0:00:02 > 0:00:04BRASS BAND PLAYS SILENT NIGHT
0:00:08 > 0:00:11'I think we all feel that Christmas is a time
0:00:11 > 0:00:15'to tighten the fabric that keeps the community together.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19'In Cornwall, even the big places are small enough
0:00:19 > 0:00:22'for people to easily enjoy a sense of belonging
0:00:22 > 0:00:25'and Padstow would never be called big.'
0:00:25 > 0:00:29I really like the Christmas lights in Padstow, even in the rain.
0:00:29 > 0:00:30I particularly like the sort of
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Loch Ness monster. It's our own version.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Whenever that gets lit up every year, I think Christmas is here.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39I think a small place like Padstow,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42just because it's so small and you know everybody,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44it just feels really Christmassy
0:00:44 > 0:00:47as soon as the Christmas lights are switched on.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49There's something very sort of convivial
0:00:49 > 0:00:51about people meeting in the streets,
0:00:51 > 0:00:53having a mince pie, a bit of music.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56I'm there, I'm ready for Christmas,
0:00:56 > 0:00:58I'm full of fun and excited about it.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16CORK POPS
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I love spending time in Cornwall at Christmas
0:01:20 > 0:01:24and creating dishes that celebrate the best the county has to offer.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27This year, I'm being joined by a few close friends for a lunch
0:01:27 > 0:01:31that highlights the culinary treasures of Cornwall.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34All the dishes are made with my favourite ingredients
0:01:34 > 0:01:38that are caught or grown in and around the county.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40And talking of Cornish treasures...
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Well, as you might probably know, this is Jethro.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46We go back a long way, cos we used to play rugby together,
0:01:46 > 0:01:47didn't we, Jethro?
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Yeah, we was a very good side and we beat most people
0:01:51 > 0:01:55until they introduced the ball, and that finished our game completely!
0:01:55 > 0:01:59- It was good fun after the games. - We had some fun, we really did.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Talking of fun, I tried things I hadn't done for years,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05without much success, I have to say!
0:02:05 > 0:02:08I'm going to have a seasonal tour around the county
0:02:08 > 0:02:11before getting together with my pals...
0:02:11 > 0:02:12Merry Christmas!
0:02:12 > 0:02:15..for a celebratory banquet at Little Petherick village hall.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:02:22 > 0:02:25'For the banquet, I'll be working with my son Jack,
0:02:25 > 0:02:29'who's now a chef at my restaurant in Padstow.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32'He came up with the dish of hake with a Cornish seasonal salad.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34'And very festive it looks, too.'
0:02:34 > 0:02:37I've never asked you this, Jack, so it seems a good time,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39but why are you doing this - to please me,
0:02:39 > 0:02:42take over the family business? Do you like cooking?
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Yeah, to get your undivided attention, mostly,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48and because I love working weekends and late nights.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And also... No, I've always loved watching you,
0:02:51 > 0:02:53like the way people respond to good food
0:02:53 > 0:02:55- and everything like that.- Really?
0:02:55 > 0:02:59I'd like to do that myself. It's a great experience and a great honour.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03'Blimey, that's an accolade from number-two son!
0:03:05 > 0:03:07'Hard to believe it, I know,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10'but it really does snow sometimes in Cornwall.
0:03:10 > 0:03:11'And as luck would have it,
0:03:11 > 0:03:17'it arrived right on cue to add an even more festive touch
0:03:17 > 0:03:19'to the annual wassailing ceremony at Cotehele,
0:03:19 > 0:03:24'something celebrated with huge enthusiasm by all concerned.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27'And even the apples apparently love it.'
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Green Man, would you tell us about wassailing?
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Well, wassailing comes from Saxon times, I believe
0:03:45 > 0:03:48and it actually is just celebrating the earth
0:03:48 > 0:03:51and celebrating the fact that these trees bring forth fruit
0:03:51 > 0:03:54every year, time after time and paying them back a little.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58This gentleman in a moment will put some juice back into the earth,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00which symbolises the full cycle of nature
0:04:00 > 0:04:03and that's we're here to celebrate. Yes.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06It is customary at this time of the year
0:04:06 > 0:04:08to stand on the ancient land
0:04:08 > 0:04:10and celebrate the earth's cycles,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12the renewal of life
0:04:12 > 0:04:15and the hopes for a good harvest
0:04:15 > 0:04:19of food and other produce in the next growing season.
