- 6 weeks ago
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00:00Is this a pair of show, this car?
00:03Suzuki.
00:05Auto.
00:06Search from phone.
00:08Bluetooth connecting.
00:10Look at us being technical.
00:12Oh, my God!
00:16Shoot!
00:16This is in my will to be lowered into the ground.
00:19Bluetooth connecting.
00:21Just remember that.
00:25Disconnected.
00:25Oh, for f***'s sake.
00:27Bluetooth connecting.
00:32Stop.
00:52Dancing, designing and demolishing our way through
00:56the summer in Corfu.
01:00Amanda and I are transforming a run-down ruin.
01:03Push it.
01:04Oh, my God!
01:06Can you do this, please?
01:07Into a luxury family holiday home.
01:10Oh, it's like the cow pack.
01:12We've completed the living and dining room.
01:16The children's bedroom.
01:19And the kitchen.
01:21Oh, my God.
01:21This is better than I ever thought it would be.
01:25And now we're taking on the main bedroom.
01:27Are you sure we can't repurpose this bed?
01:33No.
01:34I know, disgusting.
01:35Cow.
01:36You work better when there's a theme.
01:38This is a bedroom, so I'm thinking Aphrodite.
01:42Oh!
01:43So what, like love and lust and...
01:45Pleasure and...
01:46Oh.
01:48Calm.
01:48Well, if the earth moves in here, it'll be subsides.
01:50It looks like it has moved, though.
01:52Look.
01:53The parents' bedroom, I want it to be a sanctuary.
01:56I want them to go in there and go,
01:58Oh, my God, I remember you.
02:00You know how you do that sometimes?
02:02You just go, Oh, my God, this is who we were
02:04before we had children.
02:05Let's remember the good times.
02:06That's exactly what Aphrodite said to...
02:12Who did she go out with?
02:13Hercules or someone like that?
02:15I love the idea of a full poster.
02:17That would be really nice.
02:19But with...
02:20Every time I see this room, I see the windows open
02:22and I see soft muslin curtains just blowing gently in the wind.
02:26And I think if you're a parent...
02:28Yeah.
02:29..and you've been really good with your kids all day,
02:31it needs to feel like a place of calm...
02:33Oh.
02:34..and a hopeful place.
02:35Hopeful.
02:36Hopefully, you're not too knackered.
02:37No.
02:38But it might be...
02:39You're praying you'll get some.
02:40One half of you's probably praying and the other half's going,
02:44Don't touch me!
02:47I think they're like a love seat.
02:49You mean like a window seat?
02:51A window seat.
02:52Could we both fit there?
02:53Should we see?
02:54I think we should call it like the Aphrodite suite.
02:58A room for love, you know?
03:00To think about love, to talk about love and to make love.
03:04And look at the sea.
03:07Don't you think that's nice?
03:08The kids are playing...
03:08I do think it's big enough for a lot of things.
03:09Mummy and Daddy can have a bit of...
03:11And Mummy and Daddy can play Mummies and Daddies.
03:13Yes.
03:14Oh, yes.
03:14Now you're talking.
03:15Go back round there.
03:16And then I'll just, after being all romantic,
03:18I'll just squeeze past this.
03:21Let's squeeze past, squeeze past.
03:24Oh!
03:25Oh!
03:25Nearly Daddy became a mummy.
03:27LAUGHTER
03:28To get us in the mood for love,
03:41I'm taking Amanda on a road trip to the north-west of Corfu.
03:44MUSIC PLAYS
03:46Well, it's Sadari.
03:50Now, I went back here in 1997,
03:53and there is this tunnel of love.
03:57And if you go through this tunnel of love,
04:01who you see at the other end is your love of your life.
04:04You find love.
04:06If you go in together, we will have eternal love.
04:10With each other?
04:11With each other.
04:12Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm going alone.
04:15LAUGHTER
04:15I still haven't found love on Corfu,
04:20but hopefully things are looking up.
04:23Canal de Moor is a popular destination for tourists
04:26in search of a soulmate.
