Sims Family Gimme a Break

MUFFLED VOICE

Oh! This is Gimme A Break!

The show where kids get to take charge of their family holidays

and send them boring breaks packing.

And there's no room for excess baggage, not even me!

On Gimme A Break,

it's the kids who decide where to go and what to do.

Parents don't get a look in,

especially when it comes to the holiday rules.

Breaking the rules can only lead to one thing...

Trouble.

I'm in Essex and today's lucky family are the Sims.

13-year-old athlete, Alannah

and nine year old gymnast, Marissa

and their mum, whose idea of working out

is lifting a mug of tea!

So, what do they deserve a break?

My mum never ever, ever gets her face wet.

Don't like getting my face wet, really,

but the kids, when I get in the pool,

always think they can jump on me.

If she's swimming she always needs to swim like that.

She looks like a turtle.

-Mum's catchphrase is, "In a minute",

-"Just a couple more minutes",

-"Nearly there",

-"In five minutes",

-"Half an hour",

-"In an hour".

It does take a while to get me going.

We're like, "Oh, take your time, Mum!"

They're a bit cheeky telling me to hurry.

I hate it when my mum calls me nicknames.

I can't stop myself.

-It is so embarrassing.

-Yeah, she is.

She says it in front of my friends...

I don't know where she gets these nicknames from!

-She calls me Biggest and she calls you Hoppidy.

-Hoppidy.

They always answer, they always know it's them.

Every morning my mum wakes us up by singing...

# Good morning to Biggest!... #

Making up songs.

# Good morning to Hoppidy! #

She's so loud she probably even wakes the neighbours up.

I am really worried about what they've planned.

Watch out, Mum, things are going to change!

So, it's clear that you need to make some MASSIVE changes

to your family holidays.

Not "in a minute", Mum, but right now!

So, are we ready?

BOTH: Yeah!

Are you ready? It's a time that strikes fear into parents' hearts

all over the country.

It's time for the parent promise. Here you go, Mum.

Wait! Mum, can we have hand on heart, please?

"I, the parent of Biggest and Hoppidy..."

Hold up! That's not fair!

-We don't want that, do we?

-BOTH: NO!

We want real names, binding names, please, thank you very much!

"I, the parent of Alannah and Marissa...

That's better!

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

-How does it feel?

-Great!

-You got control!

-Mum, how do you feel?

-Bit nervous.

Let's go and decide what it'll be we are going to have. Come on!

-See you later, Mum.

-See you!

-ALL GASP

-What is your dream holiday?

We always relax, so we haven't done anything adventurous.

Maybe swim with dolphins or seeing dolphins.

-Water based, loads and loads of water.

-Yes!

What do you like to do with water? Swim? Jump in it? Dive in it?

-Jump in it...

-Everything.

-Yes, everything.

Anything else, apart from water?

-Horse riding.

-Yes, I like horse riding.

-So, you like animals?

-Yes.

What's the most important thing?

We're in charge!

Ready...after three. Who's in charge?

YEAH! Who's in charge?

You're in charge!

I've put together two brilliant breaks for Alannah and Marissa,

but they can only choose one to go on.

Will they guess from my series of cunning clues what's on offer?

So, the girls get stuck into the dressing up box with the first clue,

cardigans and wellies.

"Pitch in and paddle your way through the course.

"Buoy, oh, buoy water oarsome break this could be."

It might be muddy?

Yeah, cos we've got wellies on.

It said something about a pitch, that could be putting up a tent.

Just when they thought it was safe to go back in the water.

There's a dolphin.

-Maybe we need to spot it?

-Yeah.

-It would be in the sea.

How cool would that be?

A dolphin with spots?!

Dolphin spotting, that's it, girls!

-Oh. look, there's sand...

-Yeah.

..and a bucket and spade.

That could be something to do the with the beach.

What do you think these are?

I don't know.

-They look a BIT like earrings.

-Yeah.

How do I look?

You look a tiny bit over the top!

Thanks.

The seaside or the coast?

-Coast earring?

-Coast earring...

-That sounds like an activity, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

Could be, we'll find out shortly.

Now, it's time for break number two.

Here's the card.

"Ahoy there, the key to this break lies in the locks.

"Can Alannah and Marissa unscramble the clues they find in a box?"

So what could be in the first box?

-It's a horse!

-It's a horse!

It could be we're feeding them, or something?

