Shaw - Catalonia Gimme a Break

Welcome to Gimme A Break,

the show where the kids take control of the family holiday.

I'm completely kitted out for every eventuality, but how geared up will

this week's brave parents be?

Right, come on, O'Brien...

On Gimme A Break, the kids have all the say.

They decide where they go, what activities they do,

and, most importantly, they're in charge of the holiday rules.

So let's find out which family are off on their travels.

Meet the Shaw family - boy scout brothers,

13-year-old keyboard player Matt and 11-year-old drummer Jono,

super-organised Mum

and golf-loving Dad.

So, why should Matt and Jono be given a break?

We always go on holiday in the UK, in Cornwall.

-It's really boring and wet.

-It's easy to get to, you can just chuck

everything in the car and get there.

If we go for a day trip out, we go to mainly historic houses.

It's so boring. We've been to this one house eight times.

I think the boys quite enjoy going round having a look at the houses.

-They're as dull as ditch water.

-It's really ridiculous, having

to travel like 30 miles just to see Henry VIII's, whatever's, chair.

Really good fun. I think everyone enjoyed it.

Dad's always reading the newspaper.

I do like to spend some time

relaxing, reading the paper on the beach.

He reads it about ten times each day.

Mum always tells us what to wear, and it's so annoying.

-People say that I'm quite organised, and what do you think?

-It's true.

-You're super-organised.

-Mum takes forever when she goes shopping.

If you go on self-catering holidays,

a lot of food needs to be bought.

She checks every price against the other brands.

-Always checking labels.

-She goes over to the butchers,

"Oh, hi, how are you today?" Then the fishmonger,

-"Hi, how are you today?"

-Obviously that takes time.

-Mum also absolutely hates heights.

-Heights I'm not very good at.

She's been saying for years she wants to conquer her fear.

-I'm willing to try and conquer that fear.

-She never has.

Mum and Dad have never taken us on an adventure holiday.

I'd love to go on one because they never would.

Lads, having listened to your woes about

your rainy UK breaks, I think it's about time we had a change.

Mum, Dad, are you ready to hand over all of the control to the guys?

-Ye-es...

-I guess so.

Hands on hearts - it's time for the Gimme A Break parent promise.

BOTH: We, the parents of Matt and Jono,

-hereby hand over the control of the next family break.

-Yes!

Mum, you're always super-organised.

Now it's our turn to organise things around here.

Yeah, what they said! See ya.

Oh, no!

So, what's it like being in charge?

Excellent. Feels really good.

-How do you think Mum will feel?

-She's going to freak.

That's a good thing! Let's get down to business.

-What do you want from your break?

-Watersports and adventure.

-Sorry, I've just been distracted. Check this out.

-Go away. Clear off.

Cheeky, aren't they! Is there anything you don't want?

Not in the UK. We always have our holiday in the UK.

I think I've got everything I need. Thank you.

With that vital information in mind, I've found three smashing breaks.

Let's find out if the boys can guess where they might be going

from my set of mystery clues, starting with break number one.

What's that?

Why is it on a rope?

"Navigate north to the edge of the lake,

"find more clues to decipher your break."

Why is it between the two trees?

-Could be like a canyon? You know, like a...

-High wire.

-Yeah.

It it's high wires, it would be funny for Mum

because she's quite scared of heights.

Over that way.

-Can't see any clues.

-No.

-There's a boat!

-Let's go pull it in.

'And then we found a boat and it had clues on it.'

It was a Spanish language on the card,

so it could be something to do with Spain or a Spanish island.

Catalunya. That's in Spain.

-And a bed.

-It could be a cruise.

We could be staying on it.

That's why there's a bed, yeah.

Good detective work, boys.

Let's go inside to see how you get on with break number two.

'When we walked through the door it was a bit of a shock

'because we weren't really expecting the ballroom dancers.'

Don't be shy, boys. Fancy a go?

Me and Matt decided that we'd have a go but we weren't very good.

Me and Jonathan were rubbish.

It could either be Cuba or Brazil because they have elaborate and

colourful clothes and dresses when they dance.

You'll have a better idea when you find the other clues.

Another clue card. "Ascend the steps and have a taste,

"can you guess where this food is based?"

-What are the paddles for?

-They do a lot of canoeing in Canada.

-You never know.

-Ascend the steps... It looks like a pie.

