Original subtitles

Is this a Peugeot, this car?

Suzuki.

Auto, search for phone.

Bluetooth connecting.

Look at us being technical.

Mmmwwwwehhhh...

Dancing Queen by ABBA Oh, my God! Tune!

This is in my will... Disconnected. ..to be lowered into the ground to.

Bluetooth connecting.

Just... Just... Just remember that.

Disconnected.

Oh, for BLEEP sake!

Bluetooth connecting.

MUSIC RESUMES

Dancing, designing and demolishing

our way through the summer in Corfu...

Ah!

Amanda and I are transforming a rundown ruin...

Push it.

Oh, my God! Can you do the splits?

..into a luxury family holiday home.

Ooh, it's like a cowpat. Ugh!

We've completed the living and dining room,

the children's bedroom...

..and the kitchen.

Oh, my God, this is better than

I ever thought it would be.

And now we're taking on the main bedroom.

Are you sure we can't repurpose this bed?

Ah-ha-ha! No.

I know. Disgusting. Foul.

You work better when there's a theme.

This is a bedroom, so I'm thinking Aphrodite.

Ooh, so what like love and lust and...?

And pleasure and... Ooh! Well, if... ..calm.

Well, if the earth moves in here, it will be subsidence.

It looks like it has moved, though, look.

The parents' bedroom, I want it to be a sanctuary,

I want them to go in there and go, "Oh, my God, I remember you."

You know how you do that sometimes?

You just go, "Oh, my God, this is who we were before we had children."

"Let's remember the good times."

That's exactly what Aphrodite said to...

..who did she go out with? Hercules or someone like that?

I love the idea of a four-poster.

That would be really nice.

But with... Every time I see this room, I see the windows open

and I see soft muslin curtains just blowing gently in the wind.

And I think if you're a parent...

Yeah. ..and you've been really good with your kids all day,

it needs to feel like a place of calm.

Ooh! And a hopeful place.

Hopeful. OK. Yeah.

Hopeful you're not too knackered. No.

But it might mean... You're praying you'll get some.

One half of you's probably praying,

and the other half's going, "Don't touch me!"

I think there, like a love seat.

Sit... You mean like a window seat?

A window seat, there.

Could we both fit there? Shall we see?

I think we should call it, like, the Aphrodite Suite.

A room for love, you know?

To think about love, to talk about love and to make love.

And look at the sea.

Don't you think that's nice, the kids are playing...

I do think it's big enough... Mummy and Daddy can have a bit of...

And Mummy and Daddy can play mummies and daddies. Daddies, yeah.

Oh, yes. Now you're talking.

Go back round there.

And then I'll just, after being all romantic,

I'll just squeeze past this bed.

Let's squeeze past, squeeze past.

Ooh!

Ooh! Nearly daddy became a mummy.

To get us in the mood for love,

I'm taking Amanda on a road trip to the northwest of Corfu.

Well, it's Sidari.

Now, I went back here in 1997,

and there is this Tunnel of Love.

And if you go through this Tunnel of Love,

who you see at the other end is your love of your life.

You find love.

If you go in together, we will have eternal love.

So... What, with each other? With each other. Ah!

Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm going alone.

And... No...

I still haven't found love on Corfu,

but, hopefully, things are looking up.

Canal D'Amour is a popular destination for tourists

in search of a soulmate.

Oh, wow!

Oh, my gosh!

We're going in that hole, is that it?

That hole? Is that the hole?

Isn't it weird? This is a tourist area,

I'm here to find love, and no-one's turned up.

Do you reckon someone knows I'm here looking for love,

and everyone's gone, "Get... Back off.

"Get out of Sidari. Alan's here."

It's too choppy to swim today, Alan.

Oh. You're going to get smashed against those rocks.

It's not worth being injured for love.

Well, I'd do anything for love,

like Meat Loaf said, but I won't do that.

Won't do that.

SHE LAUGHS

I'm not going up there...

You can't go in there. Look at that, you can't.

No, you can't.

I think we should just have a paddle.

Yeah? Just dip your toe in.

Yeah. This could be foreplay.

Ooh!

It's cold. That's quite chilly still.

See, it is like your love life in that once you get in,

you get used to it.

Yes, that's right.

And very shallow.

I am just going to get this because it's not good for the ocean.

Look.

This is bad.

Let's hold hands.

If we go, we go together, Alan.

Whee!

What was it like in '97? How many holes were there in '97?

Oh, my! Well, this... This was all rock, back in the day.

This wasn't even here. It was fields.

Do you know what? I remember back in 1997, yeah.

Right. I had this lovely green towel that I used to take everywhere.

AMANDA CHUCKLES

And...

AMANDA GUFFAWS

Oh, my God!

And I've always wanted to know where... What happened to it.