0:04:19 > 0:04:25We wish you all a happy new year and a wonderful wassail!
0:04:25 > 0:04:28CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:04:32 > 0:04:37Old apple tree, we wassail thee and hope thou will bear.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Hello!
0:04:39 > 0:04:41We wassail thee and hope thou will bear!
0:04:41 > 0:04:45- Hats full.- Hats full!
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Three-score sacks full.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Three-score sacks full.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Holler, good folk, holler!
0:04:52 > 0:04:54CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:04:55 > 0:04:58'And a good splash of this year's cider
0:04:58 > 0:05:02'makes sure we get gallons of the stuff to drink next year.'
0:05:07 > 0:05:10Well, this programme's called A Cornish Christmas.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14How much more Christmas can you get than this? It's snowing!
0:05:14 > 0:05:19There is a God! And this is so wonderfully atmospheric.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22I mean, I just love that horse. I mean, that...that...
0:05:22 > 0:05:25that in itself is enough for me.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27It's just that sense of sort of medieval life
0:05:27 > 0:05:32in this beautiful house and blessing of the apples.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35I mean, that's what Christmas is, really,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37it's a sort of time to cheer yourself up
0:05:37 > 0:05:43in the dead heart of the season and think about the new season to come.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48One of the great things about cold, snowy mornings at Christmas time
0:05:48 > 0:05:52is the recovery period, which at this time of year should mean
0:05:52 > 0:05:55a good, hot punch to get the heart started again
0:05:55 > 0:05:57and the gastric juices flowing.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00This is a good one. It's called Smoking Bishop -
0:06:00 > 0:06:03citrus fruits studded with cloves
0:06:03 > 0:06:06and gently roasted until they're softened.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10A good sprinkling of sugar and lashings of wine and port
0:06:10 > 0:06:15with a stick of cinnamon, all left to steep for a while.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Then squash the fruit to get all the juices out, strain it,
0:06:19 > 0:06:21warm it and serve it.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25'I was introduced to this drink by Xenia Irwin.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29'She's a master of wine with a speciality for rustic drinks
0:06:29 > 0:06:32'that go back in time in Devon and Cornwall.'
0:06:32 > 0:06:33So what's this called?
0:06:33 > 0:06:35This is a Smoking Bishop
0:06:35 > 0:06:40and it's a recipe that I found in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42- Oh, good!- It's a traditional Cornish recipe.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Well, not necessarily Cornish, but it's a very traditional recipe.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48- Yeah.- And it's sort of an old-fashioned punch.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51It's quite weird, quite interesting.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Very grapefruity. I rather like it.
0:06:54 > 0:06:55It's a little sweet.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58SHE SLURPS
0:06:58 > 0:07:02You're applying your wine taster's skills there, I note, to a...
0:07:02 > 0:07:03You've got to slurp!
0:07:03 > 0:07:06You've got to get the air in to get the flavours out.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10- It's quite bitter. The grapefruit comes through very strongly.- Mm.
0:07:10 > 0:07:11Possibly, I underspiced it.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Maybe more cloves to make it more traditional.
0:07:14 > 0:07:15Well, it smells of cloves.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Sniffing and drinking this,
0:07:17 > 0:07:21I'm thinking Dickens, I'm thinking Victorian, rosy-cheeked people,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23probably through too much punch...
0:07:23 > 0:07:25- Probably.- ..by the coal fire there.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27I'm thinking of putting my boot up by the fire
0:07:27 > 0:07:30and calling for one of those long clay pipes
0:07:30 > 0:07:32and maybe bring on the serving wenches!
0:07:32 > 0:07:36'Xenia's a girl who knows her drinks,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40'and her next suggestion was a sort of Cornish Kir Royale
0:07:40 > 0:07:44'made with sloe gin and a local sparkling wine.'
0:07:44 > 0:07:45My own sloe gin,
0:07:45 > 0:07:47made by my own fair hands.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49What, from hedgerows and...?