Bring it down, then. We've got to give it a taste.

-It smells like Danish.

-I thought the cake was from Canada,

because I have a suspicion that it was meat loaf.

Your guess work wasn't so hot that time, lads.

See how you get on working out break number three.

We heard music,

so we walked around and there was a dancing beaver dancing to ABBA.

He's calling us over.

Nice moves, boys. I think this is more your style of dancing.

It was really funny dancing with the beaver.

I don't think I'll ever do it again in my life.

-You're a beaver.

-ABBA is Swedish.

-So Swedish nature place?

-He's not giving us any clues.

Look, a camp fire. What's that for?

-He could be camping. Yeah, a nature place.

-Because of the beaver.

He's pointing us this way. A golf ball.

Look under the golf ball, fellas.

Tee... Tepee.

Camping in a tepee, in Sweden or somewhere. Bye.

-You two, how did you enjoy looking for those clues?

-It was brilliant.

It was really fun.

-How close do you think you are at working it out?

-Ish.

-Not very good.

-OK, break number one. What do you think?

-A cruise in Spain.

You were half right. You're actually going on an adventure

sailing trip along the coast of Catalunya if you pick this one.

-Sounds amazing.

-I love watersports.

-Do you want to find out more?

Mum and Dad will need their sea legs as you'll be sailing up

-the coast of Catalunya on a luxury yacht.

-Whoa!

Every day you'll anchor up to do action-packed activities

including high ropes and snorkelling.

That looks really good. That's almost perfect.

Break number two, where did you think that might be?

Canada, Cuba, Brazil and France.

-You liked the cake, didn't you?

-Yeah.

-That was strudel.

-And did you like the waltz?

-That was embarrassing.

It's actually a Viennese waltz from the country Austria.

Break number two is a mountain-based action adventure in Austria.

You'll be staying lakeside

with plenty of watersports on your doorstep.

Mum will need to get a head for heights as you'll be

trying your hand at climbing on this adrenalin-fuelled holiday.

-What about that?

-Brilliant as well.

Let's chuck in break three, then.

-What do you think?

-We thought it was camping in a tepee in Sweden.

Remember the animal you were mucking around with?

A dancing beaver.

Yeah, the break is a beaver safari in Sweden.

-Do you want to see more?

-Yep.

On this Swedish nature safari you'll need to be eagle-eyed,

-spotting beavers from a canoe.

-The teeth!

Let's hope Mum and Dad like the outdoors, as you'll be

camping on an island in the middle of a lake.

-What do you think of that?

-Really good. Mum and Dad love nature.

-Do you need me to go away while you have thinking time?

-Yeah.

I'll see you in a bit.

-I think they were really good. What do you think?

-Yeah.

-I like two. I like the sport.

-(I think number two as well.)

Number one has got watersports which you like.

It's in, like, Spain and it looks really nice. We can go where we want.

-Is it narrowed down to one and two?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Hey, you two.

Right, crunch time. Have you made a decision?

We've gone for break number one.

The yacht in Catalunya? Why did you go for that?

It's such a unique opportunity and we're never going to do it again.

Excellent. Well, aye, aye, captains.

Consider that one well and truly booked.

I'll pop up during your break

on the laptop and give you the opportunity to win one final

special prize, but if you get the questions wrong,

-your mum and dad will win.

-Uh oh!

-They won't. We won't.

The Shaws are off to Catalunya in Spain.

Will Mum and Dad be out of their depth or flying sky high?

And who will win that final treat?

It's the day before the Shaws leave for Spain,

and time to pack Mum and Dad's bag.

I'm not sure if we trust them to pack everything we're going to need.

There's no "not sure" - we don't trust them to pack!

-Geeky tie.

-Nice hat! That can go in.

This will be our family pet on boat.

I particularly like it packed neatly.

I'd hate it if the boys have just thrown everything into the case.

They're never going to be able to find anything. It's a mess.

The family are about to start their adventure.

The boys have told Mum and Dad that they're off to Spain

but have kept the boat a secret.

Spain is probably best known for its beaches,

which the Shaw family will be seeing plenty of from their yacht.

For Mum and Dad, this surprise is yet to come.

-We can finally tell you where you'll be staying for the next week.

-Oh!

-This is it.

-Who's going to tell us?

BOTH: Oh, wow!

DAD LAUGHS

I was amazed. I saw this fantastic, beautiful, white, gleaming yacht.

