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Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh - Season 8 - Episode 01
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00:00:00With their supersonic vision, razor-sharp hearing and aerial acrobatics, there can be no greater sight in the sky than
00:00:08our birds of prey, but you'll be lucky to see one like Smirnoff here, other vodkas are available, unless you're
00:00:14in the Urals, a five-year-old Ural owl, known for its long, wedge-shaped tail and deep, relaxed wingbeats.
00:00:22Yes, I'm keeping very still and hoping that I'll have all my fingers when you've finished. Very chatty, apparently. Oh,
00:00:29it's come to the right place. It's time. Full of your weekend.
00:00:52Oh, it's come to the right place.
00:01:22Here's Misty Mornings, a glorious time of year and a glorious show for you this morning. Coming up, she's the
00:01:29socialite with a roving eye and a flair for the dramatic. Lady Felicia Montague swaps her manner for ours. Nancy
00:01:37Carroll on her latest Kembleford capers and frightening us all this Christmas in The Room in the Tower.
00:01:43And from Mary Poppins to South Pacific to the musical Hair, she's starred in them all and to think she
00:01:50wanted to be a nun.
00:01:52Patti Boulay, back on the road in an all-singing, all-dancing, one-woman show.
00:01:57And our resident chicken whisperer's back with a New Year project decided by you at home.
00:02:03Carpenter Rob Bent brings the fun factor, creating a chicken obstacle course. Words you never think you'll say.
00:02:11An award-winning writer, foremost politician and chart-topping broadcaster, Rory Stewart on swapping politics for podcasts.
00:02:20And who's hot-trot in the world of dressage?
00:02:24We go behind the scenes at the British Dressage National Championships as one young rider sets her sights on a
00:02:31coveted winner's rosette.
00:02:38Now, I'm very pleased to say that the dawn chorus has been broken once again by the sounds of chirpy
00:02:44celebrities chatting away.
00:02:46Welcome to the bar, Patti Boulay, Rory Stewart and Nancy Carroll. Welcome to you all.
00:02:51And there's a great connection here, which to me is obviously, but for you, Rory, Scotland, the connection with Scotland.
00:02:57I mean, because you were an MP for Penrith and the Borders up there for ten years?
00:03:02Yes, I'm a Scot and my mother's in Scotland, my father was in Scotland.
00:03:06We had a massive family funeral with kilts and bagpipes and coffins being carried and we danced a 52-some
00:03:15reel around,
00:03:16which my father demanded in his will as the final stage of his funeral.
00:03:20You see, you know how to do it, by love and moroseness. It's a celebration of a life.
00:03:27Yes. Do you make sure you keep going back? There's that connection?
00:03:31Very much. And one of the problems with small boys is that they keep outgrowing their kilts.
00:03:36I've got an eight-year-old and a ten-year-old. So there's a perpetual recycling of second-hand kilts
00:03:41through all the families in Scotland.
00:03:42They're not inexpensive, aren't they?
00:03:43Otherwise, you'd spend a fortune.
00:03:45Yeah, exactly.
00:03:45Patti, Scottish connections at all with you?
00:03:47The people are really lovely. Because when my career first started, like in the 70s, I toured Inverness, you know,
00:03:55Bonesse, name it. I was everywhere.
00:03:57Aberdeen opened the new, was it the Prince of Wales Theatre in Aberdeen?
00:04:03And also, I had, oh my gosh, the funny thing was somebody asked for an autograph after the show. And,
00:04:12of course, I had just only three years been in England. So I wasn't quite used to the accents.
00:04:18And I said, okay, what's your name? Do you want your name? He said, mm-hmm. I said, what's your
00:04:21name? He said, Jim. I went, okay. Do you want to spell that? He said, yeah. Okay.
00:04:29We went on like this for ten minutes. Somebody said, Jimmy!
00:04:34I thought, oh, great. Okay. But I do. I just love, I love Edinburgh. And I've done the military tattoo.
00:04:42The tattoo, yes. I did the tattoo, yes. Many years ago. I did that as a scout. Oh, gosh.
00:04:47That long ago, in a campfire blanket, because it was perishing. But I've never forgotten it. But you must have
00:04:52toured up there, presumably.
00:04:54I did the Edinburgh Festival when I was at university in the 1870s, I think, maybe.
00:04:59But it was, and I remember the first slot we ever had was 10.30 at night. We were right
00:05:04up by the tattoo.
00:05:05It was great. And then we'd stay up all night, because no one ever came, of course, at half ten
00:05:10at night.
00:05:11We were at the wrong end of town, but it was wonderful.
00:05:13The other thing that struck me about all three of you is, in different ways, you've all had to be,
00:05:18I was going to say victims, and it probably is victims, of auditions.
00:05:22And going up, putting yourself out there to get something, whether it's theatre, which is an obvious audition, but also,
00:05:30Rory, for you auditioning.
00:05:31I mean, I imagine going to audition to become a selected candidate to stand for Parliament must be a bit
00:05:38daunting, isn't it?
00:05:39It's terrifying. And famously, some MPs go around and are rejected by sort of 20 or 30 different constituencies.
00:05:47And you're in a little short list of six, and there's this terrible sort of looking at the other five
00:05:52people, and then you stand up, and generally you're in front of the party faithful, who are usually, if you're
00:05:57a Conservative, much more right-wing than the normal public, or if you're Labour, much more left-wing than the
00:06:01normal public.
00:06:03And you have to develop these. I was trained by a man who said to me that, you're going to
00:06:08be asked whether you want to leave the European Union, and obviously I'm a big Remainer, and you're going to
00:06:13be asked about the death penalty, and I'm against the death penalty, but you have to sound ferociously right-wing.
00:06:17So what he trained me to say is, I'm in favour of the European Union, but if they ever tried
00:06:23to abolish the Queen, I would be marching on Brussels.
00:06:26LAUGHTER
00:06:28You only needed the one statement there, and it covered all bases.
00:06:33But are theatrical ones as terrifying, Patti, I mean, when you're auditioning for a role?
00:06:37Well, actually, you know, I hate auditions. The last one I had was for Bird Woman in Mary Poppins, and
00:06:46it wasn't really like an audition.
00:06:48It was, I went to meet Cameron McIntosh, who you had on the show, and I was suited and booted.
00:06:55Believe me, I looked gorgeous.
00:06:57Had my hair done, my nails were this long, high heels, six-inch heels, and I had this meeting with
00:07:03Cameron, and I thought, that's a wonderful man.
00:07:06Nice to meet him. Got home and said, they want you for the Bird Woman.
00:07:09And I went, are you kidding me? I mean, I couldn't have looked more glamorous. What makes him think I'll
00:07:16look good in rags?
00:07:18But, no, honestly, that was really the best audition.
00:07:22Nancy, auditions.
00:07:24Oh.
00:07:26Yes, the colour's draining from your face.
00:07:28I don't think they get any easier. I would even say, in some ways, they get harder, because you know
00:07:34what's at stake.
00:07:35And you, it's so funny, because I have a mixed relationship with preparation as well, because sometimes I think, if
00:07:42you over-prepare, you're so overly zealous about, I need to sort of tell you everything that I've learned.
00:07:49I've worked so hard because I wanted so much. Please.
00:07:52But then you have to sort of perfect this, yeah, maybe, sort of attitude.
00:07:57But it's such a weird dichotomy, because inside you're like, please, please, please, yeah, it's tough.
00:08:03Just do that. I'd give you any role.
00:08:06I think it gives a lovely humility to actors, because you're so used to this.
00:08:10Precisely.
00:08:11To the element of chance and rejection, in a way that you can be less smug, maybe, than Elon Musk.
00:08:16You don't feel, it's all down to me, I'm all a genius.
00:08:19Unless well off.
00:08:20Unless well off.
00:08:21Unless well off, indeed.
00:08:23It's interesting embracing the level of worry and what rejection leaves you with physically, that we have to embrace that
00:08:32as part of our journey.
00:08:34Do you know, on a Sunday, there used to be something called the Brains Trust, that my parents used to
00:08:38make me sit down and watch.
00:08:39Well, it didn't make me, but I would go to the room and they'd watch it.
00:08:41Oh, gosh, this is so awful.
00:08:42This is so much better.
00:08:44So, welcome to the Love Your Weekend Brains Trust, particularly if you're a young actor.
00:08:48This is sage advice, or a young politician, an aspiring politician or actor.
00:08:52Now, look, help yourself, see there's this glorious array of food here.
00:08:57Delicious pastries, cakes and what have yous.
00:08:59And reading between the lines, what I really mean is line your stomachs, because there are drinks coming at the
00:09:02end of the programme.
00:09:03And Tom Sergi has got his 2026 predictions, so there's bound to be something that you've probably never had before
00:09:09in there.
00:09:09Still ahead, and filling the air with the fragrance of spring in winter.
00:09:13There's no end to this man's talents.
00:09:15Florist time in Lycett gets creative with mood-lifting blooms to banish those January blooms.
00:09:21Plus, with a gang of ruthless hunters heading our way, the chickens are about to take cover, winter birds of
00:09:28prey swoop in for a visit, including a bald eagle.
00:09:32Until they're softies, really.
00:09:33And I'll be putting that fear to the test right after this.
00:09:36Lady Felicia, I can tempt you either to a toasted tea cake or to one of Mrs. McCarthy's award-winning
00:09:41scones.
00:09:43OK, I'll have one of the scones.
00:09:45It's tactful, that, isn't it?
00:09:46Yes!
00:09:47Have a scone.
00:09:48Well stuffed with a strawberry jam.
00:09:50Thank you very much.
00:09:50There we are.
00:09:51Royal, anybody else for one of these?
00:09:53Oh, fondant fancy.
00:09:55Oh, I'll have one of these.
00:09:59I'll go for the Battenberg, as ever.
00:10:01Here we are, ready to hand.
00:10:03Cheers.
00:10:04Cheers.
00:10:19The way a crow shook down on me the dust of snow from a hemlock tree has given my heart
00:10:27a change of mood
00:10:28and saved some part of a day I'd rood.
00:10:31Dust of Snow by Robert Frost illustrates how a small, unexpected moment in nature can lift a person's mood,
00:10:40as I hope will this.
00:10:42Tom Sergi and the latest drinks trend set to shake up the alcohol aisles in the year ahead.
00:10:47And a new year means a new project for our resident carpenter.
00:10:51Rob Bent returns to the scene of his greatest build
00:10:54as he takes on the next stage of the epic Chick Inn renovation.
00:10:58I believe this one involves a platform and a swing.
00:11:02The mind boggles.
00:11:03Time now for birds of a very different type.
00:11:06And the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that some common garden birds have temporarily disappeared from our skies,
00:11:13migrating south in search of warmer climes this winter.
00:11:16In contrast, several species such as birds of prey are now more prominent,
00:11:22particularly those well adapted to colder environments.
00:11:25These raptors can frequently be observed surveying the frozen landscape for food.
00:11:31Joining me today with some commonly encountered winter birds of prey
00:11:35and rarer species typically found within the Arctic Circle,
00:11:39welcome from the English School of Falconry, Carly Inskip.
00:11:43Carly, welcome, along with your little friend.
00:11:46He's a lovely, handsome boy, isn't he? Bless him.
00:11:49This is a tawny, yeah?
00:11:50He is, yes. He's called Simba.
00:11:52He's now 13 years old.
00:11:54Oh, charming, sir. Thank you very much.