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Local hedgerows, local hedgerows, a lot of sugar, a lot of gin.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54Picked the berries, froze them,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57beat them up with a rolling pin,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01put them in a large one-gallon container
0:08:01 > 0:08:03with a lot of sugar and a lot of gin and a vanilla pod
0:08:03 > 0:08:06and then put them in the boot of the car
0:08:06 > 0:08:09to roll around in the dark to really macerate.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Everyone says you should shake it every day. Much easier
0:08:12 > 0:08:15to stick it in the boot of the car for a month. Let's have a taste.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18That is very good. I must say, I thought it would be
0:08:18 > 0:08:21a lot sweeter, but actually it's quite austere,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25- but it's quite astringent.- It's quite lean and racy and dry and...
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Lean and racy, yeah.
0:08:27 > 0:08:28And it's quite elegant.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32It's got that sort of plummy, plum-stone taste as well.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- It has, it has.- I mean, a great fruit, sloe, isn't it?
0:08:35 > 0:08:39It's also...surprisingly alcoholic
0:08:39 > 0:08:42- and it gets in the...- Oh, not again!
0:08:42 > 0:08:43I'm really sorry about this.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- That's why it's called a heart starter.- We need a spittoon.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- It's Christmas, we're not doing spittoons.- Fair enough.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53- And of course, the wine's Cornish too.- The wine's Cornish,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56and the English should be making sparkling wine.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58We've got the right climate, the right soil
0:08:58 > 0:09:01and we're really, really good at making sparkling wine.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05And I think we can beat the Champagnoirs at their own game.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08- Yeah.- And what I like about Cornish sparkling wine is,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10it's got that real cool freshness
0:09:10 > 0:09:13that comes from wet hedgerows full of elderflower.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15You're poetic. I like this, I like this.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17POSH ACCENT: It comes naturally, darling!
0:09:17 > 0:09:20THEY LAUGH Put Dame Edna away!
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Firstly, I'd like to welcome you all tonight
0:09:25 > 0:09:27to another Dickensian evening.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29THEY PLAY THE FIRST NOEL
0:09:29 > 0:09:31As well as great food and drink,
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Christmas has come to be synonymous with Dickens.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39In Lostwithiel, they really know how to celebrate the great man,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43who came to Cornwall with his artist friends in the 1840s.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45If you know your Dickens novels,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47you should be able to spot each and every character
0:09:47 > 0:09:49in this annual Christmas ceremony,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53which brings the whole community together.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Everyone joins in the spirit of Christmas past.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02BELLS PEAL
0:10:02 > 0:10:06There's free mince pies and mulled wine in almost
0:10:06 > 0:10:10every shop you choose to visit up and down the high street,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13but for serious foodies, the local delis provide
0:10:13 > 0:10:16plenty of Cornish festive fare to stock up your larder.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18I love Lostwithiel!
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Cornish Christmas, quite simple.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24It means good food, family, friends and fun really
0:10:24 > 0:10:27and we have all those things in abundance in Cornwall.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29We've got great producers, great suppliers
0:10:29 > 0:10:32and put all those things together with a bit of festive cheer,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34that's it.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38But if Dickens is not your style, that's fine.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43Some characters seem to have escaped from other authors, but who cares?
0:10:43 > 0:10:47There we go! Happy Christmas... from Captain Pugwash.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49I'll be on my way now.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53'In years past in Cornwall,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56'the joy of Christmas was that it was a short respite
0:10:56 > 0:11:00'in the day-to-day struggle to put food on the table
0:11:00 > 0:11:03'and in those days the choice of food was very limited
0:11:03 > 0:11:05'for ordinary working folk.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12'For much of the year, their diet consisted of little else than pilchards,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14'fresh when the shoals were running
0:11:14 > 0:11:17'and when the fish had moved on, it was yet more pilchards,
0:11:17 > 0:11:23'this time dried or preserved in brine. There was no escape from it.
0:11:23 > 0:11:29'Some time ago I was able to go out and catch some for the Cornish Pilchard Museum,
0:11:29 > 0:11:32'but these days pilchards have a new image.'
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Oh, brilliant!
0:11:35 > 0:11:40'Rebranded as Cornish Sardines, they're very popular.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45'I love it when previously humble food becomes the height of fashion.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49'In this Newlyn pub, I met up with a few local lads -
0:11:49 > 0:11:55'Nick Howell, Laurence Hartwell and James Hicks - who know what it was like in the bad old days.'
