Love Your Weekend With Alan Titchmarsh S08E18

EverBright

Transcript

00:00:00It's Maybank holiday weekend, packed with fun, revelry, children dancing around the Maypole,

00:00:05and the annual crowning of a May Queen. We may not have a May Queen, but we've definitely got

00:00:10two kings of the equine world. Here we have Frank and Percy, Shire horses, with one man going to

00:00:17mow. They're the biggest horse breed in the world, recognised for their remarkable strength and

00:00:23pulling power. And we're pulling out all the stops on today's show. Definitely we are

00:00:29highly sustainable. It's time to love your weekend.

00:01:06The month of May is the gateway to summer, wrote garden author Jean Hersey, and step outside and it's

00:01:15easy to see why. The last chill is lifted, the breeze feels softer, and the countryside begins

00:01:23to hum with life. Hedgerows froth with hawthorn blossom, often called the Mayflower, while

00:01:29delicate lily of the valley releases its sweet scent in shaded corners and under woodland. Soon,

00:01:36elderflower follows, ready for cordials and country kitchens. A sense of anticipation, similar to how

00:01:45I'm feeling about today's show. Coming up, she's the girl from Liverpool who went on to become one of

00:01:50our best loved stars. Rita Tushingham on being a part of the rebel upstarts, who created quite a

00:01:57stir in 60s British kitchen sink drama. And whether he's delivering the post in Postman Pat, serving

00:02:04divorce papers in The Split, or sitting on the goggle box sofa, he's writing award-winning books. Stephen

00:02:11Mangan on his latest page turner, and he'll be treating us to a reading too. Bringing her own touch of

00:02:17flower power. Horticulturist Camilla Bassett-Smith opens up the pages of her Mayday journal. And it's

00:02:24binoculars at the ready. Urban birder David Lindo gets up close and personal with a couple of coots. And

00:02:31hold on to your china teapot, because there's a wave of alcohol-infused afternoon tea offerings coming your

00:02:37way. Tom Sergi brings us the very best in boozy afternoon teas, including a gin tea fizz and a storm

00:02:45in a

00:02:45tea cup. And daughter, wife, mother and sovereign, royal biographer Robert Hardman, on the very

00:02:53private and public life of Queen Elizabeth II, on what would have been her 100th birthday.

00:03:04But first, the beginning of May emerges as a time of dancing in towns and villages across the country.

00:03:10And today, it's not just the new month we're making a song and dance about. Thanks to Rita Tushingham and

00:03:15Stephen Mangan. Welcome to you both. And I was reminded of Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields' line,

00:03:23it's not where you start, it's where you finish. And here you two are at the finish. But where did

00:03:29it

00:03:29start? I suspect not quite so. Well, is it the finish? Have you got news for us? Are we out

00:03:33of show business?

00:03:34So far. It's all over. This is where you've got to, yeah. I know it's going to be, you know,

00:03:39a climb from here. Where did you start, Stephen? What was your first job? Yeah, first thing in acting.

00:03:45Theatre. I went to do a George Bernard Shaw play in the Redgrave Theatre in Farnham, which is no lie.

00:03:52The theatre's shut shortly after I finished the play. Probably a comment on my performance. It was a sweet

00:03:58little theatre. It was a lovely little theatre. We did Mrs Warren's Profession. And I loved it.

00:04:03And I just wanted to do, I couldn't believe that I was in a play and being paid to act.

00:04:07I mean,

00:04:08it just seemed ridiculous. How much fun is that? Weren't you at school in Beauty and the Beast, though?

00:04:13I was at school, yes. Playing who? Well, Alan. Yeah. Beauty. You were, weren't you?

00:04:21I was beauty in Beauty and the Beast. I mean, it was an all-boys school, I can say that

00:04:25straight off.

00:04:26There weren't a lot of disgruntled girls. But yeah, I suppose, you know, either one of those

00:04:32parts. If you've got the lead in Beauty and the Beast, it's kind of good news, bad news if you're

00:04:35a boy.

00:04:37So I'll take it. Rita, what about you? First role. Back legs of a horse.

00:04:41Not the archetypal. I was the back legs of a horse and overacted a bit. And the front legs got

00:04:48a bit

00:04:48annoyed with me. Because I used to do a lot of doing that. Overacting with your back legs.

00:04:53Yeah, overacting with your back legs. And a rabbit.

00:04:57When you got out of the horse, was it? Yeah.

00:04:59Yeah. No, the back legs of a horse and then a rabbit. In the same production, Toad of Toad Hall.

00:05:04Oh, lovely. And I was paid for it too. Were you? Yes. Wow.

00:05:10Your horse that pulled the caravan that Toad was driving. I love the fact that you can overact as

00:05:14the back legs of a horse. That takes some doing. And I did it one night. I thought,

00:05:18oh, that's quite good. So I went over the top. You're both passionate about music. I mean,

00:05:23but you particularly, I mean, you, Beatles, you're a Liverpudlian, you know. Yeah. And you were there in

00:05:29those days. Well, I saw them doing their first gig in Walton, just up the road from my grandmother's

00:05:34house. And then we all knew each other, you know, because we come from Liverpool and everything.

00:05:40Yeah. No, it was a great time. And I was going out then with a fellow called Gerald Thorogood,

00:05:46and he played the washboard. Oh, right.

00:05:48You never made it into the Fab Four, though. No, he didn't. It could have been the Fab Five with

00:05:52the washboard. He did deliver meat for the butchers. Oh, right. Okay.

00:05:56Did they dump him before they got the drum kit from Ludwig? No, but that was it. I saw them.

00:06:02Yeah. It's a magic time. Well, that was, that was skiffle. Yes, it was skiffle. It was just before.

00:06:06Lonnie Donaghan. Lonnie Donaghan, yeah. My dad made me one of those. We had an old bread bin.

00:06:11He turned upside down, so it's made of metal, and he put a broom handle up with a piece of

00:06:17string

00:06:17through it. And it's like a double base with one string. Yeah, yeah, they did that, yeah. With a washboard.

00:06:22The washboard, the spoons. Yeah. And all the thimbles that they had to wear.

00:06:26Yeah. For the washboard, yeah. It's reminiscent of time, this isn't it, really. Gosh.

00:06:32In my day. In my day. Back in my day. But you were in a group. I was in a

00:06:36band at school, yeah,

00:06:37yeah. We're a prog rock band. I had two keyboards. I was the keyboard player. Put one there,

00:06:44one there, so I could do Rick Wakeman, kind of, you know, a tiny little keyboard. Yeah, we were called

00:06:49Aragon. And we released an album called The Wizard's Dream.

00:06:55It's very past tense, this. Did we not get really far with it? I'm trying to distance myself from it.

00:07:00It's not the coolest thing in the world to say you're in a prog rock band, is it?

00:07:03Well, no. No, look at Rita looking at me. She knew the Beatles. I was playing 15-minute songs about

00:07:09dragons.

00:07:11Yeah, you're right. We should pass over that pretty, quite quickly.

00:07:14Now, we've got a bit of footage of you with the Smiths. This is Rita in the pro-pop prime,

00:07:20as it were.

00:07:21Do you really think she'll pull through?

00:07:25Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.

00:07:31Girlfriend in a coma, I know, I know, I know, it's silly.

00:07:41Bye-bye, bye-bye, I'm a baby goodbye.

00:07:48oh that takes me back does that take you back yeah way back it does that was um from the

00:07:53leather

00:07:54boys that shot gosh the little boy yeah second film yeah oh wow what were you playing what's

00:08:00all i was playing a young wife right dudley sutton dudley son yeah oh yeah it was in lovejoy

00:08:08played ting yeah lovejoy dudley son somebody said he once described him as having a face like a

00:08:14squashed cushiony he never played duty would he indeed no we know which part he'd have got

00:08:20really the same but the classic bouffant well that was a wig and i remember one day we finished early

00:08:28and the hairdresser and people were watching and she just came and took the wig off and i was left

00:08:35and people went oh she rented it or something well now we get the sympathy time really because i want

00:08:43to talk to you both about football now now steven i i'm living your life i was having a good

00:08:49time

00:08:49well my grandson is a supporter of spurs and we're having great difficulty buoying him up at the moment

00:08:56it's so depressing it's so depressing going there it's like going to therapy now there's 60 000

00:09:01people sitting in a circle wondering what went wrong with their lives to bring you to this point

00:09:05it's just awful so i don't know what to say move on i'm going to sit here very quietly

00:09:09my son-in-law's a tottenham supporter really my wife's a liverpool fan oh well there you go

00:09:13another scouser another happy scouser

00:09:15should we change it to liverpool then should we talk about liverpool yeah because you've supported

00:09:19them for well obviously being a liverpodlian yeah you have to don't you or everton i suppose

00:09:24well in the family my dad was everton my mum was liverpool and two brothers one was everton one was

00:09:30liverpool but when i left liverpool it was part of me i had to support liverpool and they go up

00:09:35and

00:09:35down at the moment don't they well they're a bit downy-uppy but never mind and i'm also i'm very

00:09:42involved i want to try and do a project about women in the first world war who formed football teams

00:09:48way back then way back they they worked in the munitions factory and they raised so much money for

00:09:54the war effort but the men didn't like it so when the war was over they wanted to get rid

00:09:58of them

00:09:59we could do a few of them at spurs actually but you're still going to carry on you're loyal

00:10:04ice team you choose your team is your team that's it you're stuck with them for the life you know

00:10:08well you have to be don't you do yeah that's the whole point you'll go down yeah oh no double

00:10:15-sided

00:10:15isn't it sort of a voting football team it's ridiculous really but it's really i don't like to know

00:10:21what the result is until it's all over i turn everything off i don't like to know what the result

00:10:26is

00:10:26after the game they won't go down you'll be all right well i'm sorry to ruin the start of the

00:10:32show

00:10:32what a downer we'll we'll lift it i come in here in good faith bring me down well more barnside

00:10:39banter after i've done the spot of counselling from our dynamic duo a little bit later still ed

00:10:44as bulbs fade and herbaceous borders grow in leaps and bounds it's clear that summer's approaching

00:10:49i'll cheer steam up camilla bassett smith celebrates the new month with her may gardening calendar

00:10:55and long grass strong stock and a slice of rural history traditional mowing takes center stage

