All language subtitles for Escape to the Chateau S07 E06 Escape to the Chateau At Christmas 2020.720p.HDTV.x264-DARKFLiX.English

In the heart of the
French countryside,

a magnificent chateau stood
uncared for and abandoned.

Then six years ago,
everything changed...

THEY GASP
Wow. Oh! Look at that!

...when an intrepid
British couple...

Turn, turn, turn, turn.

Wow.

...unlocked its front door...

Everything is gorgeous.

...fell in love with its grandeur
and embarked on an adventure.

It's so incredibly important
to bring it back to life.

Since they moved in,
engineer Dick Strawbridge

and his wife, designer Angel,

have transformed
almost all 45 rooms,

including four
sumptuous guest suites

for their wedding
and events business.

But despite their hard work,

their dream often
resembled a nightmare.

You should not be able to see
the sky out of your roof.

Behind every romantic
story is the reality.

This year, life at the chateau
has been rather different...

I'm on an Heron Island!

...with no weddings
and events to host...

I think we need a
roof garden up here.

...they can tackle bigger
projects than ever.

This, I'm thinking, is
a big swimming pool.

I've got headache.
HE LAUGHS

And there are lots
of surprises in store...

THEY SCREAM

Come on, let's have a little look.
Is it stiff? Will it open?

...as the chateau
reveals more secrets.

I love it. It's so me.

And now, inspired by
a 19th century ledger...

This is all the way back
to the start of the chateau.

...the family is turning
traditions from the past...

It's looking like a roof that
my family would expect from me,

not perfect and a little bit wild.

This is the original meat
pie that was a mince pie.

...into a magical
21st century Christmas.

Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, everyone.

Christmas is coming to the chateau.

Woo! You got it? Yep. Ready? Up.

Oh. Right. I'm in the lead.

Oh, you're going first. OK.

Me, I go first. I do
feel like singing a song

when I'm holding this.

All right, let's go. Oops.
Oops, caught a branch.

You're in?

Oh, it smells incredible.

It's lovely and warm in here.

Getting a ten foot high Christmas
tree into the house is one thing...

Two, three, up. All the way.

...positioning it perfectly,
quite another.

Good size, isn't it?
Yeah, oh, it's a great size.

All Dick needs to do now
is make sure it's straight.

That's easier said than done.

I feel a bit twitchy. Am I
allowed to stand back or...?

This is where I live quite a long
time while Angela says,

"Rotate it left a little, rotate it
right, backwards and forwards,"

until she's happy it's not wonky.

Darling, have you let go?

Is it staying there?

Oh, my goodness, me.
ls that all right?

That's the straightest
tree we've ever had. Shh!

Don't tempt fate.

I reckon we probably
go maybe back a bit, but...

HE LAUGHS

Darling, I'm usually here for
45 minutes rotating these things.

I know, but this is gorgeous!

So you're quite happy. I can get up.

Come on and stand here. Look.

Yeah, it's good.
It's really good, isn't it?

Lights. Lights.
Are they working?

I didn't get that far.

Dick may be a top notch engineer,

but nothing ever prepares him
for his annual tree light tussle.

I don't remember what this is for.

All I want's lights that
you turn on.

What's going on here?

I am naturally quite grumpy,

and untangling lights that
look like they're tidy,

one of those nightmares.

What we do here is we do spirals.

This is my preferred method
of lighting a Christmas tree.

They're going to get moved anyway.

Who are we kidding?

But the lights are not just
a technical challenge for Dick,

they're an artistic one, too.

So you're just chucking
them up, are you?

My feeling is that we're missing
quite a lot at the front.

WHISPERS: Told you
she'd move them all.

Well, looks good to me.
Lovely, perfect.

But before the tree can be finished,

there's a crucial Christmas
decoration to make.

We have a new addition
to our family, Petal.

SHE CHUCKLES

This year's tree would not
be perfect without Petal.

Petaljust wouldn't be Petal
without her little tail.

I'm giving her a little jumper.

