on with your co-stars in that one, then?

00:07:24You had Claire Sweeney.

00:07:25Claire.

00:07:26Ding, gaff, ding.

00:07:27Didn't have to do a lot, did he?

00:07:28Didn't have to do a lot.

00:07:28He's got his coat taken off.

00:07:29But, you know, he's like a real-life brother, really, because I've known him since I was ten.

00:07:33So there we are.

00:07:35We need to see Tim Dine doing this.

00:07:37Justin Timberlake.

00:07:38Here we go.

00:07:39Got time that I don't mind.

00:07:42Just want to like the girl.

00:07:44I'll have a little girl.

00:07:47I'll have a little girl.

00:07:50I've been watching you.

00:07:51I like the way the move.

00:07:54So go ahead, girl, just do it.

00:07:56And I think you need to do it.

00:07:58Well, you got all the right moves.

00:08:01Not necessarily in the right order, but they were all there.

00:08:03Your body was doing things roughly in time with the music.

00:08:07Yeah, it was fabulous.

00:08:08Every time I did that turn in rehearsal, I sort of would spin off and hit my head on the

00:08:11mirror in the dance rehearsal.

00:08:14You found Justin Timberlake, are you?

00:08:16Well, not especially.

00:08:17Have you ever seen him?

00:08:18Well, I then, I watched the video of some of his stuff.

00:08:22Well, afterwards.

00:08:22I think it was after that.

00:08:24I saw him five times.

00:08:26Really?

00:08:27Consecutive evenings.

00:08:28I was obsessed with that album, yeah.

00:08:30Oh, what album?

00:08:31Oh, you did an album, did you?

00:08:32Oh, God.

00:08:34Don't ask me what it was called.

00:08:35I can't remember now.

00:08:36Cry Me a River.

00:08:38That was one of it, wasn't it?

00:08:38That was one of the songs.

00:08:39Oh, right, right.

00:08:41But, yeah, there we go.

00:08:42OK, well, when we get to the end of the day, how are you going to run one?

00:08:45Bedtime reading.

00:08:45What do you read at bedtime?

00:08:48I do love a cookbook.

00:08:50That's the most fantastic answer.

00:08:52You read cookbooks in bed.

00:08:53A cookbook in bed?

00:08:53I love a cookbook in bed.

00:08:54That's brilliant.

00:08:55Does it send you off?

00:08:55I just love looking at all the recipes and all the pictures.

00:08:59Whose books?

00:08:59Who do you read?

00:09:00My favourite to read, because I think he's wonderful, is Nigel Slater.

00:09:04Oh, yes.

00:09:04He's cerebral.

00:09:06Really wonderful, actually.

00:09:07But other than that, I can look at anything.

00:09:09I can bring a Delia up to bed, a Jamie Oliver comes to bed with me.

00:09:12It doesn't really matter.

00:09:13Does it have to be savoury?

00:09:14Would you rather be reading about puddings or...?

00:09:16Savoury.

00:09:17Would you rather it was savoury?

00:09:18More savoury for me, yeah.

00:09:20At that point.

00:09:20That's just me being selfish.

00:09:21We've got pasties at the end of the programme for you, so you'll enjoy the savoury.

00:09:25What about, do you read at bedtime, Tim?

00:09:26Or do you have a pad by your bed and you keep writing down one line?

00:09:30I do have a pad by my bed, yeah.

00:09:32And I occasionally scribble things down, although I find when I make up jokes in my sleep,

00:09:36when I wake up, I think, oh, this is a brilliant one, and I write it down.

00:09:38In the morning, I sort of read it, it's gibberish.

00:09:41But it always feels like it's something brilliant that I've come up with, and it never is.

00:09:44But no, I tend to read, there's a magazine called Retro Magazine, have you ever seen that?

00:09:48No.

00:09:49It's all about old film stars, so it'll be like Elizabeth Tainer, Cary Grant, and so I might have a

00:09:56flick through that.

00:09:56That'd be awesome.

00:09:57But to be honest, I fall asleep so quickly, I'm a bit bad at reading in bed, because the second

00:10:00I attempt it, I'm like that.

00:10:02I'm not that as well.

00:10:03So, you know, I tend to just listen to the radio.

00:10:05Are you a snorer as well?

00:10:06I'm like a hog.

00:10:07I think I possibly, yeah, are you, you keep it to yourself, do you, the snoring?

00:10:11No, no, I might as well tell everybody, it's awful, really.

00:10:14Do you admit to snoring?

00:10:15Yes.

00:10:15Interesting.

00:10:17Do you not?

00:10:17You're right.

00:10:18I breathe quite heavily.

00:10:22Moving swiftly on, before it gets totally embarrassing.

00:10:25More coming up from Tim and Natalie a little bit later.

00:10:28Stillhead, some would say it's the main royal event of the season, well, certainly for our equine friends.

00:10:34We meet some of the very elegant horses heading to this year's Royal Winter Horse Show, and they're Britain's earliest

00:10:39wildflowers, loved by bees, butterflies, and gardeners alike, in the colours ranging from joyous yellow to soft pink.

00:10:47Camilla Bassett-Smith on the sunny delight of the primrose in part one of her April diary.

00:10:53Natalie, may I tend you to a cherry fondant?

00:10:55Now, look at those. I don't think we've had those before.

00:10:58Just because it's from you, sir, I will. Thank you very much.

00:11:00Well, I'll join you then.

00:11:01Oh, one for Tim.

00:11:02One, thank you.

00:11:03I'll take that one off and get this plate. Thank you very much. Cheers.

00:11:05Lovely. Cherry fondant.

00:11:07Cheers, everyone.

00:11:07Going up in the world.

00:11:23There's a 16th century proverb, first penned by Thomas Tusser in 1557.

00:11:29It says, sweet April showers do spring, May flowers.

00:11:35Something I always like to remind myself, if the weather leaves something to be desired at this time of year.

00:11:40Bit nippy this morning, hence the Harris Tweed bomber jacket.

00:11:44Lots of desirable goodies on today's show.

00:11:47Coming up, in the US they had Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, and Dizzy Gillespie.

00:11:51But when it comes to titan trumpeters on these shores, we have Sonia Fowler, Natalie Cassidy, on the life on

00:11:58and off Britain's most famous square.

00:12:01And they've often compared the Manor Farm pub to the Queen Vic, with its vast and varied cast of patrons,

00:12:08iconic quotes, and there's even been a brawl or two.

00:12:11My lips are sealed.

00:12:12And beer boffin marvelling coals, providing some pub grub in a best of British that celebrates pints and pasties.

00:12:20Oh, yummy.

00:12:21But first, to primroses.

00:12:23They've been gathered for centuries, once used in folk remedies, and still occasionally used in the kitchen, where they're candied

00:12:30or steeped in light wines.

00:12:32In Victorian times, they symbolised young love, or a love that couldn't quite find the right words.

00:12:39Oh, I do so understand.

00:12:40And despite its unassuming charm, Camilla Bassett-Smith is here to prove that this flower is anything but meek, in

00:12:47the first part of her April dowry.

00:12:50Hello, my little primrose.

00:12:51Oh, how sweet.

00:12:52I love that.

00:12:53I shall change my name by default.

00:12:55Back to the primroses, and aren't they just so quintessentially springtime?

00:12:58They just smile at you, don't they, when they come through?

00:13:00And this is our native one, which is Primula vulgaris.

00:13:03And there's nothing vulgar about them at all, is there, really?

00:13:06It just means they're widespread, doesn't it?

00:13:08It does.

00:13:09And they seed themselves, they're all over my lawn at the moment, which is very pretty, but I need to

00:13:12mow it, so I'm sort of moving them out of the way.

00:13:15But these ones are just so beautiful.

00:13:18And they were loved by Disraeli, Queen Victoria.

00:13:21Well, he founded the Primrose League, didn't he, Disraeli?

00:13:23Oh, did he?

00:13:24I didn't know that.

00:13:25I know that he loved them.

00:13:26And also Shakespeare mentioned them, and Hamlet, the Midsummer Night's Dream.

00:13:29So I feel they're a very, very British plant.

00:13:32And, as I said, I'm moving them out of my lawn at the moment.

00:13:34They're very easy to divide, aren't they?

00:13:36Well, they are.

00:13:37They form lovely clumps that you can really split up.

00:13:38I mean, you can almost tear them apart, but I'm going to do this with just a, get a trowel

00:13:42in there.

00:13:42And people think, oh, you're being really nasty here.

00:13:44But, no, you literally tear them apart, different plants like that.

00:13:49And they're so, they look delicate, don't they?

00:13:52But they're really, really resilient.

00:13:54And the cowslip as well is another one that we're used to seeing in the wild here, Primula veris.

00:14:00And you had a lot, didn't you, that you planted?

00:14:02In a wild fly meadow, yeah.

00:14:03I sowed a wild fly meadow on chalk.

00:14:05They're particularly like chalky ground, chalk downland.

00:14:07And also alongside, I think, the M4.

00:14:09There's loads there.

00:14:10I often see them growing alongside motorway verdus.

00:14:12You see them more nowadays than we used to, actually, cowslip.

00:14:14But this one, the Barnhaven strain that came about at the start of the 20th century.

00:14:18I went up there once, to Cumbria many years ago now, 30, 40 years ago,

00:14:21where they bred these double Primroses in all kinds of colours.

00:14:25It's really beautiful.

00:14:26They're very, very choice.

00:14:27And also the rose, the Prima Rosi, you can really see the rose-like look there, can't you, as well?

00:14:32And the blues, the pinks, these really bright ones that are used for bedding predominantly,

00:14:37but we forget they are perennials.

00:14:38So, given the right conditions, they come back year after year.

