:00:18. > :00:23.Hello and welcome to The One Show with Matt Baker. And Alex Jones.
:00:23. > :00:27.Our guest tonight has traded high heels for the high seas. He is
:00:27. > :00:34.playing at Long John Silver in a new version of Treasure Island. It
:00:34. > :00:39.is Eddie Izzard! They are so welcoming. That is
:00:39. > :00:43.lovely. I thought this was a quiet and cosy chat and suddenly 93
:00:43. > :00:48.people have been dragged in off the streets for Christmas crumpets! I
:00:48. > :00:53.will give them a fiver. They are all here to see me. No pressure.
:00:53. > :00:56.They are not. They were wandering down the corridor. Anyway. You have
:00:56. > :01:02.lots of connections with lots of places in the UK and I was
:01:02. > :01:07.surprised that you have one with my neck of the words, South Wales.
:01:07. > :01:13.Skewen was the destination of one of your first extreme trip. In it
:01:13. > :01:17.was. I lived in Skewen, 20 miles from Port Talbot and 50 miles from
:01:17. > :01:21.where you grow up. It is near Swansea. I was there for two years
:01:21. > :01:26.and my mother died when I was there, unfortunately. It is nothing to do
:01:26. > :01:30.with Wales, it was just where we were. I decided I had to go back. I
:01:30. > :01:37.keep going back to things in my life. When I was 40 I said to my
:01:37. > :01:42.dad that I was going out on my bike. -- 14. What was his reaction?
:01:42. > :01:48.said OK because he had done that when he was a child. Me and my dad
:01:48. > :01:53.are very similar. I have done lots of things which have been wrong,
:01:53. > :01:57.Hollywood Bowl, kicks in French, pushing staff, apart from telling
:01:57. > :02:02.everyone I was a transvestite, doing all these things, and my dad
:02:02. > :02:05.also pushed his own limits and boundaries. But he did not look out
:02:06. > :02:10.for you and plan accommodation for you. You just went for it. You can
:02:10. > :02:14.do that when you are 14. I was supposed to phone back every night,
:02:14. > :02:23.that was the thing. And I had to find up iPhone because there were
:02:23. > :02:27.no mobile phones. -- find a pay phone. I would not, door of farmers
:02:27. > :02:34.-- knock on the door of farmers and asked if I could stay and they were
:02:34. > :02:41.always find. I did not have to move in! There were people we knew round
:02:41. > :02:45.the corner. It is a long way. difficult to pronounce for English
:02:46. > :02:52.people! As well as his marathons, we will be talking to him about
:02:52. > :02:56.Treasure Island. You are an intriguing pas -- pirate. Tattoos
:02:56. > :03:01.on your face. I have been trying to shave my head for some time. The
:03:01. > :03:06.director came up and asked me if I wanted to shave my head and I said
:03:06. > :03:11.yes! It had been eight years. If you shave your head, men and women,
:03:11. > :03:19.you don't know how it will look. Your skull might not work. It works
:03:19. > :03:23.well. I have an excellent spell! His crew includes Donald Sutherland
:03:23. > :03:30.and a lighter work but we want to add to it with some of our view of
:03:30. > :03:34.pirates. -- Elijah Wood. This is my son. He is mad on pirates. Please
:03:34. > :03:37.send in your photographs and we will look through them later.
:03:37. > :03:42.spent some years living in Yorkshire as well. Yes, I was at
:03:42. > :03:47.college in Sheffield. Do you know the name of the county and them?
:03:47. > :03:52.have no idea. I did not know they had an anthem. Well, Yorkshire has
:03:52. > :03:56.been singing On Ilkla Mooar Baht 'at, which is its anthem, since the
:03:56. > :04:06.early 1800s of that knowledge of it is dying out so we have been to
:04:06. > :04:06.
:04:06. > :04:10.meet the locals drumming up in -- the enthusiasm for an old classic.