00:11:56That's all right. They have to do it, they don't really.
00:11:58Now, this is one of our native ones, isn't it?
00:11:59This is the one we're tu-wit-tu-wooing.
00:12:01That's correct, yes.
00:12:03Really, really commonly heard pretty much all across the UK
00:12:06and, for that matter, all over Europe.
00:12:08And is it right that the tu-wit-tu-woo is two different birds?
00:12:12That is correct. Yeah, you'll usually find when they're calling,
00:12:16it's often one calling first, then the other.
00:12:18Yeah.
00:12:18But it's a male and a female communicating together.
00:12:21So the female calls with a twit, a high-pitched squeaking sound,
00:12:25and the male's calling with a tu-woo,
00:12:27the typical hooting noise.
00:12:29Yeah, yeah.
00:12:29We might expect to hear from the owls.
00:12:32So how common are they?
00:12:33I mean, they're the ones we most commonly hear.
00:12:35Are they safe? They're not endangered?
00:12:36They are, unfortunately, an amber-listed species,
00:12:39even though they are our most common species of owl in this country.
00:12:43The problem is a lot of habitat loss at the moment,
00:12:46especially people building housing estates and things like that.
00:12:51But thankfully, tawnies are really well adaptable.
00:12:53You'll find them in an environment as beautiful as this,
00:12:56as much as you will in the middle of central London, actually.
00:13:00Numbers at the moment of about 35,000 to 40,000 pairs just in the UK.
00:13:04Well, we'll say goodbye to you, Simba,
00:13:06and meet our next bird of prey.
00:13:09And this is one that you will not see in the skies overhead in the UK,
00:13:14unless it's escaped from a wildlife park,
00:13:17the American Bald Eagle.
00:13:19Now, this one has got some size and weight about it.
00:13:23Carly, not bald at all, but looks bald, I suppose, because it's white.
00:13:27Yes, and it actually comes from the old English for white,
00:13:30so B-A-L-D-E.
00:13:32Yeah.
00:13:33So their original name, the bald-headed, so the white-headed eagle.
00:13:37So, yeah, he's not bald.
00:13:39He's not going to go bald.
00:13:41Very handsome boy, though.
00:13:42Some beak on it, though.
00:13:43That really is a raptor's beak, isn't it, for catching prey?
00:13:46You've got very much a fish-eating bird here,
00:13:49so the beak, unlike many other birds of prey,
00:13:52which is not blunt, but it's not the main damage-doing end,
00:13:57it's still the talons with him,
00:13:59but the beak is actually serrated like a knife edge
00:14:01to cut through tough fish hides.
00:14:03Yeah.
00:14:03He's perfectly adapted to what he needs to do in the wild.
00:14:06Now, tell us about this one.
00:14:07So he's called McCoy.
00:14:09He's one of our kind of more well-known individuals
00:14:13at the centre by the staff.
00:14:15He's an absolute firm favourite now.
00:14:17About 16, almost 17 years old, actually.
00:14:20It seems to me the larger the bird, the longer they live.
00:14:22That's exactly right.
00:14:23Yeah.
00:14:24Yes, if all goes well, actually, under human care,
00:14:26McCoy here quite easily could live even 30 to 40 years.
00:14:30Gosh, so you've got quite a lot of feeding to do.
00:14:32Oh, yes.
00:14:33Oh, yes.
00:14:33And, of course, some of his favourite things are salmon and venison.
00:14:36So, you know, of course, the cheap food.
00:14:38No results for him.
00:14:40No.
00:14:40No.
00:14:41Thank you, McCoy.
00:14:42An honour to meet you.
00:14:43Welcome to our shores.
00:14:44I know you've been here a long while,
00:14:45but we'll let you go and get another bird.
00:14:47This time, one you can occasionally see overhead.
00:14:52A gerfalcon.
00:14:53It took me ages to work out how to pronounce it.
00:14:55G-Y-R.
00:14:57Gerfalcon.
00:14:57So let's meet this one now.
00:14:59Well, we're talking glamour now, Carly,
00:15:02and this is a female gerfalcon, yeah?
00:15:05Oh, yes.
00:15:06And she's a bit of a stunner.
00:15:08Looks as if she's wearing some enormous, great mink coat.
00:15:11Does her colour change, depending on the season?
00:15:14So, yes.
00:15:14So, actually, it will only change with maturity.
00:15:17Yeah.
00:15:17So, in her first year, she still had a lot of white on her,
00:15:22but a lot more dark specks and flecks.
00:15:24And I don't know if the cameras can pick up if I just turn her ever so slightly,
00:15:28but if you have a look on her shoulders, if you will,
00:15:31some of the feathers are more of a brown kind of tone than the dark slaty grey,
00:15:36and they're actually some of her baby feathers that she's still got.
00:15:39So how old is she?
00:15:40She's only two years old, going on three.
00:15:42So she's just starting to get her lovely adult colours.
00:15:46So she's from where?
00:15:47So you'd find these anywhere in the Arctic Circle.
00:15:51So whether you're talking like Canada or Russia or even Scandinavia,
00:15:56very much a cold climate individual species, these guys.
00:16:01Is this the one that can live in an iceberg?
00:16:03Essentially, yes.
00:16:04And that's a rarity.
00:16:06I mean, icebergs generally don't support much in the way of life.
00:16:08Well, the enormous ones, as floes do with polar bears, I suppose.
00:16:12In terms of this is the only falcon which lives on icebergs.
00:16:16Yeah, and they will quite happily take nearly anything that's moving,
00:16:21essentially, while they're flying from perch to perch in their natural wild environment.
00:16:26Again, from the water?
00:16:27They can primarily take out of the air.
00:16:30Oh, right, yeah.
00:16:31So she's mainly going for things like seabirds, whether that be like gulls
00:16:36or, you know, things like your guillemots and things like that.
00:16:40But believe it or not, up to the size of a goose would actually be on the menu
00:16:44for a gerfalcon like her.
00:16:46And that would keep her going for a few days.
00:16:48She's a chunky girl.
00:16:49Despite her size, she's about three and a half pounds in weight.
00:16:51So she's going to shake.
00:16:53Look at the feathers coming out now.
00:16:55Oh, thank you, Flurry.
00:16:57Flurry, she's just going to stretch for a moment, just show off that wingspan for you.
00:17:02Thank you for the demonstration.
00:17:03Look at that.
00:17:03Wonderful.
00:17:04We'll let you take Flurry away while we meet our next girl.
00:17:07We're back to owls.
00:17:09We're meeting the Ural owl, quite different.
00:17:12This is the lovely Smirnoff.
00:17:15Yes.
00:17:16Smirnoff from the Urals.
00:17:17Sounds like a character out of a James Bond film, doesn't it, really?
00:17:21So, yeah, she is a Ural owl, so they get their name from the mountains.
00:17:26But she's basically a cold climate version of the lovely tawny owl that we get in this country.
00:17:31Much larger, as you can see.
00:17:34Just like what we had on the tawny owl, we've got these beautiful eyes.
00:17:37You can see them really well, actually, in the light.
00:17:39The lovely kind of almost milk chocolate brown to the eyes.
00:17:43And the markings are superb.
00:17:45Do they molt?
00:17:46They do, yes.
00:17:47So she's actually just about finished her molt now.
00:17:51She normally molts throughout the really kind of toasty region of the summer.
00:17:56She's not the biggest fan of the summer.
00:17:57A bit too hot for her.
00:17:59Yeah, she's a cold climate bird.
00:18:01Oh, yes.
00:18:02Thank you, Carly.
00:18:03And thank you for bringing your charges, so many of them.
00:18:05Thank you for having us again.
00:18:07We appreciate it.
00:18:07It's a great pleasure, as ever.
00:18:09Still to come, injecting some much-needed joy into the January gloom,
00:18:14Samuel Heissett harnesses the beauty of flowers.
00:18:16To fill the post-Christmas void in your home.
00:18:20And she's the award-winning performer who made history
00:18:22when she was the only contestant to get full marks on a certain well-known talent show.
00:18:27Patti Boulay on her amazing life, both on and off the stage.
00:18:31And her recent role as the bird lady in Mary Poppins.
00:18:35She'd have enjoyed it here, wouldn't she?
00:18:36I'll see you for some super-califragilistically good chat with Patti right after this.
00:18:54Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.
00:18:56Coming up, she chats ghosts, ghouls and gore.
00:19:00Nancy Carroll on her spine-chilling new ghost story concerning a man who has a recurring nightmare.
00:19:06I have much the same thing after one of Andy Clarke's Best of British.
00:19:10And it's the ultimate test of trust between horse and rider.
00:19:14We join the heart of the action of the British Dressage National Championships,
00:19:18where only poise and precision win a place on the podium.
00:19:22Now, my first guest has been dazzling audiences with her distinctive voice for over 50 years,
00:19:28whether on the West End stage in the musicals Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar and Mary Poppins,
00:19:34or on hit tours with her one-woman shows,
00:19:36celebrating the work of Diana Ross, Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin.
00:19:41She's currently embarking on a new UK tour celebrating her career in show business,
00:19:45one that began with her appearance on the 1970s talent show New Faces.
00:19:52and which turned her into a household name overnight.
00:19:56The maximum!
00:19:58The maximum mark!
00:20:04Don't you wonder
00:20:09What God was thinking of
00:20:16I don't know
00:20:18What in heaven's name
00:20:24Made us think
00:20:27That we could ever change
00:20:30Oh, the people
00:20:35Some people
00:20:38Choose to love
00:21:03Choose to love
00:21:08To be a boule
00:21:08Yeah
00:21:10Indeed!
