0:00:04 > 0:00:07Tucked away on the coast of North Norfolk
0:00:07 > 0:00:11lies Wiveton Hall Farm, a 17th-century manor house
0:00:11 > 0:00:14surrounded by fields of fruit,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16vegetables and barley.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19Come on, here.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23It's home to gentleman farmer Desmond MacCarthy...
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Penny, come on.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28..who lives here with his 99-year-old mother, Chloe...
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Nice shirt you've got on today. Where did you get that from?
0:00:32 > 0:00:34- I did, I think in London.- London.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38..and children, Isabel and Edmund.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40This is my home-made cannon
0:00:40 > 0:00:42that fires all sorts of fruit.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44CANNON POPS SHE LAUGHS
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Yay.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48'When you look at the house from here, what do you think?'
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Well, I always think how beautiful it is,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55with the marshes behind leading to the sea,
0:00:55 > 0:00:56it's a really special spot.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Throughout the spring and summer,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Desmond relies on his cafe,
0:01:03 > 0:01:06cottages and crops to generate enough income
0:01:06 > 0:01:08to keep the farm afloat.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Such a peculiar business, having to grow all this
0:01:10 > 0:01:12and then convert it into money.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15But balancing the books is never easy.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19We are £19,000 down on last year.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22Oh, dear.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Every year before winter closes in,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Desmond must find new ways to make ends meet...
0:01:28 > 0:01:33I mean, just like how Glastonbury started.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Oh, my God!
0:01:35 > 0:01:39..while trying to maintain the country traditions of his childhood.
0:01:39 > 0:01:40Edmund, well shot.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43I slowed him up.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45I've lived here all my life.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48I've probably got arrested development
0:01:48 > 0:01:50because I've never grown up properly
0:01:50 > 0:01:52because I've never moved away.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13It's spring and after a long winter
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Wiveton Hall Farm is coming back to life.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Very satisfactory.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26I want to get it cut down this time of year before it's too late
0:02:26 > 0:02:31so that any growth comes to something by the autumn.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Well done. We have to let the light in.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Edmund's getting a few more pizzas organised.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Today, with help from his children,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Desmond is hosting a party for all his farm and cafe workers.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Oh, brilliant, Isabel. Well done.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Shall I take those plates away?
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Over the next six months, Desmond and his staff need to make
0:03:00 > 0:03:04the most out of the busy Norfolk tourist season ahead.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Thank you all for coming.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10We are approaching the front of when all sorts of people appear
0:03:10 > 0:03:13who are on holiday.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15It's quite unnatural to be
0:03:15 > 0:03:17- with their families. - LAUGHTER
0:03:17 > 0:03:20You can tell by the way they're walking,
0:03:20 > 0:03:22they're uncomfortable,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25the father's having to open his wallet every day.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28It's really difficult, so be as nice to everyone as you can...
0:03:30 > 0:03:33..because it's really unnatural for everyone to be together.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37The family is not a natural unit any more.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40But you are part of, part on the plantation,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42you are, we are one big family...
0:03:42 > 0:03:44LAUGHTER
0:03:44 > 0:03:46So let's hope it all goes well.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Thank you all very much. Goodbye.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:03:54 > 0:03:57We've got all these different projects going on here,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59whether it's growing fruit
0:03:59 > 0:04:02or the crops on the farm
0:04:02 > 0:04:04or the cafe.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07There's a short window of opportunity in that
0:04:07 > 0:04:10that's when we've got to make our revenue.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14And if the weather is right, people come,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18if the weather's right, the crops do well
0:04:18 > 0:04:20and we do well.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23But if it doesn't go according to plan, you know,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25you don't have a very good year
0:04:25 > 0:04:29and so you're on your back foot for the next year.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Ordering, guys, one pork and two...
