:00:18. > :00:22.Hello, welcome to The One Show with Alex Jones... And Matt Baker.
:00:22. > :00:32.Tonight we are playing secrets and there. See if you can guess who
:00:32. > :00:39.this is. -- secret Santa. It's Grace Jones! Lovely to see you.
:00:39. > :00:48.We are getting you are a lot more enthusiastic about Christmas than
:00:48. > :00:52.in the that clip? A tad more. Just a little bit. Two shopping days
:00:52. > :00:57.left, tomorrow is apparently the busiest of the year. Have you done
:00:57. > :01:02.it all? I have, at last year I was shopping on Christmas Eve. I did it
:01:02. > :01:08.all in my local area, in Cardiff. I got it all done on Christmas Eve.
:01:08. > :01:14.This year I am a bit more organised. It only takes you two days? I said
:01:14. > :01:20.the site 2, but it doesn't work. You need a lot more. Do you do a
:01:21. > :01:26.whole list? It's ridiculous, it escalates. I've got to start
:01:26. > :01:30.tomorrow! Good luck. We are going to be hearing about your new show,
:01:30. > :01:36.Stella. Claire Balding will be in Salford with some of the UK's
:01:36. > :01:40.biggest sports stars before tonight's Sports Personality Of The
:01:40. > :01:43.Year. On the surface, Christine Gibson and her husband Peter were a
:01:43. > :01:47.run of the milk couple from Essex. When they started buying flash cars
:01:47. > :01:50.and depositing wads of cash into the local building society, they
:01:51. > :01:54.started to stand out a little bit. Where was that money coming from?
:01:54. > :01:59.Could it have anything to do with the fact that Christine was working
:01:59. > :02:04.at the Bank of England? Well, Tuffers is on the case.
:02:04. > :02:08.Imagine a bank heist involving hundreds of thousands of pounds. It
:02:08. > :02:18.probably conjures up men in balaclavas, bank blueprints and a
:02:18. > :02:24.
:02:24. > :02:34.But sometimes, as it turns out, all you need is black sticky tape and
:02:34. > :02:40.size 18 underpants. 17th January, 1992. Mr Gibson had arranged to see
:02:40. > :02:45.a pension provider, to pay �100,000 in for him and his wife. The only
:02:45. > :02:48.trouble was, he chose to make the deposit in cash, in crumpled old
:02:48. > :02:53.bank notes from a plastic bag. The stunned manager was even more
:02:53. > :02:57.suspicious when he produced another huge wad of �50 notes from a
:02:57. > :03:00.leather holdall and boasted that he was off to buy a car. At every day
:03:00. > :03:05.Essex couple also enjoyed the jet- set lifestyle, taking holidays to
:03:06. > :03:09.the Far East and Hawaii. Slightly suspicious, thought police. When
:03:09. > :03:12.they found out that Christine was overseeing the burning of millions
:03:12. > :03:16.of pounds worth of bank notes for the Bank of England, alarm bells
:03:16. > :03:20.were ringing. Destroying old notes is standard practice. Darryl only
:03:20. > :03:23.so many hands they can pass through before they become worn out. That
:03:23. > :03:27.might be five years for something like a 50 pound note, but you are
:03:27. > :03:33.lucky to get more than one year out of a lowly five pound note. Pam
:03:33. > :03:36.West is an expert on British bank notes and author of the collector's
:03:36. > :03:40.Guide to English paper money. the old days, they used to be
:03:40. > :03:44.incinerated. It would keep the building warm. Now they are
:03:44. > :03:51.shredded and become landfill. this shredded money? Yes. How much
:03:51. > :03:55.would be in that? I don't know, a big jigsaw puzzle. How do you think
:03:55. > :04:00.Christine and her gang stole the money? It is the burning question!