00:14:42The classiest, though, must be this, though, isn't it?

00:14:44The gold-laced polyanthus.

00:14:46Yes.

00:14:46And they look very much like the auriculas, don't they, that people collect.

00:14:48And you could actually have those individually in nice terracotta pots and auricular theatre.

00:14:52They'd so work.

00:14:53Now, what is this?

00:14:54This is an oak-leaved.

00:14:55This I've never seen before.

00:14:57Doesn't it?

00:14:57You can see why it's named that.

00:14:59It was a chance seedling in 1999 that someone found.

00:15:03So, oak-leafed primrose.

00:15:04Yes, oak-leafed primrose.

00:15:05And also very delicate at the top as well.

00:15:07It has a natural look about it, but it's the leaf, really, that's special about those ones.

00:15:11And then, finally, on the end.

00:15:12The drumstick primrose.

00:15:14The Kiri dumpling, as it's known as in Scotland.

00:15:16I can see why.

00:15:18Yeah, I can see why, the dumpling.

00:15:20But the lollipops, and these are very good alongside a pond, aren't they?

00:15:24Yeah, they're like the moisture.

00:15:25Yeah.

00:15:26They will really travel, won't they?

00:15:27You can get a good clump up of those in not too much at all.

00:15:30And varying from white through pale pink to this really deep sort of magenta.

00:15:33And it kind of shows, doesn't it, the real variety you've got.

00:15:36From whether you love the dainty natural ones or the really bright, garish, loud yellow pinks.

00:15:42There's so many different colours, aren't there?

00:15:43And it kind of, yeah.

00:15:44Something for everyone.

00:15:45Indeed.

00:15:46Lovely.

00:15:46And the first sign, the proper sign in spring, which is wonderful.

00:15:49Thanks, Camilla.

00:15:50And you'll be back a little bit later on, I think.

00:15:52I shall, indeed, with some more floral beauty and a little bit of a nibble as well, if you're peckish.

00:15:56Oh, how can I resist?

00:16:03Now, the Royal Windsor Horse Show takes place next month.

00:16:06It's an event that sees international showjumpers descend on the castle arena

00:16:10and demands exceptional skill, speed and accuracy from both horse and rider.

00:16:17For some, that level of competition is a solitary pursuit.

00:16:20But for one engaged couple, it's very much a shared passion.

00:16:24And I'm pleased to say that international showjumpers Matt Sampson and Cara Chad have come to Manor Farm to share

00:16:31that passion with us.

00:16:33Matt, good to see you.

00:16:35One of the high spots of your year, then, I should think, Windsor.

00:16:38Absolutely, yeah.

00:16:39Yeah, the Windsor Horse Show, for us, especially as a British rider, it's alongside the biggest events throughout the world

00:16:45anyway.

00:16:46But for us, it's really something we aim for, yeah.

00:16:49And as the Duke of Edinburgh once said to me, I said, it's really good of you to come.

00:16:52He said, well, it's in our back garden, isn't it?

00:16:54It is, yeah.

00:16:55So, tell us about your horse.

00:16:57Who's this?

00:16:57So, this is Ebolensky.

00:17:00Lenny, we call her.

00:17:02She's my old faithful partner.

00:17:04She won the Grand Prix at London International Horse Show a few years ago.

00:17:07And she's competed the last four or five years at Windsor as well.

00:17:11And how old is she?

00:17:12She's 17 now.

00:17:14Is she really?

00:17:15Yeah.

00:17:15Showing your age very well.

00:17:16Well, you're not sure she's wearing very well.

00:17:18Thank you for that.

00:17:19You're counting now as well.

00:17:21So, how many horses at your disposal?

00:17:24So, we have quite a few in total between myself and Cora.

00:17:28Probably around 24 or 5 in work.

00:17:30Gracious me.

00:17:31Yeah, but then that's including a lot of young horses that we're producing and bringing on and training.

00:17:36But at top level, we sort of have two or three horses that were either at that level or stepping

00:17:43up to that level.

00:17:44It's nice to see the horse on a bit of grass because it's been a long time coming, hasn't it?

00:17:48Absolutely, yeah, yeah.

00:17:49It's been wet, but no, you won't stop her from finding the grass.

00:17:52No, it's good organic grass, so you're all right with me.

00:17:55Wonderful.

00:17:55Tell me about your day because the day for when you show a job, it's all very glamorous when you

00:18:00come into the arena.

00:18:01Here you are beautifully attired and in the arena with glorious coats on and whatnot, but heck of a lot

00:18:07of work.

00:18:07Yeah, absolutely, yeah.

00:18:09No, when we get to the show, that's kind of the, you know.

00:18:11The peak, the pinnacle.

00:18:12The peak, yeah, yeah, it's a lot of work building up to it.

00:18:15But no, we, with our team, you know, we start every day at seven in the morning.

00:18:18Yeah.

00:18:19And the thing is, we finish roughly around five o'clock in, you know, in the evening with the horses

00:18:24and then they've checked again before we all go to bed around eight, eight thirty.

00:18:29The amount of skill and precision that's involved with show jumping, what does that mean on a daily basis?

00:18:36Are they jumping every day?

00:18:38No, absolutely not.

00:18:39No, we very rarely jump our horses, honestly, at home.

00:18:43We train them, you know, small fences.

00:18:45We do a lot of pole work just keeping the horses fitness and their eyeing to, you know, to what

00:18:50they're doing.

00:18:51But in general, we try and take them out, hacking out.

00:18:54You know, they do a lot of work that's outside the arena which keeps them fit and keeps them, you

00:18:59know, happy as well.

00:19:00They love show jumping as much as we do, you know.

00:19:02And do they get that moment when they go into the arena, it's right, I'm on.

00:19:05Oh, yeah, absolutely.

00:19:06Her and my other best horse, Daniel, they both, you know, when they get to it, like even today when

00:19:11we arrived,

00:19:12she came out thinking, I think she thought she was definitely at the show, you know.

00:19:15Yeah, I'm on telly.

00:19:16Yeah, exactly.

00:19:19So, now tell me about you and Cara.

00:19:21Cara's having a nice little trot round there.

00:19:24Cara, do you want to come in?

00:19:26Tell us who you're on.

00:19:28I'm on, his stable name is Gary, his competition name is Mercano.

00:19:33Yeah.

00:19:34He's an eight-year-old that we actually bred, so he's a homebred.

00:19:36So he's the youngster.

00:19:37He is, yeah.

00:19:38But very talented, we hope, anyway.

00:19:40Yeah, he's great.

00:19:41Great, glorious.

00:19:42So how are they both in terms of competitive expertise?

00:19:46I mean, they're both obviously extremely good horses, but are they really these two sort of top of the range,

00:19:51as it were?

00:19:51Well, Ebolansky has definitely proven herself.

00:19:54She's won five-star Grand Prixs, which is the, her and Matt have won five-star Grand Prixs, which is

00:19:58the highest.

00:19:58Touch them all on the back.

00:20:00Yeah, exactly, together, which is the highest in which you can achieve other than, I guess, a World Championship or

00:20:04Olympics.

00:20:05And then, so she's, and she proves herself at Nations Cups, representing Great Britain.

00:20:10So she's pretty incredible.

00:20:12And then Gary, he's an up-and-comer.

00:20:14We think he's quite special.

00:20:16He's an incredible jumper.

00:20:17He has an amazing character.

00:20:21And, yeah, we're hoping he's jumped up to the metre 40 level.

00:20:24Wow.

00:20:24And we're hoping to continue on with his development, as he's just eight years old.

00:20:29We bred him, so we owned his mum, and his dad was, belonged to a friend of ours.

00:20:35Oh, right, so he's Pettigrew's old man.

00:20:37So, you know, it's quite cool to see him sort of develop into a good horse when you've had him

00:20:42since a fall.

00:20:42Which is not always the case.

00:20:44I mean, it's lottery, isn't it?

00:20:46Yeah, exactly, yeah.

00:20:46It is, yeah, for sure.

00:20:47You hope for good ones like this when you breed them.

00:20:49So, if I ask you where you two met, it's obviously you met in a similar situation to where you're

00:20:53sitting now.

00:20:54You met a horse.

00:20:55Where did you meet?

00:20:56We met in Vejera de la Frontera, Spain, on the Sunshine Tour circuit.

00:21:02Where are you from?

00:21:03I'm from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

00:21:05So, a little ways from here.

00:21:07But I've been together with Matt for seven years now and spent quite a bit of that time up in

00:21:13Sheffield.

00:21:14And then now we've just moved our base to down close to Horsham.

00:21:17Down in Sussex, a bit handier for travel.

00:21:18Exactly, yeah.

00:21:20Foreign and certainly in Europe and over here as well.

00:21:23Yeah.

00:21:23So, you've got the joy of having a shared passion.

00:21:26But presumably, Cara, you're sometimes competing against one another.

00:21:29Yeah, it definitely happens quite often.

00:21:32But we are both very competitive.

00:21:34But I think we both feed off each other.

00:21:37And when somebody has a great day, other not so much, we try and focus on the positive.

00:21:42And it's even better when we both have good days.

00:21:45Yeah, yeah.

00:21:45That is really good.

00:21:46That is really good, yeah.

00:21:46And you've got twice the chance of winning then, haven't you?

00:21:49Yeah, exactly.

00:21:50If someone's winning, we're doing all right.

00:21:51Well, look, we wish you the very best at Windsor.

00:21:53We'll be rooting for you.

00:21:55Yeah, thank you very much.

00:21:55A special show on the home ground and in that scenario.

00:21:58So, we now have two people to root for.

00:22:01So, thank you very much indeed.