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Nine years ago, Desmond converted an old barn
0:04:37 > 0:04:40into the Wiveton Hall Cafe.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42But despite its popularity,
0:04:42 > 0:04:43it's yet to turn a profit.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Although the tills ring all through the summer and there's lots
0:04:48 > 0:04:50and lots of people here and you can turn over
0:04:50 > 0:04:52hundreds of thousands of pounds,
0:04:52 > 0:04:53it's not that simple.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Last year was awful.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59The cafe was very heavy on staff costs
0:04:59 > 0:05:04and so if it continued to be run the way it was run last year,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06I don't think it was a viable business.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10It's different this year, we've made a few changes to the
0:05:10 > 0:05:12structure of the cafe
0:05:12 > 0:05:14which hopefully are working.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18We're trying to run it on less staff
0:05:18 > 0:05:21which means everyone has to work a lot harder
0:05:21 > 0:05:26but hopefully it makes the cafe much more profitable
0:05:26 > 0:05:27at the end of the year,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29which is why we're all here really.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36We're going to quickly see Ben
0:05:36 > 0:05:39because we've got some exciting news.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42In a bid to improve the image of the cafe,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Desmond has come up with a plan.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Who was that man called Campbell who helped Tony Blair?
0:05:49 > 0:05:51- 'Alistair.'- Alistair Campbell.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54I mean he, you have to put a positive spin
0:05:54 > 0:05:56on everything, don't you? He introduced that.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Oh, Ben, we know we said we hoped we'd get someone
0:06:02 > 0:06:03to come and review us.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05- OK.- Well, they're coming tomorrow.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09- OK.- And he's called Mr Pembroke.- OK.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12And we don't know anything about him
0:06:12 > 0:06:16- other than he owns a magazine called The Oldie.- OK.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20All we can do is give him a nice table and not upset him
0:06:20 > 0:06:23- and hopefully he'll enjoy it. - Fantastic.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28'You don't need more notice than that, do you?'
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Yes, it's typical Desmond behaviour, that's for sure.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36- 'Have you heard of the magazine?' - I haven't, actually.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Charlotte?
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Do you want to Google Oldie magazine and we'll have a look?
0:06:45 > 0:06:47ROOSTER CROWS
0:06:47 > 0:06:50ENGINE STUTTERS
0:06:50 > 0:06:52ENGINE STARTS
0:06:52 > 0:06:55THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:06:57 > 0:07:02The first crop of the year to be harvested is the asparagus
0:07:02 > 0:07:07which is picked every morning by a team of Eastern European farm hands.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09'So, they're off to do the asparagus, are they?'
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Well, they're going in the wrong direction, but anyway...
0:07:12 > 0:07:13they may get there.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Bonnie, come on.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Well, I think the weedkiller's worked very well, hasn't it?
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Here's a lovely asparagus.
0:07:28 > 0:07:34We harvest it as it produces all these shoots
0:07:34 > 0:07:35for the next two months.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37With warm, humid weather
0:07:37 > 0:07:39it will grow very fast.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42It's quite an old crop so it's not the biggest.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46If its stem was twice as thick we'd make twice as much money.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49But I'm not nearly as proficient as others.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51'What do you mean by that?'
0:07:51 > 0:07:54'Well, I should have had a machine to bank up the soil.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56I haven't got one of them.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06'What are you doing, Pawel?'
0:08:06 > 0:08:07Sorting asparagus.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Long, slim.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Short, big.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17Different boxes.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19'What's it like to work for Desmond?'
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Everyone's crazy sometimes,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25but he's really, he have good heart, good man.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32On the other side of the farm, Desmond has come up with
0:08:32 > 0:08:34another way to make money,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36by turning the last of three farm cottages
0:08:36 > 0:08:38into holiday lets.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41It's a bit of a bombsite at the moment
0:08:41 > 0:08:45but it's much better you see it now, then we'll see it transformed.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Hello, Rodney. This is Rodney.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50Hello, there.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Rodney's done all these cottages up over the years.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59Renovations have started but with the first booking a month away,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Desmond's keeping an eye on progress.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05We're very lucky that we are here rather than the back of beyond,
0:09:05 > 0:09:10as with our restaurant, we're in a very popular location.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Oh, well done. Peter's doing steps.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21Hello, Peter. Peter is a craftsman.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Will you remind me?