:04:00. > :04:06.The cash would sit in cages. Each of them were secured with padlocks,
:04:06. > :04:12.coloured with black or white tape. No one person possessed the keys to
:04:12. > :04:17.both. A seemingly secure system. Christine Gibson, who held a white
:04:17. > :04:23.key for years, found a way around it. Was the holder of the black
:04:23. > :04:29.blocker removed it, she was able to swap it with a white one, which she
:04:29. > :04:33.had the keyboard, having disguised it with black tape. That way, she
:04:33. > :04:39.was able to access it later. It emerged that she had stuck to
:04:39. > :04:43.bundles of notes into her clothing and into her underwear, before
:04:43. > :04:47.substituting the correct padlock and clocking off. Within days of
:04:47. > :04:50.his ill-conceived trip to the pension adviser, Gibson, his wife
:04:50. > :04:55.and a handful of other Bank of England employees were arrested.
:04:55. > :04:58.One of the accused, Kevin Winwright, immediately confessed to the theft
:04:58. > :05:05.of 100 centre �1,000 and agreed to give evidence against co-
:05:05. > :05:09.conspirators. That meant the unlikely gang ended up here.
:05:09. > :05:17.Christian de Cann is the barrister who represented the Gibsons in the
:05:17. > :05:20.trial. This was an extraordinary case? Yes. Over a four year period
:05:20. > :05:25.between 1998 and 1992, four employees of the Bank of England
:05:25. > :05:29.were accused of stealing some �700,000. They must have got a long
:05:29. > :05:32.prison sentence? They were not prosecuted by the police. The
:05:32. > :05:36.police refused to prosecute them because they could not prove over
:05:36. > :05:40.what period of time and how much money had been actually stolen from
:05:40. > :05:43.the Bank of England. So the Bank of England brought a civil prosecution
:05:43. > :05:47.in front of a judge, not a jury. They proved it because they were
:05:47. > :05:53.not able to justify the money that they were earning between them,
:05:53. > :05:56.�69,000, as opposed to the �300,000 that they spent over that period.
:05:56. > :06:03.The Bank of England has successfully sued three former
:06:03. > :06:09.employees for the return of more than �500,000. Peter Gibson claimed
:06:09. > :06:12.that a lifetime of cash-in-hand work and dodging the taxman could
:06:13. > :06:19.explain the money. But the judge rejected that as wholly incredible
:06:19. > :06:22.and unsupported, before finding the gang liable and ordering to pay
:06:22. > :06:26.back just under �1 million. Whilst the one person who admitted to the
:06:26. > :06:30.crime got an 18 month sentence, the rest of the gang walked free from
:06:30. > :06:33.court. The Bank of England has significantly tighten security and
:06:34. > :06:37.controls around the destruction of bank notes. But where they have as
:06:37. > :06:47.big bucks at stake, you can bet that someone, somewhere, would be
:06:47. > :06:49.
:06:49. > :06:52.trying to beat the system. Nearly Not quite. Good luck with that one.
:06:52. > :06:57.Ruth, you created and starred in Gavin & Stacey. People were gutted
:06:57. > :07:01.when it came to an end. But you are back in a brand new comedy drama.
:07:01. > :07:05.Tell us about that. It's not how it quite started out? It started out
:07:05. > :07:11.as something that was supposed to be live? It is called Stella, a
:07:12. > :07:19.tent part series for Sky One, starting on 6th January. Basically,
:07:19. > :07:24.it is a 10 part series and it is a comedy drama. When it started out,
:07:24. > :07:27.the idea was that it would be filmed in front of a studio, a
:07:27. > :07:32.situation comedy with an audience. But I found when I tried to right
:07:32. > :07:38.it, I couldn't write in that way. Gavin & Stacey was not a sitcom in
:07:38. > :07:41.that way, a single camera, no audience. It grew up from being
:07:41. > :07:47.half an hour in front of an audience to being a single camera,
:07:47. > :07:53.one hour long. Because of that, it has maybe a bit more drama in it
:07:53. > :07:56.than Gavin and Stacey hand. I play Stella. She is a woman in her 40s
:07:56. > :08:00.who really spends her time trying to get to the day, looking after
:08:00. > :08:04.her kids. She hasn't got a lot of money, she wears a lot of rugby
:08:04. > :08:08.shirts and not much make-up. She hasn't got a great deal going for
:08:08. > :08:16.her. It is really about her life. It is a bit of a blossoming that
:08:16. > :08:21.goes on in her life. Let's have a little look at you as Stella,
:08:21. > :08:31.meeting her ex-husband and his partner. This brings back memories.