00:11:00with two heavy horses and the couple who like their horsepower the old-fashioned way horses and

00:11:07horticulture coming up right after this steven to cheer you up would you like a scone with jam and

00:11:13cream there you are look have two of one in each hand okay i'm going for it and then i'll

00:11:18throw it and

00:11:18you have to save it i'm going for it look there you go look at that read a cucumber sandwich

00:11:23isn't that

00:11:23in bed for you i'm oh oh i'll have a cucumber sandwich i'll join you with a cucumber sandwich

00:11:42may is unique for having not one but two bank holidays a perfect excuse to pause relax maybe even

00:11:51raise a glass wouldn't you say and speaking of reasons to sit back and celebrate there's plenty

00:11:56in the show today coming up and keeping it in the family stephen and anita mangan on their latest

00:12:02wildly imaginative page turner welcome to weird street described as a brilliantly silly fast-paced

00:12:10read for parents and children alike and loose leaf tea dainty china fiddly sandwiches with the cuss

00:12:16cut off uh not the latest offerings from the pen of julian fellows but boozy afternoon teas now we're

00:12:23talking tom sergi has the afternoon tea tipples that'll have your little finger poking out before

00:12:28you can say i'll be mother but first the celebration of may day dates back to ancient times when romans

00:12:34celebrated the festival of flora the goddess of flowers and spring for many marks the first day of

00:12:41summer and with a new month comes new activities to keep you busy in your garden here with her top

00:12:47gardening tips for the month horticulturists camilla bassett smith looking suitably sunny and cherry like

00:12:53there indeed i feel i ought to be talking about fruits but i'm not i'm talking about the fruits

00:12:58of the garden with all of these amazing flowers and my favorite group of plants pelagoniums don't we

00:13:03have so much choice at this time of year yeah and you do you collect you have a lot don't

00:13:07you

00:13:07yeah fair few they're just so reliable lots of color lots of fragrance from perfumed ones you know

00:13:13the fragrant leaved ones i love them and so much variety yeah if we start with what people know right

00:13:18back at the very start with the zonal these very bright often used in bedding schemes popular in

00:13:25victorian times and the 50s 1950s and 1960s as well but they're not all these colors you can get some

00:13:31very subtle pinks like this one pale pink called zonals because they have this darker zone around

00:13:37the leaf you can see it more on the others there isn't it and they flower all summer don't they

00:13:40yeah

00:13:40they're like a really dry the single ones will often carry on through the winter but the double

00:13:44ones tend to stop in the water and then within the zonals you get as you said these these zonal

00:13:49leaves

00:13:49but perhaps more pronounced markings on them such as these ones here and you can really see those

00:13:54variations crystal palace gem a lot of them these are very old they're over 100 years old some of them

00:13:59and that one there frank hedley he's a really popular yeah with that salmon pink flower and

00:14:04as you do many people do collect the different types because there's just so many once you start

00:14:08looking and the apple blossom types now these were the result of mutation back in i think around the

00:14:141850s where they started to produce these really apple blossom type flowers this one isn't apple blossom

00:14:21actually but it looks very much like it and that was a favorite of queen victoria apple blossom rose

00:14:26and my grandfather had some and i to keep my grandfather's going i do many cuttings of them

00:14:32now these should have been potted up already really because look look at that just rooted in water

00:14:37yeah just rooted in water yeah off the main plants because i don't want to lose them because

00:14:41they were his plants and just so easy to keep going and then pop those up and then the regals

00:14:46come

00:14:47into play don't they now these don't fly for quite so long doesn't it what a spectacle when they are

00:14:51i think

00:14:52they're the real show-offs of the pelagonian world with the whiskery leaves yes beautiful flowers

00:14:56and very bright colors often with different colors in you get some whites with purple in

00:15:00and they are really really attractive and then the trailing ivy leaf ones this one is crocodile

00:15:07and again you know you're admiring them as much for their leaves as you are for their flowers often

00:15:11and very nice for hanging baskets trailing over and this one here elegant and you get a slight pinking

00:15:18pink tins yes under stress i'm told so i've obviously not looked after this one very well

00:15:23over the last few days and then you're down to the fragrant leaves this is chocolate pepper yes it is

00:15:28and you can cook with them as well we've got this one which is a lemon one lemon kiss

00:15:31and the citrus ones there's lots of them out there the oranges and they really are very very pungent

00:15:37i've been growing this one for a few of this this is this pelagonia papillianaceum you look at it

00:15:40and you think what a sweet little plant it grows this big it's a huge one from the ground

00:15:45see i've never grown that alan so over the years it's quite a long time to root the cutting state

00:15:49they do root you've got to be very patient with them bit of bottom heat and it makes massive plants

00:15:53with great clusters of these tiny flowers here they're wonderful but the flowers on those these

00:15:57species ones very delicate compared to the bigger ones and i just wanted to mention quickly the

00:16:02stellar varieties here and these ones are quite a new introduction from the 1970s mostly bred

00:16:07in australia with these star-like flowers and they're really rather pretty aren't they

00:16:12different ones across the border thanks and you'll be back later i shall indeed wonderful

00:16:22now power patience and a touch of history heavy horses have been mowing hay the traditional way

00:16:28for centuries but traditional horse mowing isn't just beautiful to watch it's a win for biodiversity

00:16:36supporting habitats that modern machinery often disrupts

00:16:39two people who spotted the magic and the environmental benefits of this age-old skill

00:16:45and have since started a business bringing these gentle giants back to british meadows

00:16:50are nicola reed and tom nixon who join me now just as the heavens are about to open i think

00:16:56nothing

00:16:56shy horses work in all weathers welcome nicola welcome tom thank you so how long have you been working with

00:17:02these shires you're from oakwood clydesdale's but these are shires aren't they these two are shires so

00:17:08we have nine horses in total yeah um and these are our only two shires the rest of clydesdale

00:17:13so how long have they been cutting grass so uh the business has actually been running since 2023

00:17:19yeah um and these horses joined us in 2024 um so a couple of years now they've been working with

00:17:26us

00:17:26yeah so they know what they're doing tom they do they know the job is they're frank and percy which

00:17:32is

00:17:32which yeah well we've got percy here yeah frank there on the on the outside and who's the boss

00:17:36they're a good working pair they get on so well there's no boss there they just that's important

00:17:41isn't it it is really it's good that the horses worked well together they have a good working

00:17:45relationship and they're good friends in the fields as well yeah yeah um yeah and they're an ideal

00:17:49couple to to work together well we're coming to their heavy season presumably as well you know grass is

00:17:54growing that street now so this is so where do you utilize them where do you go we're we're based

00:18:01in hampshire and hook um but we work um as from between london kent the home counties uh basically

00:18:08anywhere that want to use horses instead of machinery anybody that sees the value of the of using them

00:18:13it's not just you know oh wonderfully romantic notion of historic this is a practical and pragmatic

00:18:19way of custodianship of the land isn't it it is yeah exactly that and you know when you

00:18:24look at um tractors even small compact tractors they're quite weighty yeah and you have obviously

00:18:30four big wheels that are in contact with the soil the entire time whereas these guys they're just

00:18:36taking a tread here and a tread there um and so ultimately it leads to much less soil compaction

00:18:43compared to even quite small tractors and machinery um so and when you can improve the drainage

00:18:50in the soil yeah then obviously you can uh also allow those wildflower seeds to germinate and grow

00:18:55wildflower seeds now are at a fair premium aren't they if you want to sell a meadow they are quite

00:18:59expensive yeah um and i know that we have had clients comment that actually having us in to um

00:19:05collect seed from existing meadows is actually far more cost effective for them than purchasing new

00:19:10seed yeah well they also get far more off it than with a proper seed collector like that that's it

00:19:16what we're going to see in our tackle is we've got nice you know spring shower coming down on this

00:19:21now that's what makes the grass grow so these two guys won't bother at all will they about the weather

00:19:26but they work in all weathers i mean they work in all weathers yeah the only thing that will keep

00:19:29us

00:19:30away from the job is high wind yeah just for safety yeah um but generally speaking a bit of

00:19:34bit of shower that wouldn't bother us all right okay guys don't bat a hair uh percy and frank so

00:19:40let

00:19:41let's let you harness okay we're gonna hook in now and we'll um so you've got all the harness on

00:19:46it always baffles me if you carry on um it's it looks so complex i couldn't begin to put you

00:19:52know

00:19:52even a horse collar on i know where that would go overhead but that would be about something really

00:19:56come back so we've now got this bar at the front going on watch man

00:20:04that's the map it's not like one of those wardrobes you used to put up is it nick you suddenly

00:20:10find a bit

00:20:10and you don't know where it goes you've got it all worked out for me the harness can be a

00:20:16little

00:20:16bit that way when you take it all apart yeah you can see this blade now coming out the side

00:20:20it's very

00:20:20effective for long grass isn't it yes because it gets right down the bottom here we go right it's a

00:20:26wonderfully archaic looking piece of equipment isn't it oh look at that nicely sprung seat

00:20:34yeah so right lowering the blades now there we go i like to see the blades moving side to side

00:20:41because this glass isn't really long enough for you is it when you get to the longer bit you can

00:20:44see

00:20:44it's cutting it we should have laid some long reads shouldn't we that's it you can see it though yeah

00:20:51come back in the summer when it's a high meadow and do you know the other lovely thing i'm going

00:20:56to

00:20:56shut up now because i just want you to listen to the sound of horses mowing a meadow with an

00:21:03owl inside

00:21:04listen

00:21:13so much nicer the sound than a throbbing tractor engine don't you think

00:21:22i find myself looking at this thing what would i rather watch this or a week in politics

00:21:29no contest tom that was just lovely yeah it is and it's as you can see it works and it

00:21:36works well

00:21:37yeah it's very practical the mower works really well for an old mower and and the horses are quite happy

00:21:42at it how old's the machine the machine these machines were built about 1930 it's mccormick

00:21:48deering it's coming up 400 years old yeah yeah and we cut i suppose about 300 acres every year with

00:21:54it

00:21:54gracious me carry on then tom thank you frank and percy and nick and tom thank you very much indeed

00:22:06thank you we locked him to leave them really coming up he's spent years bringing characters