:04:10. > :04:14.On Ilkla Mooar Baht 'at, famous old folksong, guaranteed to stir the
:04:14. > :04:18.blood of any true Yorkshireman like myself. Believed to be composed in
:04:18. > :04:23.the late 19th century, the song borrows its tune from the old
:04:23. > :04:27.Methodist hymn Cranbrook. The words are written in a dialect, probably
:04:27. > :04:32.originating in the Halifax area. It tells the tale of a man courting
:04:32. > :04:35.his lover, Mary Jane, on Ilkley Moor, without a hat. The song goes
:04:35. > :04:40.on to predict that without a hat, the man is doomed to die from
:04:40. > :04:45.exposure because of the harsh winds on the more. He will then be buried
:04:45. > :04:52.and his body consumed first by worms he will then buy eaten by
:04:52. > :04:57.dogs, who in turn will be turned by the singers of the songs themselves.
:04:57. > :05:01.-- who will then be eaten by dogs. Despite the bizarre lyrics, such
:05:01. > :05:10.was the popularity that it became the unofficial anthem of the county
:05:10. > :05:14.of Yorkshire. We sent a trombone player out onto the streets to see
:05:14. > :05:21.how many people recognise the famous anthem named after her
:05:21. > :05:25.Ilkley Moor. It quickly became apparent that while the older
:05:25. > :05:30.generation remember the song fondly, many of the younger generation
:05:30. > :05:36.certainly did not. Sorry, I did not recognise that. It sounds familiar
:05:36. > :05:45.but I don't know where it is from. Is it On Ilkla Mooar Baht 'at?
:05:45. > :05:49.local music teacher Gordon Addison is leading a one-man crusade to
:05:49. > :05:53.save it from extinction. We are just trying to encourage schools to
:05:53. > :05:57.think about teaching the song. parents to think about whether
:05:57. > :06:02.their children know the song. If they don't, learn it, teach it to
:06:02. > :06:06.them. Why it is happening at school today? We will teach this choir to
:06:06. > :06:10.sing it and they will be a company by this band that we put together
:06:10. > :06:14.this morning. They will be performing after lunch. Gordon has
:06:14. > :06:20.set himself a real challenge. I have arranged to have a chat with
:06:20. > :06:24.the local MP, Greg Mulholland, who is championing the campaign in the
:06:24. > :06:29.House of Commons. Is this a good use of precious parliamentary time?
:06:29. > :06:33.Yes, it is a bit of fun but it is important. We have an age-old
:06:33. > :06:38.musical and folk tradition in Yorkshire, as in many other areas,
:06:38. > :06:42.and it is an important part of who we are. Did you know On Ilkla Mooar
:06:42. > :06:46.Baht 'at before you started playing it? I had heard of it but I did not
:06:46. > :06:50.know the words. It is really fun. It is the same thing repeated over
:06:50. > :07:00.and over again but it is really fun to play. Is there something I can
:07:00. > :07:00.
:07:00. > :07:05.do to take part in the concert? are your lips? Chapped. Try this.
:07:05. > :07:10.am asthmatic, you know. It is very good for that but if it does not
:07:10. > :07:15.work, there is always this. That is humiliating. I will get this
:07:15. > :07:20.mastered, don't worry. It can't be that hard. There are no buttons on
:07:20. > :07:23.it. I could really do with a couple more months to perfect my part. It
:07:23. > :07:26.is a frantic scramble to get ready for the performance in the
:07:27. > :07:29.afternoon. As the Yorkshireman I grew up with On Ilkla Mooar Baht
:07:29. > :07:33.'at and it is sad to think that some children are completely
:07:33. > :07:36.unaware of this important part of their heritage. I hope the
:07:36. > :07:42.performance today does its bit to reinvigorate a whole new generation
:07:42. > :07:52.to fall in love with On Ilkla Mooar Baht 'at.
:07:52. > :07:56.
:07:56. > :07:58.# On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at. # Tha's been a cooartin' Mary Jane,
:07:58. > :08:03.Mary Jane. # On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at.