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Kitchen delivered week after next.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29- Yes, you're away next week, aren't you?- Yes.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Anyway, this has had someone living here and enjoying it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37They liked it down the lane,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39it was peaceful and quiet.
0:09:42 > 0:09:48And he got up to all sorts of nefarious trades, allegedly.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50And so he liked it tucked away.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52But anyway, he's gone now, thank goodness.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55'What do you mean by nefarious trade?'
0:09:55 > 0:10:01Oh, well, you know, the sort of trade people get up to that...
0:10:01 > 0:10:07supply people with substances, allegedly.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10'So, have you got a name for the cottage?'
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Oh, well, we're going to call it Smuggler's Cottage.
0:10:13 > 0:10:19You can't really call it Drug Smuggler's Cottage but we'll see.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Small farming in the British Isles is increasingly hard.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Farmers have had to think of ways of
0:10:29 > 0:10:31bringing in revenue from other sources.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35So it might be having a lake
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and doing fishing on it or
0:10:38 > 0:10:41having a garden and opening it to the public.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44All these things are diversified businesses
0:10:44 > 0:10:48which have actually kept people employed on the farms
0:10:48 > 0:10:52and connected to the properties and the land.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05In the cafe, head chef Ben and his assistant, Ben,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08are preparing for the arrival of the restaurant critic
0:11:08 > 0:11:11from the humorous magazine, The Oldie.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14- Are we feeling nervous about it? - I'm not, you probably are.
0:11:14 > 0:11:15HE LAUGHS
0:11:15 > 0:11:18You're not meant to say things like that.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Cool, calm and collected at all times,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22unless it is a bad review.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29'How will Desmond be today?'
0:11:29 > 0:11:30Um...
0:11:30 > 0:11:33It depends on how much wine he had to drink last night.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39He's called Pembroke, he's coming to eat in the cafe
0:11:39 > 0:11:45and apparently he's only ever eaten four meals at home in his life.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48So I'm imagining he's enormous.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- Ah, hello, nice to meet you. - Absolutely.
0:11:52 > 0:11:53I love your glasses.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56- Yes, I know, they're very expensive. - Very expensive.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Now, come in.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01- You are a publisher.- Absolutely.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04And what else do you publish other than The Oldie?
0:12:04 > 0:12:08The Oldie and I publish a garden design journal,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11- and a magazine for a cycling tourist club.- Yes.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15So that's it. Most of my time's The Oldie, really.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Oh, isn't that good?
0:12:17 > 0:12:21I have to say, I've only read it before in the doctor's surgery
0:12:21 > 0:12:25but now I've got my own copy.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27So you choose the restaurant.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29I write the restaurant column, yeah.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Ah, yes. There we are, look at that.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34- Where's Josephine?- Coming.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Come on, Chrissie.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Ah, brilliant. Look at this. Look, look at this.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47- This was the shed for storing barley and machinery.- Lovely.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50- A little shop there...- So you converted it rather than built it?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53- Yes, yes, converted it.- Brilliant. - You can see the view.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Oh, my God.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Yeah, that's amazing.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01It's only a shame it's the North Sea, isn't it, really?
0:13:02 > 0:13:03When you go to the country,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06you want to go to a destination restaurant, really,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08so you want it to be somewhere nice, you know,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11looking over the marshes here, God, I mean, how nice is that?
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Sunny day, glass of rose, what could be better?
0:13:18 > 0:13:22A lot of asparagus. Oh, well, my God.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25He's ordered an asparagus with butter and black pepper to start
0:13:25 > 0:13:29followed by two hake, a crab salad and a portion of mixed bread.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Service, please.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33The old adage is go for the fish
0:13:33 > 0:13:35cos the fish tests the chef
0:13:35 > 0:13:37cos fish is really difficult to cook, as we all know.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38I mean, it can really go wrong.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41That's it, two hake...