There we go, it's
going to go into here.

Starting to look like Petal now.

This is quite sweet.

The kids, I think they're
going to be quite excited

about a little Petal.

They don't know I'm doing it yet.

Be one big surprise.

With Dorothy and Arthur
home from school,

it's time to transform
the tree from ordinary to magical.

ANGEL LAUGHS

It's quite a big tree,
isn't it? What do you think?

Lovely, Dorothy, well done.

Should we put on
this bit here?

To make their tree extra special,

every single decoration has
either a meaning or a memory.

Aw, lovely. Who are we missing?

Low here?

Up there between your
mummy?

And now Petal is part of that
Strawbridge family tradition.

Hold on, how does that look?

Perfect!

With everything in place,
it's time to turn the magic on.

Here we go. Ready? Bumper.

Aw!
ARTHUR: Oh, I can see Petal!

Do you know what
that is called? Tradition.

It is tradition. It is tradition.

That is just like a twinkle tree.

I think it actually looks magical.

Christmases have been celebrated at
the chateau since the 19th century.

And for this year's festive feast,
Dick's keen to take inspiration

from the Baglioni
family's 150-year-old ledger.

Going through the ledger and
looking at some of the ingredients

that were bought
around Christmas time.

Cos this is all the way back
to the start of the chateau.

And you have to go through
the months, and there's December.

And in December, there's
a lot of shopping done.

There's salmon, there's a
lot of meat being done here.

Charcoal and sardines being
bought just before Christmas.

The variety of the food
not only gives an insight

into what the Baglioni's
ate but how they lived.

And at Christmas, we've got
things like foie gras and oysters

and that's the sort of thing
people were talking about.

But the poorer food was snails.

That was 1879.

I wonder what they did in 1880.

Next year, they're
still eating sardines.

So, fish, that's interesting.

Yeah, more salmon,
this is December's.

Ah, they've got
chestnuts.

The December 18th, they
got their oysters in.

What was the payment going out?
The payment for oranges, OK?

And every Christmas stocking
has an orange, or a walnut

or something like
in the bottom of it.

We haven't changed
that much, you know.

Knowing the ingredients
that they were using,

it's a matter of going
back to the old cookbooks,

and see what we can find
that's a Christmassy recipe.

Luckily, Dick
doesn't have far to look.

It's interesting, looking
back through these books,

the very earliest mince
pies have got meat in them.

But then the later editions,

they've gone to being
completely sweet pies,

which I think we have to explore.

And Dick's keen to share his plans
for a 19th century feast with Angel.

Just going through some
of the ledger bits,

different times of the year, you see
different things being bought.

And every December that I looked at,

salmon was being bought towards
the beginning of the month.

Every Christmas, my grandma
would always buy an entire salmon

and it was always on
our table at Christmas.

It never crossed my mind to
have snails for Christmas lunch.

And, you know, it
never crossed my mind

to put meat in a mince pie.

I think it'll be interesting to
see if we suddenly taste something,

and think, "Why aren't we
doing this every year?" Yeah.

I agree. And I would actually love
to make, as part of our tradition,

a tradition of finding
something new every year.

By the time you're my age,
you may be running out.

THEY LAUGH

But it's not just the food that
Dick would like to recreate.

If I was to say to you,

"What is your image of Christmas
going back to Victorian?"

That's the sort of time
we're talking about.

What's your image of Christmas?

I've got a picture in my
mind of a Victorian table,

and it is very stylised
with lots of, kind of, is it aspic?

Mine's not the table.

So, I've got this thing in my mind
where you've got a street scene

with people selling
roasting chestnuts. Mm-hm.

It's people skating on
the Thames with lamps,

gas lamps in the background.

When we first came here,
I think in the boot room,

there was a box of
old skates or blades.

Ah! I can remember those now!

They're old rusty
things, weren't they?

They probably skated
on the ice outside.

But imagining an idyllic Victorian
skating scene at the chateau

is one thing...

It's freezing.