:08:03. > :08:13.# Tha's been a cooartin' Mary Jane. # On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at.
:08:13. > :08:27.
:08:27. > :08:34.Thank you to the children of Gunter School for that great performance.
:08:34. > :08:40.-- Guiseley. I did know that some betide did not know the name of it.
:08:40. > :08:44.-- but I did not know the name of it. They did very well. On Ilkley
:08:44. > :08:48.Moor without your hat. In the olden days everybody wore hats, but
:08:48. > :08:55.nowadays you can probably get off with somebody without one. That is
:08:55. > :09:02.the essence of the song! You can find someone you fancy on Ilkley
:09:02. > :09:06.Moor. Or you can just go to a cafe! By New Musical? Somewhat. I like
:09:07. > :09:11.the piano and I used to murder the clarinet when I was a child. I did
:09:11. > :09:17.not want to play the clarinet but I was forced. Were you third
:09:17. > :09:22.clarinetist? I was. I got clarinet by mistake. I wanted trombone and I
:09:22. > :09:25.put the wrong thing on the form. I was gutted. You can't have all of
:09:25. > :09:33.the kids playing the piano in the school band so they suggest other
:09:33. > :09:37.things. I was third clarinet. I had this very funny line. The first
:09:37. > :09:41.clarinet plays the music, the second place the harmony, the third
:09:41. > :09:45.clarinet are just plays the notes that are left over. I was the
:09:45. > :09:49.violinist so I feel your pain. Anyway, it has been 40 years since
:09:49. > :09:53.Bangladesh was created and we have been used to Bangladeshi families
:09:53. > :09:56.coming to Britain and setting up homes and businesses. It is not all
:09:56. > :10:02.one-way traffic. Konnie Huq meets a British Bangladeshi family planning
:10:02. > :10:07.to move in the opposite direction. Ashworth and his family are getting
:10:07. > :10:14.ready for the journey of a lifetime. Do you want to help baddy with the
:10:14. > :10:19.packing? The 60 years, migrants from Bangladesh have come to
:10:19. > :10:22.Britain in search of education, work and a new life. But now lots
:10:22. > :10:28.of young British families are reversing the trend and moving from
:10:28. > :10:38.Britain to Bangladesh, where they now believe they can enjoy a higher
:10:38. > :10:43.standard of living. The cost of living is over their low over there
:10:43. > :10:51.so -- is lower over there. You can have a big house for the same
:10:51. > :10:55.salary that you are wrong here. even less. Although the move will
:10:55. > :10:59.make them instantly wealthier, Ashworth's wife is more
:10:59. > :11:04.apprehensive about going back, and that is because she left Bangladesh
:11:04. > :11:09.relatively recently in 2007 to get married. Only now does she feel
:11:09. > :11:14.settled in Britain. What would you say is difficult about moving from
:11:14. > :11:17.Bangladesh to the UK? The first thing was that I had no one here.
:11:17. > :11:24.All my family and friends, everybody was in Bangladesh. Now
:11:24. > :11:29.that I have made friends, now that I am so close to my husband as part
:11:29. > :11:34.of the family, it is all very difficult. Ashworth is not taking
:11:34. > :11:38.the family moved lightly. His well- paid job as an accountant will
:11:38. > :11:40.protect his family from many of the downside of life in Bangladesh, the
:11:40. > :11:48.country is still developing and over the years has had its fair
:11:48. > :11:53.share of problems. What are the down sides of moving? I would say
:11:53. > :11:57.the provision of health care. If you can afford to go to private
:11:57. > :12:02.health care, you hear about malpractice and mistreatment of
:12:02. > :12:12.patients, especially with a young family. The law and order situation
:12:12. > :12:18.