It's just amazing.

Mum and Dad are pleased because they've

never done it before and they're really looking forward to it.

The yacht was really nice. It was nice and modern, which I really like.

I'm absolutely over the moon now.

Looking forward to setting sail.

A pocket money rise!

Dad, you might change your mind when you see what the boys have packed.

So what have we got to survive on the holiday with?

Perfect. We had a parrot in the bag and we were going to call it Polly,

but we've decided we want Kirsten with us on this holiday

so we've renamed it Kirsten. Nice hat. This is my hat, OK.

A nice evening dress. Is there anything actually useful in here

-or will we live in the clothes we've got?

-That's for you.

That's for me as well, is it?

Everything was screwed up as well.

-Have you not folded anything?

-Can't you see it's beautifully packed?

We've got some useful things here.

Almost 9.5, 10 out of 10, actually, because everything I need is

in there, but the quality of the packing, two out of ten.

Seven, actually, out of ten.

On the whole, what they put in was good.

I'd let the boys pack again but it might need an iron next time.

As captains of the ship, the boys are keen for Mum and

Dad to hear what rules they've set.

Ahoy there, Shaw family! I hope you've got your sea legs

because the boys have got some rules for you.

Jono and Matt are fed up of you fussing with their appearance,

so rule number one is that the boys choose what everyone wears.

Oh, no.

-What do you think about that?

-That's going to be really hard.

That's going to be desperate.

OK, next rule for Mum and Dad - Jono and Matt are fed up of seeing

your heads buried in books and newspapers.

So rule number two - there will be no reading on this break.

-Another tough one.

-That is a hard one.

Right, Mum. The boys are sick of hanging around because you

take too long to do the shopping, so rule number three is the boys

take charge of buying the food.

I think I'm happier with that, actually,

than being dressed by someone else.

I'll give it a go.

I must warn you that breaking the rules means consequences,

so beware, Mum and Dad. Have a smashing sea adventure, family.

I'll be popping up a little bit later with all the details

-about that treat. Bye for now.

-Bye, Kirsten!

-Bye, Kirsten.

Now the rules are set, Matt and Jono want to get supplies

for the boat. The boys have control of the food, and they've got a plan.

Mum, you spend too much time shopping on our holidays.

We've decided to organise a little competition for you.

Shop against the clock.

THEY LAUGH

You have 10 minutes to find all these items.

-If you don't do it in 10 minutes, there's a consequence.

-Let's go!

-Three, two, one, go.

-Go on.

Bananas, bananas...

I can't believe what the boys put on their list.

It was just sweets and chocolate and all really unhealthy things.

Chocolate sauce. Squirty cream.

She's got the squirty cream. Good move.

It would normally take me two hours. I like to check what I've got.

-3 minutes 30, Mum.

-Check the bargains as well.

I didn't have time for any of that today.

-Flames coming off the wheels there.

-Cake decorations...

Cake decorations...

Is that what we're going to eat

for the next couple of days - cake decorations?

She's crashed.

Cake decorations!

Let's check out.

Stop!

I think I've done it.

I think I've done the list. Have I passed?

Well, your time was...

10 minutes and 58 seconds and 63 milliseconds.

You have failed!

-You'll be getting a consequence.

-58 seconds?

-That's nearly a minute.

-Ohh...!

The Shaws head back to the boat with their shopping. Below deck,

the boys explore the yacht captured on the Gimme A Break fam cam.

Here's the toilet. The really clever thing is, you see this tap,

it doubles up as a shower.

Oh, yes. And then how you flush the toilet, you just flip that round

and have to pump.

-Is it hard?

-Yep.

The Shaws are about to make their first trip out to sea,

so it's time to meet their skipper.

Hello, hi, my name is Sacha.

I'll be your skipper for the next days.

I'll to teach you how to sail a bit. Welcome on board.

Fantastic, thank you.

The family have left the shore for the sea.

Slowly, slowly. You have to keep steering.

Right, we have starboard.

-On the left, we have port.

-Port.

Exactly.

-Stern is the back.

-Stern is the back.

The bow is the front.

-How many sails do we have on a sailing boat?

-Two.

-Exactly.

The one on the mast is called the mainsail and the one in the front?

-Genoa.

-It's called the genoa.

Did you know that a sea mile is longer than a land mile?

We've never done anything like this before. Loving every second of it.