0:11:55 > 0:11:59So, um, what sort of things have they, you know, in times gone by...
0:11:59 > 0:12:02I mean, it's a pretty poor part of the country, really,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05what would they have had around Christmas, do you think?
0:12:05 > 0:12:08- I think poor's the word, isn't it? - Poor's the word, yeah.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Whatever you could preserve during the good times, really.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16If you're a bit drier, just like, just further south in Brittany
0:12:16 > 0:12:20here's the... This is sun-dried as opposed to salted.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Now here, you've got salt conger, salt pollack,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26little pollacks, they are.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- Yeah.- Salt conger again.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Goodness knows what it tastes like, not much of a smell to it.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33No, I mean, if you said...
0:12:33 > 0:12:36- It's incredible. - ..you could eat this, you'd say...
0:12:36 > 0:12:39- Soak it and...- No, it's a piece of wood, you can't eat that!
0:12:39 > 0:12:42I mean, how would you go about, you know, cooking something
0:12:42 > 0:12:46maybe that I could, maybe sell in one of my restaurants?
0:12:46 > 0:12:48I think one of the things
0:12:48 > 0:12:51if you listen to some of the meals that people talk about,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53it's incredibly simple because,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57especially this far south away from a lot of trade, I guess,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00the basic ingredients are what's growing outside
0:13:00 > 0:13:02or what's swimming around out there,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07and the simplest one I know of is literally the fish, the potatoes,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10and using sea water rather than fresh water.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13- You mean you just take...? - And if you had the money, an onion.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15What you've also got to remember
0:13:15 > 0:13:18is one of the most famous things in this area -
0:13:18 > 0:13:22my family comes from Mousehole originally - is Tom Bawcock's Eve.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24He was the fisherman who went out
0:13:24 > 0:13:26and caught the fish to feed the families of Mousehole
0:13:26 > 0:13:30after a period of storms and it still goes on to this day,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34it's quite famous and it was really pilchards and potatoes.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36What else went in it, I don't know.
0:13:36 > 0:13:37Another thing is,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Henry VIII, one of his favourite meals was Stargazy Pie.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44- Yeah.- And he found it somewhere, they used to send them to...
0:13:44 > 0:13:48- Well, he looked well on it. - He looked well on it, yeah, like me.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50- Yeah.- 'A few years ago'
0:13:50 > 0:13:52'when I was a young lad with more hair
0:13:52 > 0:13:55'I went with a film crew to Mousehole, or Mouse hole as the locals call it,
0:13:55 > 0:14:01'on Tom Bawcock's Eve to sample for myself the famous Stargazy Pie.'
0:14:01 > 0:14:05# A merry place you may believe
0:14:05 > 0:14:09# Was Mousehole on Tom Bawcock's Eve... #
0:14:09 > 0:14:14'I wonder if Tom Bawcock would recognise this version.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17'It was a pastry base filled with mashed potatoes
0:14:17 > 0:14:19'cooked with cream and parsley
0:14:19 > 0:14:21'and, of course, the pilchards
0:14:21 > 0:14:24'popping their heads through to gaze at the stars.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29'No doubt Henry VIII would have joined in with no trouble at all.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30'It was a great night
0:14:30 > 0:14:34'and a very lively start to the Christmas good cheer.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38'Good lord, I did have a lot more hair in those days!
0:14:38 > 0:14:42'While Tom Bawcock's Eve dates back into the mists of time
0:14:42 > 0:14:47'a new kid on the Cornish block by comparison is the Eden Project,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51'visited by tens of thousands of people from all around the world.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56'Here too, they've embraced the Christmas spirit
0:14:56 > 0:15:00'and with a strong environmental message regarding waste.
0:15:00 > 0:15:05'Very apt, I thought, just like Ted Hughes' The Iron Man.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12'Remember all those wonderful pictures of people skating elegantly
0:15:12 > 0:15:14'on frozen ponds on Christmas morning?
0:15:14 > 0:15:16'Well, you can't say I didn't try.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20'Once upon a time, I was quite good at skating, honest!'