:12:18. > :12:22.He has gone on ahead to Bangladesh and his family will follow once he
:12:22. > :12:27.has settled in. It is a 12 hour flight from London to the capital,
:12:27. > :12:31.but it could be a world away. It has been a week and I want to see
:12:32. > :12:34.how he is getting on. Like most British Bangladeshis, I have always
:12:34. > :12:40.straddled two cultures and now that I have been back to Bangladesh a
:12:40. > :12:46.fair bit, it can be quite a culture shock at times. I am intrigued to
:12:46. > :12:49.see how we are getting on. Some parts of his new life at the same
:12:50. > :12:54.as back home, but outside of his office he finds he has a lifestyle
:12:54. > :13:01.that he would never have had in Britain. An inexpensive meal here
:13:01. > :13:05.just costs �1.45. What would you get in London for that? Rent on a
:13:05. > :13:11.reasonable one-bed flat just costs �90 per month. In London he would
:13:11. > :13:16.have to pay around �1,300 for something similar. So far would you
:13:16. > :13:22.say it has been what you expected? Yes. I came with an open mind. I
:13:22. > :13:27.did not know what to expect. To a large extent, people have been very
:13:27. > :13:30.nice and welcoming. The guy from London that made an effort, so they
:13:30. > :13:37.come and say hello to me and make me feel comfortable. It is really
:13:37. > :13:42.good. You have your own driver? Wow. You could not have that in the
:13:43. > :13:47.UK. And because I am new in town I have a bodyguard as well. No way!
:13:47. > :13:52.Does that make you feel a bit grand? A bit uncomfortable? Like
:13:52. > :13:57.you are a superstar? It does a bit. It is just because I am new in town.
:13:57. > :14:00.It is not all positive. Although it is winter, he is struggling with
:14:00. > :14:07.the heat and the mosquitoes and the traffic is an absolute nightmare.
:14:07. > :14:12.It can sometimes take in two hours to get back from the office. What
:14:12. > :14:16.else has struck you about being back? I am much more appreciative
:14:16. > :14:22.and grateful for everything that I have. I have a good job, family
:14:22. > :14:26.support and I can afford a family house. Lots of people here live
:14:26. > :14:31.below the poverty line and for them, the things that I enjoy and take
:14:31. > :14:34.for granted, those things would be beyond them. Although there are no
:14:34. > :14:40.hard numbers on how many young Bangladeshis are going back,
:14:40. > :14:43.anecdotally it appears to be on the rise. His brother has already made
:14:43. > :14:48.the move from London to Bangladesh and his cousin is hoping to follow
:14:48. > :14:51.in January. Back in England and his wife is planning to join him in a
:14:51. > :14:56.couple of months. But they are still hedging their bets and will
:14:56. > :15:01.not be selling their London home just yet.
:15:01. > :15:06.Nice to see my old friend Konnie Huq. There is more and 40 years of
:15:06. > :15:10.Bangladeshi independence on the BBC Asian Network website. Your new
:15:10. > :15:18.home this Christmas is on Sky One. You are playing Long John Silver on
:15:18. > :15:21.Treasure Island. It is also on the BBC as well. I am doing The Lost
:15:21. > :15:28.Christmas on the BBC, working against Treasure Island. I am
:15:28. > :15:32.trying to take over all of the channel's! Treasure Island, is it
:15:32. > :15:36.traditional or Pirates Of The Caribbean? If you think that
:15:36. > :15:44.Pirates Of The Caribbean stole the somewhat pantomime, swashbuckling,
:15:44. > :15:47.area, we fight. We are doing the aggressive, real pirates. Imagine
:15:47. > :15:52.300 million on an island somewhere and you just have to go and get it
:15:52. > :15:59.on a boat. What would you do for that? And the criminal element.
:15:59. > :16:02.Long John Silver, who I play, and half of the pirates on the boat are
:16:02. > :16:07.actually believing that it is their treasure which has been stolen from
:16:07. > :16:17.before. It is Treasure Island Reboot. That is what it is. Let's
:16:17. > :16:20.