:08:31. > :08:32.
:08:32. > :08:39.Not for me. You never got detention? Of course. I thought we
:08:39. > :08:49.were in the same year? He was older. I was only two years above you in
:08:49. > :08:50.
:08:50. > :08:55.school. But he's got the body of a That was her ex-husband. What I
:08:55. > :09:02.wanted to create was that she had a relationship with him that was not
:09:02. > :09:06.unfriendly, particularly. He got on her nerves, and when he went off,
:09:06. > :09:10.she was secretly glad. When you are looking at a blank piece of paper,
:09:10. > :09:13.where do you start with this world that you are creating? I was
:09:13. > :09:17.intrigued to writing about a woman who thought her life was going to
:09:17. > :09:21.go in one direction, and then she got pregnant at 16. That is the
:09:21. > :09:27.overriding story arc of the 10 episodes. I don't want to give too
:09:27. > :09:30.much away. But that event in her life, it sort of comes back. Not to
:09:30. > :09:37.haunt her, because that makes it sound negative, but it comes back
:09:37. > :09:40.into her life. It was really just about finding out who Stella was.
:09:40. > :09:46.Then that the people that lived in her world, really. Have you enjoyed
:09:46. > :09:53.playing hair? I loved it. But because of creating more of the
:09:53. > :09:57.other characters, you sort Karl and Nadine, they are played by
:09:57. > :10:01.brilliant actors. When I was writing it, I loved acting out
:10:01. > :10:04.their roles and all of them, really. Watching the first couple of
:10:04. > :10:08.episodes, it is hard to imagine it based anywhere else but Wales. But
:10:08. > :10:12.it nearly wasn't? That's right. Because of Gavin and Stacey being
:10:12. > :10:16.set in South Wales, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to set it
:10:17. > :10:21.in Bristol. I was thinking, well, it's not too far away from home
:10:21. > :10:25.because I live in Cardiff. I have to pay a lot of tolls on the Severn
:10:25. > :10:28.Bridge, and that is going up in January. That is beside the point,
:10:28. > :10:33.I thought if it was Bristol it would not be too far. Then I
:10:33. > :10:36.thought, you know what, I know about Wales. It's silly. Maybe
:10:36. > :10:43.people who are not Welsh will go, well, it's the same as Gavin and
:10:43. > :10:47.Stacey. It's a very different accent. You know that Barrie talks
:10:47. > :10:53.like that. Then add in the valleys it is much more what you would
:10:53. > :10:57.expect from a proper Welsh accent. I buy it on a Friday, I sell it
:10:57. > :11:02.again on Saturday. It's a completely different story, as well.
:11:02. > :11:06.It is a different story. I just hope that people will enjoy the
:11:06. > :11:15.characters in it. As much as I enjoyed creating them, really.
:11:15. > :11:17.We're looking forward to seeing that in January. The BBC sent James
:11:18. > :11:22.Martin in to a hospital in Scarborough to transform patient
:11:22. > :11:26.food. We sent him back to see if the hospital continued with the
:11:26. > :11:31.project without him. Scarborough General Hospital. As
:11:31. > :11:34.part of a BBC daytime series, I spent last summer working alongside
:11:34. > :11:39.catering manager Pat Bell and her team. I aim was to improve the
:11:39. > :11:43.quality of the food, while sticking to in the NHS budget. I was pretty
:11:43. > :11:46.disappointed by some of what I found. There was broken equipment,
:11:46. > :11:52.dissatisfied patients and a menu that had not been changed for nine
:11:52. > :11:57.years. It has been almost six months since my last visit. But now
:11:57. > :12:01.I am back. It feels good to be back, actually. Most of the cameras have
:12:01. > :12:06.gone, earlier on this summer. I've still been in regular contact with
:12:06. > :12:09.the team. This was a project, when I first started it, it was not
:12:09. > :12:14.something I knew you could walk away from. I feel like when I left
:12:14. > :12:18.we were in the right direction. God only knows where we have gone now.