0:15:28 > 0:15:30# So let's celebrate
0:15:30 > 0:15:31# All that is great
0:15:31 > 0:15:35# In our green and pleasant land... #
0:15:36 > 0:15:38You can do it!
0:15:38 > 0:15:39Well, I could,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41it's just...
0:15:41 > 0:15:43these guys want to make fun of me.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46I haven't done it since '63,
0:15:46 > 0:15:51the bad winter on the lake just near Uppingham School.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53It's easy!
0:15:53 > 0:16:01# ..To you a joyful new year. #
0:16:01 > 0:16:04'Well, all that skating gave me a bit of an appetite
0:16:04 > 0:16:08'so I joined the founder of Eden, Tim Smit, for a bite to eat.'
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Oh, this is very nice. It's sort of vegetarian Christmas dinner.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13It is, yeah.
0:16:13 > 0:16:19- Vegetarian suet.- Yeah, and chestnuts and small mushrooms.- All lovely.
0:16:19 > 0:16:20Everything is local.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Probably 83% of everything we actually sell across Eden is local.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28You're obviously rather romantically inclined towards Christmas, Tim,
0:16:28 > 0:16:32cos just coming in tonight and just looking at those enchanting
0:16:32 > 0:16:34sort of Christmas trees,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37that lovely shimmering Christmas tree and all the others
0:16:37 > 0:16:42and the ice-skating rink, I mean, it must mean a lot to you.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Yeah, I love the idea of Christmas.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49I know that for many people, it's a terrible pressure of expectation,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52it's a bit like the gold-embossed party invitation
0:16:52 > 0:16:55which can never live up to the real thing,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57um, but what I do adore about Christmas
0:16:57 > 0:17:00in the build-up to it is that sense...
0:17:00 > 0:17:02It's the imagery that comes to you, isn't it?
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Here we've got candles on the table.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Why is it that candles make you want to talk?
0:17:07 > 0:17:12Why is it the glint of a wine or cider or something through a candle
0:17:12 > 0:17:16makes you feel the tremendous sense of wellbeing and want to share it?
0:17:16 > 0:17:20It's a lonely... You'd be a lonely old sod to do that on your own,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23and I think, for me, the Christmas thing is about...
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Um, it's an often-used word, "community",
0:17:25 > 0:17:27but someone taught me about a year ago
0:17:27 > 0:17:29what the word "community" actually means.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33It comes from the Latin word, two words, "com" and "munus",
0:17:33 > 0:17:36"com" meaning together and "munus" in gift.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38And I thought, "That's gorgeous!"
0:17:38 > 0:17:41You suddenly understand that why we've lost so much in our society
0:17:41 > 0:17:45is because we thought of community as being a line on a bloody map
0:17:45 > 0:17:48as opposed to actually about the relationships of those people
0:17:48 > 0:17:50who are within the line on the map
0:17:50 > 0:17:53and, you know, I think you get that sense here
0:17:53 > 0:17:57when we have all those torch-light processions and everything,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00a sense... It feels a bit pagan, but Christmas is a bit pagan
0:18:00 > 0:18:02in terms of emotions about it
0:18:02 > 0:18:07and I love that sense of a larger togetherness than just the family.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27Tim mentioned the pagan element of the celebrations
0:18:27 > 0:18:28and that's certainly true today
0:18:28 > 0:18:31a bit further down the Cornish coast in Penzance.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36One of the organisers is Chris Nixon,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39who told me a bit more about the Montol celebrations.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43We're in Penzance at the moment on 21st December
0:18:43 > 0:18:47and we're celebrating the winter solstice,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50and people have been celebrating solstice since time immemorial.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54But I suppose, over the years, things have, um...
0:18:54 > 0:18:59The old traditions have, um, waned if you like
0:18:59 > 0:19:02and what we're doing is we're reviving what used to happen here,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05in some cases until quite recently.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08In other cases, you know, several hundred years ago,
0:19:08 > 0:19:13but everything we do now is based on a core tradition, if you like.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16And all the Guise dancing, until quite recently,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19within people's living memory, people did this Guise dance.