04:30Oh, wow.
04:34Oh, my gosh.
04:36We're going in that hole, is that it?
04:38That hole?
04:39Is that the hole?
04:40Isn't it weird?
04:41This is a tourist area.
04:43I'm here to find love and no-one's turned up.
04:46Do you reckon someone knows I'm here looking for love
04:48and everyone's gone, get this...
04:50Back off.
04:50Get out of Sadari, Alan's here.
04:52LAUGHTER
04:53I can remember when...
04:58It's too choppy to swim today, Alan.
05:01You're going to get smashed against those rocks.
05:03It's not worth being injured for love.
05:05Well, I'd do anything for love, like Meatloaf said,
05:08but I won't do that.
05:09LAUGHTER
05:10I'm not going up there, look at that, you can't.
05:19No, you can't.
05:20I think we should just have a paddle.
05:23Yeah?
05:23Just dip your toe in.
05:25Yeah.
05:25This could be foreplay.
05:29Ooh!
05:31Cold.
05:31That's quite chilly still.
05:32See, it is like your love life in that once you get in,
05:37you get used to it.
05:39Yeah.
05:40Right.
05:41Very shallow.
05:42LAUGHTER
05:42I am just going to get this because it's not good for the ocean.
05:56Look.
05:56This is bad.
06:03Let's hold hands.
06:05We go, we go together, Alan.
06:08Whee!
06:09What was it like in 97?
06:11How many homes were there in 97?
06:13Oh, mate, well, this...
06:14This was all rock back in the day.
06:17LAUGHTER
06:17This wasn't even here, it was fields.
06:21Do you know what?
06:22I remember back in 1997, yeah?
06:24Right.
06:25I had this lovely green towel that I used to take everywhere.
06:29LAUGHTER
06:29And...
06:30LAUGHTER
06:32LAUGHTER
06:32Oh, my God.
06:35LAUGHTER
06:36And I've always wondered where...
06:40What happened to it?
06:41What happened to it?
06:42LAUGHTER
06:43LAUGHTER
06:44I might not have found love,
06:56but Amanda and I are inspired to find ways
06:59of bringing romance to our bedroom design
07:01using Corfu's natural beauty.
07:04This is lovely.
07:06So I'm on the beach foraging for driftwood
07:08for an idea I have for our bedside lamps.
07:11Yes, I love that one.
07:13The things I do for aesthetics.
07:17While my inspiration is literally on my doorstep.
07:22Now, do you remember these doors?
07:24They're at the top of the stairs.
07:26Yeah, but I think they...
07:27We can't reuse it, it's that depth.
07:29You can, you can.
07:29What do you want to do with them?
07:31Headboard.
07:33Make a minute, because, you know,
07:34it's like the Aphrodite suite.
07:36Right.
07:36You know, we want it to be all about love.
07:39And we need a sturdy headboard.
07:41Do you get what I'm saying?
07:42Yeah.
07:43OK.
07:43If the headboards are rocking, don't come a-knocking.
07:46So...
07:47Everywhere you look in Greece,
07:49when you look at the houses,
07:49you get these shutters and the doors,
07:53and they seem to really care about them.
07:54You see them in all different kinds of colours.
07:56So, I think to bring that outside in
08:00is quite clever, really.
08:03This is what I was thinking.
08:04Yeah.
08:05Cutting across here where the letterbox was.
08:08Yeah.
08:08And then putting that up there,
08:10it's like that, that, that, that, all in a line.
08:13It's repurposing, it's reusing, it's recycling,
08:17it's everything that I love as a designer.
08:19It's ridiculous.
08:22That was quick for you.
08:24Yeah.
08:24I believe in second chances.
08:27So, I think it's nice that we've given those doors,
08:29you know, a new lease of life.
08:36Lovely.
08:38I've left the headboard design to Alan.
08:41So, I can bring my beach treasure to local artist, Sakis,
08:45who creates lighting from Corfu driftwood.
08:48We make two lamps.
08:51Two lamps from this one?
08:53Yeah, left and right of the bed.