00:22:13to life and also watching how others do the same on canvas stephen mangan on portrait artist of the

00:22:20year and why writing for children has opened up a whole new world for him i think it's book number

00:22:25eight

00:22:25i'll see you with stephen for some literary chat and more if i can drag myself away from the horse

00:22:38you

00:22:47welcome back to love your weekend coming up she started the likes of alice

00:22:51rod steiger and r fritchison to name but three reta tushingham talks humble beginnings

00:22:57her trailblazing career and keeping oliver reed in check that wasn't easy and afternoon tea with

00:23:04the difference things have certainly moved on since the downturn days crustless cucumber sandwiches

00:23:09piping hot tea and more manners than you could squeeze into a corset drinks expert tom sergey gets

00:23:15ready to raise the roof and your pinkies as we bring you the best boozy and bottomless afternoon teas

00:23:22but first cast directly by author sue townsend who after a close inspection told him he was perfect

00:23:29for the part i think that was a compliment it was the performance that launched stephen mangan into

00:23:35the public consciousness a slightly pretentious and down on his luck single parent working as an

00:23:42awful chef and with dreams of becoming a successful novelist welcome to the chaotic world of adrian mole aged

00:23:4931 and three quarters where the birds go when they're tired they go to sleep in their nests of course

00:24:12there's nobody here they've gone inside go on william will you come in with me look i'm in a hurry

00:24:20i've got to get back mr mode may i have a word about time no i'm sorry mrs parvez i'm

00:24:32on national

00:24:32television in 13 minutes yes go off mrs parvez the next time you see me i'll be a household name

00:24:38on a par with demestos or roy hattersley nothing says modern parenting quite like a reluctant goodbye at

00:24:47school gates especially when it's wrapped in adrian mole's signature blend of self-absorption and

00:24:52mild existential panic i mean did you feel a pang of guilt about acting that out you've been there

00:24:58yourself it was fun but that reminded me when you're at drama school you think who will i play when

00:25:04i

00:25:04you know get out there in the big will i be james bond no adrian mole so why did sue

00:25:11townsend think

00:25:11you were absolutely right sue townsend was one of my heroes i loved her to bits and when we were

00:25:18filming she had diabetes she was losing her eyesight um uh so i went for an audition she said i

00:25:23can't

00:25:23really see you that well can i have a close look at you i said of course she got out

00:25:28this huge magnifying

00:25:29glass and came up to within six inches of my face and she said the actor who plays adrian mole

00:25:36cannot be

00:25:36good looking he just can't be adrian mole is a geek he's pretentious he's not a good looking man

00:25:41she literally scanned me all the way down my face from this far away and then said you're perfect

00:25:49the ultimate double-edged sword i mean i love that woman loved her oh so her writing was so

00:25:54super i mean miss her now what she would have done with what's going on in the weather politics and

00:25:59everything she she was a genius it's that kind of clarity of vision of a wordsmith isn't it they can

00:26:04translate onto the page what you felt but could not do couldn't articulate they unlock something

00:26:11yes they do and also that gap between how we see ourselves and how the world sees us and it

00:26:17sees us

00:26:17and it's just such a joy a character like alan partridge for example is a similar thing you know

00:26:21he thinks he's his heroic uh um brilliant broadcaster and we look at him in a different way so yeah

00:26:28you

00:26:29uh a treat i mean what a what a what a break to get that early in my career to

00:26:34play uh adrian

00:26:36mole yeah when you're working with people that you've you've always admired i mean you must have

00:26:41to certainly no okay i can do this you know not be overawed you know it's a weird feeling especially

00:26:45if you're a fan of a show and then you join it you think i've seen this on telly and

00:26:51i love this and

00:26:52now i'm part of it you really it's real pinch yourself is there also a moment of i must not

00:26:56mess this

00:26:57oh really because you know these things are adored and revered and people watch them you know

00:27:03forensically so yeah you you're um rehearsing at the moment or about to hear this next week for

00:27:08the truth the truth yes now tell us about the stage play a stage play comedy in the west end

00:27:13about a man having an affair with his best friend's wife and uh great cars just four of us in

00:27:21it uh

00:27:22sarah hadland is playing my mistress uh janey d my wife and ardlo hanlon who's on your show

00:27:28recently a few weeks ago yeah he's my best friend but as things go on all is not what it

00:27:33seems but

00:27:34it's a treat now no you're with nicola walker in unicorn in the way playing really rather strange i

00:27:41mean you you seem to be taking that was about thruttles yeah i don't know why they come to me

00:27:45for

00:27:45these parts i'm very straight laced on and i promise in real life this is not who i am so

00:27:52i

00:27:52don't know why i don't have no idea west end stage i've seen you on the west end stage i

00:27:56remember that

00:27:57lovely thing that the the pg woodhouse thing that you did uh yes jeeves and worcester yeah with

00:28:03machia mcfady what a pair you were the best curtain call i've ever seen with the most astonishing

00:28:07dance routine that they're put strictly in the shade this great charleston incredible charleston at

00:28:12the end of the sort of there's only three of us in the place it was absolutely you know and

00:28:15at the

00:28:15end we had to do this sort of seven minute dance which the audience loved and we were on stage

00:28:20going

00:28:21i'm exhausted yeah but west end stage special for you clearly you know i think if i had my way

00:28:28i would do nothing acting wise i would do nothing but theatre i just love it there's something about

00:28:35the the sense of occasion every night you know all those people out there it's never to be repeated

00:28:39but your other staples as you were continue classical family on a sunday afternoon introducing music

00:28:46um and portrait artist and landscape artist of the year yeah yeah you've been very kind having me

00:28:51on to report well yeah what's he done with your portrait where is my sister has it oh great yeah

00:28:55thank goodness somebody wanted it because we're not quite sure where to put this because uh sue barker

00:29:01has hers over the mantelpiece when people come round for dinner oh she puts it there and they go

00:29:07oh and and then she gives them about five minutes of yes and she sort of and then she says

00:29:15it's a

00:29:15joint she takes it down you know but it's such a lovely day coming and doing that show yeah it's

00:29:19really i think interesting for people like yourself who are used to being busy and like right at the heart

00:29:25of things and in a way once you're introduced you sit there and the artist takes over then and it's

00:29:31yeah rather pleasurable i mean people seem to love coming on the show and i now have all sorts of

00:29:36actors and writers and comedians come up to me and say please can i come on the show and please

00:29:40can i have my portrait painted um yeah and you've got a long catalog of people who keep coming so

00:29:46you'll

00:29:47run forever i think so we were worried you know wouldn't we find enough artists but there is an un

00:29:51unendable is that's a what not a word is unending unending thank you an unending stream of talent

00:29:58thank god there's a writer here an unending stream of talent out there people who just uh you know i

00:30:04i

00:30:04love it because i just watching talented people being talented and that's well i suppose it's

00:30:08it's the ultimate really showing that watching paint dry can be interesting interesting yeah yeah

00:30:13uh but we now see you in a different row as well with your sister whom we're about to meet

00:30:19because

00:30:20the mangan siblings take part in this thing called goggle box i thought what we could do is draw each

00:30:27other without looking it's a game without looking yeah so you can't look at your paper you just look at

00:30:33me you're right ready go stephen and his sister anita interesting

00:30:43you're so tempted to look at the paper i know okay i'm done

00:30:55it looks just thank you that looks just like me look at that the teeth honestly have i really got

00:31:03that many teeth i like the way your nose is up here but your nostrils are down here

00:31:09talent is not the word is it really not for me and my art no great art needs confidence and

00:31:15no

00:31:16eye contact with the page going well until you're the artist out of the two really but you've come

00:31:20together again because you very sweetly both came on last time now we've got another the eighth

00:31:25children's book steven that's it yeah so you know beethoven only wrote nine symphonies well he's i'm coming for

00:31:30him are you okay yeah welcome to weird street funniest short stories ever nita when he said to

00:31:38you will you do the illustrations was it because he thought he was getting them on the cheap do you

00:31:42think yeah i mean i don't actually get paid do i you get all the money so um are you

00:31:48critical of the

00:31:49story you know we we've grown up together obviously and we've had the same sense of humor so anything

00:31:54he writes i get immediately and i just i love drawing to make him laugh so anything anything

00:32:01that he you know that he writes about i always find it hilarious and i just try and make it

00:32:06even funnier

00:32:07well you trained as a graphic artist there was yes yeah and an illustrator as well yeah because you've

00:32:12done but it's not just steve that you illustrate for your name pops up everywhere i mean i've done a

00:32:17lot

00:32:18of cookbooks and um yeah i've i've designed or illustrated over a hundred books um but i love

00:32:24yeah i love books they're just it's something about the tactile nature of the book you've got print and

00:32:31the smell there's a lot of us who feel like that you can't can't beat the heft they call it

00:32:35and there's

00:32:36not a lot of heft in a tablet no exactly exactly will you read is a bit yes i will

00:32:43absolutely so it's

00:32:44lots of different short stories but weird street is about all the people in it weird street yes i

00:32:50wanted to sort of link the short stories so there was a theme so i set it in weird street

00:32:54here we go

00:32:55okay all right come with me down there way down there is a town i think you might know it

00:33:01it's not

00:33:02far from where you are right now from this high up it looks like a lot of towns there's the

00:33:07park

00:33:07there's the railway station there's the school but come with me let's take a closer look over there

00:33:15that street over there the street that leads nowhere the street shaped like a comma the houses

00:33:22that line it that's where we're going as we draw near we noticed every house is different from the

00:33:29one next door no two houses are even remotely alike and we can see that there are only two creatures

00:33:34on

00:33:34this street that leads nowhere on this street shaped like a comma one is a girl and one is a

00:33:41cat

00:33:42will you come and read a bedtime story for me every night as well i will have you brushed your

00:33:47teeth

00:33:47yes good then we can read you see this is now this is the double gift this is having someone

00:33:54who can

00:33:55write but also someone who can read well what they write you obviously love reading stories to your

00:34:00children i love reading stories i always thought that was the thing i could as an actor i could read

00:34:05them

00:34:05stories and i would put everything into it all the characters would have different voices and accents

00:34:11and my kids were having none of it just read it dad just read it in other words stop overacting

00:34:17so anita

00:34:18you've got a career now doing your brother's books doing other books as well absolutely yeah i love it