0:19:19 > 0:19:25Basically that's how you see us dressed up in black, masks, tatters
0:19:25 > 0:19:29and people dancing in and out of people's houses, in the streets.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31This is what people did.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34It's an interesting time of year, it's a time of change,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38with the death of the old year, birth of the new year
0:19:38 > 0:19:41and it's a portal, if you like.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46Er, um, it's a time of topsy-turvy, misrule.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49They don't actually have a wicker man here,
0:19:49 > 0:19:51but although everyone is having a great time,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55there does seem to be something slightly sinister about it all.
0:19:55 > 0:20:01Throughout tradition, this represents the end of the old
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and the beginning of the new.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:20:08 > 0:20:13There's a tangible sense of mischief and it's not altogether comfortable,
0:20:13 > 0:20:19but I suppose this is how it was back in pagan days.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Or maybe it still is.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Back in one of my favourite Cornish pubs,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Christmas is celebrated in a more traditional way.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30This is the centre of the village,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34our local reverend would love to have this many people in his church.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36I mean, we have carol services
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and we have the charity auctions, whatnot over Christmas,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42the local school comes in for our carol service.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47It gets busy, which is good for me and, er, for them.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51It is, we're into Christmas here, it's a happy, great time for us.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58This pub is particularly well-known for its speciality game pie
0:20:58 > 0:21:01and it's made by Mike Jones, the landlord.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Game pie is the food of the season.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08To me, it's a mixture of all the birds, all the animals,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11the ground animals that we shoot,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13and it's a great favourite, it's a wonderful product
0:21:13 > 0:21:16and I love it, it's always been happening forever.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18It takes an awful long time to make,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21you got to be a bit passionate about the thing,
0:21:21 > 0:21:23you have to feel good about making it
0:21:23 > 0:21:25and everyone can make mistakes a bit,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28but when it comes out right, it is the best thing,
0:21:28 > 0:21:29it's just fantastic food.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35At least you don't have to be landed gentry any more
0:21:35 > 0:21:36to enjoy this sort of stuff.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39I suppose you could make it yourself,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43but wouldn't it be better to take yourself off to the local pub
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and join in with a lot of other people beside the roaring fire
0:21:46 > 0:21:48and enjoy it with a pint?
0:21:50 > 0:21:55Good conversation and a slice of pie with pickles, you can't beat it.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59After all, that's what Christmas should really be all about.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06I'm not going to cook goose for my Christmas banquet,
0:22:06 > 0:22:08but I don't want to ignore it either.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12And I've cooked it before. About five years ago,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15I remember cooking the best roast goose ever.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18I remember it for very different reasons.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22The goose and all those wonderful trimmings were perfect.
0:22:22 > 0:22:23The stuffing took ages -
0:22:23 > 0:22:26it had chopped onions, fresh white breadcrumbs,
0:22:26 > 0:22:30zest of lemon, chopped sage, parsley and an egg.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33It took a long time to get these things right.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34It started to rain
0:22:34 > 0:22:38and I sensed the crew were desperate to get to the pub.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41And then I had to make the apple sauce.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Goose and apple sauce is a joyous combination.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47By this time, the director was insisting I bought a jar
0:22:47 > 0:22:49from the corner shop down the road.
0:22:49 > 0:22:50Unbelievable!
0:22:50 > 0:22:55And then when the time came to make the gravy, giblet gravy,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58I sensed I had a revolution on my hands.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00These were the days when the pubs closed at 3pm
0:23:00 > 0:23:03and it was already an hour after opening time.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05You can't rush good food.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09And so I made the gravy with streaky bacon, goose giblets,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13chopped onions, carrots and celery.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17Then the water, of course, and bay leaves and peppercorns.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21The director was quite serious about using a well-known brand!
0:23:21 > 0:23:24You know the one with the label featuring those scruffy kids
0:23:24 > 0:23:29smelling the aromas of a roast dinner and going, "Ahhh!"
0:23:29 > 0:23:31But nothing was going to stop me
0:23:31 > 0:23:34from making the best roast goose ever.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Ahhhh!
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Back in Padstow, I thought it would be a good idea
0:23:42 > 0:23:46to arrange a goose taste test, for two reasons really.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49One, because it's increasing in popularity
0:23:49 > 0:23:51as a choice for Christmas Day
0:23:51 > 0:23:54and two, because it varies so much in price.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58£25 will get you a frozen supermarket bird,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00but you'd be lucky to see any change
0:24:00 > 0:24:03out of 90 quid for a free-range organic.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06'As far as we were concerned, there were four birds.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09'One was the cheapest frozen supermarket version,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12'another was wild, then there was a free-range bird...'