00:21:11Because, you know, I had done about three years on the West End
00:21:15Yeah
00:21:16And I ended up in the Black Mikado
00:21:20I saw you in that, the only white person in the cast is Michael Denison
00:21:24Michael Denison, that's right
00:21:26You're Derrick Griffiths playing Coco
00:21:27He played Coco
00:21:28Closella Benjamin was in it
00:21:30she's played yum yum no pity thing yeah and and then there was yeah it was yes
00:21:39many years ago so you've done that before you did new I did that before I
00:21:44did new faces yeah so I was soon after that because when they released the
00:21:49single of the moon and I yeah and and the DJs couldn't pronounce my name they
00:21:59would go that was Patricia and and and and that was yum-yum from Black Micah so I
00:22:05thought okay that name is got to go and then I just stole Boulay from I don't
00:22:12know if you remember Evelyn Lay yeah I do her name boo to my friends
00:22:18that's right so she was known as Boulay and my husband you know had a meeting
00:22:24with her but making a film about her life and he came back was talking about this
00:22:28gorgeous woman called Boulay Evelyn Lay and I thought that's a good name well
00:22:34that's how I got Patricia Boulay but you came over from Nigeria with the
00:22:41intention of being a nun well actually I was in the convent I was an
00:22:46novitiate in Nigeria the order of the holy child of Jesus and unfortunately I
00:22:53let slip that it I didn't have a calling I just I was a seventh of nine children
00:23:00and my father had decided that I should be a lawyer and I just just that didn't
00:23:06appeal so I thought if you go into a convent he cannot have jurisdiction over
00:23:11you and I happened to let that slip to one of the novitiate so that got back to
00:23:16Mother Superior and she called my parents and said listen send her away for three
00:23:20months if she still wants to be a nun will welcome her back then they sent me
00:23:24to England and then I ended up in show business yep I guess you're not going
00:23:30back to the convent but I've still got my spirit is still there but things like you
00:23:36know Jesus Christ Superstar and all that I mean the breadth and depth but you're
00:23:42particularly into some of the African music as well I am I there's an album being
00:23:47planned for that I think isn't it precisely I've got an album which I'm
00:23:51writing it's based on well it's afrobeat because I wanted people to dance but it's
00:23:57also a gospel album so it has like a gospel feel to it but also a dance feel you
00:24:04know I write the lyrics and and the melody and it's fun it's something for the
00:24:11audience I want people to just be spiritually uplifted yeah yeah really
00:24:18and afrobeat does that naturally because to me it is the natural beat of life you
00:24:23you can't help it when you hear afrobeat you you have to you tap your toes or
00:24:27it's just natural you've brought your music and you've performed with with a
00:24:31wide range of people there's one person in particular I want to show you a little
00:24:35clip of now that you perform with it might be thought of as slightly unlikely but this is
00:24:39Patti Boulay and Des O'Connor
00:24:43you've a nice face
00:24:46his face is good
00:24:50he's got a very nice face
00:24:55with a place for every feature
00:24:58every feature in its place
00:25:01not a commonplace face
00:25:07my eyes
00:25:08clear
00:25:10how about my chin
00:25:13his chin
00:25:14stubborn and strong
00:25:16and my ears
00:25:18his ears are clean
00:25:21my ordinary ears
00:25:24and how about er
00:25:25you know
00:25:27a little too long
00:25:31yet
00:25:31it's a piano face
00:25:36he was so lovely
00:25:38showing why Des O'Connor was so popular with his self-deprecating taking
00:25:42he was
00:25:43Morcombe and Wise
00:25:44do you remember he used to take the mickey out in no end
00:25:46oh yes
00:25:47and I always treasure
00:25:48and I've said it before on this program
00:25:49Margot Fontaine's dictum
00:25:51to take your job seriously is imperative
00:25:53to take yourself seriously is disastrous
00:25:55it's disastrous
00:25:56yeah
00:25:57and Des was living proof of that
00:25:59he had a great sense of humour
00:26:00fantastic man
00:26:01yeah
00:26:02so you're touring
00:26:04yes
00:26:04this one woman show
00:26:06I am
00:26:07I've just
00:26:08oh my gosh
00:26:09okay
00:26:09because I spent a few years before Mary Poppins touring my one woman shows
00:26:15first I started with Billy and me
00:26:17Billy Holiday
00:26:18because I had done rock
00:26:21done you know
00:26:23opera
00:26:24I'd done different things but never jazz
00:26:26so I thought who's the best jazz singer
00:26:28so I started with Billy Holiday
00:26:29but I found her music was brilliant
00:26:32but my gosh her story was so dark
00:26:34yes
00:26:35and so I thought how do I get humour out of this
00:26:38you know for the audience
00:26:40because what I try to do with my audience
00:26:42make them laugh
00:26:43make them cry
00:26:43make them dance
00:26:45make them sing
00:26:47if I can achieve those fine
00:26:49and so with Billy Holiday
00:26:53I told her story but from an African point of view
00:26:56my husband is so English
00:26:58I tried the jokes on him first
00:27:00right
00:27:01make sure they work
00:27:01just to make sure they work
00:27:02and that worked
00:27:04so I went into Aretha Franklin
00:27:07and comparing my career and life
00:27:10or joke
00:27:10with these great you know stars
00:27:13and it worked for the audience
00:27:15because mothers come they see the show
00:27:18I'm bringing my daughter
00:27:19because you're saying exactly what I've been trying to tell them
00:27:22but they wouldn't listen to me
00:27:24you've had some great surprises in your life
00:27:26some great treats
00:27:27I mean particularly during the golden jubilee
00:27:28with a lovely story about the golden jubilee
00:27:32and your part in it
00:27:33oh fantastic
00:27:34I mean I actually it started it was 2002
00:27:39early 2002 I was invited by the then first lady of Nigeria
00:27:44to help with her charity
00:27:45I saw the devastation that was happening
00:27:50there were children dying of AIDS
00:27:52and I thought I came back and I said to my husband
00:27:55I want to help these children
00:27:56there was a particular baby who was a year old
00:27:59and he had full blown AIDS
00:28:01but he was dead within two weeks
00:28:03so I thought okay I'm not stopping here
00:28:05I'm going to try and help the others
00:28:06because there was about 60 babies in this village
00:28:08and so I decided I was going to start my own charity
00:28:14and build basic health care centers
00:28:16and information centers in Africa
00:28:19and I just thought this is impossible
00:28:22my husband said unless you have a patron
00:28:25and I thought oh who do I ask
00:28:28he said well you could try Sir John Major or Prince Charles
00:28:30I went oh just like that
00:28:33and then I thought okay over to you
00:28:37you brought me here if you want me to
00:28:39and I can't you won't believe this Alan
00:28:41I finished and I went okay over to God
00:28:46nothing to do with me
00:28:47and the phone rings
00:28:48and it was Sir John Major
00:28:49would I sing at his farewell party
00:28:52and so I said yes no pay
00:28:56I just need him to be patron
00:28:58anyway and this suddenly he was patron
00:29:02I found myself organizing a concert
00:29:05at the Royal Abbot Hall
00:29:063,000 gospel singers
00:29:07with Major Sir Michael Parker
00:29:09and then on the night was Sir Robin Jambreen
00:29:14mm-hmm yep
00:29:15okay he was
00:29:16exactly the Queen's
00:29:18and he came halfway through and said
00:29:21gosh could you do something like this for the Jubilee
00:29:23this is incredible
00:29:24and I said yeah
00:29:26I said good timing
00:29:27so I went out and I said to the choir
00:29:29I said listen we need another 2,000
00:29:32so you can reproduce whatever you want to do
00:29:34give birth
00:29:35I don't care
00:29:36but we've been invited to the Golden Jubilee
00:29:39and we did have 5,000
00:29:40it was wonderful
00:29:42and I was on the committee
00:29:45what an honour
00:29:46special times
00:29:47oh my gosh
00:29:48I was on the committee of Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee
00:29:51we had our meetings at the palace
00:29:56God has been good
00:29:57that's all I can say
00:29:59well your audiences will be good listening to you
00:30:01lovely to talk to you
00:30:03very nice to talk to you
00:30:04thank you very much Patti
00:30:05thank you
00:30:06a chance to step into your world now
00:30:08and see the inspiring images you've been taking
00:30:10of the great British countryside
00:30:12it's time for Walk on the Wild Side
00:30:15your dose of nature sorted
00:30:18Walk on the Wild Side on Love Your Weekend
00:30:21sponsored by WWF
00:30:25Honk the Wild Side
00:30:25there's a great incredible city
00:30:25to aak out for and have a seat
00:30:52felt like it's because
00:31:54Some incredible shots of Mother Nature in all the finery there.
00:31:58We relish each one, so please do keep sending them in.
00:32:01Coming up, he's been an author, a diplomat, a soldier, a cabinet minister and still dreams of changing the world.
00:32:07Rory Stewart on his latest foray, this time a celebration of the beauty of the Cumbrian countryside.
00:32:13And filling the gaps now the decks are coming down, Simon Lysett with the feel-good floral arrangements to breathe
00:32:18new life into your living room.
00:32:20I'll be back with Simon and his promise of spring right after this.
00:32:36Welcome back to Manor Farm.
00:32:38It might be January, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a tipple or two.
00:32:43Well, five in this case, but who's counting?
00:32:46Clearing the menu board for a new year in the Manor Arms, Tom Sergis had a delivery of the newest
00:32:52drinks set to take off in 2026.
00:32:56It's an exclusive.
00:32:57Still ahead?
00:32:59Blissfully nostalgic and with an air of tranquillity.
00:33:02Barring the murders, of course, bringing a slice of class and sophistication.
00:33:07Nancy Carroll on what's next for Lady Felicia and what's next for Nancy Carroll.
00:33:12Now, it won't be long before we're packing up the tinsel and baubles for another year,
00:33:17leaving behind memories of, hopefully, another wonderful Christmas.
00:33:22And sadly, their decommissioning also leaves a bare and empty sitting room or other parts of the house that you
00:33:28like to put up your baubles.
00:33:29So, how do we fill the void that's left behind?
00:33:32Well, if you ask my next guest, the answer is obvious.
00:33:35Fill it with flowers.
00:33:37Here with creative ways to inject some much-needed colour back into our homes this January.
00:33:42Welcome, florist Simon Lyce.
00:33:45Brighten us up, Simon.
00:33:46So, I think filling your spaces with stuff.
00:33:49Flowers are quite expensive at this time of the year, so you don't need a lot.
00:33:53But it's using lovely natural things, so these gorgeous licheny twigs, which I was using all through Christmas and just
00:34:00love at this time of the year, because they're wintry.
00:34:02And a sign of clean air, too.
00:34:04In Victorian times, all that soot everywhere, branches are wonderfully clean.
00:34:07Now they're not, but it's a sign that the air is beautiful.
00:34:10And I'm using it really just to create a bit of a network.
00:34:13So, you don't need any specific branches.
00:34:16I've got a nice, deep vase.
00:34:18I've put some pebbles in the bottom, which are going to help support my stems.
00:34:22And then, working really sustainably, I've got things like lovely pussy willows.
00:34:27Gosh, do you remember this from school?
00:34:28Yes.
00:34:29And it was your first indication that things would root just in water.
00:34:34Incredible.
00:34:34Particularly willow, with these pre-formed root initials, they're called.
00:34:37And you can just stick these in water.
00:34:39They'll root.
00:34:39And they can plant them out.
00:34:40Yes.
00:34:40And if you prune them heavily each year, you get this fresh growth, because willows are
00:34:45very vigorous, aren't they, and take over.
00:34:47And I have to use it while it's nice and flexible, like this, so that it sort of gives you
00:34:51a nice
00:34:51bit of a network within your vase.
00:34:53So, it's that time that you need to be putting it in water to get some root from it.
00:34:57Oh, yeah, yeah, because if you let it dry out, then it's too late.
00:34:59I'm really just using this to create a bit of a network within my vase.
00:35:04And then I've just got some little bits of, it's just a paper-covered wire, which I'm using
00:35:09just to anchor them together.
00:35:11Look at that gorgeous amaryllis.
00:35:13Do you know what these always remind me of?
00:35:15Agricultural show loudspeakers.
00:35:16You know those?
00:35:17You know, they look like that, don't they, on the top of big pearls?
00:35:21Now, they're so spectacular, but sometimes, with all the weight of these flowers at the
00:35:26head, the hollow stem can actually kink over on the neck of the vase.
00:35:30So, a little top tip is just, you know, the canes that come in your pot plants.
00:35:34So, I'm just going to snip my stem off, and then I'm just going to insert the cane in
00:35:41there, just gently, snip it off at the right height, and then I've just got a little bit
00:35:46of water in the watering can.
00:35:49This is conditioning in the extreme, isn't it?
00:35:51Pour that in, and then a little bit of cotton wool just inside there, and that will still
00:35:58allow it to transpire and take up water, but it's now going to support that stem beautifully.
00:36:02And you've got another bud coming, so how long's that going to last, Simon, that word?
00:36:05Well, I think they're amazing.
00:36:06In a cool room, they last for weeks and weeks.
00:36:09If you just take one off at a time, they'll grow and flower and grow.