-Yeah, and riding them, maybe?

-Yeah.

Giddy up, girls! On to the next box.

-Locks, I think, is a word to do with canals.

-Yeah.

Unscramble me.

-G-g-erog...

-That's not a word.

Yeah, egg and then the word 'or'!

Scramble egg?

Well, they didn't crack that one, so on to box number three.

-There's a car...

-Yeah.

..and a triangle?!

The sound's, sort of, like, ding! Yeah.

-Car and a train?

-No!

A car and...ting...

Carting! It's carting, girls?!

So, have Alannah and Marissa guessed the breaks on offer?

So, it's the moment of truth.

Let's find out what your holiday choices are.

I've got a cardigan on, what could the cardigan be for?

Cos, this was one of the clues, wasn't it?

-Yeah, I didn't get why the Cardigan was there. Did you?

-No.

OK, the break number one is a water adventure holiday in Cardigan Bay,

in Wales.

-So, shall we have a look?

-Yes.

On this break, you'll have a go at coasteering -

a climbing, jumping, swimming extravaganza,

where your mum will get more than just her hair wet.

You'll cross a river by kayak and head to sea for dolphin spotting.

And you'll spend every night camping out in style.

-Are you pleased with it?

-Yes.

-Do you even want to see the next one?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

OK, well, I don't need this silly cardigan any more,

BUT I've got this hat.

You also had this as a clue.

If you unscramble some of the letters, it spelled out gorge.

Have you any idea what that could be?

Gorge scrambling?

You will soon find out what gorge scrambling is.

There was also one other clue...and that was...

-Oh, yes, the car ting...

-Carting!

-Cos you've got it, you're saying it.

-Oh! Carting!

-Yeah!

-Car-Carting!

I can tell you that break number two is a Great British barge holiday.

-Shall we have a look?

-Yeah.

On this trip you'll be captains of your own canal boat.

Stopping along the way to explore on horseback, racing around in carts

and experience gorge scrambling.

A wet and wild journey through rivers, waterfalls and pools.

So, what did you make of that?

I liked when they were riding them horses.

You like the horses, don't you? What else did you like?

The barge thing was really good.

So, there's some good things in both of them.

You've got to pick one

and decide which holiday suits both of you the most.

While Alannah and Marissa make up their minds,

I'm going to shoot some hoops.

-I liked...the second one.

-I liked the first one.

-This is going to be really hard.

-Yeah.

-Are you sure this is the one you want?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

OK, so we got it.

The big question is, have you both come to an agreement?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

What is your decision? Is it holiday number one, or holiday number two?

-We chose...break number one!

-Break number one? Are you sure?

-Yep.

-As soon as I press the book button, that is it.

That holiday is booked!

I've got one more thing to say to you.

At the end of your break,

you've got the chance to win the ultimate souvenir,

but if you don't win it, your mum gets it

-and we don't want that to happen, do we?

-No.

Listen, have a fantastic holiday. Hi five! Hi five!

So, the Sims are going on a Welsh Water adventure.

Will Mum dive in, or go all-out not to get her face wet?

Will it be sink or swim for Alannah and Marissa?

And who will win that final treat?

With their water adventure just one day away,

it's up to Alannah and Marissa to get packing.

Alannah is probably quite...neat, I imagine.

Just chuck it in.

There could be a few arguments.

-Take them out.

-No, take these out!

-No!

Alannah might pack it one way, Marissa another way.

-Make that fit in.

-Yeah, I will make it fit in.

Don't think they'll be throwing things around.

BOTH: Teabags!

Hmm, it looks like Mum's gone behind the girls' backs

to make sure she gets her daily cuppa.

She's not having that!

Bras?!

-That is not my mum's!

-Definitely isn't our mums!

Right, one more, OK?

I'll sit on it!

And they're off!

To make sure that every moment is captured.

The girls are armed with the Gimme A Break fam.cam.

How are you feeling about being in charge?

-Good.

-Yeah, really good cos you can't do anything about it!

-Yes.

The Sims have made it to Paddington station

and Mum STILL doesn't know the final destination,

but Alannah has something for the journey.

"Mum, we are going to a water sport adventure in Cardigan Bay, Wales!"

Oh, my goodness!

I'm a bit nervous, though,

water sports wasn't even my thing when I was young, let alone now.

I can't wait to get wet. I'm really excited.