0:24:12 > 0:24:15Goose A, right help yourself, have a look at the goose, have a...
0:24:15 > 0:24:19'..and finally the free-range organic.'
0:24:19 > 0:24:21Made with good fat, um, but a bit tough.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23'Naturally, as we're all chefs here,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26'we prefer to cook it slightly underdone,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28'but which one tasted the best?'
0:24:28 > 0:24:29Not as lean as the first one,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31so I think this is a bit of a better bird.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33OK, this is goose C.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44That goose was very nice and it's quite tender, full of fat,
0:24:44 > 0:24:45er, full of flavour.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Do you know what I think about this goose?
0:24:47 > 0:24:50I don't care if that's the supermarket goose
0:24:50 > 0:24:53because it is so much nicer than the other two,
0:24:53 > 0:24:54if I lose, if it...
0:24:54 > 0:24:57I mean, it is a bit of a loss to go for the frozen goose,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00but if that remains the best one,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03it's so much better than the other two, if it's a frozen goose,
0:25:03 > 0:25:04it doesn't matter.
0:25:04 > 0:25:10This is, um, goose D, so everything hangs on this, really.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Taste-wise, it was lacking a little bit,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19um, I don't think it was as good as the last one.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Yeah, right.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Er, it's simply the best goose.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25I don't want to know what goose is what,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28I just want to know what the best goose is on the day,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30so I just want to show of hands.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34Who thinks that goose A was the best goose?
0:25:34 > 0:25:35Nil points.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Who thinks that goose B was the best goose?
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Me, actually.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Two. Who thinks that goose C was the best goose?
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Could somebody count, because I'm not very good?
0:25:48 > 0:25:50- Seven.- Seven.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52And that leaves goose D.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54- None.- Nil.- Nil.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59OK, right, goose C. Anybody got their fingers crossed?
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Well, I have a bit.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Goose C is...
0:26:06 > 0:26:08the free-range organic.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13Well done, everybody, your palates are absolutely tippy-top,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15well, except for the, er...
0:26:15 > 0:26:17And that came from Debbie and Simon Andrews,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19from their farm near Golant.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24We were so impressed,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27we decided to have goose for our staff Christmas dinner
0:26:27 > 0:26:29along with all the trimmings, of course,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and none of that packet gravy.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Is that great? That's a serious amount of gravy!
0:26:37 > 0:26:41These are good times for me because it's the one occasion
0:26:41 > 0:26:45I get a chance to spend time with most of my staff.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49What a mellow sound.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52I just thought I'd, um, say a couple of words
0:26:52 > 0:26:55as this is the last time we'll all be together before Christmas
0:26:55 > 0:26:57as you haven't got to work tonight
0:26:57 > 0:27:00and, um, I would like to just thank you very much
0:27:00 > 0:27:02for a sensational season.
0:27:02 > 0:27:07Everybody, in all departments, has been excellent,
0:27:07 > 0:27:08it's a real pleasure to be
0:27:08 > 0:27:12sort of nominally in charge of such a professional group of people,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15so thank you and as it's Christmas,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19- a merry Christmas to you all. Glasses, please.- Merry Christmas!
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Fishermen's friends from neighbouring Port Isaac
0:27:22 > 0:27:25will sing us out in a very Cornish way.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32# Fear not, said he
0:27:32 > 0:27:35# For mighty dread
0:27:35 > 0:27:40# Had seized their troubled minds
0:27:40 > 0:27:46# Had seized their troubled minds
0:27:46 > 0:27:50# Glad tidings of
0:27:50 > 0:27:53# Great joy I bring
0:27:53 > 0:27:57# To you and all mankind
0:27:57 > 0:28:01# To you and all mankind
0:28:01 > 0:28:09# To you and all mankind To you and all mankind. #
0:28:09 > 0:28:11APPLAUSE
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Brilliant!
0:28:13 > 0:28:16- Merry Christmas, everybody. - Merry Christmas!