00:36:13These I've had in the workroom to get nice and open for us to see today, but ordinarily,
00:36:18sometimes they're two weeks just to get them open.
00:36:20Goodness.
00:36:21And if you grow them from a bulb, you know, a dry bulb, they're a good Christmas present,
00:36:27you know, if you've had one given, start it off, don't give it too much water, out
00:36:30comes the flower. But people say, I had an old lady once ask me what, I'm an old man
00:36:35now, just, you know, anyway, an old lady asked me what, she said, how do I get them
00:36:39to flower? It was just a talk in Eastbourne, how flower next year? So I said, well, let
00:36:44it die down, put it in the airing cupboard, and that pre-performs the flower for next year.
00:36:48Oh, does it?
00:36:49And I went back to this same place, oddly enough, the following year, and a lady put
00:36:52her hand up, and she said, you know, you said, put it in the airing cupboard. I said,
00:36:55yeah, she said, when do I take it out?
00:36:59It's true, actually, too.
00:37:00Anyway, just for a month or two in the airing cupboard.
00:37:04So, for speed, I've been a bit cheating, I haven't popped a cane up every one of them,
00:37:07but the principle is exactly the same. Up they go.
00:37:11Look at that.
00:37:12Bit of water.
00:37:16Wonderful. It's a nice bit of construction work.
00:37:18A little bit of cotton wool.
00:37:19I love the fact they're all white.
00:37:21Aren't they lovely?
00:37:22Especially for New Year.
00:37:23Yes, exactly. A bit of freshness. And then I'm just going to slide that one in there.
00:37:27As you slide them in, just mind the branches, don't slice through the stem or it ends up
00:37:31looking like the spring onion of Chinese restaurant.
00:37:33Fabulous. Now, you've got another one over here, which I'm very curious about.
00:37:36What are we doing here?
00:37:36So, here I've got some chicken wire, my friend, two-inch mesh chicken wire,
00:37:41and I've got a little bit of saucer.
00:37:42Because you said the wider stuff is easier to get plastered.
00:37:44Exactly. But also, you want a nice network that goes right to the bottom.
00:37:47I can't tip it up because it's got lots of water in it.
00:37:50But I filled it with water and then some beautiful sheets of moss.
00:37:54This is stuff that you've raked up from the garden or whatever, haven't you?
00:37:57Yes.
00:37:57You've got it under your trees and shoves or a bit of woodland.
00:37:59Do not go and nick it from the woods.
00:38:01No, don't be doing that.
00:38:03You've got a friend who's got a bit.
00:38:06Yes. It's weird how sometimes it'll grow in a patch on some brickwork,
00:38:11and I can actually use a paint scraper and get a lot of pieces off that way.
00:38:15So, I've created a little hummock of moss,
00:38:17and then your favourite, my favourite, this time of the year.
00:38:20Grand Solidor and paper white, and both of them gloriously fragrant.
00:38:24And what's joyous about them is you don't need loads to add colour and scent to a room like you
00:38:31would not believe.
00:38:32This is a hint of Easter, isn't it?
00:38:33Well, it sort of is.
00:38:35It's spring at its most beautiful and slightly fantastical.
00:38:41It's that bit of hope that comes in the new year.
00:38:43It's a little clovish as if you had bulbs.
00:38:45You don't need many.
00:38:46You just thread them through, and then I'm just going to use some really lovely cornice,
00:38:51which I love, because it's just such a gorgeous, warm colour.
00:38:55And you just add height and thread that in.
00:38:58You don't need to put too many pieces in, however many you fancy,
00:39:02just to give yourselves a lovely little network,
00:39:05and add some height where the tree used to be and that sad empty gap is.
00:39:09Oh, and also, if you're growing dogwoods at home like this,
00:39:12when it comes to about February, early March,
00:39:16you can chop them, prune them really quite hard,
00:39:18and this is the young growth that you get the colour on.
00:39:21But left now just to enjoy during the winter.
00:39:23Joyous.
00:39:24Beautiful.
00:39:25And just thread these in.
00:39:26Make sure they go through to the water.
00:39:28And again, they will last and last,
00:39:30and you can just pick each flower off as the others come out.
00:39:31As it fades in.
00:39:32It fades, yeah.
00:39:32Smell gorgeous.
00:39:33You need to make sure, again,
00:39:35that the stem aren't being cut by the chicken wire.
00:39:38So just use your finger to poke through and make sure they go...
00:39:41And as you say, you can pick the dead flowers a bit more,
00:39:43so you can pull them out and put fresh ones in.
00:39:45Yes.
00:39:45Because the dogwoods will stay there for weeks, won't they?
00:39:47Oh, absolutely.
00:39:48Just make sure that the moss isn't siphoning the water out.
00:39:51Would you mist it?
00:39:51Which is why I'm siphoning it on the top.
00:39:52I would give it a light misting just to keep the moss green,
00:39:55otherwise it goes a little bit dry and dusty everywhere.
00:39:59Isn't that fabulous?
00:40:01You see, on a Sunday morning,
00:40:02when everybody else is panicking and, you know,
00:40:05the roast is a bit slow,
00:40:07just to do something like this and liven up your new year.
00:40:11And it doesn't need many stems, either.
00:40:13That's the thing that I love.
00:40:14A few bunches of these.
00:40:15And if you can try and find British flowers at this time of the year,
00:40:19it's really good to support the local growers.
00:40:21And also, they're always much less expensive
00:40:24and they will always smell lovely and last much longer.
00:40:26Well, I'm just going to waft this scent across to you.
00:40:30Now, go on, breathe in.
00:40:31You see?
00:40:32Works, doesn't it?
00:40:33It does.
00:40:33You look at that.
00:40:34You can actually smell the smell like those.
00:40:35Simon, it's always a delight.
00:40:37Lovely to see you.
00:40:37And happy new year.
00:40:39Happy new year, yes.
00:40:45Time now to enter the dynamic world of equestrian sport
00:40:49and follow the endeavours of talented young rider Gracie Catling
00:40:54as she prepares to compete in the British Dressage National Championships.
00:40:59We've shown a keen interest in her progress over recent years
00:41:02in this notoriously difficult discipline.
00:41:05So we were excited to take up the invitation to join her
00:41:09as she challenged to win a place on the podium against the odds
00:41:13with her trusty Friesian horse, Vitska.
00:41:19We're at the British Dressage National Championships.
00:41:24This is kind of the pinnacle of the dressage calendar.
00:41:27It's what everyone spends a year trying to qualify for.
00:41:31So to be here is a privilege.
00:41:32I'm here with my horse, Vitska.
00:41:34She's a Friesian mare and she is, I call her the queen.
00:41:38She is just fantastic and I adore competing her.
00:41:43As a Friesian, Vitska is definitely the underdog
00:41:46because she's not bred to do this.
00:41:48She's bred to be a carriage horse.
00:41:50So their bodies are very different to what you see in a normal dressage horse.
00:41:54But she has got the best work ethic of any horse I've ever come across.
00:41:58She so wants to do it and you don't see that very much
00:42:01in a lot of these competition horses.
00:42:04I've had her for two years now and we know each other very well.
00:42:09We gelled really quickly when I first got her
00:42:13and I think we've both got quite similar personalities.
00:42:16We kind of have a bit of a sense of humour
00:42:18but at the same time we take our job very seriously.
00:42:23So much work goes into getting here
00:42:25just because you spend all year trying to qualify
00:42:28and then it's not just the qualifying,
00:42:30it's trying to keep them on the road,
00:42:31to keep them fit and happy and healthy.
00:42:33So to get a horse actually here is an achievement in itself.
00:42:42Okay, let me just check your ear.
00:42:45Okay, can you hear me?
00:42:46Do you want to turn it on?
00:42:48Yeah.
00:42:49Working with my mum is, I really enjoy it
00:42:52and I think she does too.
00:42:53It's very nice to have someone who tells you as it is.
00:42:57She definitely doesn't hold back sometimes
00:42:59but on the whole we do get on,
00:43:02we get on really well
00:43:03and she definitely knows what she's talking about
00:43:05and it's nice to have someone around
00:43:07that gives you a confidence boost
00:43:09especially as you're about to go in and compete.
00:43:15So some of the riders here,
00:43:16one of them won bronze at Paris last year
00:43:20and some of these horses,
00:43:21they're into the millions
00:43:23so to be competing against such expensive animals
00:43:27on horses that really aren't bred to do it,
00:43:30it's really quite special.
00:43:33I think I have a slight point to prove with the Frisians.
00:43:36I think people definitely sort of look down their noses at them.
00:43:39They see her come out
00:43:40and she's a bit stompy
00:43:41and they think,
00:43:42oh, they don't have to worry about that one
00:43:44and then you kind of pick her up
00:43:46and off she goes
00:43:47and we say she's like Concord,
00:43:49the way that she moves
00:43:49and that's what the judges really love
00:43:52and I think more and more people
00:43:54are starting to realise
00:43:55that actually they should take them very seriously
00:43:57because they're getting quite hard to beat.
00:44:05Oh, come on, next combination to the arena
00:44:07is number 466 Gracie Candic.
00:44:47Well done, Gracie. It was super.
00:44:52Fitska did so well. She's currently lying fourth out of about 20 or 25 competitors. There's
00:44:58a few more left to go, so I'm hoping that she stays in the top few and she gets a
00:45:02rosette.
00:45:15There we go. The last one's in at 69. So you're fifth.
00:45:21Congratulations. Thank you.
00:45:26Well done, Gracie Cattling, number five.
00:45:30I'm so proud of Fitska. She gave 110%. I was really pleased with her and she couldn't have
00:45:36done any more and that's all you can ask for from at once.
00:45:43Oh, well done there to Gracie and Fitska. No doubt many more finishes at the top end of
00:45:49the leaderboard to come. Coming up in the latest instalment of our chicken run refurb, he's
00:45:55taking things to a new level. Quite literally. Carpenter Rob Bent creates a multi-level obstacle
00:46:01course to challenge the brightest of chickens. I'll see you with Rob and our ever so agile
00:46:07hens right after this.
00:46:21Welcome back to Love Your Weekend this chilly Sunday morning. Coming up, absinthe milkshakes
00:46:27and sweet and spicy margaritas. No sign of dry January on his watch. Tom Sergi with the drinks
00:46:33trends we're all going to be getting giddy about in 2026. Now, imagine our surprise when
00:46:39the shortlist for the Grand Designs House of the Year 2025 was announced and our epic renovation
00:46:45of the Chick Inn was nowhere to be seen. Unperturbed by this cruel snob, the work continues with
00:46:52the latest leg of the project inspired by you at home. Just a few weeks ago, our resident
00:46:58carpenter asked for your suggestions on how to improve the inside of our chicken run and
00:47:03you didn't let us down. Here's to share how he's been getting on. Welcome back, Rob Bent.
00:47:08A multi-level obstacle course, Rob. So what was the suggestion?
00:47:13Well, do you know what? I liked every single one of them so much, I decided to do all of
00:47:18them.
00:47:19Every last one of them. Right. This is going to be a full spot, isn't it? And the first one
00:47:23then, top of the list.
00:47:24Alright, so we had the suggestion of making like a steps that went round a pole. I went up one
00:47:30on that and decided let's put it around the tree instead.
00:47:33Right. Now as a gardener and a tree man, I am a little concerned about this going up here. You're
00:47:39not damaging our tree, are you?