:12:18. > :12:22.Fingers crossed! I passionately believe that food should be treated
:12:22. > :12:26.as medicine. To me, the kitchens here are just as vital as the wards,
:12:26. > :12:31.the operating theatres. It may look a lot, it may look like a large
:12:31. > :12:36.kitchen, trust me, this is very small, given the amount of people
:12:36. > :12:42.they are serving. 1000 meals a day come out of here, all for just over
:12:42. > :12:46.�1 per patient, per meal. These are the creamed leeks? This is a recent
:12:46. > :12:50.addition to the menu. This is one of the dishes that we worked on.
:12:50. > :12:54.The initial concept was to create something that was really
:12:54. > :13:03.inexpensive, that could hold, more than anything else, that was going
:13:03. > :13:09.to be good for the patient. So, how does it taste? This tastes really
:13:09. > :13:14.good! And it is all done for the same budget. It is a far cry from
:13:14. > :13:19.what I discovered on my first visit. Everything is out of a tin, out of
:13:19. > :13:23.a packet. Everything, all of the vegetables are frozen. I reduced
:13:23. > :13:27.the menu cycle from three weeks down to just one week, slashing the
:13:27. > :13:33.number of dishes. The result should be fewer tins and packets and more
:13:33. > :13:37.fresh, locally sourced ingredients. At least that is the theory... This
:13:37. > :13:44.is a bit different from last time I came in. Just a little bit.
:13:44. > :13:51.have less stock, so you have more fresh bits and pieces? Baulks, that
:13:51. > :13:56.was a mass of a packet soups. Now they use free-range eggs and milk
:13:56. > :14:00.from the local dairy. Time for lunch and day-trip to Pat's plays.
:14:00. > :14:05.It is the staff and visitors dining room. It was looking sorry for
:14:05. > :14:10.itself on my first visit. A lick of paint and some new meal options,
:14:10. > :14:19.including these begets. But has it made any difference to the turnover
:14:19. > :14:24.in the six months? We are up 5500 customers. 5500 more people?
:14:24. > :14:30.terms of income, I am up just over �18,000, from the same period of
:14:30. > :14:35.last year. That is why you're smiling? It's brilliant. It is
:14:35. > :14:39.fantastic to see the dining room so busy. She plans to use the extra
:14:39. > :14:43.takings to buy some much-needed new kit for the kitchen. When I took
:14:43. > :14:47.this project on, making sure that patients got some tasty, nutritious
:14:47. > :14:57.meals was my biggest priority. At the beginning of last summer, a
:14:57. > :14:58.
:14:58. > :15:02.lunchtime trip to the wards was You have been here six months, you
:15:02. > :15:06.must have tasted everything, I assume? I have. It's not good. I
:15:06. > :15:09.appreciate it is difficult to cook for all of these people, but I
:15:09. > :15:14.would like it to be better and taste better.
:15:14. > :15:21.And now? Yesterday it was sausage with bacon and a mustard glaze.
:15:21. > :15:26.OK? It was a bit strong. Other than that it was very nice.
:15:26. > :15:29.You have geten rid of all of the starch. All of that I have to lie
:15:29. > :15:35.down for an hour feeling. That was bad for people who are ill, they
:15:36. > :15:40.want to be up an running, you know? The food then when I was nine years
:15:40. > :15:44.old was good, but this is fantastic. It is like a five-star hotel.