What happened to it!

I might not have found love,

but Amanda and I are inspired to find ways of bringing romance

to our bedroom design, using Corfu's natural beauty.

This is lovely.

So, I'm on the beach foraging for driftwood for an idea

I have for our bedside lamps.

I love that one.

The things I do for aesthetics.

While my inspiration is literally on my doorstep.

Now, do you remember these doors? They were at the top of the stairs.

Yeah, but I think they... We can't re-use these. They're dead.

You can, you can. What do you want to do with them? Headboard.

Make them into... Because, you know, it's like the Aphrodite Suite.

Right. You know, we want it to be all about love.

And we need a sturdy headboard. Do you get what I'm saying?

Yeah, OK.

If the headboard's a'rocking, don't come a'knocking.

So...

Everywhere you look in Greece, you look at the houses,

you get the shutters and the doors, and they seem to really

care about them, you see them in all different kinds of colours.

So, I think to bring that outside in is quite clever, really.

This is what I was thinking. Yeah?

Cutting across here

where the letterbox was. Yeah.

And then putting that up there,

like that, that, that, that,

all in a line.

It's repurposing, it's reusing, it's recycling,

it's everything that I love as a designer.

It's re-diculous.

That was quick for you.

Yeah.

I believe in second chances,

so I think it's nice that we've given those doors, you know,

a new lease of life.

Lovely.

I've left the headboard design to Alan...

..so I can bring my beach treasure to local artist Sakis

who creates lighting from Corfu driftwood.

We make two lamps...

Two lamps from this one.

There, left and right of the bed.

OK.

Lighting is a gamechanger in a room.

Just little pockets of light, subtle lighting,

and you can do it really inexpensively.

To make a lamp like the ones in his shop,

Sakis first cuts the wood to size...

Great.

..making sure the ends are flat so he can attach a base.

Then he drills a hole down the centre for the cable to run through.

Let me have a go at doing this.

Ah.

Yeah, you see.

Woo! There she is.

Perfect.

Hello and welcome to Mandy's whittling hour.

It could be wittering.

And now...

Perfect. Do you want me to do the light switch on?

Yes.

People pay good money for this.

Yep.

Dun, duh-duh-dun, dah, dah!

Ohhh! It's working. Ohh!

Well done.

That's so good.

And now it's for...

No, no, no, no, no, it's mine.

No, you're not selling that.

OK. That's so cool. Another one.

I know Alan is very fond of rustic.

But you've got to make the parents feel like they're in a special,

bougie little hotel room,

not some sort of fisherman's shack.

No more rustic now. No more. Perfect.

Oh, my gosh!

I love them, I love them.

At the house, we've cut the old doors down into panels,

given them a quick sand and spruce,

and my headboard is taking shape.

That's great. Yeah? Love it.

OK, middle one.

This is the only intimacy I've had in Corfu.

DRILL RASPS

Stop, stop!

There you go. Oh, my God! Lovely.

Right. Next one.

Right, I'm going to really just push it now.

Yeah. I don't care.

DRILL RASPS

What?

Maybe try just like doing it

a little bit, then a little bit, and then a little bit.

DRILL SQUEALS There you go.

That's the noise. Did you hear it?

It's like a "nyahhh" if it's going in,

or a "nnnghhhhh" if it's not.

And, even blindfolded operating a screwdriver, I would know.

And that is a real skill.

This is already looking amazing.

It's tools down for the afternoon, because I've had a call from Julie

at the Donkey Sanctuary where we've been volunteering for the summer.

She wants me to meet a new resident who needs some help settling in.

This is a new horse that arrived yesterday.

Aw, so young. Yeah.

Oh, my gosh! Did someone just abandon him? Hello, darling.

He's just adjusting, I think, at the moment.

Oh, my gosh! You're in the right place, darling.

You're in the right place now.

He's spending time with the donkeys rather than horses,

because the horses are a lot older and... Yeah.

..a lot bigger than him.

Sometimes, a foal is abandoned when its mother is a working horse

whose owners don't want her taking time out to nurse her young.

What's his name? Diogo. Diogo.

Diogo. Yes. Diogo. There.

He's got a lot to get used to.

I know.

At just three months old, Diogo's main source of food

will have been his mother's milk,

so he's been reluctant to eat since arriving at the sanctuary.

Got a lot to get used to, but you'll be the kingpin

when you get bigger.

You'll get bigger, and then you'll be fine.

Your lovely red hair.

The foal is beautiful.

So beautiful.

It's heartbreaking.

Julie's hoping that by feeding him alongside the donkeys,

he'll feel safe enough to start eating again.

This place is surrounded in love, but the animals that have come here

haven't been that fortunate, and the way they still trust humans

and still have an open heart is something we can all learn, I think.