00:22:03Coming up, calling all thespians and theatregoers for a visit to one of the oldest theatres in

00:22:09the world.

00:22:09We're off to the Bristol Old Vic to see where legends make their names and how the famed

00:22:15Thunder Run recreates dramatic storms.

00:22:18Sounds ominous, but the sun's coming out now.

00:22:21And catfights, showdowns, kidnap plots, a surprise baby she even tried to seduce Phil Mitchell.

00:22:27I don't judge.

00:22:29Natalie Cassidy on finally exiting Albert Square after 30 years and the explosive 40th anniversary

00:22:36episode that saw her give birth in the Queen Vic.

00:22:40I feel a doof-doof coming on.

00:22:44There it is.

00:22:45How rewarding.

00:22:46I'll see you with Natalie and more right after this.

00:23:02Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

00:23:04Still ahead, king of the puns and the comedy genius Tim Vine's done it all from appearing

00:23:09in Neighbours to sitting in Dictionary Corner to making history about becoming the first

00:23:13man on Channel 5.

00:23:15Also coming up, do you know your swallows from your Swifts?

00:23:18Andrew Anderson's.

00:23:20Bird expert Tristan Phipps returns to Man of Fun with her other Savvy Birdsong app and

00:23:25a camera bird box to help our feathered friends with nesting and let us have a look at them

00:23:30while they're doing it.

00:23:31We already have a blue-tip family setting up home there.

00:23:34But before then, since arriving on our screens back in 1993, it's safe to say that Sonia Fowler

00:23:41has cemented her place in our hearts, gripping audiences with a number of high-profile storylines

00:23:47from affairs to feuds and, most recently, giving birth in the Queen Vic.

00:23:52Never one to blow her own trumpet.

00:23:55Audiences were thrilled when she did just that, as she bid farewell to Albert Square in true Sonia style.

00:24:01Come on then.

00:24:02You know what?

00:24:03If we're going to leave, let's leave in Starwick.

00:24:05It'll be a laugh.

00:24:06Come on in the boat.

00:24:07Go, Son, get up there, Gil.

00:24:08Get up there.

00:24:09Go!

00:24:10Go!

00:24:11Get that leg open.

00:24:12Woo!

00:24:14Woo!

00:24:15Woo!

00:24:16So, what's the plan, then?

00:24:17You going to Bali, or...?

00:24:18Well, yeah, that's where we're going to start off.

00:24:20Bexy's going to find us some visas and everything, and we're just going to wing it.

00:24:24Well, listen, choose somewhere out, yeah?

00:24:25Because I'm going to come and visit you.

00:24:26Oh.

00:24:28Well, thank you.

00:24:29Love you.

00:24:29Thanks for everything, yeah?

00:24:30Got an idea, look, for old times' sake, as we drive off, come on, it'll be a laugh.

00:24:34Oh, Bianca.

00:24:34We'll probably leave in when we get to Stansted.

00:24:37Shall I?

00:24:38Yeah!

00:24:40Go, go, go!

00:24:42Go, go, go, go!

00:24:59It was hugely emotional, that.

00:25:01You were leaving the programme, you were leaving others, but you were leaving everybody behind

00:25:05in reality as well, all your mates for all those years, really.

00:25:08I was, and I was, and it did feel quite final, really.

00:25:11I'm not saying it is final, but it did, everyone around that boat and sort of going away, and

00:25:16obviously the old trumpet come out again, which...

00:25:18All I could think of was Jim Bowen saying, look what you could have won, and it was always

00:25:22a speed boat, and I thought, perhaps you had.

00:25:26But you'd been there from 1993 to 2025.

00:25:30I know.

00:25:31That's a long run, isn't it?

00:25:32It is, it is.

00:25:33A few breaks in between.

00:25:35Yeah.

00:25:36It feels like home, even when I watch it now, I miss everybody, and, you know.

00:25:39Well, you grew up there.

00:25:40I did.

00:25:41Yeah.

00:25:41How old were you when you joined the cast?

00:25:43Ten.

00:25:44Ten when I joined.

00:25:45I was there for 12 years, and then had eight years off, went off and did some other things,

00:25:51and then went back when I was 30, got the call to say, would you like to come back?

00:25:54Went back when I was 30, and I've done another 12 years, and then I left last year.

00:25:59So I don't know what it is about the pattern of 12 and 8.

00:26:01Maybe I'll be back when I'm 50.

00:26:03I don't know.

00:26:04Well, you've still got a great acting life ahead of you at that stage there, really.

00:26:07Absolutely.

00:26:08Going in age 10, nervous or nerveless at that age?

00:26:13Nerveless.

00:26:14Really?

00:26:14I had no idea what I was going into.

00:26:17Didn't watch soaps.

00:26:18My mum and dad watched Corrie.

00:26:20Didn't like EastEnders.

00:26:21That went down well, didn't you?

00:26:23And I got the part, and I went in and was just surrounded by all these lovely people.

00:26:28It was just completely out of the blue.

00:26:29There was no-one in the entertainment industry in my family.

00:26:32It wasn't pushed upon me to do it.

00:26:34I went to Anna's Share.

00:26:36Oh, the famous Anna's Share.

00:26:38A pound in the pot, wasn't it?

00:26:39A pound in the pot.

00:26:40There you go.

00:26:41For the working classes.

00:26:42And I got picked up from there, and that's it, really.

00:26:45The rest is history.

00:26:46But at the age of 10, and in the subsequent years to that, you worked with some real stars

00:26:51in EastEnders, working with Wendy Richard, working with June Brown, with Barbara Windsor.

00:26:56The old pros, you know, the accomplished actors.

00:27:01Let's have a look at you with Wendy and June.

00:27:05What do you think, then?

00:27:07Very nice.

00:27:08Can we stop admiring the cake now, Dorothy?

00:27:10And I've sold loads of me fairy cakes.

00:27:12I've made ever so much money.

00:27:14Mum, look, this is lovely.

00:27:15Hey, listen, where we better be going?

00:27:17Ah, wait a minute till I stick this one on the top, and then I'll come and give you a

00:27:20kiss.

00:27:21Goodbye.

00:27:21Stick it when the sun don't shine in a minute.

00:27:24I'm sorry, Pauline.

00:27:25I didn't quite catch that.

00:27:28Give my love to Shell and the boys.

00:27:30Yeah, we will.

00:27:30See you, Pauline.

00:27:31Oh, listen, my letter of resignation to the college is on the main page.

00:27:34You couldn't post it with me, could you?

00:27:36I'd be glad, too.

00:27:36Lovely.

00:27:41I saw that dot running.

00:27:42Don't think I didn't.

00:27:44Master of their craft.

00:27:45Oh, that is, honestly, he says, watch that.

00:27:48And, you know, they're all not with us anymore.

00:27:50No, rather than with them.

00:27:51And the dynamic between the two of them.

00:27:55And Wendy was an exacting performer, wasn't she?

00:27:58You know, she either took to you or she didn't.

00:27:59She took to me.

00:28:00She took to you.

00:28:01Oh, dear, dear friends.

00:28:02Yeah.

00:28:03Many, many nights I'd go to Wendy's house and have a glass of champagne.

00:28:07We'd learn our lines in our pyjamas.

00:28:08June I went on holiday with a lot.

00:28:10And I was so, so lucky, so lucky to have them in my life.

00:28:14Yeah.

00:28:15Because you lost your mum when you were quite young.

00:28:17I did.

00:28:17I lost my mum at 19.

00:28:19Yeah.

00:28:19Yeah, she was 63.

00:28:20She was young.

00:28:21Gosh.

00:28:21But they had me older, my mum and dad.

00:28:23Yeah.

00:28:23They were 44 and 46.

00:28:25So my two brothers, Tony and David, they were 15 and 18 when I came along.

00:28:31And family is so important to me.

00:28:33And I suppose I did lose mum, but what I gained was sister-in-laws and nieces, which are like

00:28:38my sisters, because I was an auntie at three.

00:28:41So it all works out, you know, in the end.

00:28:43It's like, it's sort of a mirror.

00:28:45How like Sonia are you as a character?

00:28:48I think I'm a very caring person.

00:28:50Yeah.

00:28:50Like Sonia.

00:28:51I would like to think I've got better dress sense.

00:28:54Because she wasn't very glamorous, was she, Alan?

00:28:56No.

00:28:56No, that's all the country colours that you're wearing today.

00:28:59You've got that one.

00:29:00That's OK.

00:29:01But, yeah, I think playing a character for that long, you know, you do sort of merge.

00:29:05And, of course, there's parts of Sonia within me.

00:29:07But I'd like to think I was a little bit, you know, better than her.

00:29:11You had a two-hander with Doc Horton an entire episode.

00:29:14With June Brown.

00:29:17It's interesting, isn't it, the character and the actor are interchangeably.

00:29:20You think of them both as having two names.

00:29:23That must have been a great learning curve for you, to work with somebody like that

00:29:26in a two-hander, accomplished actress, raising your game.

00:29:31It was a gift.

00:29:32For me, I think a two-hander episode in EastEnders is the biggest gift of all.

00:29:37And to sit with that lady and learn from her is something I will never, ever forget.

00:29:43Was it all by observation or did they actually say to you,

00:29:46if you do this, that works, that doesn't?

00:29:49June was very, very forthright.

00:29:54I remember her saying, speak up, dear, come on, can't hear you, but in a lovely way.

00:29:59Yeah.

00:30:00You know, you couldn't do that now.

00:30:01Yeah.

00:30:01But she was, yeah, she told the truth and she said, you need to listen.

00:30:05And reacting is half of acting and all those lovely things.

00:30:10And I have taken them on board.