00:47:40Oh no, no, no. Our tree will be fine. I had to do my chiseling out to actually put these
00:47:47into the tree. Yeah.
00:47:49But because I've filled this void with a natural material and not used any glue, the tree should be perfectly
00:47:54fine.
00:47:55It will heal around the timber and in essence absorb it back into the tree and it will be solid.
00:48:00It will be a part of the tree.
00:48:01So just as when you inflict a small wound on a tree, it does heal over you and watch that
00:48:05cambium layer coming back and joining together.
00:48:07Exactly. And it will seal these in. Exactly. And because we've filled the exposed part, definitely heal well.
00:48:14So that's a way up. So they're like hopping, don't they? Yeah, yeah. A little hop on a flap and
00:48:19then get up to each step.
00:48:20Okay. And then across to the A-frame ladder. Yes.
00:48:25So they can go up from one side down to the other and then from this section here over to
00:48:32our stepping stone style timber posts.
00:48:37Up from one to another. Yeah, hop all the way down from one to another.
00:48:38This is like a cross between an army training camp at Aldershot and the bottom of a budgie's cage.
00:48:44I hope you're appreciating what's going on here. Don't put you walking around it.
00:48:48We're going to have the fittest chickens in the UK.
00:48:51They'll have mussels in places where other chickens don't even have places.
00:48:55Exactly that, Alan. So you're up here, you're over there and you're along there.
00:48:58And then onto the perch. Yeah.
00:48:59They might get a bit tired during that section there so they can stay here, have a little bit of
00:49:03a rest before hopping onto the next stage.
00:49:05Right. Which we've got is another ladder here. And then last but not least, Alan.
00:49:13A trapeze. Circus chickens we've got here now.
00:49:18So what you've done there. Right. Oh, I see. Two.
00:49:21Two of them. So the route now is up the tree, across to the A-frame ladder, hop over there
00:49:28on this obstacle course.
00:49:30Right the way along to the corner, onto the little ladder there and then onto the first trapeze and then
00:49:35the second one.
00:49:36Now these are really sturdy. What have you done here?
00:49:39Yeah. Really solid. So as you can see, nice solid bit of timber and all of these parts I have
00:49:43found dotted around the farm.
00:49:45Yeah. So we've made the most of everything that's here.
00:49:48And then if you use steel hooks, steel chain, connected the hooks in here at the top, chains on, hooked
00:49:58on, simple as that.
00:49:59That'll take the weight of an ostrich, not a chicken.
00:50:02Oh, well, I need to make sure they might want to stay side by side. You never know.
00:50:05Yes. I'd love to come in one morning and see this going gently, and the street chickens on there going,
00:50:12I'd love to see that myself.
00:50:14Well, the cameraman's going to stay in here all day tomorrow, running, just to see if they'd go up here.
00:50:18I think we might need a bit of corn on the top.
00:50:21Well done, Rob.
00:50:22Thank you, Alan.
00:50:28In a career of great breadth, my next guest has gone from a deputy governor in Iraq,
00:50:33to Harvard professor, to member of parliament, and now successful podcaster and author.
00:50:39Welcome, Rory Stewart. Thank you.
00:50:41Rory, you've always struck me as, A, a very thoughtful soul, but also quite a restless one.
00:50:46I think that's probably right, yeah. Yeah. Maybe I just can't hold down a chop.
00:50:51I don't think that's the case. There's too many jobs to be done, I think that's the thing, really.
00:50:56It's an interesting question. I was talking to my best friend who said that one of the things that he
00:51:04notices about me
00:51:05is that I like risk and I like moving on to the next thing.
00:51:10And so I, as you say, I was very briefly a soldier. I was then a diplomat, then I walked
00:51:15across Afghanistan,
00:51:16then I went to Iraq, then I went to politics, then I left politics, and I quite like...
00:51:22But eventually I'll run out of ideas.
00:51:23But the worry there is then that nothing gets quite finished and quite seen through.
00:51:30Absolutely. I have such, such admiration and envy for people who really see things through.
00:51:36And I noticed this even from things I did in politics. For example, when I was the Environment Minister,
00:51:41I was pushing ahead with some programmes on planting trees. I didn't really get very far.
00:51:46And I've noticed, ten years later, the Welsh Government is pushing ahead with a very similar scheme,
00:51:50and they're getting it done.
00:51:52So you literally, pardon the pun, sowed the seed, and it germinated some time later.
00:51:57But you've planted a lot of trees yourself.
00:51:58I plant a lot of trees myself. Probably not as many as you, but I've planted many thousands of trees.
00:52:02Yeah, but I've been at it longer.
00:52:03You've been at it longer, exactly. I do, and particularly native trees.
00:52:07Yeah.
00:52:07But having been a real kind of native obsessive, I'm now beginning to become a little bit more imaginative.
00:52:13I'm beginning to plant a few trees from overseas.
00:52:15Well, I think we're having to, because with climate change, regard it as a planting opportunity,
00:52:20rather than, oh, we're losing that. Yes, but look what we can grow instead.
00:52:24We've got a big sales job on the chestnut-leaved oak at the moment.
00:52:28Right.
00:52:28And anyone who wants to go to Kew Garden can see a fantastic example.
00:52:32Yeah.
00:52:32Wider than it's tall.
00:52:33People say to you, what do you want to be remembered for?
00:52:36You just say, just look at that tree over there.
00:52:38And that will be enough memory of me.
00:52:40Well, this is where I'd like you to join me if I could.
00:52:42I don't want to get onto too many campaigns.
00:52:44But I had this fantasy that we could get people behind planting the whole Greenbelt into the largest forests in
00:52:50England.
00:52:50And if you wanted a legacy, 300 years' time, you could have this extraordinary forest.
00:52:55Good for air quality, good for climate.
00:52:57People from London could go and visit it.
00:52:59Amazing for biodiversity.
00:53:01I've done about 45 acres so far.
00:53:04Previous place and this place.
00:53:05I'm sure you have, but I want...
00:53:07You want more than that. I'm not doing enough.
00:53:08I want 500 million trees all the way around London.
00:53:11I'm doing my best. I'll keep going.
00:53:12There's plenty of inspiration in this book, Middleland, Dispatches from the Borders, that you've written.
00:53:19As MP of Penrith and the Borders, really the heart of Britain up there.
00:53:24Wonderful in that it's pragmatic, it's practical, but it's optimistic as well, Rory,
00:53:30because it's so easy not to be optimistic in this day and age.
00:53:33I think any time you're feeling gloomy, go to Cumbria, and I tend to feel you cheer up.
00:53:38You just step off the train in Penrith, you breathe in the air, and it's extraordinary.
00:53:43And it's every different sort of person.
00:53:45It will be small farmers living a very, very tough life, but with huge dignity and pride,
00:53:51producing very high-quality food, maintaining this incredible landscape.
00:53:55But it could also be, I don't know, for example, a retired school teacher from Manchester
00:53:59who's volunteering with a mountain rescue and who's also running a biscuit factory
00:54:04and who's also an environmental consultant.
00:54:06It's Britain at its most sort of lovely, imaginative, positive best.
00:54:11But what is always pervaded is the overall, the generalist view,
00:54:15which tends to filter down as something which is negative.
00:54:19Whereas if you look at what the individuals are doing,
00:54:21and all those individuals add up and make something bigger,
00:54:24that is practical. It is working.
00:54:28And what you've done here, and I think what needs to be done more of,
00:54:30is emphasising the importance of self and landscape
00:54:34rather than just nations and landscape.
00:54:37Those farmers, those growers, those gardeners, whatever,
00:54:39are making a difference on their bit of land.
00:54:42And that must count for something, doesn't it?
00:54:44Hugely important. And I think humans and the landscape,
00:54:47remembering that our precious British landscape isn't a wilderness,
00:54:52and nor should it be like an industrial American Kansas farm.
00:54:56It's a deeply treasured ancient thing.
00:54:58Those dry stone walls in Cumbria, and a lot of the book is about things
00:55:02like the dry stone walls, some of them go back to the Bronze Age
00:55:05and thousands of years of people laying stones on stones.
00:55:08Ten years in politics, too frustrating to stay any longer.
00:55:12Yeah. I mean, it's a terrible job.
00:55:15I would not recommend it to you.
00:55:17I mean, I agree, you're a national treasured.
00:55:18Don't worry.
00:55:19Most people would vote for you, but I would not recommend it.
00:55:21I'm done with that bit.
00:55:22I feel I'll do my bit of land and practical error
00:55:25and make a real difference.
00:55:26But you've gone on to be an opinion former, you know,
00:55:30particularly in your podcast with Alastair Campbell,
00:55:33two extremely disparate people in terms of the political spectrum.
00:55:36But you seem to get on like a house on fire, you know.
00:55:38We get on very well, but we're very different.
00:55:41We're very different.
00:55:41I mean, and I think part of the trick of it is
00:55:44it's not just different politics.
00:55:45It's very different personalities.
00:55:48I mean, half of the joke is him perpetually trying to challenge me
00:55:51to tell him who the manager of Man City is
00:55:54or him endlessly talking about the fact
00:55:57he once played football with Maradona
00:55:59while I'm banging on about the politics of Honduras.
00:56:02So it's a weird dynamic.
00:56:06But, no, he's an extraordinary person and the energy.
00:56:08He's driven, man.
00:56:10Driven man.
00:56:10A bit like yourself.
00:56:11I mean, you're definitely driven.
00:56:13I'm driven.
00:56:13I'm not at that.
00:56:14I'm not sure.
00:56:15Not to go watch something that time in the morning.
00:56:18But walking.
00:56:18You are mad.
00:56:19I mean, 6,000 miles in this walk across Asia.
00:56:23That's a lot.
00:56:2420 months you took doing that.
00:56:26I'm envious of you getting the time off to do it.
00:56:29But it was before I had children and family.
00:56:31But it's the most wonderful.
00:56:32I walk 20, 25 miles a day.
00:56:34I stayed in 550 different village houses in Iran, Afghanistan,
00:56:39Pakistan, India, and Nepal.
00:56:41And I learned so much because later in life when I was in government or a diplomat talking
00:56:49about Afghanistan, I was often the only person in the room who had stayed in village after
00:56:54village after village after village.
00:56:55And when people said Afghanistan is like this or that, I could think, well, how can I translate
00:57:00that into...
00:57:01And I had a bit of the books a bit about that with Cumbria.
00:57:03Part of my obsession is that the sort of things you hear people talk about when they're being
00:57:09interviewed on news night, you know, big words, growth, productivity, efficiency...
00:57:15Anybody can say that.
00:57:16And what does it mean?
00:57:18Well, I think the majority of us who watch, you know, and hear all these words about
00:57:22this is what we need.
00:57:23We know what we need.
00:57:24What you never tell us is how.
00:57:26Exactly.
00:57:27You know how to do this.
00:57:28And also what the sacrifice is.
00:57:30Yeah.
00:57:30Because it's always suggested as this is what we're going to do and everybody's going
00:57:34to be better off.
00:57:35Of course, the truth is that some people are going to lose, some people are going to win.
00:57:39Well, you never...
00:57:39Consequences are never explained, are they?
00:57:42You've had disappointments in your life.
00:57:44You stood for leader of the Tory party.
00:57:46To be Prime Minister.
00:57:47To be...
00:57:47Against Boris Johnson.
00:57:48Yes.
00:57:48And lost to Boris Johnson.
00:57:50Giving you Boris Johnson as your Prime Minister.