0:13:42 > 0:13:45..and one crab salad for table 11. Phew.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48More asparagus.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Unless he's exceptionally fussy, I can't see why he wouldn't like it.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56'Will the review make a difference, do you think?'
0:13:56 > 0:13:57Well, the review, we need all the,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00well, of course The Oldie comes out once a month
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and the grey pound, the retirement people's pound
0:14:04 > 0:14:08is something that we really should tap into.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10So we'll see how it goes.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13He's spending a grey pound over there.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15I soon will be.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17I hope it's going well.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20He hasn't sent it back so that's always a good start.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25God, it is good actually. I mean, it is good, isn't it?
0:14:25 > 0:14:27Really good food.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Dear old Desmond.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40The asparagus is now halfway through its eight-week cycle,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42prompting Desmond to open the
0:14:42 > 0:14:46roadside stall for the first time this year.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49This is what they call a seasonal shop.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53It's been shut for quite a few months.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Oh, look, a customer. How exciting.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00How many do you want?
0:15:00 > 0:15:01We'll do a deal.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Five bunches.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05How wonderful. If every customer...
0:15:07 > 0:15:09..was like you, we'd be very happy.
0:15:11 > 0:15:16That was an encouraging flurry of business, long may it last.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19We've taken £20 in minutes.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Lovely rhubarb. Isn't it good?
0:15:33 > 0:15:35In the pick-your-own fields
0:15:35 > 0:15:37the strawberries are beginning to ripen
0:15:37 > 0:15:40so Desmond has drafted in extra help.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44These people are all from Lithuania
0:15:44 > 0:15:46and they've come for a few days...
0:15:47 > 0:15:50..from King's Lynn to help catch up
0:15:50 > 0:15:52on weeds just before we do the pick-your-own.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57I brought my mother to come along and see how things are going.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01She's very good at assessing things.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03We've come to see the fruit, haven't we?
0:16:03 > 0:16:05It's all coming along.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07And then they're spreading some straw, aren't they?
0:16:07 > 0:16:10To keep the weeds down as well, as a mulch.
0:16:10 > 0:16:11Very nice people.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15The last gang we had were less productive
0:16:15 > 0:16:21in that alcohol seemed to be a constant feature
0:16:21 > 0:16:26of their daily drink consumption.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29So we had to, they didn't stay long.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34'Even agency staff are from Eastern Europe now.'
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Oh, yes. I don't know what it is,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40but on a day like this, it's not a bad job.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43But people don't seem to want to work outside...
0:16:45 > 0:16:47..for whatever reason.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Maybe they do want to work outside but don't want to work for me.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52That may be another question
0:16:52 > 0:16:55which we can't...
0:16:55 > 0:16:56we can't really answer.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Would you like to come and see the cottage?
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Come on, don't trip over the thing.
0:17:13 > 0:17:1799-year-old Chloe has been living at Wiveton Hall
0:17:17 > 0:17:21since her parents bought the farm in 1944.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24What do you think of this bit at the back here?
0:17:25 > 0:17:27It's lovely. Nice.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Look at the roses behind.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31The roses over there.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38- Do you see on that house? - Yes.- No, you don't.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40I just can't really see them.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42- No, all right.- I can just see them.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Do you want go round the back? Round that way?
0:17:46 > 0:17:47See the daisies.
0:17:51 > 0:17:52And I'll come round and get you.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02With the first guests due to arrive in a week's time
0:18:02 > 0:18:05the builders have got everything under control.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08Not bad for a beginner.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13But Desmond can't resist getting involved.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16It's a great art getting fires to work.
0:18:16 > 0:18:17- Peter...- Yeah?
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Would you try and help me?
0:18:20 > 0:18:23What do you think, Peter? Is it drawing all right?