:15:44. > :15:47.Quite aturn around. When I left here I believed what we
:15:47. > :15:51.had done was a success. Little did I know it would be the success that
:15:51. > :15:56.it is. It is the hardest thing I have ever done. Running a
:15:56. > :15:59.restaurant is a walk in the park compared with. This this is a huge
:15:59. > :16:02.organisation where you have to please all American of different
:16:03. > :16:06.people at all different levels and you are never going to change
:16:06. > :16:10.things overnight, but surely to change a small thing benefits so
:16:10. > :16:15.many people. Pat and her team should be immensely proud of the
:16:15. > :16:19.progress they have made so far. With plans to roll some of the
:16:19. > :16:23.changes here out to Bridlington Hospital, this could be just the
:16:23. > :16:28.beginning. APPLAUSE James, you should be proud
:16:28. > :16:35.of yourself, that was brilliant. I'm not. It's the team. Pat is the
:16:35. > :16:37.leader of a great team. We got the Trust involved. It's the team work,
:16:37. > :16:41.they need to know they have done so well.
:16:41. > :16:46.It is one of those things you can't leave it. Once you do anything like
:16:46. > :16:53.that you can't leave it and mo on. OK. This was the start, the soup.
:16:53. > :16:58.This is the key? Is it, to changing the hospital food? We were given
:16:58. > :17:02.�3749 per pence per patient per day. That covers, the tea, coffee,
:17:02. > :17:07.biscuits, everything. So the soup, everything was out of packets. That
:17:07. > :17:10.is like a lot of the NHS to be fair. So we put fresh soup back on the
:17:10. > :17:19.menu. Ruth said you were not keen on
:17:19. > :17:24.hospital food? What is it? This is butternut squash and lime. The menu
:17:24. > :17:29.cycle was the big key. It is lovely. You can taste the
:17:29. > :17:36.lime. This is hospital food? That is on the menu now at skarb borough
:17:36. > :17:41.General Hospital. You have -- at Scarborough General
:17:41. > :17:47.Hospital. And you have a Royal appointment?
:17:47. > :17:52.Yes, the Prince Charles, has called me. He has helped us. There are
:17:52. > :17:57.only 12 hospitals that offer really good food. He has invited us all to
:17:57. > :18:01.Clarence House to have a closed h door meeting to see how we can make
:18:01. > :18:04.it better and change for the future. So hopefully in the coming year we
:18:04. > :18:11.are going to work together, including himself to make it all
:18:12. > :18:16.better. So, out of the �3.49 how much did
:18:16. > :18:21.that cost? Eight pence! I find the environment of sitting in a
:18:21. > :18:24.hospital, eating, that puts me off. To me, half of the process of
:18:24. > :18:30.getting better is in the mind. If you look forward to eating rather
:18:30. > :18:33.than getting depressed... I never get put off my food! That is never
:18:33. > :18:38.a problem. It is just being in hospitals.
:18:38. > :18:44.Ruth, keep talking as James is going to stay with us.
:18:44. > :18:48.A few weeks ago, Gary Lineker revealed the nominations for the
:18:48. > :18:51.Sports Pesonality Of The Year Award right here on The One Show. Later
:18:51. > :18:56.on BBC One the winner is to be announced. Clare Balding is there
:18:56. > :19:03.to see the stars as they arrive. Clare, it is a glamorous event, but
:19:03. > :19:09.has anybody let the side down and turned up in a pair of track ies?
:19:09. > :19:19.No, you must be joking it is glamour city, look at this, Paula
:19:19. > :19:23.Radcliffe! Earlier I caught up with some of the arrivals.
:19:23. > :19:29.Well, it is a wonderful event it always has been. I was lucky enough
:19:29. > :19:33.to win it one year. It is just such a great collection of people.
:19:33. > :19:37.think it is very special for everyone, esperb ale those
:19:37. > :19:40.nominated and in view of the fact that the Olympics are coming up
:19:40. > :19:44.soon. The atmosphere will be exciting.