...bringing it to life,
quite another.

You're serious about
skating at the chateau?

I love ice skating.

I haven't been since,
sort of, pre-us, but...

I'm not built for it.
That's not true! You don't know.

Well, darling, I knew.
The last time I ice skated

was probably
before you were born.

OK, and that's a very good reason.

But as the chateau's
moat hasn't frozen over,

Angel's had to come up with
a 21st century solution

for Dick's 19th century vision.

There's a thing, you know,
ice skaters train on it,

and ice hockey people use it.

It's not ice. It's faux ice.

Put it down, use it for a few
weeks, and then put it away.

And she's already found
the perfect place for it.

The chateau's 250
square metre terrace.

What size are we talking about?
Let me... She's setting off.

Hold on, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Corners. OK. Let's start
negotiating. Come on.

Put one there. Stop,
stop, stop, wait, wait, wait.

Let negotiations start.

What are you...stop it! Stop it!

We pay by the square metre.

Really?!

How big is it?!

All right, I'm going to
go length-wise now.

Don't move anything,
please. You are joking.

WHISPERS: Four, five,
six, seven, eight.

Yeah. It's huge.

That's about 40 square metres.

HE WHISTLES

Let me see.

SHE LAUGHS

This is me skating.

What?!

HE WHISTLES

ANGEL LAUGHS DELIGHTEDLY

You know what's even funnier? You
haven't even seen me on skates yet!

When you see me on skates,
it's going to be worse!

Christmas at the chateau 150 years
ago would have been filled with fine

food and festive treats.

Look at that sun.
The sun's going down quite quickly.

But whatever the century, few
things beat a traditional

crisp, wintry walk.

Aw, look, all those beautiful
pine cones.

This is pine cone central.
Watch this.

Pull it down.
Oh, wow!

Oh, look at those.

They are beautiful.

And, as they head
into the woods...

Wow!

...Dick soon spots something that
always guarantees

a very merry Christmas.

Right, look up.

What can you see?
Mistletoe!

Mmmmm...mwah!

Ah, mistletoe!

Christmas may still be a few weeks
away,

but, for Dick, it's come early.

Right, close your eyes.
Trust me.

Right, right, come here, come here,
close your eyes

and open your eyes!

So, it's a lovely old ladder.

I thought that this would be
a lovely Christmas present

to the library and you and us
as a family, to the chateau.

DICK CHUCKLES

But this is no impulse buy,
because, for the past five years,

the ladder has been on Angel's
wish list.

Everything is a round shelf

and we just sit here with our books.

We have a ladder.

Right. OK, this may not happen
in phase one.

So, when Angel says "present",
she actually means "project".

You don't want that ladder to
look like that there, do you?

Well, I do, but hold on wheels!

That's exactly what I knew!

Not only does Angel want the ladder
to be on wheels,

but for it to glide
effortlessly

around the 19th century turret.

However, I have no issues

if it is genuinely impossible.

Nothing's impossible.

As far as Dick's concerned,

he's just been given a Christmas
conundrum.

It is a big challenge

And it's a hard one to solve.

50, anyway, Happy Christmas!

ANGEL GIGGLES

Whilst the Victorian's may have lit
a candle for every day of Advent,

this year Angel's designed
a calendar that's guaranteed to fire

up Arthur and Dorothy's imagination.

Every day we're going to come and
open a drawer

and there's
going to be something in there.

And with that something you guys
have to make something.

You can make it into anything, but
you are only allowed to use

what's in there, your imagination...

What about glue?
..and glue and scissors.

Put your finger in

and pull it out together.

Perfect. Oh!

ANGEL LAUGHS

OK, hold on.

Right, shall we go down into our
work area?

Come on, let's go down and see.

With a drawer filled with a treasure
trove of beads, charms and twine,

Arthur and Dorothy are soon
hard at work.

And it seems they've inherited
former jeweller Pappy Steve's

eye for finery.

OK, what one will you put that one
on?

Silver spirals.
On this one?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, it's perfect.