08:54Okay.
08:56Lighting is a game changer in a room.
08:58Just little pockets of light, subtle lighting.
09:01And you can do it really inexpensively.
09:03To make a lamp like the ones in his shop,
09:06Sakis first cuts the wood to size.
09:09Great.
09:09Making sure the ends are flat so he can attach a base.
09:15Then he drills a hole down the centre for the cable to run through.
09:20Let me have a go at doing this.
09:21Ah.
09:22Yeah, you see?
09:23There she is.
09:29Perfect.
09:30Hello, and welcome to Mandy's wittling hour.
09:35It could be wittering.
09:38And now...
09:40Perfect.
09:42Do you want me to do the light switch on?
09:43Yes.
09:44People pay good money for this.
09:46Yep.
09:47Da-da-da-da-da-da.
09:50Oh.
09:50It's working.
09:51Aw, well done.
09:54That's so good.
09:55No, it's four.
09:57No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
09:58It's mine.
09:59You're not selling that.
10:01That's so cool.
10:02Another one.
10:04I know Alan is very fond of rustic,
10:08but you've got to make the parents feel like
10:10they're in a special, bougie little hotel room.
10:13Not some sort of fisherman's shack.
10:19No more rustic.
10:20No more.
10:21No more.
10:21Perfect.
10:22Oh, my gosh.
10:23I love them.
10:24I love them.
10:26At the house, we've cut the old doors down into panels,
10:29given them a quick sand and spruce,
10:31and my headboard is taking shape.
10:34That's great.
10:35Yeah?
10:35Love it.
10:36Okay, middle one.
10:39This is the only intimacy I've had in Corfu.
10:41Oh, my God.
10:42Oh, my God.
10:49Lovely, right?
10:50Next one.
10:51Right, I'm going to really just push it now.
10:54Yeah.
10:54I don't care.
10:55I don't care.
10:58What?
10:59Maybe try just, like, doing it a little bit and a little bit and a little bit.
11:03There you go.
11:05That's the noise.
11:05Did you hear it?
11:06It's like a meh if it's going in or a meh if it's not.
11:11And even blindfolded, operating a screwdriver, I would know.
11:16And that is a real skill.
11:20This is already looking amazing.
11:33It's tools down for the afternoon,
11:35because I've had a call from Julie at the donkey sanctuary,
11:38where we've been volunteering for the summer.
11:40She wants me to meet a new resident who needs some help settling in.
11:46This is a new horse that arrived yesterday.
11:50Oh, so young.
11:52Oh, my gosh, has someone just abandoned him?
11:54Hello, darling.
11:56He's just adjusting, I think, at the moment.
11:59Oh, my gosh, you're in the right place, darling.
12:04You're in the right place now.
12:07Are you spending time with the donkeys rather than horses,
12:09because the horses are a lot older and a lot bigger than him?
12:14Sometimes a foal is abandoned when its mother is a working horse
12:18whose owners don't want her taking time out to nurse her young.
12:22What's his name?
12:24Diogo.
12:24Diogo.
12:25Yes.
12:26He's got a lot to get used to.
12:30I know.
12:31At just three months old,
12:33Diogo's main source of food will have been his mother's milk,
12:36so he's been reluctant to eat since arriving at the sanctuary.
12:40You've got a lot to get used to,
12:42but you'll be the kingpin when you'll get bigger.
12:45You'll get bigger and then you'll be fine.
12:46You have lovely red hair.
12:50Oh, it's beautiful.
12:52So beautiful.
12:54It's heartbreaking.
12:56Julie's hoping that by feeding him alongside the donkeys,
12:59he'll feel safe enough to start eating again.
13:03This place is surrounded in love,
13:05but the animals that have come here haven't been that fortunate,
13:08and the way they still trust humans
13:11and still have an open heart
13:13is something we can all learn, I think.
13:16I feel like the trolley, you know,
13:18when it comes around the hospital.
13:19All the goodies.
13:22Unconditional love and truth.
13:24Yeah.