:19:44. > :19:49.In sporting term it is means that Christmas is here? It does. If I
:19:49. > :19:52.spoke to my mum and dad about it, they would automattically re-count
:19:52. > :19:56.Christmas tales of me wanting to stay up and watch Sports Pesonality
:19:57. > :20:00.Of The Year Award. It is very much a date in the diary
:20:01. > :20:06.as far as sports people are concerned, this is when Christmas
:20:06. > :20:10.starts for them. Two form Erwiners of the Sports Pesonality Of The
:20:10. > :20:14.Year are with me, and now, Paula Radcliffe, let's start with you
:20:14. > :20:18.first, how much is 2012 going to be a defining year for you? From the
:20:18. > :20:22.minute that they announced in 2005 this we got the bid to host the
:20:22. > :20:29.Olympics it became a huge goal. For me with what I have been through in
:20:29. > :20:34.the past two Olympics. It is not the be all and end all, but it will
:20:34. > :20:39.be important to go to the Olympics and give it my best shot on the day.
:20:39. > :20:45.That is all I'm asking for, to be healthy enough and fit enough to
:20:45. > :20:50.give it my best race. It would be the ultimate comeback story.
:20:50. > :20:53.Now, Sir Steve Redgrave, tonight, you are receiving something
:20:53. > :20:56.special? The Lifetime Achievement Award, it makes me feel very old
:20:56. > :21:03.indeed! It is probably the last time I will win an award of this
:21:03. > :21:08.sort. So the BBC are looking after me. I'm very proud.
:21:08. > :21:11.The people that I know and have work with, they are all here. The
:21:11. > :21:16.Sports Pesonality Of The Year Award is always a great programme to come
:21:16. > :21:20.to. It is fantastic. And please, give the One Show
:21:20. > :21:29.viewers a wave for us... Yes, a little bit of trouble.
:21:29. > :21:34.And now, Oliver Golding, the US Open and junior tennis champion,
:21:34. > :21:39.how amazing is this for you? It is an amazing experience for me.
:21:39. > :21:43.How much does it matter that you may make an impact and be a nominee
:21:43. > :21:48.in the future? It would abdream. These are the greatest people who
:21:48. > :21:54.have played sport for our country. To be nominated as one of them in
:21:54. > :21:59.the future would be amazing. Oil jer is -- Oliver is stepping up
:21:59. > :22:03.from the juniors to the seniors. We wish you luck next year. The
:22:03. > :22:07.programme starts on BBC One at 8.00pm this evening.
:22:07. > :22:11.Thank you very much indeed, Clare. You can vote for your Sports
:22:11. > :22:15.Pesonality Of The Year Award on the show at 8.00pm on BBC One.
:22:15. > :22:20.Right, back to Christmas dinner. Ruth, you are cooking, but you
:22:21. > :22:27.don't know where to start with the turkey? OK. I know there is a
:22:27. > :22:33.snobbery value here, but my turkey is frozen. I know, judge me! Judge
:22:34. > :22:40.me! Is it still frozen? It is. I would keep it in the freezer and
:22:40. > :22:49.buy beef. Seriously? Yes. Or go for a shoulder of lamb or
:22:49. > :22:54.pork. Cover it in tin foil and have it covered and leave it in the oven
:22:54. > :22:57.for five hours. The plan is to defrost the turkey tomorrow and
:22:57. > :23:02.stick it on the plate warmer for 24 hours.
:23:03. > :23:12.It cooks, apparently! Well, keep getting the tips, we have to move
:23:13. > :23:15.
:23:15. > :23:21.on! Alex and I have been presenting the one show -- One Show but if it
:23:21. > :23:23.had been in the 1800, we would have been sitting under this at this
:23:23. > :23:28.time. Christine Walkden is with us to
:23:28. > :23:33.tell us more about the history. Christmas would not be Christmas
:23:33. > :23:35.without a sprig or two of mistletoe. Steeped in history and mystical
:23:35. > :23:42.power. Let's face it. It must have
:23:42. > :23:46.something going for it. Or why else would you pucker up under a
:23:46. > :23:51.parasite ?! In most of Britain it is rare, but in the Midlands and in
:23:51. > :23:55.the south-west, in the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and
:23:55. > :24:05.Gloucestershire and Somerset, the conditions are perfect for
:24:05. > :24:09.mistletoe to thrive. Here, the mistletoe is widely recognised as
:24:09. > :24:17.the cap tow -- capital for it to grow in.