00:57:52Yeah.
00:57:53How did you feel?
00:57:54No, I felt I was awful because I felt he was not going to be a very good Prime Minister.
00:58:02I felt what he was doing with Brexit was dangerous.
00:58:07But there's also sort of a bigger thing.
00:58:08In a funny way, you know, if I'd been defeated by someone else, I probably wouldn't have taken
00:58:13it so badly.
00:58:14Yeah.
00:58:15And of course, the funny thing about politics is it's very brutal.
00:58:18You literally are confronting the fact that the British people are saying, we prefer Boris
00:58:23Johnson to you.
00:58:24It's a bit like being, I don't know, your partner walking out on you for Boris Johnson.
00:58:30That's tough.
00:58:32Do you still have ambitions?
00:58:34I mean, you've done the diplomatic bit, you've done, you know...
00:58:36I'd love another big job.
00:58:38I'd love something where I can really throw myself into building a team, building something
00:58:42from the bottom up.
00:58:43Do you feel you could...
00:58:44Would you go into it feeling that you were able to make a difference?
00:58:48Because I know from talking to you that's the frustration of politics is not being able
00:58:51to change things.
00:58:52I don't think I could in politics.
00:58:53But clearly, you relish what you do, whether it's getting...
00:58:57You're a restless soul, as I say.
00:58:59Always walking.
00:58:59I remember you doing portrait artist of the year as a sitter.
00:59:02You wouldn't sit.
00:59:02You had to stand for four hours.
00:59:05I've done that programme as well.
00:59:06I took the seat.
00:59:07Did you like your portraits?
00:59:09I did.
00:59:09Particularly one of them.
00:59:11Did yours look like you?
00:59:13The one that looked most like me, unfortunately, was my head blown up to this side.
00:59:18And, of course, no-one in the family wants to look at my head that size.
00:59:21Funny you should say that.
00:59:22Yeah.
00:59:23My sister finally ended up with mine, because she said, I'll have it.
00:59:26What a nice sister.
00:59:27Yes, I know.
00:59:28I'm afraid my family are less deferential.
00:59:30The idea of staring at a portrait of me all the time is a bit depressing for them.
00:59:33Look, keep fighting for the countryside.
00:59:35Keep fighting for farmers.
00:59:36You're a great champion of the farmers.
00:59:39That's something I would love to do.
00:59:40If I could get behind small farmers, rural life, places like Cumbria.
00:59:44That's what the book's about.
00:59:44That's what I'd love to do with my life.
00:59:46I'm with you on that one.
00:59:47Thank you very much indeed.
00:59:48Thank you again.
00:59:49Enjoy your company.
00:59:49Thank you, Leslie.
00:59:50Now then, it's the snowdrop season.
00:59:53Carpets of snowdrops in woodlands, meadows and gardens single, the end of winter and the
00:59:59promise of spring ahead.
01:00:01So who better to wax lyrical about this marvel of nature than our very own marvel, Leslie
01:00:07Joseph.
01:00:08Take it away, Leslie.
01:00:10Why, hello there, Alan.
01:00:12I hope you're up to snow good down there at Manor Farm.
01:00:16Snow good.
01:00:18See what I did there?
01:00:19Welcome, dear viewer, to another luxurious edition of Down the Garden Path, where we're
01:00:26about to meet one blooming, marvellous floral delight.
01:00:30Step forward, the sensational snowdrop.
01:00:34These snazzy snowdrops are our first bloomers of the year, sometimes pushing through snow
01:00:40and frozen ground as early as January or February.
01:00:44How mightily impressive.
01:00:46Their sap contains a natural antifreeze compound that protects them from freezing temperatures.
01:00:53Oh my, the hearty snowdrop is quite the resilient marvel.
01:00:57A well-established snowdrop clump can persist and multiply for many years, often spreading
01:01:05slowly into naturalised carpets.
01:01:08In Victorian flower language, snowdrops often represented comfort, especially after grief
01:01:14or hardship, because they appear just when the world seems bleak, popping out of the soil
01:01:21like the hopefulness of spring bursting to get out.
01:01:25My favourite snowdrop snippet, however, comes courtesy of many Celtic stories, where snowdrops
01:01:31were believed to be favoured by fairies, growing in places where fairy activity was strongest.
01:01:37Oh, I adore all fairies, particularly the tenacious Tinkerbell.
01:01:43I bet she loved a snowdrop.
01:01:45Let's just pause for a moment, dear viewer, to take in these wondrous sights.
01:01:50If you happen to see some snowdrops on your Sunday walk this morning, just think, ah, spring
01:01:57is just around the corner.
01:02:00And that, dearest viewer, is the tale of the snowdrop.
01:02:05And now time to snuggle up for the rest of the show.
01:02:08Over to you, Alan.
01:02:11Thank you, Leslie.
01:02:12You know, during World War II, the US military police were given the nickname Snowdrops by
01:02:16British civilians, because their olive green uniforms had a white cap or helmet and white
01:02:21gloves.
01:02:22It made them look like, yep, snowdrops.
01:02:25Still Ed, she's a firm favourite in our TV dramas.
01:02:27Nancy Carroll on everything from sleuthing with the good padre in Father Brown to scaring
01:02:34his alter bits in E.F. Benson's 1912 short story The Room in the Tower.
01:02:39I'll be back with Nancy and Law right after this.
01:02:54Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.
01:02:56Still Ed?
01:02:57Will it be red?
01:02:58Will it be white?
01:02:59Or will rosé win out in the trendy wine stakes?
01:03:02Tom Sergi has the answers.
01:03:04He needs 2026 ones to watch.
01:03:07There's cider and cocktail predictions too, so something for everybody.
01:03:11But first, a mild-mannered Roman Catholic priest, a parish secretary with a sunny disposition,
01:03:17and a wealthy but bored socialite.
01:03:20Welcome to the wonderfully complex world of Lady Felicia Montague.
01:03:25You're getting her back safe and sound.
01:03:28I've seen enough of this.
01:03:30Isabel.
01:03:31I do have eyes, you know.
01:03:32I saw you both together in the Great Hall.
01:03:36Oh.
01:03:36There was merely a character exercise.
01:03:39Yes, which I really, really didn't want to do.
01:03:42Okay.
01:03:43Isabel.
01:03:44Nobody could hold a candle to you.
01:03:48Well, that is reassuring to hear.
01:03:51Mrs. Devine, I am mortified that I gave you the wrong impression.
01:03:55Please let me make it up to you.
01:03:56It's fine.
01:03:58I could help with the wedding.
01:04:00Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you, Mrs. D.
01:04:02No, there's really no need.
01:04:04Not another word.
01:04:06I may not be a writer.
01:04:08But I certainly know how to put on a good do.
01:04:11And we must all use our God-given talents.
01:04:14Isn't that right, Father?
01:04:16Yes.
01:04:16Yes.
01:04:17Well, then it's settled.
01:04:18And we will make it the best wedding that Campbellford has ever seen.
01:04:25How kind.
01:04:31Well, if she says it, then it must be true.
01:04:35Yeah.
01:04:35It will be the best deal ever.
01:04:36Where was the stately home?
01:04:37That particular one is Curtlington House, which we've used on and off, which is amazing.
01:04:43Just hope it doesn't give you delusions of grandeur.
01:04:45No.
01:04:46I want to live here normally.
01:04:48Yeah.
01:04:49But you do get the best frocks, don't you?
01:04:52I love my frocks.
01:04:53They are fantastic.
01:04:54This is, that's series 13.
01:04:56And you've got another two series commissioned, so.
01:04:58Yes.
01:04:59Because you're in it almost every episode, and then you left for a bit to do other things.
01:05:03Yes.
01:05:03So I did the first four series.
01:05:05Yeah.
01:05:06And then I've dipped in and out when they asked me, back for various escapades and sort
01:05:12of intrigue.
01:05:13It seems a tight little bunch, a family.
01:05:15It's amazing.
01:05:16And it, I mean, it's extraordinary.
01:05:18I first started, or we started series one, when my son was about nine months old and he's
01:05:25about to be 15.
01:05:27Oh, heck.
01:05:27So that tells you.
01:05:28Yeah.
01:05:28And they're home.
01:05:29And, and I think those sorts of situations, which are quite like theatrical companies,
01:05:36you know, we, we, they happen so rarely in this business.
01:05:39And so it feels like a real privilege.
01:05:41And, and we've just known each other through thick and thin and, and, and we love working
01:05:46together.
01:05:47But you've done something entirely different.
01:05:49Entirely different.
01:05:50Yeah.
01:05:50A ghost story, a scary story.
01:05:53Yeah.
01:05:53Very scary.
01:05:54The ghost story for Christmas, the room in the tower.
01:05:57Yeah.
01:05:58Which is based on an EF Benson book.
01:06:00Udin Map and Lucia.
01:06:01I love those books.
01:06:02Yes.
01:06:02But Mark Gatiss is involved in this.
01:06:05Well, it's his baby really.
01:06:06Yeah.
01:06:06He's sort of grown them.
01:06:08I can't remember how many he's done, but they always come on Christmas Eve, 10 o'clock
01:06:12on BBC two.
01:06:13And, um, he's, I mean, he is a polymath in the sort of best sense of the word, everything
01:06:21he turns his hand to, and he adapts these stories and directs them and puts together the
01:06:27cast and crew.
01:06:28And it was such a happy set.
01:06:31And it was, it's a really interesting story.
01:06:34All my bits of it were in one particular place because I'm being told the story retrospectively
01:06:41by Tobias Menzies, who plays Roger, who's being haunted in this particular instance.
01:06:47And so we are in the forties in London, in the Blitz, in an Anderson shelter.
01:06:52Let's see a bit.
01:06:53Room in the tower.
01:06:55Well, I always dream I'm back at school.
01:06:59My old form mistress.
01:07:01Miss Houlihan.
01:07:03Absolute beast.
01:07:05Taught chemistry.
01:07:06Breath like a serpent.
01:07:08Well, I'm stood before her and they're all together and I haven't done my prep.
01:07:12Lord knows what that means.
01:07:14Everyone has those dreams.
01:07:15Yeah.
01:07:18But sometimes they're not so easy to explain.
01:07:24Something you want to get off your chest.
01:07:31With my story.
01:07:36I can find no explanation.
01:07:41None at all.
01:07:43It came out of the dark and into the dark it has gone again.
01:07:50What did?
01:07:52Oh.
01:07:53Well, that's a cliffhanger.
01:07:54What did?
01:07:55I don't know.
01:07:56I don't know.
01:07:57When you're doing them, do you get that kind of ghostly feeling?
01:08:02Yeah.
01:08:03I mean, we filmed in this amazing old school.
01:08:06But we were in the basement and they turned it into this sort of tube style Anderson shelter.
01:08:12But in order to do all the scenes in one day, we had to stay down there all day.
01:08:17And then basically at various points they were doing the noise of sort of doodle bugs.
01:08:23Yeah.
01:08:23Going over and then the last shot is when the sound means that it's literally over the top of your
01:08:30head.
01:08:30And then they did this big poof of sort of debris and smoke and dust.
01:08:36And with the ghost story and the sort of claustrophobia being down there and then all the dust.
01:08:41And it was sort of, it was actually really terrifying.
01:08:45And it's a, it's a, I mean, I'm, I'm terrified of ghosts.
01:08:49I'm terrified of those.
01:08:50I can't watch horror films or anything like that.