I fell like the trolley, you know when it comes round the hospital

with all the goodies.

Unconditional love and truth, yeah.

And we're here to protect them,

not abuse them.

I nearly made myself cry then.

It's true, though.

You're being followed.

Come on, then.

Does the foal eat the same?

Yes.

Hey.

Are you scared to join in?

Here, would you like some?

No?

Would you?

You have your own little portion.

Yeah.

There we are.

I think he's a bit nervous to eat with the other ones.

You know, I don't normally like people crunching in my ear,

I don't mind you crunching in my ear.

Me and Alan are both animal nuts,

and to be able to come down here and just feel something

in your soul, it's just beautiful.

It's a really beautiful part of this whole experience for me.

Ooh, I love that dance.

All good?

Ohh! Good?

At least he's eating, so you know he's all right.

Yes. Yeah.

He'll settle in. Yeah.

While Amanda spends the afternoon at the sanctuary, my parents

are in town, so I'm taking them to dinner in Corfu's oldest village.

Have you got your sensible shows on, Mum, because it's quite cobbly?

Yes, I have. Yes.

14th century, that's when the village was built.

I know you like history, Dad.

What did you call Pompeii?

Ha!

The building site.

Oh!

Talk about embarrassing.

The ghost village of Old Perithia lies near the top

of the island's highest peak, Mount Pantokrator.

Populated since the 1300s, it was abandoned in the 1960s

when tourism hit Corfu,

and its villagers went in search of their fortunes nearer the coast.

BLEEP!

Ugh!

INDISTINCT COMMENTS

It's not my fault, it's the road.

Ah, and my handbrake's on, you see. All right. Yeah.

Now preserved as a historic monument,

life is returning in the form of the odd B&B and taverna.

This is cute, isn't it?

What a lovely place!

So, I've booked a dinner to give my parents a true

experience of rural Corfiot cuisine.

When it comes to food, my dad will be quite adventurous,

but my mum will not try anything new.

I'm starving, are you? Here we go.

Oh, here we go. Wow! It'll be delicious.

My mum like fishfingers.

She's like a five-year-old when it comes to food.

I have Greek salad here.

Lovely.

Meze. This is pork with Greek local specialities in a red spicy sauce.

OK. Thank you.

Now, Mum, I know you're not a fan of feta, but do you want some of this?

Er...just a...

Just a... No. I won't.

There you go, Dad.

And do you want some of this, Mum? No. I'll...

Come on. I am. Big mouthful.

In comes the train, toot-toot!

She's suspicious.

We say this restaurant wants you have a nice meal

so you come back.

But for my mum, it's like bushtucker trial.

I have rabbit stew.

Here. Oh, nice.

This is stuffed vine leaves.

Oh, thank you.

This is traditional vine leaf.

Well, don't take the vine bit off.

I can't...

That's rabbit stew. Is it? Yeah.

Do you want a bit of rabbit? No, thank you.

Dad, what do you think, love?

Very nice. Yeah.

Are we going to get dessert?

There's a rabbit mousse.

At the house, the old bedroom ceiling's come out,

the internal walls are primed,

and Amanda and I have a plan to give the bedroom

a calm yet seductive feel.

Right. Are you all right, Mary Poppins?

No, listen,

I've got to carry the... Look, what's this?

Roller, gloves,

Whatever that... Ashtray.

We're going to start on there because I really love that.

Really? I love that.

Because it was a gamble, I thought I'm going to go for it, you know.

It is very rustic.

Yes. But I actually love it.

We're applying a colour wash technique to the walls

to give a textured appearance of raw plaster.

And we've chosen two subtle shades of off-white paint.

So, we're just going to go swish, swish, swish, swish, swish...

Swish, swish, swish.

CICADAS CHIRR

That is my favourite noise in the world.

What? That.

What's it called, cicadas?

Yeah.

They never stop talking all day long.

Ha! Mm...

Well, that... Wonder what feels like?

How very dare you!

I think you've found your spirit animal, Amanda.

Oh, are you sure this is right?

Swish, swish, swish.

These colours are a bit urgh, failing the...

This is not doing anything.

Do you know what? This is like a room that's meant to be, like, love,

passion. This is like...

This is insipid.

Mm, I think this is boring.

Shall we stop? Because I do think you're right.

We are brave enough to say, no, it doesn't work.

I think, as an interior designer, you've got to learn to say no.

And I think sometimes saying no...

As a human you've got to learn to say no. Yes.

We've both got to learn to say no, as humans.

I know, we are people pleasers.

We say yes to everything.

Yes. Rose...

I know. ..wine, beer,

vodka... Ouzo.

..ouzo, limoncello.

Back in the room, back in the room.

There was no passion in there, and it needs a bit of passion. Yeah.