:16:20. > :16:27.I am the law on the ship, I am sharing with none. I know because
:16:27. > :16:35.it is tattooed on my brain, what each man here is entitled to. Let
:16:35. > :16:41.us all have the lives we have learnt. 4th sets -- we have earned.
:16:42. > :16:47.You talk too much, John Silver. were really keen for that part of
:16:47. > :16:50.the story to be included? thought about doing a prequel. It
:16:50. > :16:57.is always talk about as Flint's treasure but no one knows how he
:16:57. > :17:01.lost the leg. I wanted to show him using it. Someone else had the idea
:17:01. > :17:08.that we could do the prequel. I thought, why don't we have... Later
:17:08. > :17:12.on I get rid of that leg. I wanted to show how determined he was,
:17:12. > :17:18.because these are the characters I like to play. People as determined
:17:18. > :17:23.as I am! We will move on to The Lost Christmas now. You wake up in
:17:23. > :17:30.a street in Manchester? We started only two weeks after Treasure
:17:30. > :17:34.Island. Is that why you have got a bit of hair? Yes, I had to do
:17:34. > :17:39.something radical, just a diet completely blonde and go in a
:17:39. > :17:44.different direction. I like it like that. I like both the looks. This
:17:44. > :17:48.is an urban fairy-tale with a tone of it's a wonderful life. It is
:17:48. > :17:53.quite a dark story but goes to a beautiful place. I am found lying
:17:53. > :17:56.on the ground, I have no memory of whoever I am, and I have no fear. I
:17:56. > :18:00.wander through the story, interacting with these characters.
:18:00. > :18:04.If they take my hand, I get these visions of things they have lost.
:18:04. > :18:08.Five characters have lost things and they are all linked, and it
:18:08. > :18:12.gradually goes through the story, it is quite a beautiful story.
:18:12. > :18:17.Quite hard to come straight from the pirates and into that? It was a
:18:17. > :18:27.left turn at the junction. That is what you have to do quite a lot in
:18:27. > :18:36.
:18:36. > :18:39.In many ways, Christmas in 1946 was much like any other. Family gather
:18:39. > :18:43.together, presents under the tree and everyone eating as much food as
:18:43. > :18:48.possible. Well, as much as rationing would allow. There was
:18:48. > :18:52.one unusual thing about 25th December, 1946. Many families had a
:18:52. > :18:55.German around for dinner. Ruth Goodman went to Bradford to explain
:18:55. > :18:59.why. When the war in Europe ended,
:18:59. > :19:05.because of a shortage of manpower, captured German prisoners of war
:19:05. > :19:09.were sent to Britain to help rebuild the country. By 1946,
:19:09. > :19:14.400,000 German POWs were housed in camps up and down the country. At
:19:14. > :19:18.first, living so close to the enemy was uncomfortable. Under a
:19:18. > :19:26.fraternisation ban, German POW backers were not allowed contact
:19:26. > :19:35.with local people. It was even forbidden to accept money, food, or
:19:35. > :19:39.cigarettes. -- German POWs were not allowed contact with local people.
:19:39. > :19:43.Gunter was not allowed to make contact, but this did not stop him
:19:43. > :19:53.catching the eye of a local girl called vile it. I was working in
:19:53. > :19:54.
:19:54. > :20:00.The gentleman who drove the lorry came into the shop and bought
:20:00. > :20:05.cigarettes. One day, Gunter was sat in the front. She was addressing
:20:05. > :20:12.the window and she gave me a little smile. I asked the driver to give
:20:12. > :20:19.this young lady a letter. I was asking her if she would write to me,
:20:19. > :20:24.and I would write back, as a pen friend. I said to my manager,
:20:24. > :20:29.should I do it? She said, it is an experience. So I started writing to
:20:29. > :20:35.him. The fraternisation band was finally lifted step before
:20:35. > :20:39.Christmas 1946. For the first time since being captured, German POWs
:20:39. > :20:49.were allowed out of the camps on the condition they were signed up
:20:49. > :20:50.