00:30:11And, you know, Wendy was always saying, be kind to the crew, know everybody's name.

00:30:16And that stuck with me.

00:30:17Well, I'm marrying a cameraman, so that really stuck with me.

00:30:21You can carry it too far.

00:30:22Yeah, you can, can't you?

00:30:23There you go.

00:30:25But, yeah, lots and lots of brilliant advice from everybody.

00:30:28There's lots of things you've done since.

00:30:30You've now got a podcast.

00:30:31You do your own podcast.

00:30:32And you're going out and doing it live as well, sort of in theatres, which is exciting.

00:30:37Yeah, it's brilliant.

00:30:38It started off a couple of years ago now.

00:30:40What do you call it?

00:30:41Life with Nat.

00:30:42Life with Nat.

00:30:42And it's me and my family members.

00:30:44I have my brother, my fiancé, Mark, my nieces, my sister-in-law.

00:30:49It's about what we're up to.

00:30:50And it's a little insight into my life.

00:30:52The kids come on, my daughters sometimes.

00:30:54And it's brilliant.

00:30:55So, yeah, and we're in, where are we?

00:30:58Hertford on May the 24th, which is nearly sold out, actually.

00:31:03And May the 10th, we're doing a very special show, myself and my sister-in-law, on grief.

00:31:08Because we do a grief pod.

00:31:09And we've had an outpouring of listeners that absolutely take great comfort from us talking about loss.

00:31:16But we still laugh.

00:31:17You know, it's not down and depressing.

00:31:19But sometimes I feel, in this country, we're not very good at talking about loss.

00:31:22And it's the one thing that's going to happen to us all.

00:31:24So, yeah, we're doing a little live show to chat about grief as well, which I'm really happy about and

00:31:29looking forward to.

00:31:30We have a great tradition of bottling, don't we?

00:31:33Oh, bottling it up.

00:31:33Step up a lip.

00:31:34Well, I don't stop talking.

00:31:35Well, it's a relief when you're doing a show like I do, you're really rather glad that people do.

00:31:41You're also versatile.

00:31:42You like doing different things.

00:31:43You like doing challenges.

00:31:44We talked at the very top of the show about, and that stands for comic relief.

00:31:47You also did The Masked Singer.

00:31:50I did, yes.

00:31:52You fool.

00:31:53Let's have a look at you.

00:32:06Oh, my love, that's so sweet.

00:32:09There's a castle and I'll keep our house.

00:32:13Take it up.

00:32:32It's not only Saturday.

00:32:36It's not only Saturday.

00:32:38Oh, my God, look at you.

00:32:43Yeah, East End accent puts a good use there.

00:32:47Madness song, and Richard E. Grant there with you.

00:32:49Did not know he was going to be on it, so I was as surprised as he was.

00:32:53To relief in you, you were.

00:32:55I always imagine if I did that, and I haven't done it.

00:32:58The technically...

00:33:00You should do it, but I've nicked your costume, haven't I?

00:33:02You'd make me bush.

00:33:04There we are.

00:33:04Yeah, quite.

00:33:05The only horticultural outfit they've ever had on there.

00:33:07Do you sing?

00:33:08We saw you dancing really at the top of the show.

00:33:10Do you sing much?

00:33:11Not really.

00:33:11I can hold a small tune, but not particularly.

00:33:16But I love to dance, I love to sing.

00:33:18I try my hands at anything.

00:33:20Stage work.

00:33:21I mean, you've done panto.

00:33:22You're doing panto, I think.

00:33:22Can you, aren't?

00:33:23I am, yeah, I'm in Dunstable this year at the Grove.

00:33:26Playing?

00:33:26Wicked Queen.

00:33:27Oh, good one.

00:33:28They always say the wicked ones are nice.

00:33:29Won't need any prosthetics, will they, for the nose?

00:33:31Stop it.

00:33:33Not at all, darling.

00:33:35Elegant, statuesque.

00:33:37What about straight theatre?

00:33:38Have you done much of that?

00:33:40I've done a few, yeah.

00:33:41I did the Vagina Monologues, which was a fantastic tour.

00:33:45That was back, oh, 20 years ago now.

00:33:47Gosh.

00:33:48I did a fantastic comedy.

00:33:49I did Bedroom Fast by Akebourne, Alan Akebourne.

00:33:51And I loved that very much.

00:33:54That farce is, you know, it's a craft and a skill within that.

00:33:57Timing.

00:33:57Yeah, timing is everything.

00:33:59And then I went to Chichester Festival Theatre and I played Danyesha in The Cherry Orchard by Chekhov,

00:34:05which was very posh for me.

00:34:06To answer my question, yes, I have.

00:34:08You shouldn't have known that I'd been in Chekhov.

00:34:11But I, yeah, I had a wonderful time.

00:34:12I actually felt like a competition winner when I did that, because I was with, I was with Frank Finlay,

00:34:18Maureen Lipman, Gemma Redgrave, Dame Diana Rigg.

00:34:22It was incredible.

00:34:24When you're standing on a stage with them, when you've got over the terror of the people that you're working

00:34:31with,

00:34:31so the people you've admired all your life, really big names like that, when you get over that, my goodness

00:34:39me, it must be fun.

00:34:40Fun and enjoyable and something I'll never, ever forget.

00:34:43Yeah.

00:34:44A real honour.

00:34:45And meaty.

00:34:46Very meaty.

00:34:47Well, Danyesha wasn't overly meaty, but she had a lovely story.

00:34:53And I remember being absolutely petrified.

00:34:55And, you know, when I opened that script, the first thing I had to do was open the play by

00:35:00lighting a candle.

00:35:01Huh?

00:35:02I was like that.

00:35:03Every night, I couldn't believe it.

00:35:05It never, ever calmed down.

00:35:06I thought, I'm never going to be able to do this.

00:35:08Tell us about working with Diana Rigg.

00:35:10She was wonderful.

00:35:11Absolutely wonderful.

00:35:12We got on really, really well.

00:35:14I've got a lot of respect for people that are older than me.

00:35:18And I find it fascinating to sit and learn about them.

00:35:21Yeah.

00:35:21So, yeah, I've got great memories of her.

00:35:22I did have one encounter with Diana Rigg.

00:35:24Go on.

00:35:25It was a moment I'll never forget.

00:35:27It was a carol service.

00:35:28It was in the Guards Chapel in London.

00:35:30And we were sitting, and I must have been here, and she was there.

00:35:34And we were singing, I vow to thee my country.

00:35:37You know, amazingly powerful hymn.

00:35:39And our eyes met on two lines.

00:35:44And there's another contrite of long ago, so dear to them that know those.

00:35:48And we just locked and sang at one another and then looked away again.

00:35:54And it makes, there's on the back, I'm going to stand on end now just remembering the moment.

00:35:58I mean, a lovely moment.

00:36:00Yeah.

00:36:00Not a terrifying moment, but that connecting moment.

00:36:03And as actors, you get that if you're lucky.

00:36:05You do, and if you click with someone, I mean, Frank Finlay, his life, you know, he worked with Olivier

00:36:11at the National Theatre.

00:36:13He was Iago to Othello, wasn't he?

00:36:15Absolutely.

00:36:16He was Iago, and he'd say, my Maureen, and he'd talk about his wife.

00:36:19And all the youngsters would say, oh, we're going here, we're going there.

00:36:22I'd say, no, I'm going to the pub with Frank.

00:36:24See you later.

00:36:24Yes.

00:36:24I just want to take in all those stories.

00:36:27Now, you're doing a programme too about caring, about carers.

00:36:30I am, yes.

00:36:32Title TBC.

00:36:34Yeah.

00:36:34But it's for BBC Daytime.

00:36:36Mm-hm.

00:36:37Hoping to be out at the end of May, but again, date's not quite there yet.

00:36:41But I went back to college, and I did a BTEC Level 3 in health and social care.

00:36:47For real.

00:36:47For you, yes.

00:36:48So I did my assignments, done my exam, and I went out on placement.

00:36:52So it's all about carers.

00:36:55It was amazing.

00:36:57I can't wait for it to come out, because it really, I think there's, no-one will watch

00:37:01it and not relate to something in it, and that's what I like.

00:37:04It's all just very real.

00:37:05It's all about real life.

00:37:07A bit like you, really.

00:37:08A little bit like you.

00:37:09Very real.

00:37:10Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:11Great company.

00:37:12Bless you.

00:37:12Stay with us for a Cornish pasty and a pint at the end, will you?

00:37:15Now, a couple of minutes for a constitutional through the countryside, courtesy of you at

00:37:21home.

00:37:21It's time for a walk on the wild side.

00:37:25Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:26Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:27Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:33Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:35Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:36Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:37Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:39Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:40Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:41Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:42Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:43Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:44Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:45Thank you, Mattel.

00:37:48Thank you, Mattel.

00:42:06Thank you, Hannah.

00:50:51nearby and the plague. But this wall is amazing because this wall tells the most wonderful

00:50:56story because when this theatre first opened it was hidden away behind three small Georgian

00:51:01houses because it was illegal to perform if you never had an official licence because

00:51:06it would open all sorts of doorways and avenues to political debates about free speech and

00:51:11of course it was dangerous and exciting at the same time.

00:51:14You wouldn't know what a pirate is. They're pillagers.

00:51:18So in the 1800s this building was actually crammed full of people and it was quite riotous

00:51:23in here. So the audiences would have oranges and apples, they didn't like the actors on

00:51:27stage, they would throw these objects at them. And of course when we refurbished this building

00:51:31we found things under the floorboards like pig trotters bones. It's just full of mostly

00:51:36amazing characters, quite righteous Bristolians who used to come in here but loved live entertainment

00:51:41and started the history off of this wonderful building.