00:34:23i sit in my studio at the end of the garden drawing silly pictures with my dog sleeping below and

00:34:29i try

00:34:29and just i always try and i mean he told me that horses are quite difficult to draw so i

00:34:35wrote a whole

00:34:35book about reindeer oh yeah oh i remember yeah yeah i'm an older brother i've got to do these things

00:34:39is there anything particularly difficult in this one i can't remember no i made more work for

00:34:43myself by wanting to draw a house at the beginning of each chapter so having two courgettes in a fridge

00:34:48having a conversation there are yeah with a bag of spinach behind them but that's easy there's a

00:34:53very there's a lot of different stories in this book yeah so many of my conversations here seem to

00:34:58turn into therapy oh do you admire in in your in your kind of art world have you got heroes

00:35:06and heroines

00:35:06yeah so axel scheffler obviously he's amazing children's book illustrator um he does all the

00:35:12julia donaldson he does all the julia donaldson um oliver jeffers um he writes and illustrates his

00:35:18own books and that's he has a lovely style he's got a style all of his own yeah yeah so

00:35:22long may

00:35:23you not become beatrix potter and do your own illustrations yeah i could i know i want to see

00:35:28my illustrations well we saw the ones where you weren't looking is he any good when he looks

00:35:33he's worse he's worse he's better when i don't look it's the only thing he's not good at so it's

00:35:38just as well there's a job for me yeah best that he has something yeah he's not good absolutely look

00:35:43always a delight to talk to you both thank you so much for your company good luck with welcome

00:35:47to weird street i want the next chapter now i just have to go home and read it for myself

00:35:51though

00:35:51to my grandchildren that'll do now the wonderful thing about gardens and woodlands and native

00:35:57landscapes and the species that call them home is there abundance particularly at this time of year

00:36:02and thanks to you we're able to share those with a wider audience it's time for today's walk on the

00:36:09wild

00:36:29so

00:36:38so

00:36:39so

00:42:52Yes, I think you will.

00:42:53So we'll both be very pleased about that one.

00:42:55But brand new, not being launched until Chelsea, so a really new plant.

00:42:58And they're great to grow.

00:42:59Once you get the hang of Streptocarpus, east-facing window, not too hot, enough light.

00:43:05And if you can cope with a plant with a leaf like a cow's top.

00:43:08Yes, I know.

00:43:08It's not your favourite leaf.

00:43:10You can take the big ones off.

00:43:11All right.

00:43:11No, no, no.

00:43:12I wouldn't do that.

00:43:12It's me being rude about it.

00:43:14You carry on.

00:43:14You're looking beautiful.

00:43:15Yes.

00:43:15At the moment, the flower's looking good.

00:43:16And I just had to mention this, Alan, because you gave me these from your garden a couple

00:43:21of years ago.

00:43:21The variegated lily of the valley.

00:43:23They're wonderfully striped, aren't they?

00:43:25Yeah.

00:43:25You do get flowers as well.

00:43:26Yes.

00:43:26They're hiding.

00:43:28They're hiding.

00:43:29Look.

00:43:29Oh, they are there.

00:43:30They're just coming.

00:43:30She's going to flower for me.

00:43:31Yeah, there we are.

00:43:32Because I was so excited because I wanted to show you that I haven't killed her and she's

00:43:36still going.

00:43:37They're lovely.

00:43:37They're on.

00:43:37It's like a bit of apple shade.

00:43:39But moving on, all of these plants, of course, most of them offer great benefits for pollinators.

00:43:44Pollinators are so important.

00:43:4695% of the world's flowering plants, 75% of the world's food crops rely on pollinators.

00:43:52So it's no surprise that we're always talking about how important they are.

00:43:56In this country, we have, I think, 1,500 pollinating species, of which 260 are bees.

00:44:02But apparently 90% are solitary bees.

00:44:06So bees are bumblebees, honeybees are our other two types.

00:44:10But they're so, so important.

00:44:12And there is so much that we can do to keep them happy, really.

00:44:15Yeah, yeah.

00:44:15Starting off with growing as many flowering plants as we can.

00:44:18Not just annuals and perennials as we tend to think of, but flowering shrubs, flowering

00:44:22trees.

00:44:23It's all so important, isn't it?

00:44:25It is, yeah.

00:44:26They've all got pollen and nectar that keep them fuelled.

00:44:28Yeah.

00:44:28And what we've got here, a couple of planters, bee-friendly planters.

00:44:32Alan, you've got little bees on yours.

00:44:34I thought they were quite sweet.

00:44:35Oh, that's all I have.

00:44:35And I've got a planter which has got a bee house in it.

00:44:39So these are for solitary bees, so they can go and make their little houses in here.

00:44:42And they do.

00:44:42And they gum the front of them.

00:44:44You can tell they've been in there, because they've sealed them.

00:44:45I know, you can see which ones are in use.

00:44:47So that's what, hopefully the bees will start using this.

00:44:50But I've got a selection of bee-friendly plants.

00:44:52Now, they prefer blue plants.

00:44:54That is their favourite colour.

00:44:56So we've got some scabious.

00:44:57So I've got this little scabious.

00:44:58It's pink mist, actually, rather than you've got butterfly blue.

00:45:01Yeah, this one's butterfly blue.

00:45:01But they're all in that kind of lilac colouration, which looks so pretty, doesn't it?

00:45:06Oh, gorgeous.

00:45:07They'll just keep flying.

00:45:08There's loads and loads of buds coming on there.

00:45:10And it's best to use, where you can, single flowers.

00:45:12I've actually got a hanging basket behind me, in which I've put little purple daisies.

00:45:18I love the way you've lined it with lumps from your conif edge.

00:45:22Yeah, just a bit of clippings, because that's good habitat.

00:45:25But also, it's quite good.

00:45:26I mean, it probably dries out a little bit more in the wind,

00:45:28because you've got the air going through.

00:45:30But it looks quite natural and good habitats for insects and bees as well.

00:45:33I think, particularly in summer, that's the key, isn't it, with hanging baskets,

00:45:35is to make sure they don't dry out.

00:45:37And also to feed them quite regularly as well.

00:45:39Now, hanging baskets get a bad press, don't they?

00:45:42People are a bit snooty about them.

00:45:43They do.

00:45:44But they bring colour and life at a too high level.

00:45:47They do.

00:45:48And there's so many different plants that you can put in hanging baskets,

00:45:50whether that's just foliage over the wintertime, or at this time of year,

00:45:53we are spoilt for choice with basket plants.

00:45:55And for pollinators as well, not just for us looking at them,

00:45:58but they bring all that nature right to your doorstep,

00:46:00especially if you have them either side of the front door.

00:46:03You've given me some Nimesia here.

00:46:05Yeah, they're so pretty.

00:46:05Little tiny snapdragon flowers on Nimesia.

00:46:08And with fragrance as well.

00:46:09And I've got Bacopa.

00:46:10I love Bacopa, mostly seen in white, but in this lilac colour.

00:46:14And Bacopa is a self-cleaning plant, which you don't have to deadhead,

00:46:18and that makes life a lot easier.

00:46:20Oh, it's the cockapoo of the plant world.

00:46:21It is indeed.

00:46:22It doesn't shed.

00:46:23No.

00:46:24And I will, just while I'm doing that, I wanted to mention this little bee revival kit,

00:46:28which you can buy.

00:46:29Right.

00:46:29If you're out and about and you see a bee that's poorly,

00:46:32you can get these little key rings.

00:46:34It's first aid for bees.

00:46:35First aid for bees.

00:46:36We can't get the label off the top.

00:46:37Oh, that's fine.

00:46:39And inside it has a little vial of sugar water.

00:46:45How sweet is that?

00:46:46That's better than perfume, isn't it?

00:46:47It is.

00:46:48I could dab it on my wrist later on, maybe.

00:46:51Yeah, that does.

00:46:52But that's quite fun.

00:46:53If you see a little bee that needs a little bit of help,

00:46:56you can give them a little bit of sugar water.

00:46:57It's going on working.

00:46:57And, of course, the Pocopa will tumble over the front.

00:46:59And I like the Pocopa in lilac.

00:47:01You can get it in pink and the white, the classic.

00:47:03But this is the larger flowering one as well, isn't it?

00:47:06I prefer that colour to the white, really.

00:47:08That's nice.

00:47:09I love that.

00:47:09And, of course, the bees, the butterflies are going to absolutely love that.

00:47:12Thank you very much indeed.

00:47:18Now they're sleek and surprisingly feisty,

00:47:22known for their bright white beaks, lobed feet

00:47:25and glossy black plumage.

00:47:28The coot is one of the most determined and entertaining residents

00:47:32of Britain's wetlands.

00:47:33Fearless in defending its territory

00:47:35and endlessly inventive when it comes to foraging.

00:47:39Arundel Wetland in West Sussex provides the perfect stage

00:47:42for this water bird, a haven of reed beds, ponds and abundant wildlife

00:47:48where coots and countless other species thrive.

00:47:51Over to the urban birder, David Lindo.

00:48:01Wetlands are my favourite habitat to watch birds because you just look out there.

00:48:06You don't have to try too hard because the birds are there.

00:48:09They're on the water.

00:48:09It's easy.

00:48:12Simply speaking, a wetland is where water meets land.

00:48:16It could be a reservoir or lake.

00:48:19It could even be a coastal area.

00:48:21But these places are vital ecosystems for birds.

00:48:25You find many, many birds there as well as other types of animals.

00:48:31The bird I'm looking for now is the coot.

00:48:35Coots are really fascinating water birds because they have really strong legs and long toes.

00:48:42They're members of the rail families that are not related to ducks at all.

00:48:48And their toes are long and they have, instead of webbed feet,

00:48:53they have lobes on each toe and it allows them to swim perfectly.

00:48:58They use their legs also when fighting each other.

00:49:02They often rear back on their tail in the water

00:49:06and then they lash out at each other with their legs.

00:49:11Okay, I think there's a coots nest over here.

00:49:14There is a bit of etiquette involved, by the way, when birding and especially when around nests.

00:49:20Firstly, as Elvis Presley said, only fools rush in.

00:49:25You take your time, go slowly because if you go too quickly, you're going to startle anything.

00:49:30That's nesting.