OK, you hold that in one hand

and that in that hand.

OK, now put it in.

You see?

Brilliant!
Mum, I did it!

Ha! Ha! Amazing!

Grandad is going to be so proud!

And, like her mum, Dorothy
is a perfectionist

when it comes
to design and details.

Right, so it's this one next.
Yes, it is!

It is, you've just done that one!

And, just as Angel hoped, it's clear
that the new Advent calendar

is about to become a firm family
favourite for years to come.

All right, hold on.

I think this is looking incredible

and it really goes with your shirt.

Mwah!

Over at the workshop, it's time
for Dick and Quentin to transform

the new library ladder...

Let's get this little bad boy in.
Are you ready?

Let's take it this way, Quentin.

...into a moving masterpiece.

Using a metal ring that should,
in theory,

act like a curtain track
sliding the ladder around the room.

The idea is that all these feet
sit on the top shelf.

OK? Screw the shelf, screw
into the wall.

But there is just one
slight problem.

At around two metres in diameter,

it won't fit through the doors.

Dick though thinks he has a
solution.

Right, we're going to cut it over
here.

Then we're going to be able
to squeeze it in to get

it up and over and set it down.

Hoping his plan will work,
it's time to put it into motion.

You got it?

Guide me, Quentin, I can't see
you're in charge of all this.

Oh, badly...

Quentin!

Now, you're not allowed to
bash anything, Quentin!

No bashing of anything.

Oh!

And, once they've managed
to manhandle the ring in...

Stop a second.

Bend your end. Smaller.

...it's only a matter of somehow
raising

it three and a half metres up.

I'm glad this isn't heavy, sharp
and hard to get up in the air!

I'm loosening it up.

Well done, grab the bottom bit,
mate.

See if you can get that.
I've got the bottom one.

Well, it's in the right place!

But it's up!

Hooray!

Oh, that was hard.

Now, the countdown to Christmas
has begun,

Arthur and Dorothy can start
writing their wish lists

and this year they're hoping
to impress Santa

with their high class calligraphy.

We're doing your special
schooljoined up best writing

for Father Christmas, correct?

You are only allowed four things.

No, you can't, you
can't order from Father Christmas!

It doesn't happen like that.

"Dear Father Christmas," cheeky
chops!

"Christ-mas". Well done, Dorothy.

Bath or cot?

Do you want a bath or a cot?

Right, write "baby" "Bay-uh".

This is a bilingual list,
because it's...

...it's "bebe" and at the end,
"baby bath".

So, "baby bath" is a "bebe bath"!

ARTHUR:

That's lovely, baby.

DOROTHY SHOUTS

No, no, no!

Oh, that's nice.
That's lovely.

I've got to say, Dorothy...

ANGEL LAUGHS

ARTHUR:
Thank you!

Letters written,

it's time for the express
mail to Santa's Grotto.

How are we going to post it to
Father Christmas?

DOROTHY:

The fastest way to the North Pole,
I heard.

You ready?

I didn't see any kisses.

Better put a kiss on the outside,
just saying.

Here we go, we're going in now, it's
nice and hot now are you ready?

It's going in, now.
Here we go!

Oh, yeah, it goes,
oh, yeah!

Here the)! 9°!

I can hear them.

I'm hear...
there they go.

Soon, though, there's another
festive delivery at the chateau.

800 kilos of faux
ice for the skating rink.

Si vous laissez ici,
c'est parfait.

That'll do!

But Dick and Angel aren't
letting Dorothy and Arthur

in on the secret just yet.

That Daddy's, that's for Daddy,
actually.

La-la-la-la!

Things I get into it, eh?

Before he can start building the
skating rink though,

Dick has his hands full trying to
work out how to fix the library's

three and a half metre high ladder
to its circular rail.

If I put my ladder onto here
at an angle like THIS.

Into the rungs, yes,

and you walk up it and it's nice
and safe.

But when the ladder is not in use,

a bit ofjiggery-pokery is needed.