00:51:44So the theatre has had many, many famous managers but the most famous one I would say

00:51:49would be Sarah McCready who we believe to be the ghost who now haunts this theatre. Now

00:51:53Sarah was the most incredible lady, she was quite an imposing lady. Sarah as a ghost still

00:51:59haunts this building and I've had my own experience here. I was in this building on my own locking

00:52:05up and going round and making sure every doorway shut. And I was literally on the side of the

00:52:10dress circle and as I was walking along this corridor went very, very cold and the hairs

00:52:15on the back of my neck, literally doing this now actually. I don't know whether she's around.

00:52:19As I turned suddenly this smell, lavender. She loved lavender perfume and from time to time

00:52:26you can come across lavender perfume as you're locking up this building.

00:52:32Lots of many actors have actually started here on this wonderful stage. To name a few, people

00:52:36like Peter O'Toole, Daniel Day-Lewis, three time Oscar winner, Patrick Stewart. Peter O'Toole

00:52:43as an actor loved this theatre. He thought this was the most beautiful theatre ever to perform

00:52:48on. And because of its very unique horseshoe-style shape auditorium, makes it the most intimate

00:52:54space to perform on.

00:53:02Ten years ago, Timothy West was on this stage and he gave one of his highlighted performances

00:53:07playing King Lear on this stage. Blow winds and crack your cheeks. But what was so magical

00:53:13about that performance was we went back to the 1800s when the ceiling was raised and the

00:53:18thunder run was used for the first time.

00:53:22Here we are in the rafters of Bristol Old Vic. We're right above the auditorium and we're

00:53:27standing next to the thunder run that was put into the theatre in 1766. So no one in

00:53:33living memory knew how this worked and we've had to work out the different sizes of balls

00:53:39and how to release them down the thunder run. We start with smaller balls, then bigger balls

00:53:45and then smaller balls again, so it makes the shape of thunder when you hear it from down

00:53:49below.

00:53:50But we accidentally used it in 2019 when Sir Ian McKellen came and he threw a ball down

00:53:57it and it went all the way down the chute. You need someone at the bottom to catch the

00:54:00balls otherwise they go straight through the auditorium ceiling. Luckily we managed to stop

00:54:05the ball and it didn't go through.

00:54:08From up here it sounds like loads of skittle balls going down the skittle alley at the same

00:54:12time. But when we hear it from underneath it reverberates through the ceiling so it sounds

00:54:17much more like thunder. Imagine what that would sound like 260 years ago and people wouldn't

00:54:25have heard anything like it at all. And it would have had a massive impact on the audience. You

00:54:31can feel it rolling through the room. It sounds really realistic. It's extraordinary that this

00:54:37building is still standing after 250 years when so many other theatres have burned to the ground.

00:54:44We want to keep telling stories to people of Bristol and beyond for the next 260 years.

00:54:58Ah, thank you all. What a list of alumni. Goodness me. Coming up, Britain's love of a duo shows no

00:55:05signs of abating. Mount and Deck, Welcome and Wise, French and Saunders, but what about the iconic pint

00:55:12and pasty? B. Sommelier Maureen Cole proves pints and pasties are a winning combination in this week's

00:55:19best of British. And he doesn't just feed the birds, he seems to speak their language.

00:55:24Bird whisperer Tristan Phipps shares his top tips for caring for our feathered friends.

00:55:30I'll see you with Tristan and his bird box right after this.

00:55:48Welcome back to Love Your Weekend. Still ahead, we're talking about the power of the vine. Not the

00:55:54versatile horticultural plants that use twining stems, tendrils or aerial roots to plant, but the

00:55:59pond meister general himself, Tim Vine. But now we humans have always had a special relationship

00:56:05with birds. Their song is proven to soothe as signalling a safe environment and studies show

00:56:12they boost wellbeing and bring down stress levels. So this time of year, when bird song spreads across

00:56:18the countryside and feathered residents begin their courtship rituals, it's only fair we provide a bit

00:56:25of support too. And encouraging us to do just that is a warm welcome back to everyone's favourite bird

00:56:31expert, Tristan Phipps. Welcome back, Tristan. Thank you, Alan. A nippy morning, but the song is around us and

00:56:37it's just glorious. You feel that they're heralding spring, aren't they? They say,

00:56:40it is coming. It's come because I'm singing. Yeah, so spring is all about bird song and nesting.

00:56:45I'm still trying hard to identify them, you know. You did really well last time, I have to say. Well,

00:56:49yeah, I have a feeling today. We've got another game today, so you might remember last time I brought

00:56:53an app with me. I don't swat and I don't know what he's going to play. You're an expert at

00:56:56Twitcher,

00:56:57I know that, Alan. Oh, no, I'm not. I like birds and I do watch, but I wouldn't go as

00:57:01far as

00:57:01saying Twitcher or Birder, but there we are. We'll put it to the test this morning. I feel like you're

00:57:04going to

00:57:04do very well. So we've got a few bird songs and we're going to use an app to identify. It's

00:57:08all about,

00:57:08you know, making bird watching, twitching a little bit more accessible. I do have it on my phone,

00:57:13so I do know I can identify it when it sees. And I go out and stand in my garden

00:57:16quite regularly,

00:57:17just turn it on and listen to it. Firecrest the other day. Yeah, amazing. Yeah, that was exciting.

00:57:22Beautiful, bright, super cinnamon on the head there. Stunning bird. Yeah, and the goldcrest.

00:57:24Anyway, enough of that. I'm getting that bit of knowledge in because that'll be it. That was good,

00:57:28that was good. Okay, let's give it a go. Yeah. Very small bird, size of a one pound coin. Blue

00:57:34tit. A little bit smaller.

00:57:36Great tit. I'm cold tit. Wren. Wren. Wren. It's the Wren. The Wren was a lovely song,

00:57:41wasn't it? Beautiful. Because I watched them in the garden and thought,

00:57:43you have a better song than most people give you credit for. For a very small bird, very,

00:57:47very loud. So that's a lovely spring bird. So there's another one in there now. Also a spring

00:57:52migrant coming up from Africa. Blackcap. Sits in the reeds in the... Reed warbler.

00:58:00Almost. Willow warbler. Willow warbler. Willow warbler. That was my fault. I told you I'd be

00:58:04rubbish. I led you askew there. But that's a great thing. We've got an app that doesn't work for us.

00:58:07Yeah. Let's see if we can get... Okay. That's another one coming in. This is a really exciting bird.

00:58:13One of the first migrants in the spring. The call is quite distinctive. It says its name. If it says

00:58:18its

00:58:18name, it must be a Chiffchaff. Exactly. Chiffchaff. Very good. So obviously, we want to talk about how to

00:58:23encourage birds into our home in spring. Another really exciting mammal that we should be

00:58:27paying attention to is the bat. Yeah. Loads of bats in the UK, in urban areas and in the countryside

00:58:32as well. Bat detection device is a great way to try and connect with bats at home. So the best

00:58:38time to see them, obviously, is dusk. So what this is, is a magenta bat detection device. It uses a

00:58:44really high frequency, basically, to detect bats in the air. And you'd be amazed how many you'll pick up.

00:58:48So turn it on, point to the sky, and as bats fly past and they're communicating with that very

00:58:52high frequency noise, the bat detection device will pick it up. And of course, it's feeding time.

00:58:57It is. And last time we were together... So the birds, not the bats.

00:59:00Last time we were together, we mentioned how important it is to feed birds as we come into

00:59:03winter. Spring is a really, really, really important time to supplement feed birds as well,

00:59:07because obviously, spring is all about nesting. And birds need to eat high volumes of insects to

00:59:12feed their chicks. So this is a really important part of supplement bird feeding. So lots of different

00:59:17things going on here. We've got one of these lovely bird feeder stands. We've got suet balls,

00:59:21really important high protein. We've got peanuts. Now, I've heard from time to time that you shouldn't

00:59:27feed large whole peanuts at this time of year, because they can get stuck in the throats of

00:59:31nestlings. Is that the case? Yeah, potentially nestlings. So this is more for things like woodpeckers

00:59:36and tits. They'll break off little bits. But that's why it's important to have a variety of

00:59:40different things. So you can buy these, obviously beautiful bird feeders. You've got the sunflower seeds

00:59:45now with the husks taken off, so much cleaner. Exactly. So if you can take the husks off the

00:59:49peanuts as well, even better. Sunflower seeds, suet ball, seed mix. But you can also make your

00:59:55own at home. So this is a homemade DIY bird feeder made from an egg carton. Perfectly adequate for

01:00:03doing the job. We've got peanuts in here. We've got seed mix. This is going to encourage all sorts of

01:00:06different varieties of birds. So make sure you've got a nice variety so you can have lots of different

01:00:10things. Presumably it wouldn't last very long if it got very, very wet. I'm about to say,

01:00:13yeah, on a windy day, probably not the best, but in a nice sheltered part of the garden, perfect.

01:00:18And then another really important part of the bird's diet in spring, obviously because they're

01:00:22raising chicks, is insects. And there's great ways to encourage insects into your home and

01:00:27biodiversity into your garden. So this is a pre-made bug hotel. Five star, this one. Five star. This is

01:00:32like the Ritz of bugs. But also, and this is probably an area you can give me some advice on,

01:00:36leaving parts of your garden a bit wilder. Three quarters of the life in your garden is insect life,

01:00:41and you don't see it. But it's vital for the health of the soil, the health of the bird and

01:00:45other populations. All wildlife populations are helped by the insects that go in rotting logs.

01:00:51I mean, look at this. This rotting log you've got on the back, it's really quite soft.