0:18:23 > 0:18:25I'd open the door just a crack to see if you can get a whoof.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28No, no, no, we're not going to be sitting here with the door open
0:18:28 > 0:18:30when you're on holiday.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32I think that's going to be a wrong 'un.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Oh, bloody hell.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37Yeah, it's very smoky.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42I mean, very nice if you want to make kippers on holiday. Or ham.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44- Have you got it?- Yes.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48What do you think? Do you think it looks a bit sort of
0:18:48 > 0:18:50house that a hobbit would live in?
0:18:50 > 0:18:52It's chunkier than I had envisaged.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55- SMOKE ALARM BEEPS - Oh, Lord!
0:18:56 > 0:19:00Nothing in life goes quite according to plan, does it?
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Lenny, I'm sorry about this. We'll leave now.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Ah, quite, quite smoky, wasn't it?
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Oh, my goodness. Hello.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11This way.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15That's the fence. There's nothing going to stop you.
0:19:17 > 0:19:18There's nothing that will stop her.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- Look at this, Sandy. - What's that? The Oldie.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34- That's us.- Which I now take. - Do you take The Oldie?
0:19:34 > 0:19:37The review of the cafe has been published.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Desmond is joined by his daughter, Isabel,
0:19:40 > 0:19:42and best friend, Andrew.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45- Oh, look, it starts... - What does it say?
0:19:45 > 0:19:48"As this renowned bird lover sprung
0:19:48 > 0:19:51"hobbit-like from the undergrowth of his garden..."
0:19:51 > 0:19:53- LAUGHS:- Yes.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56"..I was delighted to discover he had trained two young
0:19:56 > 0:19:59"blackbirds to perch on his forehead.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04"Only when he drew closer they became shoulder width eyebrows."
0:20:04 > 0:20:07THEY LAUGH
0:20:07 > 0:20:11"He has agreed to bequeath them to the RSPB as nesting sites."
0:20:11 > 0:20:15A little over doing the eyebrows, but there we are.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- We got reviewed.- OK.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21They go on a bit about me and my eyebrows a bit.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27"Desmond has got every aspect of his cafe right,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31"not least the price for beyond excellent food.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35"Ben the chef is a marvel with fish and sauces."
0:20:35 > 0:20:37There we are. All helps.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Grey pound is what we want to get into, isn't it?
0:20:41 > 0:20:42Anyway, very nice.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Yeah, happy with that.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55After weeks of early morning picking,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59it's the last day for the farm workers in the asparagus fields.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02'Will you miss it?'
0:21:02 > 0:21:03- Asparagus?- 'Yes.'- No.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11As much as we love asparagus and it's important to Wiveton...
0:21:13 > 0:21:16..we're all a little bit tired of prepping it.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Hopefully financially rewarding for Desmond.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23You know, it is an expensive product for people to buy
0:21:23 > 0:21:26so it would be a shame really
0:21:26 > 0:21:27if we don't make money on it.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35Are you ready for asparagus, Desmond?
0:21:35 > 0:21:38In the office, Kim has been adding up the numbers.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Desmond?
0:21:40 > 0:21:43- Shall I come over there? - Don't let's worry,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45I want to go and enjoy...
0:21:45 > 0:21:48sugar... I want to go and enjoy the...
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Body language tells me it's all over.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53A psychologist would tell you
0:21:53 > 0:21:57I don't want to face facts.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00This is the stall, so the stall is where it's down a lot...
0:22:01 > 0:22:03£2,000...
0:22:04 > 0:22:07..with asparagus and asparagus for soup, which is the...
0:22:09 > 0:22:11..lower grade stuff.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15The decline partly reflects the fact that the bed is getting quite
0:22:15 > 0:22:18old and we've decided that we're not going to pull out one bit.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20It's just too thin.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23So will you get another year from it?
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- We would get it, but not a very brilliant one.- Mm.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30So, will we do asparagus next year?
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Well, I could speak to someone about reviving it by banking it up.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40- It's very popular in the cafe.- Mm.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47Bottom line. I love living here
0:22:47 > 0:22:51and I want to make, keep the house standing,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53the barns in better condition, you know, the place,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57and have a little bit, you know amount of money to buy some petrol.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01And... But you have to think a bit more than that nowadays.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Desmond, I'm biting my tongue.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Why are you biting your tongue?