To try and ignite the passion, we've made a trip to the paint shop

and opted for two shades of blush pink instead.

Right.

Now this is the worry,

I didn't look at it when she mixed it.

Ooh.

Ooh.

Ooh, it's purple.

It is purple.

But that is the colour of lust, isn't it? Purple?

It is now.

Sort of lilac. Mm.

Oh, my God!

Oh! Bloody hell! This is stupid.

But we can't stop or it looks like a mistake.

It is a mistake.

Yeah, the thing is, it's gone like corn beef purple.

Do you know, I'm wondered whether it should have been pale green.

Oh, dear.

Right, then.

ALAN SIGHS

To give us time to rethink,

we're whisking ourselves off to the dramatic sea cliffs

of northwest Corfu.

Oh, look.

Sitting on a rocky headland, Paleokastritsa Monastery

dominates the coastline with its striking facade and sweeping views.

Look up here.

Ahh!

I know this is going to make you laugh, and it isn't a joke, Alan,

but there was a moment when I was young

where I had a little cross and a Bible,

and I would sit in front of it,

and I had dreams of becoming a nun.

But I think loads of kids go through that.

What, like Sister Amanda?

Exactly.

I bet you'd quite like it, with no make-up and just like...

No, that's when I knew. I couldn't be a nun with a lash.

No. That's not going to work.

Oh, look, this is the entrance.

Shall we have a look? Let's have a look.

Founded in 1225, the architecture combines Byzantine

and Venetian styles.

Ahhh!

Gosh! Look how opulent that is!

And Paleokastritsa remains one of the few active

monasteries on the island.

Oh, my gosh! Is that an olive tree or a palm tree on that ceiling?

I love that.

Shouldn't you be covered up a bit more, being in a church?

Do you want to see if there's

a wimple in lost property or something?

I don't know what it's for.

Is it a prayer?

Oh, yeah, prayers.

Well, it's all in Greek.

Oh, deceased, it's people who have died. Oh.

That's sad, isn't it?

I'm going to do my nanny and grandad.

And then I'm going to do my little boy, Theo.

That goes there, and then we just get a candle out.

We'll just light them over here.

Ah.

It's so lovely, I always think, whether you're religious or not,

to come in a place, a church, anywhere,

where you can actually have a moment of still.

Yeah. And not think.

And just be grateful.

Oh, yeah, yeah. I almost feel like my heart is slowing down.

I know, and that's what we need.

Yeah. Because we're both always hectic.

I don't want to get maudlin, but when we lost Theo...

..there wasn't one moment where I thought why has this happened to me.

Mm.

But there also wasn't a moment where I...

..sort of blamed God or anything.

Mm.

And I just...

The way I accepted it,

was to say that he chose me...

Mm.

..just for those few months, to see what it was like to live

and develop and be in the universe,

and then the universe took him back.

Now, I don't think that's religious...

No. ..but I let him go back. Yeah.

And that was my belief rather than like he went back to heaven as such.

Yeah, yeah. I felt like he went back into the universe and he's out there

and he's still part of our family. Yeah.

You've got to process it some way,

you've got to make some kind of sense of it.

That's the only way I could make sense of it. Yeah.

I was like, gosh, I was so lucky to have him for all that time,

and even though he was born sleeping...

Mm.

..he was perfect.

Mm.

And I always, always say I'm a mother of three.

Yeah. Always.

Because I am.

Right. Aw, come on, you.

Love you.

It's been a labour of love getting the Aphrodite suite ready.

Our horrible purple wall is gone,

replaced by a more serene shade of green.

The love seat is almost done...

And I'm ready to build my romantic bed canopy.

Woo, I love it!

This is like a princess bed. I love it.

It's looks amazing.

..ready for the finishing touches.

God, I look good in this.

Ooh, it's nice, innit? Nice material. Really nice.

I made these, Alan.

Isn't he clever because I'd never even think...? It's clever.

It looks quite good and rustic.

Oh, yes.

Well, we got there in the end.

Oh, my gosh!

It really works.

It really works.

I think this says romance as well, like, doing the canopy

is like an affordable way of having, like, a four-poster bed.

Yeah, and the wafting curtains as well... I wanted the wafting muslin.

I find...

That was a stroke of genius that headboard.

I did that, I did that. I know.

It feels chic rustique.

Greek chic rustique. Rustique.

We set out to make this a sensual room

for two people to reconnect and rest.

In honour of Aphrodite.

Yes. Might want to put her feet up here. Do you reckon she might?

Well, both her legs up, hopefully.

Aghhhh! Next time...

We make a splash.

Whoa, whoa.

Why is my horse River Dancing?

And I learn the art of beekeeping.

No, get away!

Agh! Oh, it's your hand.

As we pour our hearts into the front garden.

I love you. And I love you.