01:00:55That has a whole ecosystem in itself. It is indeed. And things like stag beetles feed all those,

01:00:58don't they? So very exciting stuff. So if we can encourage people to leave a part of their garden a

01:01:02bit wilder, you know, that's going to really increase the insect numbers and therefore the nesting bird

01:01:07numbers. And then we're going to go on to nesting materials. So you can supplement nesting materials

01:01:12as well. You can buy these sorts of kits online. This has got bits of hair and things like that.

01:01:17Sheep's wool in it. So when you're finished shearing your sheep, you can just hang it up like that.

01:01:21It is lovely to see them pulling it out though. Yeah, it's really really special. You know,

01:01:25it's amazing how smart they are and how amazing they are actually building these homes as well.

01:01:28So you can buy these online. Again, this is kind of coming back to leaving parts you go on a

01:01:31bit wilder.

01:01:32If you've mown the grass, you've got bits of hay, you've got bits of straw, leave it out. The birds

01:01:37are going to find it and they're going to make a home with it. Lots of bird boxes then. Lots

01:01:40of bird boxes.

01:01:41Different types of bird boxes for different birds. So this sort of nest box is perfect for things like

01:01:45blue tits. Smaller entrance holes. Blue tits are going to be one of the first ones to get in there.

01:01:50Prime real estate for blue tits. And obviously different birds like different homes. So more open face,

01:01:55things like robins. And flycatchers like open fronts, don't they? Exactly. And then also hedgerows,

01:02:00lots of birds nest in hedgerows. So try and encourage parts of the garden to be a bit wilder.

01:02:05If you plant a hedge instead of having a fence, an interwoven fence, there's so much more excitement

01:02:09and enjoyment for you. And also sustenance for the birds, whether it's food or shelter.

01:02:13100%. And this whole table just shows how easily you can supplement the environment for a bird

01:02:18and really encourage birds into your home. Now, this is a great bit of kit. This is the Nature

01:02:23Spy Bird Nest. And I don't know if you remember last time I showed you some of the footage from

01:02:27the Nature Spy bird feeder that I had at home. Yes. So this is a bird box with a camera

01:02:32installed,

01:02:33which gives you alerts on your mobile phone so you can see when birds are actually going in and out.

01:02:37And one of the Love Your Weekend team has actually installed one of these in their home. And here's

01:02:41some lovely footage of a blue tits, a pair of blue tits nesting. Lovely. So they're coming in empty box

01:02:46to start with, bringing some of that moss that I raked out my little bit of straw going in there.

01:02:52Taking the straw straight off this bale in front of us. There's only one problem with this is you

01:02:55get completely mesmerised by it. But isn't it? It's just such a great way of connecting with

01:02:58animals in your garden. Yeah, they can. I remember watching, well, I did one in my own garden a few

01:03:02years ago. They started like this and I went back to the floor and it's all gone. They didn't like

01:03:08what they'd done. So they took it all out and started again. They're very fussy. They are fussy.

01:03:12Look at this. You can see the nest building up now though, can't you? This is only over a few

01:03:15days as well. I mean, really intuitive. And also incredibly hard working. Yeah, exactly.

01:03:20Hard working. It is important to remember as well that once you have put a bird nest in and a

01:03:25bird is

01:03:25nesting in it, it is illegal to move it and remove it. So once it's there, you know, that's bare

01:03:29real estate.

01:03:30Leave it alone. Good luck blue tits. Leave it alone, exactly. So if we feed them, provide them with sustenance,

01:03:35all kinds of nesting materials in their nesting box. We'll have a much brighter and a lovely,

01:03:41gloriously song-filled spring. Exactly. Exactly, Alan. Pearson, thank you very much indeed.

01:03:45Thank you. Now, diaries are secret spaces into which you can dive and offload your most private

01:03:52thoughts and feelings. Perhaps that's why the meek and reserved Leslie Joseph has decided to broadcast

01:03:58her own musings to the whole nation. It's time for Leslie's Spring Diaries.

01:04:07Hampshire, Sunday the 12th of April, 2026. Dear Diary, this morning I found myself by the water's edge

01:04:16and very nearly in love. Not with a gentleman, though hope springs eternal, but with a family,

01:04:23a most enchanting, slightly unruly, deeply endearing family. There were twelve ducklings. They were tucked

01:04:31among the reeds at first. Little whispers of yellow and brown, darting in and out of view,

01:04:36as though playing a game, no only to themselves. Now, these are the young of the mallard, and they

01:04:43are what we call precocial, which means they waste absolutely no time in getting on with life. Within

01:04:49hours of hatching, they are up and exploring, and no doubt causing mischief. I watched as Mother led them

01:04:56out from the reeds and onto the open water, gliding with that effortless composure one cannot help but

01:05:03admire. And behind her came the twelve, forming what could generously be described as a line. And there,

01:05:12waiting on the far side, was their father. Back at the water's edge, three of the ducklings had remained

01:05:19behind, dabbling in the shallows with great seriousness. One wandered off in search of

01:05:24adventure. There's always one who doesn't follow the rules. I respect her enormously. For a few fleeting

01:05:32weeks they remain like this, all softness and determination. Then they grow, and fluff gives way to

01:05:40feathers. And the moment passes. Hark, my butler calls me. A visitor has arrived. Oh, I do hope its lord

01:05:50begins with new gossip from London. I must down-quill to search for my pearls. Ruby, make haste. I must

01:05:57dress at once. Forever yours in chaos, charm, and questionable composure. L. Joseph.

01:06:07Oh, thank you, Leslie. Did you know ducklings can swim and dive as soon as they hatch? Amazing,

01:06:13isn't it? Puts humans to shame, doesn't it? They also have regional accents. A study found that the

01:06:19ducks in London had a louder, rougher quack because they had to shout above the noise of city life and

01:06:25traffic. The ducks in the country made longer and more relaxed sounds. Laid-back country ducks.

01:06:31Coming up, we're calling time on the show at the Manor Farm Bar. Beer sommelier Marvarine Coal has the

01:06:38best of British pints and pasties, including a traditional Cornish pasty and a pale ale. And

01:06:46he's famous for his rapid-fire one-liners, winning numerous awards for his comedy. And he also broke

01:06:52the Guinness World Record in 2004 for the most jokes told in an hour. Tim Vine on the absurdities of

01:06:59daily life. And the obsession that's left him all shook up. I'll see you with Tim and the pasties.

01:07:19Welcome back to Love Your Weekend. Still aired pints and pasties. Need I say more? Marvarine Coal welcomes

01:07:26us to the Manor Farm arms with their selection of perfect pint and pasty pairings. Try saying that

01:07:31after a tipple or two. But first, sharp observational wit, energetic banter, along with a rapid-fire

01:07:38wordplay and slapstick comedy. And as comedy duos go, they don't get better than these two.

01:07:44If I was in the band, I'd make them start playing the songs you really love.

01:07:58I don't like this stuff anymore, actually. Perfect situations can go wrong. I'm in a rock band now,

01:08:05and my Elaine Page days are over. But it has never yet prevented me...

01:08:11Thinking you can win me over like a schoolgirl.

01:08:13Wasn't far too much for far too long... Pathetic.

01:08:17...wasn't it good? Oh, so good. Oh, so fine. Isn't it madness? He can't be mine.

01:08:31But in the end, he needs a little bit more than me. Oh, he needs his fantasy and freedom. I

01:08:43know

01:08:44his soul... The age of spades! The age of spades! The age of spades! The age of spades!

01:08:57A great line in silliness, quick-fire silliness, musical talent and mischief.

01:09:05Great fun to do. I mean, Lee's unlikely to be in a musical any time soon, isn't he?

01:09:10Well, I don't know. I mean, he's very good at that.

01:09:14Is it harder learning a part for you than... Because you're the man of the one-liners,

01:09:18and it's like machine gun fire, you know, and move on and move on and move on. Deadly, yes.

01:09:23There's a greater responsibility when you're doing something like that, isn't there?

01:09:26Yeah, it's a different thing, acting. I think that with a programme like that, you know,

01:09:30you're given marks on the floor, and you've got to lean on the right leg and look at the right

01:09:35area and, you know, know what you're doing. Whereas with stand-up, I can choose to go this

01:09:40way or that way, and if I forget what I'm doing as well, I can sort of dip into a

01:09:44bit of back catalogue,

01:09:45you know. Nobody will know what you do. No one know. Well, they do when I start going, you know,

01:09:49Velcro, what a rip-off. In fact, there's a particular joke I do where I say, I went to Alcoholics

01:09:53Anonymous,

01:09:54I said, I can't stop gambling. He said, you want Gamblers Anonymous? I said, you're probably right,

01:09:57I'm so drunk that I'm aware I am. And whenever I do that, my tour manager at the back of

01:10:02the room,

01:10:02it also triggers sounds for me. He always knows, oh, he's lost his place. Because that's one of the

01:10:09ones that I pop in for thinking time. Oh, I always know, I've just been on a once-in-a

01:10:13-lifetime

01:10:14holiday, never again. Yeah, exactly. Do you sit down and try and work out one line? Do you just hope

01:10:22they pop in and then you write them down? Well, it's a bit of both, but ultimately, if I'm getting

01:10:28ready for a tour or something, I have to sit down and get on with it. You know, I have

01:10:31to go to a coffee shop,

01:10:32I went to a coffee shop the other day actually, and I said, can I have a cappuccino? He said,

01:10:36is that to sit in? I said, I'm going to drink it. We'll put the laughs on later, viewers.

01:10:44But yeah, no, I'll tell you, at some point you've got to do the work, you know. It must be

01:10:49the same

01:10:50when you're writing a book, isn't it? You can't just wait for stuff to dawn on you,

01:10:52you've got to get up every day and get on with it. Exactly, sit down, write. Yeah, but you hope

01:10:56the previous day when you stopped, you thought, I know what the first line is tomorrow. Right.