It just hangs in there nice
and plush, which means

when I'm sitting in my chair
at the end reading my books,

the ladders' not in the middle of
the tower.

Unfortunately, that means Dick's
O-Level in maths

is about to get a bit
of a workout.

This bit HERE, when it swings out...

...is an arc and it's a bit short.

I basically need to have a ladder

that has a bit added on the bottom
when it's out.

Right.

I'm going to cut the ends
off me ladder!

Two little feet.

And then...

"that's where it lives.

Dick's solution might be a bit Heath
Robinson,

but it could just work.

And now, after five years
of waiting,

the chateau's cherished
library is about to be completed...

Keep coming, keep coming.

...or so Dick hopes!

It hangs like a library ladder.
Yes.

Now, if you watch.

Look at this. OK.

Oh, that was very smooth!

The rollers are working there
nicely.

Yes, we come to here.

We pull it out. Yep.

We flick the little catches out.

OK, yeah, OK. To here and to here.

Ooh!

OK, that is quite fab.

I think we need another break
when it's down.

What? Another catch.

No. Why? Cos when you press
on, it doesn't move.

Oh, that's clever!

With the ladder in place,

Dick, very gentlemanly,
insists on ladies going first.

Yeah, it's nice and solid.

Would you like a book, babes?

Yes, could I have the one at the
very top?

Oh!

It's really solid.
Well done.

All books are accessible.

That's amazing!

How'd you like your
Christmas present?

Nice, it's old,
it's wooden and it works.

Well done!

Christmas is coming to the chateau,

and in homage to their
home's 19th century origins,

Dick and Angel want to, this year,

give it a cosy Victorian vibe,

which, for them,
includes ice skating.

Right, somewhere over there, Steve.

So with the help of Pappy Steve,

builder mate, Steve,
and roofer mate, Steve,

Dick's building the family,
their very own ice rink...

...at least that's the plan.

You see, to actually
work on an ice rink,

you have to be called
Steve, apparently.

That's the size of our rink.

All right? It's five
metres by eight metres.

You have to get used to
the fact I don't skate.

So when gravity starts
taking me down this hill,

yeah, this side
had better be strong.

But it's not long before
Dick's careful calculations

are also heading downhill.

It's not a metre.

All right, that's interesting.

The sheets of ice may be fake,

but the fact they're smaller than
expected, unfortunately, isn't.

We're going to take
away eight times four.

We're going to take away our foot.
It's going to be a foot shorter.

Right. We're going
to do this empirically.

And that just means we're going to
guess as we go along.

HE CHUCKLES

I think it's a good size.

SWP'

And once they've levelled the
ground with a thick layer of sand,

the fun can begin.

What's really worrying, by the way,
is how slippy this is already.

I can hardly budge.
HE LAUGHS

Five years ago, Angel and her
mother, jenny, and baby Dorothy

established a much-loved
tradition at the chateau.

An annual trip to
gather winter foliage

for the Christmas decorations.

And this year, all three generations

are keen to continue the chance
to bond amongst the branches.

Let's go through the
Enchanted Woodlands.

Listen to the sounds.

# Ba-ba-ba! #

I've got my Christmas hat out,

I've got the girls with me,

and it feels like Christmas.

As well as festive greens,

Angel's on the
lookout for red berries

to give her decorations
a burst of colour.

Mum, I'm glad we've got
you with us cos you're tall.

ANGEL CHUCKLES
Thank you.

And as soon as she's
back at the chateau,

Angel's keen to create
a Christmas wreath

that will stretch across both doors
of their rather grand entrance.

That's going to be half my wreath.

And that is going to be the
other half of my wreath.

And as you open the door...

# Da-da-da-da-da

# Da-da-da-da-da. #

The word "wreath" originates
from the old English for "twist".

And it doesn't take long
for Angel to discover why.

I'm just going to twist as much
as this as I can around this,

and it will start to create my
layer that I can stick bits into.

I love a cable tie.

Oh, that's not going to
move out of there now.