01:08:52Have you ever encountered one then?
01:08:54I've, I've had things happen to me.
01:08:57I was doing a Midsomer Murders and we were somewhere near Oxford and we were in this old barn.
01:09:03And there was a window at the top of where the hay was kept above these stables.
01:09:08And the owner of the house said, we've always had it repaired, this window, but every morning it's open.
01:09:13So we did, we realized that there's some, there's a presence up there that just wants the window open.
01:09:17So we go into this stable and, and the director was like, oh, it's not very nice in here, is
01:09:23it?
01:09:23It's very dang.
01:09:24Let's just get the scene done and go.
01:09:26So there was an outer door and I go to the inner door and it's locked.
01:09:30And I can't go in.
01:09:32And I can't.
01:09:32And they said, cut.
01:09:34And I said to a lovely director, I said, I think it's because you were rude about the space.
01:09:39So she went in, she went, I'm really sorry.
01:09:42I didn't mean to be rude.
01:09:44If you'd let us film here, we'd be really grateful and we'll be out of your hair, you know, quick
01:09:48as you like.
01:09:49So then we go back, we do the scene and I go to open the door and it's open.
01:09:53Oh.
01:09:54Oh, er.
01:09:55I know.
01:09:56I know.
01:09:57Let's change the mood completely.
01:09:59Sorry, sorry.
01:09:59I went off on one.
01:10:00And talk about the crown.
01:10:01Oh, yes.
01:10:02Because Anne Glen Connor was sitting where you are a few weeks ago.
01:10:05She was lovely.
01:10:06She's divine.
01:10:06I've met her quite a few times over the last few weeks doing this, that and the other.
01:10:11And then literary festivals and things.
01:10:14And there she was.
01:10:15And you played her in the crown.
01:10:17She was Princess Margaret's lady-in-waiting.
01:10:19Let's look at you being Anne Glen Connor.
01:10:23Well, I didn't bring any trunks.
01:10:25That was stupid.
01:10:26No, it wasn't.
01:10:26Yes, it was.
01:10:27I just said it was.
01:10:28It can't be stupid.
01:10:30I don't possess any trunks.
01:10:32It's not just stupid.
01:10:33That's absurd.
01:10:36Where's Neera's town?
01:10:39Oh.
01:10:42You know, she's so complimentary about Princess Margaret, who was known to be a tricky soul.
01:10:47Bless her.
01:10:47Yeah.
01:10:48But Anne has just said she was just the best friend to have at your side and that kind of
01:10:54thing.
01:10:54Did you meet Anne before you did it?
01:10:56Yes, yes, yes.
01:10:57Richard Teverson, who played Colin Tennant in The Crown, he and I went to meet her at her house.
01:11:03And she was so glorious.
01:11:05And I think quite anxious that Peter Morgan should include their friendship and include her kindness.
01:11:13She was, yeah, fantastically generous with her time and, but talked a lot about how loyal she was and how,
01:11:22like, for example, when their third son was in a plane crash, she rang Princess Margaret in the middle of
01:11:28the night.
01:11:29And within no time at all, the American ambassador had flown him from Belize to Miami and he was on
01:11:36an operating table.
01:11:37So she effectively saved his life.
01:11:39Talking of friendships.
01:11:41We had a friend of yours on a little while ago and he left you a message and his name
01:11:47is Roger Allen.
01:11:48Ah.
01:11:50Nancy.
01:11:52Nancy Carroll.
01:11:55Try and stay calm and stay in your seat.
01:11:58Happy New Year.
01:12:00I'm here too, just to ruin it.
01:12:02So you are.
01:12:03I love you.
01:12:04Bye.
01:12:07There you are, Roger.
01:12:08Ah, that's so glorious.
01:12:09I'm the Inspector Sullivan.
01:12:11Yes.
01:12:11Tom Chambers.
01:12:12Oh, how lovely.
01:12:13That's very gorgeous, thank you.
01:12:14We've got a show clip of you two working together because Murder in Provence you did together.
01:12:18Yeah.
01:12:18What a nice place to film, to film a series.
01:12:21Oh, it's amazing.
01:12:22In Provence.
01:12:23Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:12:23Did you enjoy it?
01:12:23It was far too much rosy.
01:12:25Yeah.
01:12:26Well, let's see if it shows, shall we?
01:12:28We are Murder in Provence.
01:12:29Judge, how's your weekend going so far?
01:12:32You're about to spoil it, aren't you?
01:12:34Give me the scoop.
01:12:35I tell them you're a bit like a detective.
01:12:37I'm hugely more important.
01:12:39Obviously.
01:12:40One blow, that's all it took.
01:12:42How long is this going to take?
01:12:44That's up to you.
01:12:46She's left there.
01:12:47She hasn't got any shoes on.
01:12:48Ha!
01:12:49Santé.
01:12:50Love and death fanged right up against each other.
01:12:56The advantage of glorious scenery, a glorious co-star with whom you get on exceptionally well.
01:13:02And very watchable plots.
01:13:03It was wonderful to film.
01:13:05Future Projects, you're about to fly off to the States.
01:13:08Yes, I'm about to go and do, I play the head of MI5 in The Diplomat.
01:13:14Oh my goodness.
01:13:15I know.
01:13:16You see, that is one of our, Mrs T, my favourite series.
01:13:18Yeah.
01:13:18If you've not watched The Diplomat, three series have gone.
01:13:22It is...
01:13:22It's amazing.
01:13:23The best thing since the West Wing, I think.
01:13:25Yeah, well it's the same team, very similar team.
01:13:27It's, I'm such a small cog in an amazing machine, but I'm so happy to be there.
01:13:33They're just brilliant.
01:13:34It's Deborah Kahn who's written it, who of course wrote so much of The West Wing.
01:13:37And it's, I think it's so fast and it's so multi-layered and the acting is so beautiful
01:13:42and current, you know, in terms of the madness of politics, but also sort of relations between
01:13:50the two great states.
01:13:52I, yeah, it's a great privilege to be part of and I'm very excited.
01:13:56You're not confining yourself, though, to the large screen and the small screen.
01:13:59We're going to see you back on the stage again at The Young Vic.
01:14:02At The Young Vic in February, from February to April, I'm doing an Arthur Miller play
01:14:08called Broken Glass, directed by Jordan Fane, which is, it's a really, really interesting
01:14:16play set in 1938 and it's about a woman living in New York, played by Pearl Chandra,
01:14:23who reads about Kristallnacht and overnight becomes paralysed from the waist down.
01:14:30So it's about trauma, really, and empathy, but it's a six-hander and it's about this sort
01:14:38of relationship between, I suppose, the psychological effects of reading about something happening
01:14:47far, far away, but also perhaps things that have happened to you that sort of sit in your
01:14:54body that something else is triggered by. It's just incredibly interesting.
01:14:59And I love Arthur Miller as a writer. It's the first time I've ever done an Arthur Miller play.
01:15:03Lovely to talk to you, Nancy. Lovely to have you with us. You'll stay for a glass of something
01:15:09or other. We're not all sure what, because they're all new off the shelf.
01:15:12Yeah. And Tom says these are for 2026. Yeah.
01:15:15I hope they're drinkable. That's all I can say. Bless you. Lovely to see you again.
01:15:18Bye. Now, before we indulge ourselves in today's Best of British, it's time to revel in the beauty
01:15:23Britain has to offer in today's Ode to Joy.
01:16:24Bye.
01:16:26Bye.
01:16:37Bye.
01:16:53Bye.
01:16:57Bye.
01:16:57Ah, no, well, that was Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, courtesy of I Travel Drones, and set
01:17:03to a piano concerto by, who else? Mozart. Coming up, his forecasts rival Carol Kirkwood's
01:17:08for accuracy. So what's in store for 2026? Tom Sergi gets us giddy with the drinks trends.
01:17:14We're all set to be quaffing in the months to come. I'll be back with Tom, Patty, Rory
01:17:19and Nancy. Right after this.
01:17:35Welcome back to Love Your Weekend. Best of British time now, and our attention turns to our drinks
01:17:40cabinets, which may be looking a little depleted after the merriment of Christmas. Thankfully,
01:17:452026 looks set to be another bumper year for the UK's premium alcohol drinks market. So what
01:17:52should we be stocking up on in the year ahead? Here with his pick of the tipples trends set
01:17:57to take off this year, a man whose finger is always on the pulse. Let's just hope it's
01:18:02his own. Welcome drinks expert Tom Sergi. That was a bit cheeky.
01:18:07It was great. It was perfect. Ideal. Ideal. And probably very apt. It was a lot of fun, wasn't
01:18:13it? And here we are. We find ourselves in the new year. And I'm over the moon once again
01:18:18with my segment. I get to talk about drinks trends. These are the things that I think we
01:18:22should all be drinking in 2026.
01:18:24So do you just make this up then? Completely. Or do you keep your eye on them?
01:18:27Yeah, it's just nobody else's idea of what we ought to, just yours.
01:18:30Quite. And if enough people come and tell you that this is what's happening, that's what's
01:18:33happening. So we're making the news. Oh, Rory knows all about that. He's a politician.
01:18:36Well, right, exactly. Learning from the best, surely.
01:18:38You are the smiling wolf. I am.
01:18:42So one category, I think, of drinks that's going to be huge this year is functional non-alcoholic
01:18:48drinks. These are drinks that are completely non-alcoholic but have botanicals and other ingredients
01:18:53in them that emulate parts of the sensation alcohol gives you. It might give you a bit
01:18:57more energy. It might give you a gentle sensation of calmness or euphoria. Things like L-theanine,
01:19:04which is in tea and gives you that gentle kind of euphoria. Lots of cups of tea might give
01:19:07you. Caffeine, which is famously quite good at picking you off. You know, ashwagandha,
01:19:12Damiana, and a great example of that.
01:19:14You're making these names. Has anybody heard these words before?
01:19:17Ashwagandha.
01:19:18Yeah, as if they know.
01:19:19Tea.
01:19:19Tea.
01:19:20Which is an act of tea.
01:19:22Coffee.
01:19:23I like coffee.
01:19:25Do you like the taste of this one?
01:19:26I like this very much.
01:19:27It is intriguing.
01:19:28No, I'm very, if I was going non-alcoholic I'd go over this all the way. It's like a gin
01:19:32and tonic, right?
01:19:33Exactly.
01:19:34It's bitter.
01:19:35It's bitter.
01:19:36Yup.
01:19:36And the problem with non-alcoholic drinks is they're incredibly sweet.
01:19:40Yes.
01:19:41Whereas this is actually quite nice.
01:19:42This is a bit like a slightly milder bit of lemon.
01:19:45There's a good touch of that.
01:19:46Exactly.
01:19:47This is called Botanical and it's by Smiling Wolf who are a functional spirits brand and
01:19:52it's doing a lot of exactly that, what you want from a gin. It's packed full of juniper,
01:19:56there's loads of citrus and it starts as a gin and then it's de-alcoholised completely and
01:20:01then they add in these extra botanicals and things. And so you can kind of have a non-alcoholic
01:20:05drink but get some degree of sensation.
01:20:08There's a flavour in there. It's kind of like a flower or something.
01:20:13There's a lot of different herbs in these and the back labels of all of these functional
01:20:16things, they are huge because lots of what they try and do is they try and blend botanicals
01:20:21to exact quantities to give you an exact sort of sensation. But I think probably things
01:20:26like juniper, things like oris root, things like lemon is a big, big element in there.