:20:50. > :20:56.by local British people. I enjoyed the Yorkshire pudding, very much.
:20:56. > :21:05.Did we have some? No, we didn't, it was Christmas. When I came back at
:21:05. > :21:10.night, everyone had been out. Everybody had been with their
:21:10. > :21:16.family. Britain kept its German workforce for three-and-a-half
:21:16. > :21:20.years after the war. The German prisoners of war represented a huge
:21:20. > :21:24.mobile workforce, which they were able to employ in the various areas
:21:24. > :21:30.that they needed. It could be channelled into agriculture,
:21:30. > :21:34.rebuilding houses, clearing rubble away. Was this unusual? Did other
:21:34. > :21:37.countries hang on to prisoners like this? Britain had actually signed
:21:37. > :21:42.the Geneva Convention which stipulated prisoners should be
:21:42. > :21:48.returned home as soon as fighting had stopped. But this didn't happen.
:21:48. > :21:52.In general, they felt that these prisoners could be used to repair
:21:52. > :21:57.what the German love what I had destroyed. And in that sense, they
:21:57. > :22:06.felt it was a contribution towards rebuilding Britain -- German
:22:06. > :22:10.For Gunter and Violet, their whirlwind romance was blossoming
:22:10. > :22:17.and they decided to marry. Anti- German feelings were still common
:22:17. > :22:22.in Britain. When we said we would get married, I had to go to the
:22:22. > :22:27.justice of peace. He had a talk to me and said, do you realise that
:22:27. > :22:32.when you marry this German person, you will lose your British
:22:32. > :22:38.nationality. It must have been a really big decision. I had to go
:22:38. > :22:45.and see the camp commander and as well. He gave me a strict talking
:22:45. > :22:53.to. But I didn't take much notice. Consequently, we would not have got
:22:53. > :22:58.married, would we? In 1948, the last PoWs left Britain, with some
:22:58. > :23:01.15,000 deciding to stay and make a new life here. Including Gunther.
:23:01. > :23:06.The British public were able to show German prisoners of war a
:23:06. > :23:10.degree of kindness and hospitality, and Christmas of 1946 stands out as
:23:10. > :23:20.an example of how ordinary people were able to open their hearts with
:23:20. > :23:21.
:23:21. > :23:31.compassion. In some cases, like Eddie, you have got plans to take
:23:31. > :23:38.your stand up over to Germany, haven't you? Yes. SPEAKS IN GERMAN.
:23:38. > :23:44.I did three months in front this year, 71 digs in Paris in French. I
:23:44. > :23:51.arrived in Paris, after 15 years of trying. I'm going to do Germany at
:23:52. > :23:56.the end of 2012. Do you have to ad- lib a little bit? There is a trick.
:23:56. > :24:00.I do a universal kind of said, talking about Greeks and Romans and
:24:00. > :24:05.Santa claws and God and banjos, and they exist in all countries, and
:24:05. > :24:11.then you have to change the world over. You have to try to implement
:24:11. > :24:16.as much as you can. I can go off and talk about Christmas trees and
:24:16. > :24:19.say, is white the right colour, and you can do that? The more you do it,
:24:19. > :24:24.the cooler it gets and they think, we are just watching stand up and
:24:24. > :24:30.it is just an English guy. If you get stuck, you can mine? Not really,
:24:30. > :24:34.you can ask the audience what the word is in French.
:24:34. > :24:39.Having been to Yorkshire at twice already this evening, we thought it
:24:39. > :24:43.was unfair on the walls of the Roses opponents. To balance it up a
:24:43. > :24:48.little, we sent Phil Tufnell to Lancashire, to check out a hotel
:24:48. > :24:52.that is also a work of art. Now, the seaside is great for
:24:52. > :24:58.donkey rides and ice-cream, but it is not usually the place that you
:24:58. > :25:03.associate with major artworks. The town of Morecambe in Lancashire is
:25:03. > :25:08.a real treat for art lovers. The artistic gems are not found in a
:25:08. > :25:13.gallery, but in the town's grandest hotel, the Midland. The hotel was
:25:13. > :25:17.built in the 1930s, and is a work of art Deco mastery. The London
:25:17. > :25:23.Midland and Scottish Railway Company grew rich in the inter-war
:25:23. > :25:26.period, carrying millions of people to the British seaside. The company
:25:26. > :25:32.commissioned leading architects to design the hotel, and one of
:25:32. > :25:36.Britain's biggest name artists to adorn the building inside and out.