I can't wait to see Mum's face

when she has to put her face under the water.

We're in charge!

After a four hour train journey and a short car ride,

the girls arrive in Cardigan Bay.

This area of west Wales is famed for its award-winning beaches,

marine life, and wet and wild water activities.

But before they can make a splash,

it's time to check out the luxury domed tent.

Goodness it's like something off the moon!

Need some help?

-Spider?

-Get rid of the spider!

-I thought you was in charge?

-Urgh!

-Oh, cool!

This isn't your average tent.

There's a wood burning stove and a solid floor.

It's up to Alannah and Marissa to decide who sleeps where -

the big comfy bed, or the mattress on the floor?

Only me and Alannah are sleeping here, Mum.

Now that their beds are sorted

it's time for Mum to see what the girls have packed for her.

Yeah, you put my bra in!

Good job!

I bought this as a joke cos I thought it would make you smile.

It's quite neat, girls, well done.

-I done it folded, Alannah wanted to throw it in!

-She did?

Mum, you didn't notice the best thing.

Ah, my teabag!

That's right, Mum, just one teabag for the whole break!

Oh, have I got knickers in there?

Girls you did really well.

I'm really proud of you, but I did trust you.

I'm very good at packing.

I think that the girls did really well with the packing.

I'd say nine out of ten, really.

It's the first morning of the break and it's pouring with rain,

but the family are still smiling.

No chance of a cuppa, Mum? It's time for the rules.

-Hi, Sims!

-ALL: Hi.

These are the rules set by Alannah and Marissa.

-Are you ready?

-ALL: Ready.

Rule number one,

the kids are fed up of you calling them Biggest and Hoppidy.

So, Mum, there'll be no nicknames on the break.

-It's embarrassing, so just stop!

-Yes, I've got to stop.

Oh, I'll be with you in a minute... Only joking -

Mum, that's what you say and it's never a minute!

The girls are fed up. No more, "in a minute",

"in a second", "I'll be with you"... On the whole break.

-I'm always getting ballet stuff, packed lunches...

-Excuses!

-Excuses!

..where's my coat? Where's my shoes?

-Is my breakfast ready? So I say, "In a minute!"

-Excuses!

Rule number three, no more singing, Mum, the kids are fed up of it.

-It'll be too quiet without me singing!

-You're not allowed to sing!

If you break any of these rules the girls have decided to embarrass you.

You have to wear a sumo suit.

I think I've suffered enough without a hair drier and mirror.

You can fall over like that!

I'll be back later,

to give you the chance to win the final souvenir.

The hardest rule will be "wait a minute"

because there's always two of them demanding my attention.

So I've got no excuse.

Exactly, you have been warned!

Mum, I know you don't like getting your face wet,

but now it is time to face your fears.

We're going coasteering.

Coasteering is an extreme activity, that is a mix of swimming,

scrambling and jumping.

Definitely not Mum's cup of tea.

And Seb is the instructor,

who will be helping them dive right in.

I haven't got my face wet for years, apart from washing it, obviously.

This is how we enter shallow water, it's called a belly flop, OK?

If you are good at it, you won't get your face wet yet!

Excellent!

Nice and flat.

Very nice!

Too late for keeping the face dry now, isn't it?

Mum didn't look as like a turtle, as much.

Good on you!

But she was still lifting her head up.

Brilliant, swim across to me.

Make sure you've got a good foothold.

It's really fun, but scary at the same time.

-Go on, Mum!

-Go on, Mum, nearly there!

It's really fun and it's also quite scary.

Holy moly, this is scary!

Three, two, one, go!

That works, sometimes!

Go on, Mum!

Perfect. Well done!

Mum would never let us do this, normally.

Goodness, what are you getting me doing?!

It's like being on a lilo! Woo-woop!

The Sims are all up for one final challenge.

Brilliant.

You're well and truly wet, Mum. Well done.

-I would give this ten.

-Yeah, ten out of ten.

After a day spent jumping, swimming and bobbing in the sea,

there's only one thing on everyone's mind...food.

"Sims Family Banquet Menu."

We're in charge, so we get to choose what you eat.

Hi guys, are you ready to order?

-Mum...

-No, we're ordering, we're in charge.

For Mum, can we have the cockles and laverbread, please.

Oh, adventurous!

Yeah, it looks like something we were climbing on earlier.