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Because we're trying to do things at the minute and
0:23:16 > 0:23:18someone's getting in the way.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23- Is that chest of drawers back as far as it will go, Sue?- No.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25- Would you move it back a bit?- No.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30It's all hands on deck over at Smuggler's Cottage
0:23:30 > 0:23:32with the first paying guests due tomorrow.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34- Hello.- Hello.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Those useless people with the day bed,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40we don't think they brought a mattress.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44- That's ridiculous.- So will you give someone hell and tell them to get in
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- the car and bring it from Timbuktu? - Yes.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Along with the help of his son, Edmund, Desmond has hired
0:23:50 > 0:23:55the services of family friend and interior designer, Annabel Grey.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Sunflowers, the Van Gogh.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00I'm coming round to the Sunflowers.
0:24:00 > 0:24:04- I know.- Well, does this want to go upstairs in the little bedroom?
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Careful, Edmund, it's not, think for a moment.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09It's wood.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Think for a moment. Is it not just meant to have a mattress on it?
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- Oh, hello.- Hello. - It's not coming, why not?
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Because there's been a complete cock-up.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19I'm just going to go and see what mattress we've got.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Surely we've got a spare mattress.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34I'm looking for... Oh, look.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39Do you think he's going to come back? Have you got a phone, Annabel?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Because we're running out of time, aren't we?
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Look at it, lovely colour.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48- It's horsehair.- It's lumpy.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- It's horsehair. - It's like a dog's bed.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53I think my mother won't know to miss it.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55SHE LAUGHS
0:24:56 > 0:24:59- Does it feel stringy? - No, it's lovely now.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02Quite all right. You see what our sofa is.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- It's too big. - We're not going to get it
0:25:05 > 0:25:07absolutely perfect in 24 hours.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Annabel, just don't worry.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25- Perfect.- Level?- Level.- Yes?- Yeah.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32SHE LAUGHS
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Oh, I thought you said it was perfect.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37What's the matter with you, child?
0:25:51 > 0:25:52The next morning,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56and with the first guest about to arrive at Smuggler's Cottage,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Desmond is feeling a little worse for wear.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Hello. How do you do?
0:26:04 > 0:26:06We'll find the key.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07You're the first customers.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12Very exciting. I'm afraid the lawn's not perfect,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15if any of you are any good at catching moles.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20I'm not sure which key does what at the moment.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Where's the key?
0:26:24 > 0:26:25Wait.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Ah, um, let me go and look.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Wait, wait, we'll go and look.
0:26:32 > 0:26:33Um...
0:26:34 > 0:26:36That was a bit of a false start.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Um, I'll just go back and get the key,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42if you wouldn't mind waiting here.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47'What did you do last night, Desmond?'
0:26:47 > 0:26:52It was the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57We drank some 200-year-old Madeira
0:26:57 > 0:27:01which had been kept in a barrel for many, many years and topped up.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Do you know, it was very good.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08But I don't think I should drink it too often.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14I've got the key, nightmare.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18- There, here we go in, go in.- Yeah?
0:27:18 > 0:27:22People have got high expectations.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24It's the way of the world, you know.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27So you've got to be really good at what you do now.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29Now, that's open at the moment.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Oh, we could have got in this door.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34It's got a remote control.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Yes, it's very important so you don't lose them.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Hope the TV works.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43We've got to be terribly professional,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46which is a shame in some respects.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49There's no room for people to muddle along.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51'Did there use to be?'
0:27:51 > 0:27:53I think there was more room.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56- We'll see you later. - Yeah, see you around. Cheers.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58You're the first person.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00- Anyway, good. See you later. - Yes, bye.
0:28:01 > 0:28:02There we are.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Look at this, weighed down with fruit.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Look, so ripe they're falling off.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17Oh, my God. Pigeons round me everywhere.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21No brave beekeeper bothers with cream
0:28:21 > 0:28:22but I'm not a professional.