00:49:30And also, never approach nests very close.

00:49:34The birds always have a respectable distance away from the bird and never disturb the birds.

00:49:39So I'm here looking across the bank and I can actually see from the safe distance a wonderful coot.

00:49:48And it looks like this bird already has chicks.

00:49:55It's really interesting that their nests are so big and bulky yet so well camouflaged

00:50:02because I wouldn't have seen this nest unless I didn't notice before the adults coming to and fro

00:50:09because they indicate where the nest is.

00:50:12Coots are quite aggressive so they're quite, you know, well able to defend their nests against anyone

00:50:17in most predators.

00:50:19Coots actively feed their young.

00:50:22They actually have food items and give their chicks the food whereas ducks, who are unrelated, don't.

00:50:29Yeah, there's a real parental scenario going on in which both birds take turns in looking after their young.

00:50:38But they are very ruthless.

00:50:39If there is a situation where there is a food shortage, they will think nothing of killing the weaker ones

00:50:47in order for the stronger ones to survive.

00:50:51Look at that little one there, just about to step into the water for his first tentative swim.

00:50:57These guys, the common coot, as much as they are all over the place, they are still wonderful birds to

00:51:04stop and watch.

00:51:05And these little babies, they are making their first steps towards adulthood.

00:51:19Thank you David, goodness me.

00:51:21You know, male and female coots have different alarm calls.

00:51:24Often described as a pook for males and a poonk for females.

00:51:29Yes, all female coots are punks at heart.

00:51:33Coming up, from timeless romances to thrilling adventures,

00:51:36her versatile performances have left an indelible mark on cinematic history.

00:51:41We delve into the enchanting world of Rita Tushingham.

00:51:45And described as an unmissable portrait of a modest and endlessly fascinating giant of modern history

00:51:51from the master of royal biography.

00:51:54On the centenary of her birth, best-selling biographer and royal commentator,

00:51:58Robert Hardman celebrates the extraordinary legacy and life of Queen Elizabeth II.

00:52:04I'll see you with Robert and more right after this.

00:52:20Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

00:52:23Coming up, how our traditionally quaint afternoon tea is evolving with pleasantly quirky and boozy results.

00:52:29Tom Sergi has a round-up of some of the best in town, including a gin tea fizz and a

00:52:35storm in a teacup.

00:52:36But first, a story of devotion, triumph, tragedy, humour and conflict of an outwardly stoical,

00:52:45inwardly complex woman whose love of family, love of country and duty to the crown never failed.

00:52:52A global stateswoman who wielded her great authority with charm and understatement.

00:52:57In his new biography of Queen Elizabeth, royal author Robert Hardman chronicles,

00:53:04lovely photograph Robert, Elizabeth II's incredible 70-year reign,

00:53:09including what was to be the late Queen's final major public appearance.

00:53:15This is the moment when London, when the UK, when the Commonwealth says thank you to Her Majesty,

00:53:26who is out on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the Cambridges and their children to look at the scene

00:53:35before her,

00:53:37joined of course by her son, the Prince of Wales, and his wife.

00:53:41Got a moment.

00:53:52An amazing bit of film there, Robert, and a snapshot.

00:53:56I was there on the stage as somebody taking part in that amazing Platinum Jubilee,

00:54:02and it was almost, it was totally tangible, that feeling when she came out there.

00:54:07Everybody, big stars, little stars, minor twinkles, and that great raft of people down the mall there.

00:54:15It was, there was, it was, you could feel it in the air.

00:54:19Astonishing.

00:54:20It could.

00:54:21I was there too.

00:54:22I wasn't on the stage like you, and I was just watching.

00:54:24I was just a minor one with people like Ed Sheeran who, you know.

00:54:27He did.

00:54:28Ed Sheeran played his song, and I mean it was, it was very, very moving,

00:54:32because she hadn't actually been confirmed as coming to that.

00:54:36She was watching it on TV at Windsor, because she was very weak by then.

00:54:39And as the pageant went on, the Prince of Wales, as he then was, thought,

00:54:45she's really got to be here for this.

00:54:47So they brought her from Windsor.

00:54:48They brought her from Windsor, and she came in through the back door,

00:54:51because obviously the front of the palace, everyone was sort of processing past, yes.

00:54:55And suddenly there was this very dramatic moment where at the top of the palace,

00:55:00down came the Union Jack, and up went the Royal Standard.

00:55:02And you thought, my God, she's here, you know.

00:55:04And she was, and she came out, and it was terribly touching.

00:55:08And one or two things, as always happens with those things, went wrong.

00:55:12Because of the weather, the Red Arrows had to cancel their fly pass.

00:55:16And it simply didn't matter, because what we saw there, that was the finale.

00:55:20Nobody would have bothered looking up, would they?

00:55:22No, no. They looked at her, and I remember thinking at the time,

00:55:26no one ever has stood on that balcony as often as she has.

00:55:30She first went out on that balcony in, I think it was 1927, as a baby, effectively,

00:55:35when her grandfather, George V, was king.

00:55:38And she'd been going on that balcony, and you think all the things she's seen,

00:55:41you know, she was there on VE Day.

00:55:44She was there after her wedding, after her coronation,

00:55:46after all her, you know, children's weddings, jubilees.

00:55:49And this was the last time she stood on that balcony.

00:55:53Very powerful.

00:55:54You've written about her quite a lot before.

00:55:55This is your, if you know, the final valediction, if you like.

00:55:58There are new things in here.

00:56:00Does anything, has anything, in writing this book,

00:56:03surprised you about the Queen that you really didn't know before?

00:56:06Because, you know, people say,

00:56:06oh, well, we've already thought before now, we know what it was like.

00:56:09But clearly, the snippets that I've gleaned from you,

00:56:13there's a lot in there that surprised even you.

00:56:15What?

00:56:16Well, there's a lot of new stuff in there,

00:56:17and it's really amplifying what I knew or thought I knew before,

00:56:22but really ramming it home.

00:56:24I mean, that sense of pragmatism,

00:56:27the fact that whatever the drama or the challenge,

00:56:32people are being sort of, what should we do now

00:56:34when they're faced with a problem?

00:56:36And she would always opt for the most sensible

00:56:40or straightforward solution, regardless of sort of tradition.

00:56:44And also the way she was, she didn't like,

00:56:48she was authentic, she was authentic to the end,

00:56:51and she didn't like doing anything that she thought was insincere.

00:56:54So, for example, what I discovered was,

00:56:56when she was sitting down to do that famous Covid speech,

00:56:59which was extraordinary,

00:57:00right in the middle of the darkest moment of the pandemic,

00:57:03culminating in that extraordinary line,

00:57:05we will meet again.

00:57:06Meet again.

00:57:06She actually, initially, crossed that out of the speech,

00:57:10and there was a sort of internal discussion with her advisers.

00:57:13And she said, no, it's too whimsical, it's insincere.

00:57:17She kind of sensed, it was almost a stunt.

00:57:19Too theatrical for her.

00:57:20Yeah.

00:57:20And she thought, no, no, I've got to be straightforward here.

00:57:24I'm the monarch.

00:57:25I don't do stunts or jokes and that sort of thing

00:57:27at a time like this.

00:57:29But actually, I think wisely, she was prevailed upon,

00:57:31it's okay, it's a good line.

00:57:33And it went global.

00:57:34It went global.

00:57:35It was one of the defining speeches of her life.

00:57:38And I think why it was so powerful

00:57:40was that it was almost exactly 80 years

00:57:42since her very first broadcast from the same place.

00:57:45It was as a 14-year-old princess at the height of the Blitz.

00:57:48It was a broadcast of the children of the Empire with Princess Margaret.

00:57:52She was 14.

00:57:54And it was really just saying to the children of Britain

00:57:57and what was then called the Empire,

00:57:59it's going to be okay, we're going to get through this.

00:58:02And that speech resonated so powerfully

00:58:05that it actually was turned into a record in America

00:58:08and sold as it was her first hit, if you like, on record in the 1940s.

00:58:15You described everything outwardly stoical but inwardly complex.

00:58:18Now, complex in what way?

00:58:20That sounds as though there's some kind of conflict going on inside.

00:58:23Well, we see the outward Elizabeth,

00:58:26we saw the outward Elizabeth II, very dutiful, quite serious,

00:58:30obviously started to be more sort of smiley later in life,

00:58:33but very dutiful, very conscientious.

00:58:35But in private, there was this very complex figure who could be...

00:58:43I mean, she was always much sharper, I would say.

00:58:47I mean, you know, she wasn't as inscrutable in private

00:58:51as she was in public.

00:58:52So she would...

00:58:52Going back to that point, she didn't like to be inauthentic.

00:58:57So if she didn't like something, she'd say,

00:58:59no, I don't like that.

00:59:00I talked to one minister who'd been standing there

00:59:04having a drink with her in the grand reception room at Windsor

00:59:07and they looked out to the north

00:59:08and you could see Slough in the distance.

00:59:10And this minister said, oh, I grew up in Slough.

00:59:13And the Queen said, oh, you poor thing.

00:59:15You know, there was no sort of, you know, no varnishing it.

00:59:19Well, they always used to say that the Queen has no opinions

00:59:21and I've been lucky enough to meet her several times

00:59:23and, oh, yes, she does.

00:59:25I'm quite distinct.

00:59:26Did you meet her?

00:59:27Yeah, I met her quite a few times

00:59:29because, I mean, even...

00:59:30I was a royal correspondent many years ago

00:59:32and always on her tours around the world.

00:59:35I went on many of them

00:59:36and they were some of the, I think,

00:59:38one of the most amazing things I ever saw.

00:59:40Her first ever state visit to Moscow,

00:59:43the first state visit to post-apartheid South Africa.

00:59:47I was there as a journalist.

00:59:49But she would always have a reception at some point

00:59:51during these tours to meet the press covering the tour,

00:59:54even at the time.

00:59:55I mean, this was a period when relations between the palace

00:59:58and the press were not good,

00:59:59but she always felt that it was, again,

01:00:01it was her sort of duty.

01:00:02These people have come all this way to report on my trip

01:00:04and I ought to meet them.

01:00:05So I'd meet her on those occasions.

01:00:06I met her when I was making royal documentaries

01:00:10and you know what that's like, Alan.