01:11:00That's, for me, that's the key, as long as I know where I'm going. Let's see you in action,

01:11:05in the days of Pebble Mill. Here we are. Oh, gosh.

01:11:08You know, when you're in love, you get that tingly feeling all over your body.

01:11:12Well, that's led to me having two disastrous relationships with an electric fence and a

01:11:16cattle prod. And I went out with my last girlfriend for six months and during that time,

01:11:22I saw her once every six months. And the first time we went out, we were like this.

01:11:31Let me start going steady.

01:11:35I remember once we had a candlelit dinner, so everything was undercooked.

01:11:43Is this one of these reunion shows? You're not going to bring on my hair, are you?

01:11:46Yeah. Because that was the first bit of television I did.

01:11:51You did. Very exciting. But the live audience must fuel you.

01:11:54Yeah, that's great. That's kind of, certainly for jokes, you need that, really.

01:11:58Yeah. Yeah.

01:11:59If there's no laugh at the end of something, it doesn't quite work.

01:12:02I really don't quite. But there's a hint of Tommy Cooper in that delivery, then.

01:12:06Yeah, well, Tommy Cooper would be one of my comedy heroes, certainly, yeah.

01:12:11I mean, so many of those growing up that, you know, my era of when I was a child,

01:12:17the 70s and 80s, I think we were very sport with comics because these people had been doing their acts

01:12:23for 25 years before they didn't even. On the halls.

01:12:25Yeah, exactly. But they're all, you know, people like Frankie Howard and people like that, you know,

01:12:29Les Dawson, Morecambe and Wise. I mean, it's, you know, brilliant. I love all those dead comics.

01:12:35I loved them when they were alive. And I love, I mean, most comics, and I'm not about to give

01:12:42you this list,

01:12:43but it'd be much easier for me to tell you the comics I'm not that keen on, because I essentially

01:12:49just love comics. I just like comedy. Is there a kind of humour you're not keen on, though?

01:12:53I mean, your humour's never cruel. No, but I'm not anti. It's always very silly, but funny.

01:12:57Yeah, I wouldn't choose to go and see someone who does one-liners, funnily enough. I wouldn't

01:13:01choose to go and see the same thing that I do. Yeah. I like, well, what kind of things do

01:13:07I like?

01:13:07Well, because you'd be frightened they would be better. Well, actually, more than there'd be overlap.

01:13:11I mean, Milton Jones, for example, a very good friend of mine, and we both probably, I mean,

01:13:16when I go and see him, I tense up thinking, is there going to be something here that I'm going

01:13:20to have to drop from my act? Or we're going to, you know, because normally what happens is you go,

01:13:24well, you offer it up and you go, listen, I do that. So no, no, I did, you know, I've

01:13:30only just

01:13:31come up with it. You've been doing this. So we're all very good. I'll drop it. Don't worry. And I'll,

01:13:35you know, so it's that thing of, uh, of, of with wordplay, you're kind of often playing on

01:13:41famous phrases and maybe you've got to the punchline in different routes, but you ended

01:13:46the same way kind of thing. So what a lot of people won't know is that you write songs.

01:13:51I was thinking that you'd, you write, you've written 800 songs. Well, I have written a lot,

01:13:56yeah. Have any of them been heard? No, most of them haven't. No, I'm, I, I, I think I'm a

01:14:01bit like

01:14:01a kind of low grade, uh, Prince in that I've got all this, uh, vault of stuff that no one's

01:14:07heard.

01:14:07Uh, the difference is no one's actually interested in hearing it, but, uh, but most of it is, uh, um,

01:14:13you know, it starts from when I'm about, you know, in my, in my teens and stuff, um, um, and

01:14:17there's songs,

01:14:18you know, she doesn't love me sort of songs, you know? Yeah. Um, most of them are like that.

01:14:23And, uh, loads like that, but I, but I, the one thing that has been nice is that when I

01:14:28do my tour

01:14:28shows for my comedies, my touring shows, I'm on stage for like an hour and 15 minutes or something,

01:14:33and I can't just stand there and do one-liners. I do one-liners, props, and then I do, I'm

01:14:37doing

01:14:38silly songs as well. Um, you know, I do one where I go half past seven, quarter to three,

01:14:4310 to 11, good times, for example. I mean... And that's one of the 800 in its entirety, isn't it?

01:14:50Well, that's one of my comedy songs, so that one has seen the light of day.

01:14:53But you've done this rockabrella fella. I had to look, because it's... Yes, rockabrella fella.

01:14:58Which is about... It's about... Plastic Elvis? It's, well, it's not about Plastic Elvis.

01:15:02It's like an attempt at a spoof Elvis film. Plastic Elvis is an Elvis tribute act I do,

01:15:07which is a sort of vanity project I do with a lovely band, and, uh, and I wanted to do,

01:15:11I said to them, I'd quite like to do something like Blue Hawaii or something like that, you know,

01:15:15maybe we should make, you know... So I threw a whole load of cash down the drain and, uh,

01:15:20made this thing. It's an hour and a half long. It's a film. Yeah, it's a film, and, uh, it's

01:15:2626,

01:15:26I wrote 26 songs for it, all in an Elvis-y style, you know, and so it's Plastic Elvis playing

01:15:31a

01:15:31character called Sam Salono, who works for his, uh, family umbrella business. This is in trouble,

01:15:36because there's been too much sunshine. Um, although, you know, there's a bit of a floor in that,

01:15:40because, of course, you could use it to shade yourself, but that never comes up at any stage,

01:15:43during, uh, during the, uh, plot. Um, but, uh, yeah, so we made this thing.

01:15:47Let's have a look at a bit of, uh, rocker, brella, fella. Right, strap in, folks.

01:15:53This is the best darn party I've ever been to. Yes, you're invited to the best darn party you've

01:15:59ever been to. It's Tim Vine, as you've never seen him before, in a Plastic Elvis film.

01:16:05Rock-a-prella, fella. Featuring 26 brand new rocking songs, including Mama Don't Fuss.

01:16:13Mama Don't Fuss. Mama Don't Fuss. I came here on a train on a yellow school bus.

01:16:19Behind on the Rolling. What am I ahead of? The Rockin'. What am I behind on? The Rollin'.

01:16:26And the guaranteed toe-tapper, Evaporation. When water gets hot, it turns into steam.

01:16:34Compress that steam, you can power a machine.

01:16:38Well, you could have fooled me if you'd have said, these are Elvis songs that I am singing. I mean,

01:16:43you've got the style of it. Were you a great fan? I think it's fantastic. Yeah. Um, do you know

01:16:48what,

01:16:48it's an interesting thing, because looking like this, I don't look like an obvious candidate for

01:16:52an Elvis tribute, but you could have left a delay before you said the no. Sorry.

01:16:56But what I do is I grow my own sidebones, paint them black, put the wig on, and suddenly,

01:17:02and I pull my nose down like that. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. It's fantastic.

01:17:06It's uncanny. Have you been to Graceland? Um, yeah, yeah, I've been once. Have you been?

01:17:12Yes, I have. Extraordinary place, isn't it? Amazing. Yeah.

01:17:14I wasn't that bothered about going, really, but it was quite a wonderful thing. Yeah, yeah. And Sun Studios,

01:17:18I was even more blown away. Yes. Did you sound on the microphone? Oh, yeah. I mean,

01:17:21and then they start playing new stuff there that they recorded in that little room. Yes. And you

01:17:26think, this is unbelievable. And it was a hairdressing salon for a bit, and then they brought it back to

01:17:29being a studio. Yeah, yeah. And that little bit of time when it was in between, there was a moment

01:17:33in the

01:17:33eighties where essentially it was, you know, you and I could have probably gone and bought,

01:17:37gone and bought it. Yeah. No one was interested in it. Gee, no. Wonderful. Well, good luck with Rockabrella, fella.

01:17:43Thanks a lot. Cheers, viewers.

01:17:47Incidentally, Elvis Presley was climbing out of a swimming pool for the 10th time.

01:17:50Priscilla said, what are you doing? He said, I kind of falling in love.

01:17:55And on that note, thank you, Tim Vine. Thank you. Time now to pause, reflect and indulge

01:18:01ourselves with some glorious footage set to some equally glorious music that isn't Elvis. It's time

01:18:07for this week's Hope to Joy.

01:18:08We're back here.

01:18:10you

01:18:24you

01:21:11Thank you so much.

01:21:12This is my idea of heaven.

01:21:14This is probably my last lunch, you know, one of those moments.

01:21:17What would you have for your last lunch?

01:21:20My pleasure.

01:21:21This is my happy place.

01:21:22You guys are in for a real treat.

01:21:24We are going to get started with a non-alcoholic beer.

01:21:27Well, it's 0.5%.

01:21:29So this is Shorebreak and it's a hazy pail, as you can see.

01:21:33What we're going to do with each of the tastings is just have a smell...

01:21:37Get the aromas of the beer.

01:21:38Really fruity.

01:21:39He went straight in.

01:21:40He went straight in.

01:21:41Because it's non-alcoholic and I'm thirsty.

01:21:43I'm sorry.

01:21:43You're always hearing someone chanting down in one, aren't you?

01:21:48And of course you can with this, 0.5% and nice tropical aromas.

01:21:53Can you smell those?

01:21:54That's delicious.

01:21:55It's really good.

01:21:56Tim?

01:21:57Yes, I like that.

01:21:58It's refreshing.

01:21:58But you know what?

01:21:59I like the fact that it's non-alcoholic because I don't drink all that much alcohol anymore.