13:25And we're here to protect them,
13:26not abuse them.
13:29I know I need to make myself cry.
13:33It's true, though.
13:38You're being followed.
13:40Come on, then.
13:46Does the ball eat the same?
13:49Yes.
13:53Hey.
13:55Are you scared to join in?
13:58Would you like some?
14:00No?
14:02Would you?
14:04You have your own little portion.
14:06Yay.
14:07There we are.
14:10I think he's a bit nervous to eat with the other one.
14:15I know I don't normally like people crunching in my ear.
14:18I don't mind you crunching in my ear.
14:20Me and Alan are both animal nuts,
14:23and to be able to come down here
14:25and just feel something in your soul
14:27is just beautiful.
14:29It's a really beautiful part
14:31of this whole experience for me.
14:34Oh, I love that dance.
14:40Good.
14:41Oh, good.
14:43At least he's eating.
14:44So you know he's all right.
14:45Yes.
14:46Yeah.
14:47He'll settle in.
14:48Yeah.
14:48While Amanda spends the afternoon at the sanctuary,
14:59my parents are in town,
15:01so I'm taking them to dinner in Corfu's oldest village.
15:04You've got your sensible shoes on, Mum,
15:08because it's quite cobbly.
15:09Yes, I have, yes.
15:1114th century.
15:13That's when the village was built.
15:14I know you like history, though.
15:16What did you call Pompeii?
15:18Well, the builders, right?
15:21Oh, talk about embarrassing.
15:28The ghost village of Old Peripheria
15:31lies near the top of the island's highest peak,
15:33Mount Pantocrattle.
15:35Populated since the 1300s,
15:37it was abandoned in the 1960s
15:39when tourism hit Corfu
15:41and its villagers went in search of their fortunes
15:44nearer the coast.
15:45Oh, it's the road.
15:56Oh, and that handbrake's on, see?
15:58Right, yeah.
16:00Now preserved as a historic monument,
16:03life is returning in the form of the odd B&B and Taverna.
16:09This is cute, isn't it?
16:10What a lovely place.
16:12So I've booked a dinner to give my parents
16:14a true experience of rural coffee at Cuisine.
16:19When it comes to food,
16:21my dad will be quite adventurous,
16:24but my mum will not try anything new.
16:27I'm starving, are you?
16:29Here we go.
16:30Oh, here we go.
16:30It'll be delicious.
16:32My mum likes fish fingers.
16:36She's like a five-year-old when it comes to food.
16:38I have Greek salad here.
16:42Lovely.
16:43This is pork with Greek local societies
16:47and red spicy sauce.
16:48OK.
16:50Now, mum, I know you're not a fan of feta,
16:52but do you want some of this?
16:54Just a...
16:54Just a...
16:56No, I won't.
16:58There you go, Dad.
17:00And do you want some of this, Mum?
17:01No, I'll...
17:03Come on.
17:08I am.
17:09Big mouthful.
17:10In comes the train.
17:12Choo-choo.
17:13She's suspicious.
17:15We say,
17:16this restaurant wants you to have a nice meal,
17:19so you come back.
17:21But for my mum,
17:22it's like a bush tucker trial.
17:24I have rabbit's seal.
17:27Here.
17:27Oh, nice.
17:28This is stuffed vine leaves.
17:31Oh, thank you.
17:35This is traditional vine leaf.
17:39Well, don't take the vine bit off.
17:42That's rabbit stew.
17:43Oh, yeah?
17:44Yeah.
17:44Do you want a bit of rabbit?
17:45No, thank you.
17:48Dad, what do you think, love?
17:49Very nice.
17:50Yeah.
17:52We're going to get dessert.
17:53There's a rabbit mousse.
17:54There's a rabbit mousse.
17:54At the house,
18:13the old bedroom ceilings come out,
18:15the internal walls are primed,
18:17and Amanda and I have a plan
18:19to give the bedroom a calm,
18:21yet seductive feel.
18:22Right.
18:27Are you all right, Mary Poppins?
18:29Well, listen,
18:29I've got to carry the...