01:00:13You know, sometimes you'll be sort of waiting to sort of set up

01:00:16or the camera's doing something

01:00:18and she would, particularly if she was somewhere

01:00:20where she was very happy or comfortable,

01:00:23like the, I remember going around the Meuse at Windsor

01:00:27and she was just feeding carrots to her horses

01:00:29and she was very chatty.

01:00:32And again, you know, when we were filming her at Balmoral

01:00:34and she was, you know, somewhere she felt very safe, very comfortable.

01:00:38Which is why she went there when she went there.

01:00:41I mean, I remember my wife saying to me,

01:00:44she's gone up there to die, hasn't she?

01:00:46Well, I mean, she had, and again, while writing the book,

01:00:50it was really interesting talking to people who'd been with her

01:00:53in that final year.

01:00:55And there was that sense, as she left Windsor in July 2022,

01:01:00she was doing things that people thought,

01:01:02oh, this is slightly unusual.

01:01:03She wanted to go and say goodbye to her fell pony, Emma,

01:01:06the fell pony she adored.

01:01:09And, you know, when she was saying goodbye to staff and people,

01:01:13they're now looking back, they say they sort of sensed at the time.

01:01:16And she, you know, she went up there, she was so conscientious,

01:01:19she knew that that summer she was going to have to appoint a new Prime Minister,

01:01:23because Boris Johnson at that point had resigned as Tory leader.

01:01:27And once a new Tory leader had been elected,

01:01:29then that person would become Prime Minister.

01:01:31So the Queen thought, well, I'll have to come back down to London

01:01:34to appoint this new Prime Minister, do it properly.

01:01:37And her staff were saying, well, you don't really have to do that.

01:01:40And she went, oh, no, no, I do.

01:01:41It looks terrible.

01:01:42It looks very selfish if I'm dragging all these people,

01:01:44because we have to drag the outgoing Prime Minister

01:01:46and the incoming one all the way up to the Highlands.

01:01:48I think I ought to get the train down.

01:01:51And as that summer went on, essentially her staff and her family,

01:01:56Princess Anne told me that the family said to her,

01:01:58look, it's just, you don't have to.

01:02:00You can just stay here.

01:02:01And I think at that point she realised

01:02:04she was not going to be going south again.

01:02:06And she was very, very happy.

01:02:07She was worried that somehow she'd be causing...

01:02:10She said to Princess Anne that it might make life difficult for everyone

01:02:14if she were to die in Scotland.

01:02:16And everyone said, just carry on.

01:02:19Wherever you want.

01:02:20Do what you like.

01:02:21You're the Queen.

01:02:22The winding down of both their lives, I found quite poignant.

01:02:26Prince Philip saying, I've done my bit and retiring to Wood Farm.

01:02:30And then the Queen slowing down.

01:02:32There are lovely moments in that reign.

01:02:34And so much has been written about them.

01:02:36One of the most actually very moving things I discovered was someone told me,

01:02:41and she had told them, the true story of that shooting in 1981

01:02:47when she's riding in the birthday parade and suddenly shots ring out.

01:02:51And it's trooping the colour.

01:02:52And her horse is sort of...

01:02:55Her mare, Burmese, is sort of startled.

01:02:58But she sort of calms the horse.

01:03:00And she just keeps riding on in a straight line.

01:03:03And everyone said, oh golly, that's very cool karma collected.

01:03:06That's our Queen.

01:03:07What, of course, she didn't know, nobody knew that the gunman was firing blanks.

01:03:11And what she said to this person afterwards, who told me,

01:03:14was the reason she looked straight ahead.

01:03:16She said, I could see the police and everybody running past me.

01:03:19And she said, I thought my husband had been shot.

01:03:22And they said what struck in their mind.

01:03:24She very, very rarely used the phrase, my husband.

01:03:26On that case, she said, I thought my husband had been shot.

01:03:29And I just couldn't face seeing his body.

01:03:32So she was literally on autopilot, riding in a straight line.

01:03:35And if you look back at the footage of that, what's so remarkable is,

01:03:38a few seconds later, it's quite clear the parade is continuing.

01:03:42And then, finally, she risks turning round

01:03:44as they're going on to Horsgaard's parade proper.

01:03:47And she turns round and you see her see Philip behind her.

01:03:51And the grin on her face.

01:03:53She was never one for smiling on parade.

01:03:55It was probably quite serious.

01:03:56And she's just got that sort of look of utter joy, really.

01:04:00They are treasured memories.

01:04:01Yeah.

01:04:02People would say, well, you said, I've always thought it interesting

01:04:03that you have devoted your life.

01:04:06You know, you're a good political commentator.

01:04:09You're a man who knows news and everything.

01:04:12And yet you chose this role, this route of following the Queen.

01:04:17And I remember asking someone, you said to me, the fascination of soft power.

01:04:21But it is power, isn't it?

01:04:24It's an effective power.

01:04:25It's very effective power.

01:04:26And, you know, we've been seeing it of late.

01:04:29I wrote to a certain Donald Trump saying, can I have a chat about the Queen?

01:04:35There's no way I'd have got through the door of Mar-a-Lago to talk to him

01:04:38for any other reason.

01:04:40But the fact was he wanted to talk about the Queen.

01:04:42He adored her.

01:04:43He was devoted.

01:04:43He just thought she was one of the most impressive leaders he met.

01:04:47So I had a chat with him for the book.

01:04:49I mean, previously, Barack Obama, when he was doing a speech

01:04:53at the end of his presidency, reflecting on great leaders of his lifetime.

01:04:57And he picked out two in particular who just represented, in his view,

01:05:00the essence of leadership.

01:05:02One was Nelson Mandela and the other was Elizabeth II.

01:05:05And to have that level of clout gives Britain a huge leg up.

01:05:10And we've seen that in recent weeks because you think back to 1956

01:05:17and there's suddenly the Suez crisis and Britain is in the doghouse

01:05:21and is humiliated because of its disastrous attempt to reclaim the Suez Canal.

01:05:26And America is very cross with Britain and London and Washington are arguing.

01:05:31Who's our charge?

01:05:32What does London do?

01:05:33London sends the Queen on a state visit to Washington the following year.

01:05:37It's a great success.

01:05:38Does that ring any bells?

01:05:39Yeah, it's sounding amazingly familiar.

01:05:42It's a fascinating read, Elizabeth II, Robert Hardin.

01:05:45Robert, love it to be.

01:05:46Thank you, Alan.

01:05:47Thank you very much.

01:05:52Coming up, sandwiches, cakes and fizz.

01:05:56Pure indulgence.

01:05:58Utterly essential.

01:05:59Tom Sergi brings us the very best in boozy afternoon teas,

01:06:03including a deconstructed drinkable cucumber sandwich.

01:06:07Sounds unusual.

01:06:09And she's the girl from Liverpool who went on to become one of our best loved stars.

01:06:14Rita Tushingham on her incredible career and the incredible people she's met along the way.

01:06:19I'll see you with Rita right after this.

01:06:36Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

01:06:38Coming up, back in the day, mid-afternoon tea for the rich and famous often entails a spread of cakes,

01:06:43a cup of tea and a hefty glug of gossip.

01:06:46Perhaps that's why drinks don Tom Sergi is adding a little booze to proceedings in today's afternoon tea-inspired vested

01:06:53British cocktails.

01:06:55But first, my next guest became a defining face of the 1960s British New Wave cinema.

01:07:00She was a prominent star in kitchen sink realism films, including The Leather Boys and The Knack and how to

01:07:08get it.

01:07:09And of course, the gritty, groundbreaking and critically acclaimed Taste of Honey.

01:07:16I don't think it's doing any good being with me all the time.

01:07:19I couldn't move away from you now.

01:07:21You must. We can't be together all the time.

01:07:24I'd rather be dead than away from you.

01:07:27You say that as if you mean it.

01:07:29Well, I do mean it.

01:07:32Before I knew you, I didn't care much whether I lived or died, you know.

01:07:37But then I met you, and well, being with you is me life.

01:07:43Hey, there's no need for us to split up, is there, Jo?

01:07:46Come on, Rain! Come on, Storm!

01:07:51Jo?

01:08:00It kicked me, Geoff!

01:08:04It kicked me!

01:08:07Murray Melvin and Rita Tushingham, a great example in a British New Wave film.

01:08:13Could you sense, Rita, that you were part of a new genre, something completely different from what had gone before?

01:08:19Well, I think so, because there was a lot of chat about it, and especially about A Taste of Honey.

01:08:25Yeah.

01:08:25But it was just something that was of the time, and very exciting.

01:08:29So it was exciting to do it?

01:08:31Oh, yes!

01:08:32Because it was groundbreaking to watch.

01:08:33I mean, it's like, ooh, people don't talk like that in films, they all talk like that!

01:08:37No, I know they did, didn't they? Make a cup of tea, darling, and do this.

01:08:40And people would say to me, but there aren't people like that.

01:08:44People are characters.

01:08:46Yeah.

01:08:46A lot of people will get upset about the characters we were playing.

01:08:49But in the film, it was the first interracial kiss on film, A Taste of Honey.

01:08:54Yeah, which you were a part of.

01:08:55Yes.

01:08:56Wonderful.

01:08:57How different was filmmaking in those days, in the 1960s?

01:09:01You work in films now as well.

01:09:03How different is it?

01:09:04How did they contrast with one another?

01:09:06Well, it was on film, now it's not.

01:09:10Yeah, yeah.

01:09:10They don't really, because I'd never done film before.

01:09:13But it's just the same exciting thing.

01:09:15You're just trying to produce a good product, to make a good film.

01:09:20Of all the things that you've done, certainly from my point of view, one that stands out,

01:09:26which was iconic of its time, was Dr Zhivago.

01:09:30Oh, yeah.

01:09:30Which again, I mean, the blockbuster of its day.

01:09:34Astonishing cast, you know, Omar Sharif, Julie Christie.

01:09:37And Rita Tushingham.

01:09:39And I guess...

01:09:41How did you come to be lost?

01:09:45We were running in a street.

01:09:47We?

01:09:47My father.

01:09:49Not your father.

01:09:50Kamarovsky.

01:09:50I don't know.

01:09:52The street was on fire.

01:09:54There were explosions and the houses were falling down.