It's been excellent being captain - you get to put up the mainsail

and the genoa. You feel so on top of the world and really good.

Mum's done a good job this morning actually. She handled the boat well.

She did keep steering towards the shops, I think,

but we corrected her. She sailed in the right direction eventually.

How am I doing, boys?

-A seven.

-Maybe eight and a half.

Look at that! I can feel already

-going faster and straighter.

-Why, because you're driving?

Yeah, yeah. Will you give me a rating out of 10?

I'll give him a 10.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Somehow I'm being picked on!

-It is great being in control actually.

-Enjoy it whilst it lasts.

Now everyone's had a turn at the helm, it's time for some teamwork.

Now, let's go.

To pick up speed, Jono's in charge of raising the genoa sail.

My favourite bit was when I sailed with the genoa sail up.

It felt like you had so much power and so much freedom.

A bit choppier!

'Mum and Dad keep praising us because they love the choice that we made.'

This holiday has to be the best holiday we've ever been on - ever.

It has been fantastic being together.

We're working together as a team - really, really good fun.

The family continues sailing up

the coast to their next destination, and it's their first night at sea.

You can hear the waves lapping against the boat.

It's like steadily shaking.

It's actually really relaxing...

cos It makes you tired.

I can't wait till our activity tomorrow. Night.

As Matt falls asleep and dreams of tomorrow's high ropes activity

the following day, Mum has a rude awakening.

Look how high that is.

-Enjoy!

-Oh, no.

We have done something similar in the UK before, actually.

Mum didn't actually take part.

I'm here now today and I'm willing to give it a go.

OK, off we go.

Let's get this show on the road.

Mum, you're going to love it.

The boys set off on the high ropes course, which is a series of

bridges, swinging obstacles and a zip wire.

Good boy!

The boys are steaming ahead. Mum's not so sure.

I've always had a fear of heights.

It can be just going up into the loft on a little ladder.

It can be as much as that.

Oh, this is quite high now.

I'm up the ladder and it's feeling quite high.

This, for me, is a huge, huge challenge.

Mum, it's easy.

I'm doing it. I'm looking ahead.

I'm not going to look down, I'm looking ahead.

-Are you all right there, Matt?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-You all right?

That goes under there.

Oh, wow! I haven't even looked down so far, and now I have!

Come on, Mum, you're doing really well.

My legs are really shaking here. I don't like the feeling at all.

Mum, you're doing excellently.

Mum's lagging behind while Matt has already reached the zip wire.

Whoa-ah-ah!

It's so fun.

My mouth is completely dry.

It doesn't matter how much water I'm taking, my mouth is dry.

I've got to stand up...

I'm going to try to conquer that fear.

I'm not sure I can do this one.

At one point, I think Mum was struggling a bit.

I'm not sure I can do it.

We gave her encouragement which I think kept her going.

-Come on, Mum.

-Thank you. I can see a shoe shop at the end.

DAD AND BOYS CHEER

-Well done, Mum.

-Thank you.

'I didn't think I could do that.'

Now Jono's had his turn, it's only Mum left to complete the zip wire

but how will she cope?

Come on, Mum, you can do the zip wire. It's not too hard.

Three, two, one, go!

-You might need to start again at 100.

-Go!

Whoa-a-ah!

Are you going to do a dignified landing?

CHEERING

-You have to stay there.

-No!

I have a really good sense of achievement having just done that.

Well done. Round of applause.

I didn't think she'd be able to do it

because she'd never done anything like it before.

I hope they've looked at me and thought, "She's done it."

And, for them, it's a nice feeling that actually I've done something

with them together that they've always wanted me to do. As a family.

-You've done really well.

-It's nice to be back on the ground.

Out of the sky and into the sea.

Back on board, Matt's made a discovery.

I've spotted Dad reading on the boat.

Dad, stop reading!

Yes, you have.

That's not acceptable.

With Mum failing the shopping challenge and now

Dad reading, the boys have come up with a consequence for both of them.

-OK.

-Do you like cold water dips?

-No.

-Well, that's what you'll be doing.

-Now?

-In this harbour, in your clothes.

One, two, three!

BOYS CHEER

-See you. We're off for a swim now.

-See you in Barcelona.

While Mum and Dad dry off, the boys have something special in store.

We've got a surprise. We're going to cook you a delicious meal.

-OK, that'd be great.