18:31Look, what's this?
18:32Roller?
18:34Gloves?
18:35Whatever that is.
18:36Ashtray?
18:38We're going to start on there
18:39because I really love that.
18:42Really?
18:42I love that.
18:43Because it was a gamble.
18:44I thought, I'm going to go for it,
18:46you know?
18:47It is very rustic.
18:49Yes.
18:50But I actually love it.
18:52We're applying a colour wash technique
18:54to the walls
18:54to give a textured appearance
18:56of raw plaster,
18:57and we've chosen
18:58two subtle shades
19:00of off-white paint.
19:02So we're just going to go
19:03swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish.
19:06Swish, swish, swish.
19:08That is my favourite noise in the world.
19:11What?
19:11That.
19:13What's it called?
19:14Cicadas?
19:15Yeah.
19:16They never stop talking all day long.
19:19Hmm.
19:21I wonder what that feels like.
19:25How very day.
19:26I think you found your spirit animal, Amanda.
19:32Are you sure this is right?
19:35Swish, swish, swish.
19:35These colours are a bit...
19:37This is not doing anything.
19:39You know, this is like a room
19:40that's meant to be, like, love, passion.
19:42This is, like...
19:43This is insipid.
19:45I think this is boring.
19:47Shall we stop?
19:48Because I do think you're right.
19:50We're brave enough to say,
19:51no, it doesn't work.
19:52I think, as an interior designer,
19:54you've got to learn to say no.
19:56And I think, sometimes,
19:57saying no...
19:58As a human,
19:59you've got to learn to say no.
20:00Yes.
20:00We've both got to learn to say no.
20:02I know.
20:02It's human.
20:02We are people-pleasers.
20:04We say yes to everything.
20:05Yes.
20:06Rosé.
20:07I don't know.
20:08Wine, beer, vodka.
20:10Ouzo.
20:11Ouzo, limoncello.
20:12Back in the room.
20:13Back in the room.
20:14There was no passion in there.
20:15It needs a bit of passion.
20:16Yeah.
20:17To try and ignite the passion,
20:19we've made a trip to the paint shop
20:21and opted for two shades of blush pink instead.
20:26Right.
20:28Now, this is the worry.
20:30I didn't look at it when she mixed it.
20:32Ooh.
20:34Ooh.
20:35Ooh, it's purple.
20:37It is purple.
20:39Well, that is the colour of lust, isn't it?
20:41Purple?
20:41It is now.
20:42It's sort of lilac.
20:44Mm.
20:46God.
20:49Oh, bloody hell.
20:50I feel stupid.
20:52But we can't stop.
20:53It looks like a mistake.
20:55It is a mistake.
20:57Yeah, the thing has gone like corned beef purple.
21:02Do you know, I'm wondering whether it should have been pale green.
21:09Oh, dear.
21:10Right, then.
21:11To give us time to rethink,
21:28we're whisking ourselves off
21:30to the dramatic sea cliffs of north-west Corfu.
21:36Oh, yuck.
21:37Sitting on a rocky headland,
21:41Palio Kostritza Monastery
21:43dominates the coastline
21:44with its striking façade and sweeping views.
21:50Look up here.
21:53I know this is going to make you laugh,
21:56and it isn't a joke, Alan,
21:57but there was a moment when I was young
21:59where I had a little cross and a Bible,
22:01and I would sit in front of it,
22:02and I had dreams of becoming a nun.
22:05But I think loads of kids go through that.
22:07What, like Sister Amanda?
22:11Exactly.
22:12I bet you'd quite like it with no make-up and just like...
22:14No, that's when I knew.
22:15I couldn't be a nun with a lash.
22:17No.
22:18That's not going to work.
22:19Oh, look, this is the entrance.
22:22Shall we have a look?
22:22Let's have a look.
22:27Founded in 1225,
22:28the architecture combines Byzantine and Venetian styles.
22:34Oh, gosh, look how opulent that is.
22:38And Palio Kostritza remains one of the few active monasteries on the island.