And once she's built a strong base,
Angel can begin to be creative.

I've got a lot of dried
eucalyptus around the place.

It also smells amazing.

And that's why I want
it all over the wreath.

It's looking like a wreath that
my family would expect from me,

not perfect and a little bit wild.

But to ensure it's a
true Strawbridge creation,

Dick, Arthur and Dorothy will be the
ones adding their finishing touches.

Downstairs in the kitchen,

Dick has started to create
his Victorian festive feast.

I'm making mince pies,
as we do every Christmas,

but this is the original meat
pie that was a mince pie.

So we're making it with lean beef.

Inspired by the ingredients
in the Baglioni family ledger

and guided by his
19th century cookbooks,

he's hoping the more
savoury version will be a hit

with his 21st century family.

Add some suet, beef suet, in we go.

This smells really
Christmassy already.

But it's got meat in it.

And while Dick's
Victorian style pies

may seem quite different
to modern day mince pies,

they do have something in
common, sweet dried fruit.

There's a part of me

that actually wants the children
to really, really like these.

Because if they do,

it's something that's just
a tradition from the past

that comes all the way
forward to the 21st century.

Wow.

Keen to find out
what's going on,

Arthur's volunteered to
act as his sous-chef.

This is a pastry which
is made with a lard.

Put some lard on it, which
is animal fat, put it in here,

and swing it up all the
way around. Look, see?

That's one.

Keep greasing that.
Look, I'm bringing this.

This is our fat and things.
Why don't you put it in here?

In goes all of this, pouring away.

HE IMITATES GLUGGING

Look at that. Put that away.

And let's mix it all up.

We're kneading it, kneading it.

Knead it.

Yes. A little bit of flour.

Put it over there.

Yeah, give it a try.

What do you reckon? Good?

No, no,
stop, watch, listen.

You have to be very
good with knives, don't you?

Cos you're nearly old enough to get
your own penknife, aren't you?

Good job.

Do me a favour, Arthur.

Go and get the meat.

Mincemeat, it's mincemeat.

HE LAUGHS

Right here, please,
young man. Well done!

But cooking's not the
only family affair,

because Angel would like Arthur
and Dorothy to add the final touches

to the Chateau's
supersized Christmas wreath.

And if you look at those
bits in there... ..look.

And the decorations are being
given a Victorian twist.

To go with the oranges, they
used to take the humble walnut

and guild it.

Take that over by there. Arthur,
you get some of the oranges.

OK, oranges. Oranges, right.

If you put things
where you want it to be,

Mummy and Daddy will make
sure we get it on. OK? OK.

Go up, put it around
something, and twist it.

So, see if you can
do it by yourself.

Arthur, come here, gorgeous.

Work out where you want it to go,
and then you twist the end around.

THEY LAUGH

I think they add a really
wonderful bit of colour.

And smell, exactly.

So this is the first bit.

And once everyone's
satisfied with their work,

it's time to put their
combined creativity on display.

Look at this.

Everybody out.
THEY LAUGH DELIGHTEDLY

DOROTHY EXCLAIMS

OK. How's that? Oh! What
do you think, children?

You like it? Good.

Last Christmas, the
festive oyster picking trip

was a boy's own adventure.

But this year,

the whole family's come to
Penestin on the Britanny coast

to hunt for some of the
best wild oysters in France.

Do you see this post?

So, in that direction,
the island over there,

that's where I think where the
big oysters are. Oh, really?

But anything you see
now is treasure.

Oysters have been a
traditional Christmas food

in France for centuries.

And collecting them is fast becoming
a Strawbridge tradition too.

What have you found, babe?

Oh, show that to Daddy. Yeah. Dad!

Yep.

It is an oyster.
Well done, mate.

This one's just about OK.

Not big, but it's not terrible.

You find a biggie?

Hey, hey, well done!

Whilst the old Chateau Ledger showed
oysters were a firm family favourite

in the 19th century...

All the way across
there, that's off now.