01:09:57And he...

01:09:58He...

01:09:59He let go of my hand.

01:10:03He let go of my hand.

01:10:05And...

01:10:06And I was lost.

01:10:11Your father has done that?

01:10:14Oh, yes.

01:10:16People will do anything.

01:10:18It was Komarovsky.

01:10:23This man...

01:10:24Was your father.

01:10:28Why won't you believe it?

01:10:31Don't you want to believe it?

01:10:34Not if it isn't true.

01:10:37There's such a striking intensity to that scene between you and Alec Guinness.

01:10:43And terribly fragile on your part.

01:10:46What was it like working with Alec Guinness?

01:10:49I have to ask.

01:10:49Well, it was wonderful because he...

01:10:51We spent all the time together.

01:10:53Yeah.

01:10:53And we had just a wonderful relationship.

01:10:56We'd go on long walks.

01:10:57And he had the most wonderful sense of humour.

01:11:01We just hit it off.

01:11:02And from today now, he used to leave messages for me and put a hand on the envelopes.

01:11:09And to this day, when I send something by hand to people, I always put what Alec put on...

01:11:15A little hand on the envelope.

01:11:17You know, I wrote an envelope this morning.

01:11:19I wrote by hand on it.

01:11:20I shall now.

01:11:21I must know.

01:11:21Can I copy now?

01:11:24I'll tell you where I got this idea from.

01:11:26It came from Rita Tushing and got it from...

01:11:27But it's such a nice...

01:11:28And if I tell people, they love the story.

01:11:31He was such an understated actor.

01:11:34And Tom Courtney's sat where you're, Sissy.

01:11:37Well, I knew Tom was one of the first people I met when I came to London, Tom Courtney.

01:11:43And also, one of the first people I met, you'd be interested in this,

01:11:46was the artist Francis Bacon.

01:11:48Goodness me.

01:11:49And I knew him quite well because Paul Dankwer, who played the sailor in A Taste of Honey...

01:11:55Francis had a studio in his flat in Battersea.

01:12:00Yeah.

01:12:01And so I met him and I just thought, oh, this is London.

01:12:05And I was taken to Muriel's bar in Soho and things like that.

01:12:09But to meet Francis was quite something.

01:12:11Did he paint you?

01:12:12No, he said he was going to.

01:12:14He never got rid of him.

01:12:15Yeah.

01:12:16Someone who is often regarded as quite challenging was somebody you worked with in the trap.

01:12:20Which is Oliver Reed.

01:12:31Alright, child.

01:12:33Her parents were killed in an Indian raid ten years ago.

01:12:36My husband found her and brought her home to live with us.

01:12:40What's your name, Little Rabbit?

01:12:45it speak to me i'm talking to you can't speak shock but she's a good strong girl she cooks

01:12:54well and she sews too her name's eve a thousand dollars for a woman who can't talk that's a lot

01:13:02of money better than a woman who talks too much huh playing a mute no lines at all and in

01:13:10scenes

01:13:10like that with a powerful actor like oliver reed now that's tricky because you've got to get your

01:13:18character over without speech so there's an intensity which you get in there harder or easier

01:13:25no it's harder because physically you you have to i mean you can't say a word which i didn't so

01:13:33you've got to get it over in a physical way and also i mean i always like to prepare but

01:13:39you've

01:13:40got to be absolutely prepared for it because you're not really giving anything back apart

01:13:45from perhaps an expression on the face but it was i mean i enjoyed doing it but it was hard

01:13:51oliver reed famously tricky to work with was he tricky to work with on the trap

01:13:57well he had his moments but i i stood up to him i wouldn't take his nonsense yeah and um

01:14:04and so we

01:14:05got on very well but i didn't i didn't let him get the better of me and he sort of

01:14:10would he mellowed

01:14:12and i he's a wonderful actor he was a wonderful actor and i don't think he realized how good he

01:14:17was or a lot of people didn't realize but no we had a very good relationship because mo it was

01:14:22mostly

01:14:22just oliver and myself in the film well you've almost come full circle since taste of funny which

01:14:28was sheila delaney and you've been working with her daughter well no her daughter charlotte yeah found

01:14:34a play that sheila wrote in 70 something 75 76 about when sheila ran away from home for a couple

01:14:43of

01:14:43days and she sent it to me and said would you please be part of this of course i would

01:14:48say yes

01:14:48because sheila was such an important part of my life and now i'm playing a bag lady in the park

01:14:54it's quite nice no pressure no no no it's a completely different but no i'm doing that

01:15:01it's a radio play so i'm doing that next month oh wonderful so you're getting the voice i remember

01:15:06vividly you having a part in bread kind of keeping oh yeah with gene boat and yeah lovely gene

01:15:12wonderful situation comedy that was on in the 80s 90s hugely successful so your career has encompassed

01:15:20both you know from dr givago to bread heck of a a quantum leap really from one to the other

01:15:26but

01:15:26that's the thing isn't it about acting that's the wonderful thing about it and also shooting because

01:15:31i'm from liverpool and we shot in liverpool and carla lane of course who was a very good friend

01:15:36so that was fun to do do you have it gives you great pleasure looking back at these moments do

01:15:42you

01:15:42amuse on the variety that life has presented you with it's been astonishing yeah well it has been a lot

01:15:49i mean

01:15:50when i think of years ago um i was looked after i went to san francisco to receive an award

01:15:58and i was

01:16:00looked after by shirley temple and introduced to people by bing crosby and often when a christmas time

01:16:09when i'm in a shop and i hear the carols and everything and i think i'm sure i'm the only

01:16:14person

01:16:14here that has met him and been introduced did you get on well with him oh you know he was

01:16:20he was very nice and shirley temple was lovely and looked after me and

01:16:24how did shirley temple end up looking after you i don't know she just happened to be part of this

01:16:29festival

01:16:29oh right so she was your minder yeah i know can you imagine i mean it was that was quite

01:16:34exciting

01:16:34she became a politician of course yes shirley temple black yes yeah she was she wasn't she

01:16:39the ambassador of ghana she was i think she's gone yeah yeah no but that was quite exciting

01:16:46i always feel sometimes like a taxi driver you know who said do you know i had in the back

01:16:51of

01:16:51the cab last week you know and this is okay people like you and reese but it's true but isn't

01:16:56that what

01:16:57this it it gives us that that's the gift i mean my dad was a grocer he had some grocery

01:17:02shops in

01:17:03liverpool and i think i'd never have been able to do that i wouldn't have been able to go to

01:17:07downing

01:17:08street i wouldn't have been able to go to the ambassador in um then czechoslovakia and and also

01:17:16dance with khrushchev's wife rita kosher danced with khrushchev's wife when oh it was in kalavivari

01:17:27the film festival yeah and she came and she danced with me god did you get to meet him no

01:17:34no just her

01:17:35but her yeah because when i went to i went to moscow and because of the roles i played i

01:17:42was called the

01:17:42people's actress you know the working class yes and so that was quite sort of exciting but no i danced

01:17:49with her the things that crop up when you're talking to people it's funny it's heard some tales of this

01:17:55so but yeah absolutely delighted to have you with us you've been a part of my life for as long

01:18:00as

01:18:00i've been around really thank you very much indeed thank you lovely to see you we'll stay for a drop

01:18:05to drink afterwards it would love to have you with us now bill bryson foreigner lived in britain

01:18:13said that britain has the most reliably beautiful countryside in the world who is going to disagree

01:18:19certainly certainly not me and here's proof it's time for ode to joy

01:18:24so

01:18:52so

01:19:01so

01:19:17ORGAN PLAYS

01:19:59ORGAN PLAYS

01:20:03Coming up, sandwiches, cakes and fizz.

01:20:06Pure indulgence and utterly essential.

01:20:09Tom Sergi brings us the very best in boozy afternoon teas,

01:20:13including a storm in a teacup and a milk oolong martini.

01:20:17Sounds intriguing.

01:20:19Afternoon tea with that lot will be served right after this.

01:20:37There are a few things more quintessentially British

01:20:40than a glorious array of cakes, scones and cucumber sandwiches.

01:20:44Popular pastime since the mid-19th century.

01:20:47Afternoon tea was introduced by Anna Russell, the Duchess of Bedford,

01:20:51who complained, as most of us would, of feeling hungry around four o'clock

01:20:55and requested from her footman, no doubt, some light finger food and a brew.

01:21:00That machine didn't put it like that, though, did she?

01:21:01These days it's just as common to indulge in a spot of fizz

01:21:04with your afternoon nibbles and ham and eggs, and you can call it high tea.

01:21:08But it's not just bubbles that go down well at this time of day.

01:21:11Drinks expert Tom Sergi is here

01:21:13with a selection of afternoon tea-inspired cocktails.

01:21:18It's tea time and I can't wait to be served.

01:21:22Goodness me, Tom, fire away.

01:21:23It looks OK, doesn't it? Here we go.

01:21:25Ooh, it looks very dangerous to me.

01:21:28It is dangerous, it does.

01:21:29I've taken the brief quite literally.

01:21:31So a lot of these drinks involve tea, there's lots of caffeine involved,

01:21:34we're looking at kind of really elegant flavours,

01:21:37looking at cucumber sandwiches.

01:21:38I've gone a bit wild in the garnishes, Alan,

01:21:41which I know is your favourite thing.

01:21:42I'm loving the cravat, by the way.

01:21:43Isn't this cool?

01:21:44Yes.

01:21:44I turned up today and they specifically said,

01:21:46look, you've got a cravat.

01:21:47I learned how to put a cravat on.

01:21:48Stephen, you might learn from this.

01:21:49I'm already learning, yeah.

01:21:51There you go. Come on.

01:21:52Yeah, I'm not sure I'll belt it tight after drinking these lot.

01:21:55After drink number three, we'll swap, that's fine.

01:21:57I remember seeing you as Bertie Worcester

01:21:58and there was a lot of cravat going on in that.

01:22:00There was a lot of cravat work.

01:22:01Fairly point.

01:22:02Now, we're going to begin.

01:22:04We've got this first drink here, OK?

01:22:05OK, and one of my favourite things,

01:22:08something I drink probably by the litre more of at home

01:22:11than anything else, is beautiful green tea.

01:22:13I'm obsessed with tea.