22:44Oh, my gosh, is that an olive tree or an olive tree on that sea?
22:48I love that.
22:49Shouldn't you be covered up a bit more, being in a church?
22:52Should I see if there's a wimple in lost property or something?
22:55I don't know what it's for.
23:02Is it a prayer?
23:04Oh, yeah, prayers.
23:05Well, it's all in Greek.
23:07All deceased is people who've died.
23:10Oh.
23:11Sad, isn't it?
23:13I'm going to do my nanny and grandad.
23:16And then I'm going to do my little boy.
23:18Theo.
23:22Go Sarah, and then we just get a candle out.
23:25We'll just light them over here.
23:29Oh.
23:47It's so lovely.
23:48I always think, whether you're religious or not, to come to a place, a church, anywhere,
23:53where you can actually have a moment of still.
23:56Yeah.
23:56And not think.
23:58And just be grateful.
24:00Oh, yeah, yeah.
24:01I almost feel like my heart is slowing down.
24:03I know, and that's what we need.
24:05Yeah.
24:06Because we're both always hectic.
24:10I don't want to get maudling.
24:13But when we lost Theo, there wasn't one moment where I thought, why has this happened to me?
24:21But there also wasn't a moment where I sort of blamed God or anything.
24:30And I just, the way I accepted it was to say that he chose me just for those few months to see what it was like to live and develop and be in the universe.
24:46And then the universe took him back.
24:48Now, I don't think that's religious.
24:51No.
24:51But I let him go back.
24:53Yeah.
24:53And that was my belief rather than, like, he went back to heaven as such.
25:00Yeah.
25:00I felt like he went back into the universe and he's out there and he's still part of our family.
25:05Yeah.
25:06You've got to process it some way.
25:07You've got to make some kind of sense.
25:09The only way I could make sense of it.
25:11I was like, gosh, I was so lucky to have him for all that time.
25:17And even though he was born sleeping, he was perfect.
25:23And I always, always say I'm a mother of three.
25:36Yeah.
25:36Always.
25:38Because I am.
25:40Oh, come on, you.
25:45Love you.
25:53It's been a labour of love getting the Aphrodite suite ready.
26:12Our horrible purple wall is gone, replaced by a more serene shade of green.
26:18The love seat is almost done.
26:20And I'm ready to build my romantic bed canopy.
26:27Oh, I love it.
26:29This is like a princess bed.
26:31I love it.
26:32It looks amazing.
26:33Ready for the finishing touches.
26:36God, I look good in this.
26:40Oh, it's nice, isn't it?
26:41That's what it looks like.
26:43I made these, Alan.
26:45Isn't he clever?
26:46It's clever.
26:47He looks quite good and rusty.
26:50Oh, yes.
26:54She may be the face I can't forget.
26:59A trace of pleasure or regret.
27:02Maybe the treasure or the price I have to pay.
27:08Well, we got there in the end.
27:09Oh, my gosh.
27:10It really works.
27:11It really works.
27:16I think this says romance as well.
27:18Like, doing the canopy is, like, an affordable way of having, like, a four-poster bed.
27:24Yeah.
27:24And the wafting curtains is where I like that.
27:26I find the wafting muslin.
27:31That was a stroke of genius, that.
27:33I did that.
27:34I did that.
27:35It feels chic rustique.
27:38Greek chic rustique.
27:40We set out to make this essential room for two people to reconnect and rest.
27:50In honour of Aphrodite.
27:52Yes.
27:52Might want to put her feet up here, do you reckon she might?
27:55Well, move her legs up, hopefully.
27:57Next time...
28:15We make a splash.
28:17Whoa, whoa.
28:19Why is my horse river dancing?
28:21And I learn the art of beekeeping.
28:24I get away from there.
28:26Oh, it's your hand.
28:28As we pour our hearts into the front garden.
28:31I love you.
28:32I love you.
28:40Details of organisations offering information and support with stillbirth
28:44are available on the Pregnancy Related Issues Action Line pages of the BBC website.
28:56I love you.
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