-Oh, lovely!

-This is what you've got to put on.

-Lovely!

-Your nice evening dress.

-Lovely.

Nice work, lads. Putting two rules into practice there.

Taking control of the food and choosing what everyone wears.

Dad, I'll do your hair. In fact, I'm going to give you some hair.

-Finally, thank you.

-Also a lovely moustache for you.

-Fantastic.

Get some clothes on and look nice and posh and come back in a few minutes.

So one teaspoon of olive oil is needed.

Our new outfits are befitting of a glamorous harbour

in northern Spain in the sunshine.

I think we look really glamorous.

Garlic. Chopped tomatoes.

The boys haven't got a signature dish.

Nothing springs to mind, does it? They've never cooked on their own

for me before, so this is going to be a lovely, lovely treat for us.

That looks fantastic.

-Thank you, boys.

-Cheers!

-A fantastic holiday.

A glamorous evening. Be careful of my moustache.

-Delicious!

-You look good.

-Do I?

-Yeah. Very stylish.

-I look stylish, do I?

-Especially your hat.

Is it difficult to eat with your hair?

I'm worried about eating my moustache.

That's a first for Dad, hairs everywhere.

What?! THEY LAUGH

Does it look like the 1800s?

-It is difficult to breathe like this.

-Perfect.

Turn around. Oh, yes. Beautiful.

Leave it like that, Dad. We're in charge.

-Hang on a minute. The fashion police are coming.

-They're staring at us.

-I can't imagine why(!)

-Can you believe what you're doing?

-No.

The Shaws hit the high seas again

for their last journey to L'Estartit.

It's a new day and a new harbour and one last surprise for Mum and Dad.

See you, have a nice day.

Good morning, guys. My name's Steve.

I'm going to take you snorkelling on the Medes islands marine reserve.

And you're very lucky cos we're going to go to a special part of the reef

where the public don't normally get the chance to go and see. OK?

So we're all very, very lucky and I can't wait to go out there.

Watch your hands, guys.

A short trip out to the island and they're ready for their wetsuits.

Now everyone's kitted out, it's time to take the plunge.

We've never gone snorkelling as a family before.

I thought it was a really, really nice thing to do.

Really bonding experience. I love doing it with the family.

It's really hard to put into words. It's amazing. Loads of fish.

It was just a lovely feeling - being in there together.

I definitely have a feeling we'd like to do this again.

Before the Shaws anchor up, there's one final treat to be won.

Matt and Jono will go head-to-head with their parents in a battle

to win a once-in-a-lifetime flight in an ultralight.

Hola, Shaw family. I hope you've been enjoying the sea and sun.

If you want to be up in the air, flying like a bird, you'll have to

answer two out of three questions correctly.

Mess it up and Mum and Dad will win.

-No.

-No.

-It's us, we're going to win.

-Don't be so sure.

Mum and Dad were asked to agree on which activity they liked the most.

-I think it was snorkelling.

-Yeah.

-Mum really enjoyed that.

-Although, Dad did say he loved the sailing.

-Mum said that her favourite thing was snorkelling.

-Go for snorkelling?

-Yeah.

-Yeah. We're going for B, snorkelling.

This is what they said.

-Snorkelling.

-Yes!

We got it right. Oh, yes.

Nice work there, boys.

Just one more question right and you'll be up in the sky.

How are you feeling?

-Really good!

-Nervous.

OK. How did Mum rate the high ropes out of 10?

10 being brilliant.

Did she say...?

I think it will be seven.

-She was very nervous.

-Yeah...

-She did say she wanted to do it again.

-Ten. Yep.

We're going for A, ten out of ten.

Is that your final answer?

Yes. This is what they said.

On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate the high ropes,

-it's got to be 10.

-Yes!

Bye, Shaw family. Well done, lads. Enjoy the flight.

I really felt like a bird flying over the sea.

You really got a bird's-eye view.

The wind was gushing in your face and it was so amazing,

it was breathtaking, it really was.

Our Mum and Dad have been really brilliant.

-They have given it their all.

-They just joined in everything.

They're a real laugh whether they embarrass themselves or not.

Ultralight flying was amazing. You could see for miles.

I would definitely swap reading for sailing now.

We've had a great time bonding on the boat.

It's something I'd consider for the future.

We've enjoyed adventures together. I've loved every single moment.

It's been fantastic.

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