01:20:30And that classic juniper kind of, you know, forward note. Just a note on, that bitterness
01:20:36is really quite important because most alcoholic drinks have a sensation that is in that wheel
01:20:40house. You know, they've got that little bitter character. Alcohol itself is quite a
01:20:44bitter, bitter character. And there's a degree of placebo effect here. A really important
01:20:48part of the six o'clock pour a glass of something is to emulate and feel a lot of the
01:20:53same sensations.
01:20:54And the placebo effect will carry you a really long way.
01:20:56Yes!
01:20:57You'd know, wouldn't you, if you'd poured it. If somebody else poured it for you, they'd
01:21:01be like, yeah, great, loving this. But when you've done it, yeah, no, it's just me kidding
01:21:06myself with this.
01:21:07It's quite ridiculous.
01:21:08You've got to get the imagination going.
01:21:09What's the next one?
01:21:10Now, we're back in booze. We're back in the safe territory of booze. Now, beautiful, beautiful
01:21:15Georgian estate down in Somerset, you have the Newt. And this is, this comes from the Newt,
01:21:20and it's from their orchards on site there. Just off dry, a little bit medium, quintessential
01:21:25Interesting served in a wine glass rather than in, there's often too much. If you have a pint
01:21:30of cider, it's too much, but it really, it feels a bit more special like this. And also,
01:21:36you're confident that you could get down that. And it's, it's refreshing.
01:21:39Absolutely.
01:21:40It's delicious. The ABV's lower, you know, so you're looking at sort of just about, sort
01:21:43of six or seven percent ABV. It's five and a half. So, you know, you can get away with
01:21:48having a few more glasses of this than you could in a glass of wine. But the great thing about
01:21:51apples is they've got this extraordinary complexity. They give you a little bit of tannin and bitterness.
01:21:55They like grapes with great wine. They can give you all kinds of different sort of flavour characters
01:22:00and create this wonderful flavour journey. And premium cider is going to be a hallmark of 2026.
01:22:06Do you drink cider ever, Rory?
01:22:09No, never.
01:22:10I might start.
01:22:11Yeah.
01:22:11I might start.
01:22:11Patty?
01:22:12I do. I have a teaspoon of, well, cider vinegar.
01:22:16Yeah?
01:22:16Okay.
01:22:17Every day.
01:22:18And hot water, yeah?
01:22:19Yeah.
01:22:20Nance?
01:22:20So this is...
01:22:23Not often.
01:22:23What I think is, what I think is really kind of exciting about this is it's a demonstration
01:22:29of British cider really premiumising. We have cider in this country that is usually just
01:22:34lots of water and sugar with a little bit of concentrate. This is the opposite. This is
01:22:37100% pressed apples and there's a big distinction.
01:22:40It tastes sophisticated. It's good. It's lovely.
01:22:42We like that as well.
01:22:42Yeah, it's lovely.
01:22:43Next one.
01:22:43Now, moving into something a little bit pinker, a little bit more colour going on
01:22:47here, and from an amazing label with a beautiful smiley face on the top of the bottle,
01:22:51which is great.
01:22:52This is the Heretics.
01:22:53And it's a beautiful new rosé called Cantillon that they make, and it's grown in Essex.
01:22:58So this comes from the Crouch Valley Estuary, you know, in Essex, from a beautiful vineyard
01:23:04there.
01:23:04And it's Pinot Noir.
01:23:05So it's 100% Pinot Noir, fermented in oak.
01:23:08So you get this textural, creamy richness to it.
01:23:11Loads of that lovely berry Pinot Noir flavour.
01:23:15And the trend here is, we know English wine's a good thing, it's an exciting thing, but
01:23:21we're living in an age now of microscopically small, really exciting producers to go and
01:23:26explore.
01:23:26So my big thing here is, get out there, find brands you've never heard of before, go and
01:23:31look at people making tiny quantities of really exciting experiential things, and you
01:23:36can find them.
01:23:36People often think they're sweeter when they're darker.
01:23:38There's no indication of sweetness at all from its colour.
01:23:41No.
01:23:42It's just more time with the skins, more flavour, more texture, more intensity.
01:23:46It's a great food wine.
01:23:47Do we like that?
01:23:47I really like it.
01:23:48You really like it.
01:23:49Rory?
01:23:49It's nice.
01:23:52I thought so.
01:23:53I was just looking at it, I thought that would be a reaction.
01:23:54I think it's very nice.
01:23:55It's a very nice wine.
01:23:57I don't think it's maybe quite as complex and exciting as you think.
01:24:01Fair enough.
01:24:04Entirely fair enough.
01:24:05I completely accept your position.
01:24:07But I love it.
01:24:09And I think the thing with English wine is everything's happening in quite a small space.
01:24:14It's freezing cold here, famously.
01:24:15And the ripeness levels we get here are very small.
01:24:18It takes a very long time to ripen the grapes.
01:24:20And the result of that, like Norwegian strawberries, little tiny things, is the flavour is huge.
01:24:25But the acidity and the tension is big as well.
01:24:26For me, the flavour is too huge.
01:24:28I like my rosés a little lighter than that.
01:24:31Fair enough.
01:24:32Probably a winter rosé, I suppose.
01:24:34But it's just pure subjective palate.
01:24:36That's a bit...
01:24:37It may be the oak, because I really went off oak Chardonnay.
01:24:41Yeah.
01:24:42All right.
01:24:43You get the oak on the nose, certainly, don't you?
01:24:45The exploration of wine really is about sometimes finding things that you don't like as much
01:24:49as you do like and going, do you know what?
01:24:51I've learnt about that.
01:24:52I like it.
01:24:52So there you go.
01:24:53We have two more to do.
01:24:54We need to get on.
01:24:56We've got a tumbler.
01:24:57We've got a tumbler, and I've made you a margarita.
01:25:00It is a classic.
01:25:01Oh, well.
01:25:03Picante.
01:25:04So a little bit spicy, tiny bit spicy, tiny bit coriander-y.
01:25:07I hope everyone likes coriander.
01:25:09It's lime, it's agave, and crucially it is...
01:25:13Oh!
01:25:15Wow.
01:25:15That's good.
01:25:17That's terrific.
01:25:17I love the spiciness.
01:25:19That's exceptional.
01:25:19That's very nice.
01:25:20I love that.
01:25:21That is.
01:25:22What's the hot bit?
01:25:23The hot bit is literally chili, so I've muddled a tiny bit of red chili.
01:25:27Tiny bit.
01:25:27With just, no, literally, proper fresh chili.
01:25:31Seriously, it's brilliant.
01:25:32Muddled down, just a tiny bit, and with coriander.
01:25:34And then I've shaken it with lime and agave.
01:25:37And crucially, this.
01:25:38This is called Quarta, and it is their Blanco Agave Spirit Drink.
01:25:42Which is essentially tequila.
01:25:45It's made with agave, brought over from Mexico, made over here.
01:25:48But it is, instead of being distilled and then diluted to 40% alcohol, as it usually would be,
01:25:53it's brought down to 15% alcohol.
01:25:55So the trend here is mid-strength drinks.
01:25:58Drinks that, spirits that would usually be full strength, brought down to a lower strength.
01:26:02You can have three of these for the same amount of people.
01:26:05But you don't feel as if it's large strength.
01:26:07It's brilliant.
01:26:07It really is a good hit.
01:26:08I love this.
01:26:08Terrific.
01:26:09And the chili helps make you feel that she's got some chili.
01:26:11I love the chili.
01:26:11Exactly.
01:26:11Yeah.
01:26:12That was my first, I love the chili.
01:26:14I went for the chili first, and that was it.
01:26:16Kicked it off.
01:26:17Nice contract.
01:26:18Put that one down.
01:26:19Very good, Quarta.
01:26:20We like you.
01:26:20The other trend here is spicy.
01:26:22Sweet and spicy.
01:26:23Yes.
01:26:24It's a thing.
01:26:25And such a complete contrast to this next afternoon.
01:26:27Which has come from only fools and horses.
01:26:30This is.
01:26:30It lacks only the parasol to make Del Boy a happy man.
01:26:35Look at that.
01:26:36Wow.
01:26:37You're never quite sure about my elaborate garnishes.
01:26:39As I always say, garnishes should either threaten to poke you in the eye, sort of thing,
01:26:43or they should complement the drink.
01:26:44And this is sort of in the eye-poking direction.
01:26:46So what I've done here is there is a massive trend.
01:26:50The martini last year was huge.
01:26:51Minimalist drinks, very elegant drinks was a big thing.
01:26:54What you're finding now is the opposite of that.
01:26:56The desertification of cocktails.
01:26:58And I think we should get behind it.
01:26:59So what I've done here is I've created essentially a mint choc chip milkshake, but with crucially absinthe.
01:27:08And so this is an absinthe and mint choc chip milkshake.
01:27:12So you've invented this.
01:27:14This is your invention.
01:27:15Wow.
01:27:15Have you tasted this, Rory?
01:27:17I've been working very hard in my kitchen on this.
01:27:18It's an amazing combination of being stuck at some seedy French cafe and eating mint chocolate chip with my sister.
01:27:26I think it's sensational.
01:27:27It's made with this beautiful London-made absinthe.
01:27:30The devil's botany here.
01:27:31They're absinthe regardless.
01:27:3362% alcohol.
01:27:3562% ABD.
01:27:3662%?
01:27:37What?
01:27:37I'll be speaking in Nigeria then and then you won't be able to hear what I understand what I'm saying.
01:27:43It's got proper wormwood in.
01:27:43The stuff that got it banned in Europe but not in the UK and it's now legal.
01:27:47It's fine.
01:27:47And the colour, the colour comes from chlorophyll.
01:27:50It's exclusively from natural botanical.
01:27:57The last time I tasted anything like that it came out of a petrol pump.
01:28:03Outrageous!
01:28:04It didn't taste nearly so nice but it was so warm.
01:28:06But Jude's ice cream, who actually is made just round the corners, this beautiful hampshire ice cream.
01:28:11Very good.
01:28:11And it's entirely, that is entirely plant based.
01:28:14So the drink, despite it being creamy and delicious, is actually completely vegan should you want it to be.
01:28:18One of your favourite.
01:28:19Well.
01:28:19Other than, other than that actually, frankly.
01:28:22Wow.
01:28:22Goodness me.
01:28:23Did you trip the side off an arrow bar?
01:28:25I did.
01:28:25Having overdosed yesterday, you know, you know, today I'll be much more circumspect.
01:28:29Crikey.
01:28:31Mercifully, that's it for today's show.
01:28:32Thanks to all my guests, to Patty, Rory and Nancy.
01:28:35And of course, Tom, I think.
01:28:37Yay!
01:28:38Come on.
01:28:39Join me.
01:28:40Join me next week for some more barnside banter.
01:28:44Until then, I'll leave you with some words from Mae West.
01:28:46When I'm good, I'm very good.
01:28:50But when I'm bad, I'm better.
01:28:53You make your own mind up on that one.
01:28:55Cheers all.
01:28:55Cheers.
01:28:56Cheers.
01:28:58There you go.
01:28:59Come on.
01:29:16Cheers!
01:29:17Cheers.
01:29:18Cheers, he lots from the desk.
01:29:20Cheers for the attention.
01:29:21Cheers.
01:29:24Cheers!
01:29:25Cheers!
01:29:26Hey, mom.
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