01:22:04And normally I see something that's sort of hazy like that and it just looks like a headache

01:22:08in a glass.

01:22:09But I know that this isn't that.

01:22:10Far from it.

01:22:11It's won best alcohol-free pale ale at the World Beer Awards last year.

01:22:15And we're going to try cheese and onion.

01:22:17So look for your little flag so we don't get them mixed up.

01:22:21School mum mums till you look for the flag.

01:22:23See you now.

01:22:25Now let's have a bite.

01:22:29Lovely paste.

01:22:30Oh my goodness.

01:22:31The paste is gorgeous.

01:22:33It is cheese and onion pasty from proper Cornish.

01:22:35Really lovely.

01:22:36Multi-award winning pasty.

01:22:38Won gold at various pasty awards.

01:22:40Oh, you've matched the two, they've been matched together.

01:22:42Oh yeah.

01:22:43There's lots of thought been put into this.

01:22:45Can we stop there because I'm perfectly happy with those two.

01:22:48Oh no, but then we'd lose all of these other wonderful flavours.

01:22:51All right.

01:22:52Honestly, so that's part one.

01:22:53Let's move on then.

01:22:54We are going to East Sussex.

01:22:57So this is Harvey's Old Ale.

01:22:59Oh, this looks a bit serious.

01:23:00This is a classic.

01:23:01It always looks a little bit scary, a dark beer, but never fear the dark beer.

01:23:04It's only 3.6%.

01:23:06And this has got a lot of kind of fruit aromas and flavours in, maybe dark fruit.

01:23:10So pop your nose in there.

01:23:12Oh, it's plum.

01:23:13Oh, it's lovely.

01:23:14I just love this beer.

01:23:16It smells like a tree.

01:23:20Okay, so you've got some piney aromas in there.

01:23:22Yeah, maybe it's piney.

01:23:23Piney aromas, sultanas in the flavour as well.

01:23:26It couldn't be more different to that first one, could it?

01:23:28Yeah, exactly.

01:23:29It's really heavy, that one.

01:23:30Actually, I'm wrong.

01:23:31It's not a tree, is it?

01:23:32It's more Maltesers.

01:23:34It's definitely malty, Tim, without a doubt.

01:23:36And sultanas, dried fruit, kind of raisins.

01:23:39Raisins, yeah.

01:23:40I can get it a bit Christmassy.

01:23:41You could have one of these with a bit of Christmas pud or a mince pipe.

01:23:44It's cold-weather beer, that, isn't it?

01:23:46And so to match the beer's flavours, we're going for a really robust pasty here.

01:23:50A beef and vegetable pasty.

01:23:52And it's from Wales.

01:23:53It's a Kumru crust.

01:23:55Okay.

01:23:56Goes by the name of.

01:23:57And it's from Wilfred's Pies.

01:23:59I mean, look at that.

01:24:00Look at those carrots.

01:24:02Oh, dear.

01:24:02Another good one.

01:24:02And a potato in there.

01:24:04Again, great pastry.

01:24:04I'm sorry.

01:24:05I know I don't have to, but I need to have a little nibble.

01:24:07That's lovely.

01:24:08I'm going in.

01:24:09It's full of veg, too, but it's not...

01:24:11It is packed.

01:24:11But there's plenty of meat in there.

01:24:13When you've had a few nibbles, then swirl again and toast your beer and just see what

01:24:18happens with it.

01:24:19I'd go so far as to say, of the two, that's the best combo.

01:24:22Mmm.

01:24:23Well, let's see if the last two sway you.

01:24:27Tribute from St. Alstall Brewery.

01:24:29It's classic beer.

01:24:30We have this at home.

01:24:31I chose this beer to go with this pasty because there's a delicious creaminess about this.

01:24:36You get lovely fresh aromas.

01:24:38That's amazing.

01:24:39That's amazing.

01:24:39Lovely kind of lemony aromas here.

01:24:41Mmm.

01:24:41And it's amber-coloured look.

01:24:43It's beautiful to look at.

01:24:44And again, in terms of alcohol...

01:24:47What flavour is that?

01:24:48I'm tasting.

01:24:484.2%.

01:24:49What flavour is that?

01:24:49There's a little bit of orange.

01:24:51Fresh water off a recently cleaned gutter that was on top of a...

01:24:56And hopefully boiled and...

01:24:59Boiled, of course, yes.

01:25:00And squeezed over a lime.

01:25:02I'm sensing...

01:25:03Are you a beer lover, Tim?

01:25:06Mmm.

01:25:07Well, John, I tend to be...

01:25:09I tend to be...

01:25:09This is real education for me, because I tend to be a lager drinker if...

01:25:13Oh.

01:25:14A weak lager.

01:25:15I much prefer an ale to a lager.

01:25:17Oh, so this is your area.

01:25:18Oh, right, my girl.

01:25:18We're converting you, hopefully.

01:25:20My fiancé got me onto the ale.

01:25:22Ah, good man.

01:25:23Much nicer.

01:25:23We're grooving with the pasties.

01:25:25It's a chicken curry pasty from Chunk of Devon.

01:25:29So we're mixing Devon and a Cornish beer here.

01:25:33Great Taste 2025 award winner as well.

01:25:36It's making my leg do that thing that dogs do when you've thrown them in the right place.

01:25:40Is that...?

01:25:41Your happy leg.

01:25:44And the pasty's incredible.

01:25:46I mean, look, I see tomatoes, pepperoni and the chicken.

01:25:48You should be a comedian, Tim.

01:25:49You'd be quite good at it.

01:25:50I really like it.

01:25:51I've never actually gone for...

01:25:53A curry pasty.

01:25:54No, I haven't.

01:25:54I always go for kind of a bit boring and plain, whereas that is really lovely.

01:25:58But when you're forced to eat one on a TV show, it's different, isn't it?

01:26:01Can't help it.

01:26:02You've twisted my arm.

01:26:03You've twisted my arm.

01:26:04There's nothing like being adventurous, though, isn't it?

01:26:07Now and again.

01:26:07I mean, that really...

01:26:08For me, it's an unusual flavour, because it's non-traditional.

01:26:13But...

01:26:13Delicious.

01:26:14Get the spice.

01:26:15Yeah.

01:26:16Oh, yeah, really spicy.

01:26:17As soon as you get to the end of it.

01:26:18Is that pastry...

01:26:19Has that got turmeric in it?

01:26:20Because it looks quite...

01:26:20I imagine, yeah.

01:26:21It's yellowish.

01:26:22I could say, yeah.

01:26:23Quite possibly.

01:26:25It's so much of art, aren't they?

01:26:26Beautiful.

01:26:27Finally then, last one.

01:26:28Finally.

01:26:29Oh, hang on.

01:26:30Let's move on.

01:26:32OK.

01:26:32Right, we're going to Otter Ale.

01:26:34So, Otter Brewery from Devon, 4.5%.

01:26:39This is really a really traditional beer.

01:26:43This is a family brewery, fifth generation.

01:26:45Again, a little bit of maltiness there.

01:26:47I'm going to get almost a toffee-ish.

01:26:50Toffee, yeah.

01:26:51Toffee-ish.

01:26:51Yeah, absolutely.

01:26:53I'm in, I'm in.

01:26:54And we are staying under 5%.

01:26:56You know me, I love a really strong beer,

01:26:59but I was behaving myself today.

01:27:00That's nice.

01:27:01It's 4.5%.

01:27:02Nice and easy.

01:27:03Oh, you're inhaling it, Tim.

01:27:06Oh, that's enough of me, actually.

01:27:07Are you enjoying that?

01:27:08I love it.

01:27:09Right, we are traditional.

01:27:10There we are.

01:27:10So, this is a Cornish pasty from Cornish Premier Pasties.

01:27:15It's won a whole host of awards.

01:27:182017, 2018, I mean, goodness me.

01:27:21World Pasty Championships at the Eden Project.

01:27:24It's packed full of that lovely, it's salt and pepper,

01:27:27the beef and the potatoes, the traditional pasty.

01:27:30Lovely.

01:27:31I'm naughty.

01:27:32Really lovely.

01:27:32I want to eat them.

01:27:35I'm feeling like the otter ale was for me, favourite for you.

01:27:38I have to say, out of all of those flavours, I loved,

01:27:42I loved the first, the short break.

01:27:44Amazing.

01:27:44Me too.

01:27:45And we can have more of them, can't we?

01:27:47Yeah.

01:27:47Is this the most alcoholic one?

01:27:49Yeah.

01:27:494.5%, can you tell?

01:27:51Yeah.

01:27:51This is slightly more, you're going to give yourself a headache

01:27:54if you have too much of that, Tim.

01:27:55Uh-oh.

01:27:56Taxi for boy!

01:27:59And before that happens...

01:27:59Tequila, schnapps, Zambuca.

01:28:01I'm calling for shots.

01:28:02Sorry.

01:28:03Well, he gets completely out of hand.

01:28:04That's it for today.

01:28:05Thanks to all my guests, to Natalie, Tim, and of course, Marverine,

01:28:09and their combination of pasties and pints.

01:28:11Joining me next week, Anne Reid, Martin Clunes, and crime writer Anthony Horowitz.

01:28:17Fletcher's Family Farm is up next, but I'll leave you with these words

01:28:20from Ella Fitzgerald.

01:28:21Don't give up trying to do what you really want to do.

01:28:25Where there is love and inspiration, I don't think you can go wrong,

01:28:29and I certainly can't go wrong with one of these in one hand

01:28:32and a bit of pasty in the other.

01:28:33Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

01:28:35Thanks for your company.

01:28:35From all of us here, cheers.

01:28:37Cheers!

01:28:38Cheers!

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