:24:17. > :24:21.Here, it has forked branches, and white, sticky berries. They are
:24:21. > :24:27.over 1,400 tree parasites in the world, but mistletoe is the only
:24:27. > :24:34.airline parasite in Britain. It is a partial parasite of tree
:24:34. > :24:40.branches. So it is relies on host trees for water and nutrients. It
:24:40. > :24:43.does not have roots of its own, it cannot grow in the ground it must
:24:43. > :24:48.grow on the branch of another wooded tree.
:24:48. > :24:54.Why so much here? It is partly climatic. It likes the climate here
:24:54. > :24:59.it likes the wints and the summers and the temperatures, but it is
:24:59. > :25:03.also the fact that its favourite host tree is here. Apple trees,
:25:03. > :25:07.cultivated apple trees are the favourite by far.
:25:07. > :25:13.And that makes for easier harvesting too. The trees are not
:25:13. > :25:17.that high. So they can be reached by poems or hands, but due to the
:25:17. > :25:21.weather, there is now a glut of mistletoe. It could lead to a lower
:25:21. > :25:26.yield of apples next year. The way to control the mistletoe is
:25:26. > :25:31.to cut it out. Do you take all of it? There is
:25:31. > :25:37.female and male mistletoe. How del tell the difference?
:25:37. > :25:41.berries. The female has the berries, the males don't.
:25:41. > :25:46.The glorious females? Yes. In this corner of the Midlands, the
:25:46. > :25:52.mistletoe is big business. If you find yourself smooching under some
:25:53. > :26:02.this Christmas, there is a chance it was harvested here. For over 100
:26:03. > :26:03.
:26:03. > :26:07.years, the town of Tenbury have held mistletoe auctions.
:26:07. > :26:12.Here, they had mistletoe traditions and romantic stories were handed
:26:12. > :26:18.down through the generations. Our druid ancestors would have seen
:26:18. > :26:23.this amazing plant growing on a dormant winter tree, they would
:26:23. > :26:28.have thought it a gift from God. That it must be sacred.
:26:28. > :26:34.Don't we have the druids for all of this kissing under the mistletoe?
:26:34. > :26:41.would like to think so. Mistletoe was an ancient fertility plant.
:26:41. > :26:48.There is a theory it can stimulate ovlaigs, but don't try it at home!
:26:48. > :26:54.-- it is a mysterious plant. Some people say it cures sterilyity,
:26:54. > :26:59.others that it counteracts poisons, but it is the absolute pulling
:26:59. > :27:05.power of mistletoe every year that cap tivaits us. One look and your
:27:05. > :27:10.lips start to moisten. I've had plenty of snogs under the
:27:10. > :27:16.mistletoe, but don't tell my husband! No, they always went
:27:16. > :27:21.missing when I got the mistletoe out.
:27:21. > :27:27.What is your experience of the mistletoe? Not a lot, really, but
:27:27. > :27:34.you look OK! Come on, then! There we go. The call of duty. I don't
:27:34. > :27:40.know if we should stay on mistletoe. There is the idea of the traditions
:27:40. > :27:45.of the holly and the ivy too? and ivy are part of the tradition
:27:45. > :27:50.of Christmas and have been ever since early pagan times. The holly,
:27:50. > :27:55.the spikes pushed off the evil spirits. The ivy was used because
:27:55. > :28:01.it warded away the gremlins and the gremlins are more active in the
:28:01. > :28:05.winter. They like to come in doors. Is that why you make a wreath to
:28:06. > :28:14.come n -- to put on the door? Absolutely it is all about that.
:28:14. > :28:22.Get out of here! And ever greens is eternal optimism. In the early days,
:28:22. > :28:26.the people would see the bleak landscape, but the holly and ivy,
:28:26. > :28:32.the every greens would shine out. Even today, a garden with ever
:28:32. > :28:40.Green is alive. A guard within no ever greens looks dead.
:28:40. > :28:46.We have time for one more plant? Escallonia. A beautiful plant. With
:28:46. > :28:53.red flowers, you can put it in the garden in a container, providing it