You're right, laverbread is plucked from rocks,

it's seaweed, rinsed and boiled for hours, lovely.

Want to try?

Go on!

It doesn't look nice.

Sorry!

It's OK.

Just got back from having dinner.

We're really nice and snuggled in here.

We've got activities planned for tomorrow. So that should be fun.

-Night.

-Night.

It's day two.

It looks like mum is putting that one teabag to good use.

It tastes better when you make it yourself.

But there's no time to hang around

cos they are going to get even wetter.

Kayaking, what will Mum think?

So, you looking forward to the kayaking?

-No.

-Yes.

-No?

Bad luck, Mum, it's the kids' choice.

Instructor Gary will be showing them the moves.

So, who is up first?

And they're off!

And on the other side, really dig deep. Go on, dig deep!

It is fine, don't worry.

Ah, help me!

Mum, where aren't you in, yet?

I'm ready, but we've lost Marissa, she seems to have disappeared a bit.

Come back, Marissa!

How did she get all the way over there?!

It's a good job Gary's around to toe her back.

Here we go, I'm a natural!

Really, Mum(?)

-What happens if I crash into you, Lan?

-This...

You're going the wrong way now!

-Like big bumper cars, these things.

-Where's the brakes?

If you need to stop, just paddle backwards.

Somebody help me!

Uh-oh! Marissa's disappearing again in the opposite direction!

The Sims head back in, after an...interesting kayaking session.

MUM SINGING

Is that Mum singing? Rule break! Rule break!

No way! That was a little da-na-na-na-na-na!

Mum, that was a rule break, you need to do the forfeit.

There wasn't even any words!

It was still humming, singing!

I was just becoming relaxed, so I thought I'd have a little tune.

Now I've got to pay for it.

I'm looking forward to seeing Mum in that sumo costume.

# What's that coming over the hill?

# Is it a monster Is it a monster... #

Oh, well, at least the pink bra came in handy!

Marissa decides to race the sumo.

So, who's faster?

Nine-year-old Marissa, or Mum in the sumo suit?

Winner! Winner!

Cardigan Bay is home to a large population of bottlenose dolphins.

The Sims are about to try to spot them.

But with the animals in the wild it's never easy.

The girls are keen to find out more about the dolphin research

Captain Steve does.

Why do you take photos?

We take photographs of them so that we can identify them,

it's called photo ID.

This is how we identify individual animals,

through the nicks and marks on their dorsal fins.

It's like a fingerprint.

So far we've identified over 240 individual animals

through doing this.

We've got Nick here, we've known Nick for 20-odd years.

We've got Sue, here.

That's another one that we know well.

Girls, they all seem to have names,

do you think there's one called Hoppidy?

People are actually called Nick and Sue, not many are called Hoppidy!

It might not be a normal dolphin name!

Can you call a dolphin?

SHE SQUEAKS

Well, dolphins are known for their amazing hearing,

maybe that name could work?

Is that seals over there?

-Or are they rocks?

-They're rocks!

Nice try, Mum.

There's a little duck.

Not quite what we was looking for, Marissa.

I can mainly just see the sea.

The Sims are trying hard to spot those dolphins.

So, that's some rocks, a duck and the sea they've seen.

What next?

You see one? This is a harbour porpoise.

-Oh, yeah!

-Oh, yeah!

These aren't bottlenose dolphins, these are the harbour porpoise.

Much smaller than the bottlenose, they only grow up to five feet long.

They're very timid, they don't approach boats like the dolphins do.

Generally, when we find the harbour porpoise

we don't find the bottlenose dolphins.

So, I think it's best that we move on a bit, away from this area.

Still no dolphins,

but it's not long before they see something else...just.

-Oh, there's one, there's one!

-Oh, yes!

-Where? I can't see it.

-There, by the crack!

-I thought it was a bird!

-That's a female Atlantic grey seal.

The males are larger, darker, with a big bulbous nose.

Females are smaller, lighter, with a straight nose.

With a storm brewing it's time to head back to dry land.

-Oh, is that lightening?

-Yes, thunder, that was.

-It's like diamonds popping up and down on there, isn't it?

-Yes.

We didn't see a dolphin, but we saw a porpoise,

which was quite cool.

The seals were really cute.

I really enjoyed being in the boat.

I don't think the dolphins come out cos they're wild.

You can't predict when they're coming,

so leave it to them when they want to.