01:22:15And this here is actually an oolong tea

01:22:17that is made by the lovely Jing, who bring it in.

01:22:20It's from Taiwan and it comes as these whole leaves.

01:22:23So you'll see it's garnished with a whole tea leaf in it.

01:22:26Gently dried.

01:22:27This is called milk oolong tea.

01:22:28It's got this richness and viscosity and softness to it,

01:22:31which I thought was very appropriate.

01:22:32We've mixed it with vodka.

01:22:34Yes.

01:22:34I thought there was something else in there.

01:22:35I thought the tea had rather a kick.

01:22:38I'm like the other tea I've had before.

01:22:40It's a milk oolong martini, which is a thing.

01:22:43Nice.

01:22:44Mmm.

01:22:45Yeah, very sweet.

01:22:46Come on.

01:22:46The tea.

01:22:47Vodka tea.

01:22:48Anita?

01:22:49Not my choice.

01:22:51Cup of tea?

01:22:51Not my cup of tea.

01:22:53Boom.

01:22:54I like a sweeter cocktail.

01:22:56I think I'd rather have it without the tea in it.

01:22:59I know it sounds German.

01:23:00Just neat vodka.

01:23:00Yes.

01:23:01It's like a tea martini, basically.

01:23:03Yes, it is.

01:23:04That's exactly what it is.

01:23:04Tea martini.

01:23:06Exactly.

01:23:06You're sitting very quietly, Rita.

01:23:08Well, I'm thinking it's not quite my taste.

01:23:12How dare you?

01:23:13But it's just like a cold cup of tea.

01:23:15What a start.

01:23:16I know.

01:23:17Out the gates.

01:23:18There we go.

01:23:19Now, we're sticking with the tea theme.

01:23:20We're keeping you caffeinated.

01:23:22There's an amazing drink called the Gin Fizz.

01:23:24And so I've created a Gin Fizz with a bit of lime, a little bit of lemon, a little bit

01:23:27of egg white just to give it a bit of that froth.

01:23:29And crucially, amazing Portobello Road distillery, Old Tom Gin.

01:23:34Old Tom Gin, higher ABV gin.

01:23:37It's a bit stronger in alcohol, that means.

01:23:39And a little bit sweet.

01:23:40It's the original English gin.

01:23:43Oh, now you're talking.

01:23:44Now, that's great.

01:23:45It's good, hey?

01:23:45Come on.

01:23:46You're just trying to get me back in favour.

01:23:49No, we're not.

01:23:50That's good.

01:23:51That's very good.

01:23:52What I've done is, as I've poured that in from a shaker, that mixture of citruses, a

01:23:56little bit of sugar in the gin, we've then topped it up with Darjeeling tea from the

01:24:00lovely SciShow.

01:24:01So this is just cold-brewed Darjeeling tea made into a sparkling fizz, delicious on its

01:24:05own.

01:24:06And as you pour them in together, you get this lovely froth on top.

01:24:09And it works.

01:24:10So it's a lemony, Darjeeling-y, gin-y situation.

01:24:13Neater?

01:24:14Perfect on a warm day.

01:24:15I like this one.

01:24:16It's nice.

01:24:16It's good.

01:24:17It's fresh.

01:24:17It's all here, Rita.

01:24:18Yeah.

01:24:20And like all things that have got a bit of sweetness and a bit of citrus to it, you

01:24:23can hide quite a lot of booze in there.

01:24:25So it's about a half full of actual milk alcohol.

01:24:28Is it really?

01:24:30Stephen?

01:24:31Two drinks in.

01:24:32Yeah.

01:24:32Come on.

01:24:33More tea, Vicka.

01:24:34Come on.

01:24:34The cravat's looking better by the second.

01:24:36That's it.

01:24:36The swaps on.

01:24:37The swaps on.

01:24:38The lemony, though.

01:24:38Lovely.

01:24:39But it's got a hit.

01:24:40Now, what we've got here is a little concoction I created, pretty much exclusively because I wanted

01:24:45to garnish it with a cucumber sandwich.

01:24:47And so we've made little cucumber sandwich fingers that go very nicely with it.

01:24:51And in your glass, it's a little bit of lemon juice blended into cucumber juice.

01:24:56So you've got a whole cucumber blitzed together and blended.

01:24:59And then crucially, in equal parts, this amazing vermouth, white English vermouth from In The

01:25:04Loop added into it.

01:25:05So it's made by a really lovely lady called Janina in a tiny little vineyard, little shed

01:25:10outside a vineyard near Cobra in Sussex.

01:25:13And she uses English wines as the base, gives them a little bit of extra pep with a bit

01:25:17of spirit just to bring the alcohol up to 17%.

01:25:19And then adds in wild-grown gorse flowers, oregano, bay, wormwood that she grows in the

01:25:26garden.

01:25:26And so it's really handmade, artisan.

01:25:28Can you imagine it's on a warm picnic?

01:25:30I mean, it'd be fabulous, wouldn't it?

01:25:31Yeah, it's pretty good, huh?

01:25:32Very good.

01:25:33What's Rita got?

01:25:34A fresh air.

01:25:34Well, Rita, we are moving on to this.

01:25:37Have a look at this.

01:25:37You have got, I'm calling it, storm in a teacup.

01:25:41Yes.

01:25:41And what you've got here is you've got silver, which is a brand new, really cool non-alcoholic

01:25:47spirit.

01:25:47So this is ultrasonically matured non-alcoholic spirits.

01:25:52They get cherry wood, apple wood, various different really beautiful bits of wood, and

01:25:57they sonically age it in a kind of vacuum environment, which draws out this smoky, woody,

01:26:03rich kind of texture.

01:26:04It's a bit like a whiskey, a little bit like a non-alcoholic whiskey.

01:26:07And I've mixed that with a bit of lemon juice, a bit of honey in a syrup that I've made,

01:26:11a little bit of ginger, and stretched it out with a lovely little bit of water.

01:26:14And you end up with something that is kind of warming and recognisable, but is...

01:26:18Bold.

01:26:19Very bold.

01:26:19Yeah, it's big.

01:26:21So if you're into the non-alcoholic way of things, then I think silver's quite interesting.

01:26:25It tastes like nothing else, doesn't it, really?

01:26:25Yeah.

01:26:26No, there's nothing you can compare it to, is it?

01:26:28No.

01:26:28But it does taste alcoholic.

01:26:29Is that just...

01:26:30Yeah.

01:26:31It's got a hotness like chilli has, but it's not chilli.

01:26:35Exactly.

01:26:35It's just warming, but cold.

01:26:37Yeah.

01:26:38Strain.

01:26:38Now the final one...

01:26:40Pudding.

01:26:40Pudding, yes.

01:26:42And this is a drink of two parts.

01:26:44There is a drink out there, there's a very classic cocktail called Remember the Main,

01:26:47and this has got nothing really to do with that, but I've called it, because of that,

01:26:51for ease, Remember the Battenberg.

01:26:53And what we've done...

01:26:54Look at this.

01:26:55...is at the very bottom of it, you've got some really beautiful framboise, raspberry

01:27:00liqueur, and then on top we've floated this oat cream.

01:27:03So it's completely vegan, it's just oat cream, like the single cream version, mixed with amaretto

01:27:09and this amazing rum.

01:27:11So this is Lowland rum, a Scottish rum, from the amazing John Paul Jones team, which is

01:27:17quite elegant golden rum with a little bit of seaweed in there for a bit of salinity.

01:27:21Now the idea is, the cream which has got amaretto and rum in it, and a little vanilla,

01:27:26you need to drink through that to get to the framboise.

01:27:28Well, that's going to take half an hour.

01:27:30Well, no, no, no, not if you tilt it enough and you sip it firmly enough.

01:27:34If you get a decent glug going on, you'll get a bit of both.

01:27:37You ready?

01:27:38I like the boozy Battenberg that's hanging on to the edge there.

01:27:41It tastes like liquidised Battenberg dessert, doesn't it?

01:27:45It does.

01:27:47Battenberg in a glass.

01:27:48Oh, my goodness.

01:27:50You're going to have to go for it, you're going to have to lean into it.

01:27:53Still not getting there.

01:27:56This could take a while.

01:27:58It's going to be a while.

01:27:59Delicious.

01:28:00It's a very delicious, kind of viscous situation.

01:28:02Still not getting there.

01:28:03It's absolutely outrageous and delicious.

01:28:06And Stephen Mangan will not be able to stand up.

01:28:08I can't get it.

01:28:10It's all over.

01:28:11You need to have to hold.

01:28:11Here we go.

01:28:12Yes, he's in!

01:28:13The payoff.

01:28:15Very good.

01:28:16Yes!

01:28:17It's worth it.

01:28:18But I may have to go and have a lie down.

01:28:21As you say, Anita, I mean, that is liquid Battenberg in a glass, isn't it?

01:28:24Delicious.

01:28:25Come on.

01:28:26Does anybody else feel as warm as I feel?

01:28:28Well, it's massive for today.

01:28:31Well, it has to be now.

01:28:33That really is it for today.

01:28:34Thanks to all my guests, to Rita, Stephen, Anita, Tom, and of course, Robert, who missed

01:28:40the cocktails.

01:28:41But there we are.

01:28:41I can't even say cocktails now, really.

01:28:44Joining me next week, Jason Watkins, Pixie Lott, and Bill Bailey.

01:28:48But before we go, to quote the opening line of Henry James' Portrait of a Lady,

01:28:52there are a few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known

01:28:59as afternoon tea.

01:29:00This is nothing like the ceremony known as afternoon tea.

01:29:02We've already done ten minutes.

01:29:04I'll have another gin tea fizz.

01:29:06Actually, I want to have another Battenberg.

01:29:07Tom, enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

01:29:10Cheers.

01:29:11Cheers, all.

01:29:11Cheers.

01:29:12Cheers.

01:29:13Cheers.

01:29:15Cheers.

01:29:16Cheers.

01:29:18Cheers.

01:29:19Cheers.

01:29:20Cheers.

01:29:21Cheers.

01:29:22Cheers.

01:29:23Cheers.

01:29:24Cheers.

01:29:25Cheers.

01:29:26Cheers.

01:29:27Cheers.

01:29:28Cheers.

01:29:29Cheers.

01:29:33Cheers.

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