...last time Arthur tried
them, he wasn't impressed.

But now Dick's come prepared to
give them another go.

We're just going to do this, watch.
Come over here, you.

I'm going to do a little
hole in the end of it.

Suck it in. Suck.

That's good. That's yummy.

That's yummy. How was that?

Big one.

Luckily for Arthur, Dick's brought
along home-made pumpkin soup

to warm up his young
family of oyster-catchers.

Right, I'm sitting here.
Right. This is my seat.

Oh, yes! Oh, yes.

And the other one.

Right. Cheers. Cheers.

Cheers, darling.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

Oh, that is heaven.

I've had the best day ever.

Is it tradition that
the girls can come now?

Do you think the girls can come
with us next year as well?

AWKWARD SILENCE

ANGEL LAUGHS

You can't miss out on this.
Can't miss out, honestly.

How about we do it
on the other side?

Oh, yes, we'll...
SHE LAUGHS

We can take our tradition that way,
you take your tradition that way.

Yeah.

150 years ago, the Baglioni family

would've spent the winter skating
around their chateaus frozen moat.

Today, Dick and Angel are
keen to recreate the fun,

but with their own
21st century version.

It does look very
special, sweetheart.

Very Victorian, darling.

I think it looks great.

But it's not just the
ice that's artificial.

I have bought something,
for the first-time in my life,

that I never thought I would buy,

a fake garland,

but I didn't want to spend two
days making a garland this big.

So, I'm doing a little cheat.

I'm going to put some little
bunches of real stuff over the top.

Dick, though, is yet again
battling with a long line of lights.

It's like the Christmas
tree lights only bigger.

I know, l...well,
I love it twinklier.

Hold this for me here.
Yeah. just like that.

Yeah. You got it? Yeah.
Sort of twist it around.

Just loop it over, couldn't I? Yeah.

Oh, look, Ang. Oh, brilliant!

Up to there, like that. Fantastic.

I just think it looks glorious.

I think the children are going to

really feel like they're
having a special Christmas.

It's enough cold, that wind is...
It's freezing isn't it? Yeah!

That's just to get you
in the mood for Christmas.

Going like this, we
could actually have snow.

The irony of that
would be very funny,

that we've built an ice rink,
and then.. The moat freezes.

...the moat freezes!
THEY LAUGH

It's the night before the chateau's
Victorian Christmas feast,

and though the rest of the
family are sound asleep,

Dick and Angel are busy honing
their home-made cracker skills.

Really feels like Christmas to me
when we do things late at night.

You know, I just think the
pressie wrapping and, you know?

Not only are the
crackers carefully crafted,

but filled with
small personal presents.

Arthur's pressie is
so special for him.

There's going to be rules associated
with this penknife, by the way.

And the very simple rule
is he's not allowed to

open it without my permission.

For Dorothy, there's
even a vintage vibe.

I've got a sweet little
broach. That's lovely.

I think she'll love it.

And not only are the
crackers handmade,

the Christmas chuckles come
courtesy of Pappy Steve.

The first one of
Dad's jokes has gone in.

I'm secretly really
looking forward to them.

When we have the time to actually
stop and do things like this,

I get all mushy and
think about the year.

Yeah, I know what you mean.

And it has been...boy, has it been
a year! Been a year, hasn't it?

Do you know what, Arthur
and Dorothy keep us grounded.

ANGEL LAUGHS
Yeah? They do.

As a Victorian Christmas
is being held at the chateau,

and the whole family will be
enjoying a 19th century feast,

Angel's keen to ensure that
the dining room is just as magical.

The old French linens,
I mean they're all hand stitched.

Lovely.

Whether it's handmade or
home-made...

Arthur and Dorothy.

...there's the personal touch.

And to finish everything off,

a winter forest of festive foliage.

Love it.
SHE LAUGHS

In the kitchen,
Dick's busy preparing

his Victorian hors d'oeuvres
of oysters and snails.

Smells good.

Leaves you a nice flavoursome stock.