:25:36. > :25:41.Eric Gill was one of the leading lights of the Arts and Crafts
:25:41. > :25:46.movement, a sculptor, design and print maker. Ruse's great
:25:46. > :25:52.grandfather, Joseph, was his assistant. She has written two
:25:52. > :25:56.books on the artist. Eric Gill is one of the most important sculptors
:25:56. > :26:01.in the 20th century. In Britain are. He took up letter Cup -- letter
:26:01. > :26:06.captain, sculpting, engraving, book illustration -- letter cutting. His
:26:06. > :26:11.influence was about this direct way of working on the stone, and that
:26:11. > :26:16.being specifically British. sculptor's -- sculptures in his
:26:16. > :26:20.beloved stoner are all over the London. At the BBC's Broadcasting
:26:20. > :26:25.House, on the front of the London Underground headquarters, and
:26:25. > :26:33.inside Westminster Cathedral. Away from the capital is some of deal's
:26:33. > :26:38.finest work and the nautical theme dominates his sculptors at the
:26:38. > :26:44.eighth Midland Hotel. The see houses started life as a chance of
:26:44. > :26:47.Portland stone and they were carved in situ. Eric Gill like to feel
:26:47. > :26:52.freedom of movement so he wore a smock, you can imagine the builders
:26:52. > :26:59.not looking up to see how he was getting on. We have the next Eric
:26:59. > :27:06.Gill, commonly known as the medallion. If you look at the hands
:27:06. > :27:10.and the feet of Neptune, can you see the signs of stick martyr? We
:27:10. > :27:15.have Jesus with John the Baptist, so to Eric Gill this is heaven, and
:27:15. > :27:23.this would be the stairway to Heaven. Like it. It is a little bit
:27:23. > :27:28.racy, isn't it? It is, but it is well appreciated. Eric Gill's bass
:27:29. > :27:37.relief was carefully designed for its position in the hotel reception
:27:37. > :27:42.to be warm and welcoming. In the mind of Eric Gill, this represents
:27:42. > :27:45.the hoteliers trade. The young Princess is the hotelier, welcoming
:27:45. > :27:50.the wary guest. You expect to eat well and drink well, and that is
:27:50. > :27:56.why he has chose this piece. When you walk into the hotel, what a
:27:56. > :28:00.welcoming sight you have. For many years, Eric Gill's brilliance was
:28:00. > :28:05.hidden almost completely from view, as the hotel fell into disrepair. A
:28:05. > :28:10.huge renovation project four years ago breathed new life into both the
:28:10. > :28:14.hotel and Eric Gill's art. And the Midland is now once again a source
:28:14. > :28:18.of great pride in the town. It is another Eric that we associate with
:28:18. > :28:22.Morecambe these days, but in a town that has suffered from cheap
:28:22. > :28:32.international travel and the good of British weather, it is nice to
:28:32. > :28:32.
:28:32. > :28:37.see a bit of artistic sunshine come A wonderful place, I have stayed
:28:37. > :28:42.there myself. You have stayed everywhere. I got stuck in the mud
:28:42. > :28:47.and had to get rescued by a hovercraft.
:28:47. > :28:57.We asked for your pirate voters, you did not disappoint.
:28:57. > :29:00.
:29:00. > :29:10.-- photos. These people have built We have William Nicholas aged six,
:29:10. > :29:14.
:29:14. > :29:23.from Caerphilly. Gerry Conway, the Caliber from Glasgow looks rather