It's the final day and the girls have got a special delivery.

OK, I've got some post for you.

"It is up to you which boat you choose, either way you cannot lose.

"Will it be the keel, or power boat

"that gets Alannah's and Marissa's vote?"

So, will Alannah and Marissa choose to sail to their next activity,

or travel by 200 horsepower engine?

Both float my boat, but the decision is theirs.

So, which one should we go with? I like the power boat.

-Yeah, same, I like the power boat.

-Yeah?

-I like that one, I think it would be the fastest.

-Yeah.

The girls have got a need for speed.

And they get it.

Mum, would you like to find out what you are doing?

I'd love to, it's looking a bit deep here, I'm getting scared.

-We're going lifeguard training.

-Excellent.

We're going to that beach over there.

RNLI lifeguards are some of the heroes of the sea world.

Last year the charities' lifeguards helped more than 15,000 people.

How will the girls get on with their training session

to learn how to save Mum?

Hi, my name's Dylan. We're going to give a run-through of what we do.

First up, the two paddling techniques.

The first one, paddle, on your bellies.

The second one, pop up to your knees and do the double stroke, OK?

Do you want to give it a go? Yeah?

How will they get on in the water?

Good paddling skills, girls!

Wipe out!

That was brilliant!

Mostly had my face wet, haven't done much else, yet!

Well done, I think you're all ready now for a little lifeguard scenario.

-Are you ready to rescue Mum?

-Yeah!

Alannah, you're going to have this round there.

You're both going to run in,

you going to hand the tube to your mum,

get her to put it under her arms, go round behind her and clip her in.

When we tried to save Mum,

we ran out with the yellow float thing

and tried to loop it around her,

but we couldn't get it done up, so that didn't help.

So, in the end we gave up.

Mum has no choice but to save herself!

I wouldn't rely on them if I was drowning!

We got Mum out of the water,

so I reckon you could say that we saved her.

With Mum safe and sound it's nearly the end of the family holiday,

but there's time for one final treat.

The girls have the chance to have a wild dolphin named after them.

All they've got to do is give me the right answers

to the Gimme A Break Quiz.

Hi, guys!

BOTH: Hi!

I'm going to ask you three questions about your break.

All you have to do is answer at least two of them correctly,

then you get a dolphin named after you, Alannah and Marissa.

If you don't, then the dolphin's going to be named Tracy.

-That isn't going to happen.

-No! Boo!

What activity did Mum say she would like to do again?

Was it A, coasteering? Or B, kayaking?

BOTH: Coasteering.

-I think that she enjoyed that.

-Yeah.

What's your final answer?

BOTH: A, coasteering.

Here is what your mum said.

The activity I'd do again is definitely coasteering.

Yeah!

-We need to get one more, OK?

-YEAH!

-One more?

-Yes!

Question number two,

what did Mum say was the funniest thing about the break?

Was it A, when Marissa disappeared on the kayak?

Or was it B, when the kids tried to save me?

-That's really hard.

-We're not going to get this right.

-I reckon A, I'm not sure.

-Yeah, I reckon A.

But then, she was laughing when you were...trying to get rescued.

What is your final answer?

A...

A, Marissa disappearing off in the kayak.

Here's what your mum said.

The funniest moment was...when they were trying to save my life,

when they were lifeguarding.

Both: Ahh!

-Oh, well!

-That wasn't funny!

OK, girls, you got to get this next question right.

What did Mum say was her scariest moment?

Was it A, jumping off a rock coasteering?

Or B, dolphin spotting in the storm?

-Why can't they be easy questions, not hard questions!

-I know!

Erm, coasteering...

I would have chosen coasteering, it's just that she enjoyed that one.

I don't know! I don't, I really don't!

I think we should go for A.

A, because I think Mum was quite scared.

We've gone for A, coasteering.

-Are you sure?

-Yes!

-Are you really sure?

-YES!

This is what Mum said.

My scariest moment on the break was definitely coasteering,

trying to pluck up the courage to jump off that rock.

YEAH!

YES!

Yes!

-Yeah!

-Woo!

Sorry, Mum, you lost!

Ah, that was scary!

BOTH: Thank you!

I think we'll definitely come back and spot our dolphins.

I'm really proud of my mum.

I never thought she would join in this stuff.

This break's been amazing. It's been a dream for the girls and for me.

E-mail [email protected]