That's what gives
the snails the flavour.

But the chateau kitchen isn't
just filled with an earthy aroma,

there's also the sea salt scent
of the family's hand-picked oysters.

The kids did well!

We might have to invite
the girls back next year.

Hello!

Soon, the whole family is gathered.

And this year's chateau
celebrations are promptly launched

with a glass of
Dick's home-made sloe gin.

Dorothy, I know you're
very good at .

Can you take that
to Grandma, please?

DOROTHY: Grandma? All right.
Thank you very much.

Oh, perfectly delivered.

And for the younger
members of the family...

Dorothy grab your glass.

...another Baglioni favourite,
French grenadine.

Merry Christmas, Pappy!

Merry Christmas, Dorothy.

Merry Christmas, Mum.

Love you.

Sloes, it was months ago,
but we got them for Christmas.

Who wants to do this next year? Yes.

Good thing to do every year,
I love it.

Let's go and eat. Are you hungry?

Across the hall, Angel's Christmas
table is ready and waiting.

Have a seat, have a seat.

BOTTLE POPS

Hooray. I like that sound,
Mr Strawbridge.

Thank you very muchly. Ah. Right.

You're very health, Merry Christmas!

Come on! TOGETHER: Merry Christmas!

Hey!

Ah! Whoa, hoo-hoo!

Oh, wow.

Oh, ho, ho!

I knew it would be a pen knife!

Can you see there are rules?

You only open it when you get
permission to open it.

See the end?
It's not got a pointy end,

it's got a slightly
rounded end to make it safe.

What do you think of it?

You know, the beauty about
making home-made crackers?

They're unique.

There's no other cracker
quite like that in the world.

And Pappy Steve's humour
is also one of a kind.

GRANDMA: What do you get if you
cross a bale of hay and a moat?

Yes!
THEY LAUGH

ANGEL: Woohoo!

It's time, though,
to focus on the food...

# Coming down. #

...and find out whether
Dick's 21st century family

will like his Victorian
appetisers of oysters and snails.

ANGEL LAUGHS

Good?

I agree, Arthur. They are,
they're really good.

I think I'm oyster more than snails.

Really?

Is it? For Arthur, it's a tie.

And following the
surprisingly successful starter,

the fish course.

Salmon!

DOROTHY:

Well, in that case, darling,
you'll have your share.

Dig in?!
That's like bon appetit!

And to Dick's delight,
it's soon clear that salmon

is as popular today as
it was 150 years ago.

Do you think we should be having
salmon as part of our Christmas?

We're doing a vote.

Yes, salmon.

So salmon on the menu next year.

And it's not long before another

tasty tradition is
established at the chateau,

the Christmas goose.

Oh, that stuffing, guys! Thank you.

Mm!

I don't know if you know this,
all the vegetables are

seasonal vegetables
because traditionally,

they could only use the vegetables
they had out in the potager.

So this is very traditional.

Do you want to know something, I
think Goose is the way forward.

GRANDMA: Lovely, I'm loving it.

PAPPY:

But outside, there's an even bigger
surprise waiting for the family,

and it's truly magical.

Come have a look at this.

I love this!

Well, who is going on
the skates first?

Woo! Ah! Mummy's off.

Woohoo!

I am smiling from ear to ear.

Oh, grand, Dorothy!

THEY LAUGH

Oh, no!

I'm actually holding on to you!

You know what's really funny,
you're saving me, Arthur!

Pappy. Pappy's on! Yay, Pappy!

Wait for me, wait for me!

Mr Strawbridge?
Yes, Mrs Strawbridge?

You have the happiest wife.

But before the evening is over,

there's one more taste
of the past still to try.

Dick and Arthur's meaty mince pies.

Ooh! Oh, yes. Wow.

Tell us what you think, tell
us what you think! Good health!

It's a beef pie.

No!

That mulled wine's great!

This to me
just feels like Christmas.

Go on. ARTHUR: Best Christmas ever!
DOROTHY:laughs