Episode 14 Holiday of My Lifetime with Len Goodman

Childhood holidays - we all love them, don't we?

Fun in the sun, sand castles, swimming in the sea.

Can't beat 'em.

'So, in this series, I'm going to be reliving those wonderful times

'with some much-loved famous faces.'

Everyone a winner! Come on. Hook a duck.

And some of the most surprising guests

have the most fascinating holidays.

THEY LAUGH

-It's a tug-of-war!

-Hey!

'We'll relive the fun...' HORN TOOTS

Ah! No! No!

'..the games...' HE GROANS

'..and the food of years gone by...'

That is a little taste of childhood right there.

'..to find out how those holidays around the UK helped shape

'the people we know so well today.'

I'm giving you a standing ovation.

'So buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime.'

Can you come on all my holidays?

Today, I'm meeting a very familiar face

who's not scared to cook up a political storm.

She was born in Liverpool in 1946.

Aw! Look at that cheeky little face.

Oh, I do love a Scouser. I can do Scouse.

SCOUSE ACCENT: Oh, hello.

She studied at Oxford at the same time as this lovable rogue,

and was voted an MP in 1983,

becoming a minister under Margaret Thatcher.

Oh, can you imagine their meetings?

HE CHUCKLES Scary.

She resigned as health minister in 1988.

It was all very eggy.

And after politics, she made history,

being the first Conservative to appear on Have I Got News For You.

She survived the jungle and was a hotshot on Strictly too.

I'm telling you, this girl never stops.

Have you got who it is yet? Of course you have.

It's that feisty female of politics, and an author.

Oh, yes, it's Edwina Currie.

OK, I'm running a little late,

but I've been told I'm worth the wait.

# Oh-ho! Edwina, have you seen her? #

Raised in Liverpool,

Edwina Currie was born into an Orthodox Jewish family

consisting of her younger brother Henry,

her mum Pese and her dad Simon, who worked as a tailor.

Now, so far, Edwina's had three successful careers of her own.

The first was in politics, which saw her fiercely campaign for everything

from HIV to heart disease.

Her second was as an author,

giving her a fair few bestsellers.

Ooh, lovely.

And let's not forget her TV and radio work.

She's appeared on Cash In The Attic, Come Dine With Me,

Mastermind, I'm A Celebrity... and, of course, good old Strictly.

Oh, she was fun on that.

It's no wonder she needs a holiday,

and today, we're going to relive the one she had when she was a nipper.

And I'm on my way to meet her in this Vauxhall H-Type 4-10,

just like the one her parents had all those years ago.

So, despite the late arrival, I think Edwina's going to love it.

HORN HONKS

SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, my God.

-HE LAUGHS

Edwina. SHE LAUGHS

-That's my dad's car.

-There you go.

-My goodness!

-It's a beauty.

-Hello, Len.

-Lovely.

-How nice to see you again.

-Good to see you.

-Are you well?

-I'm well. And you?

-This is brilliant.

-Yeah. Isn't it fabulous?

It's in better nick than my dad's.

Well, the thing is, with this vehicle,

let me tell you first of all, there are no seat belts.

Yeah, be brave.

HE CHUCKLES 'But not to worry.

'It doesn't go much over 20 anyway, Edwina.'

So, what's the year?

We're talking 1957,

-and we're going to the seaside in Bournemouth.

-Oh, perfect.

So, that was the year that The Cavern Club opened.

But you don't need a ticket to ride,

so shall we start the magical mystery tour?

-Ooh, yes, please.

-Come on.

-SHE GIGGLES

-I love it.

'Oh, yes. There's nothing quite like a seaside holiday.'

There we go.

HE LAUGHS

'Next stop, Bournemouth.'

Just over 100 miles from London,

you'll find this gorgeous town on Britain's south coast.

Along with seven miles of beautiful, sandy beaches,

it even has its own microclimate.

Ooh, fancy!

Mind you, what really put this holiday destination on the map

was the arrival of the railway in 1870.

Since then, the tourists have positively flocked here.

These days, about 5 million of them every year.

'But the year Edwina and I are en route to is 1957,

'where we'll relive the seaside traditions

'of a bygone era.

'We'll enjoy everything from cornets to donkey rides.'

Reggie, you naughty, naughty donkey.

'We'll discover that I'm actually an able seaman.'

-All the nice girls...

-Love a sailor.

-..love a sailor.

-Ooh!

HE LAUGHS

'We'll even try our hand

'at putting together some traditional Jewish grub.'

Whisk it. Go on. Give it some welly.

I'm just building up.

'And, of course, we'll get swept away

'by the sheer romance of it all.'

-It's gorgeous.

-Oh, it is, truly.

-It's still gorgeous.

'Before any holiday truly begins, you must first set out on a journey,

'and back in 1957,

'Edwina's seaside holiday meant driving halfway across the country.

'Blimey! Us Brits, we'll do anything for a bit of sunshine.'

Now, was there any particular reason why it was Bournemouth?

Bournemouth was the home of my mum's sister, Auntie Zina...

-Right.

-..and Uncle Sam, her husband.

-And they had two little children...

-Yeah.

-..but much younger than ours.

-Yeah.

-Mum was the older sister.

And basically, we used it as a holiday home.

I mean, in those days, there weren't any package holidays,

-there weren't any cheap flights.

-No.

And my parents wouldn't have dreamed of doing anything like that anyway.

-It had to be somewhere they felt...

-Yeah.

-..safe and secure

-with people that they knew...

-Yeah.

-..with food that they understood...

-Yeah.

-..cos they were kosher.

-Yeah.

And so this trip down to Bournemouth was the big event to me...

-Yeah.

-..for the summer.

So, coming from Liverpool in this car

must have been some journey.

-It was.

-Yeah.

-It took hours and hours.

-This was before motorways.

-Yeah.

-And for us, to go from Liverpool to a seaside holiday...

-Yeah.

-..was just magic.

-Yeah.

'Even better, they were staying with her favourite aunt,

'Aunt Zina, a massive influence in young Edwina's life.'

And Zina did well at school. She was very tough, quite ambitious.

She ended up as a deputy headmistress.

-Oh, right.

-And...that was great.

-Yeah.

So, she was the clever one in the family,

and used to make the effort to educate us.

So, on my birthday every year,

I would get a book from the Collins Classics series.

-Yeah.

-But what she was doing, Zina,

was she was treating us as young adults.

-Yeah.

-Or adults in the making.

'Clearly, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

'Speaking of which,

'I think it's time we headed down memory lane.'

Ooh, look. That's Watcombe Road.

-Is this your road?

-This was our road.

'Oh, yes. We're driving past Auntie Zina's old house.

'Mind you, these days, it's no longer in the family.'

-Is this the one?

-That's the one.

Oh, yes. It's a beautiful place, isn't it?

And did you have your room?

I would share with my little cousin Lisa.

-Oh, right.

-So, you'd have girls in one and boys in the other.

-Right.

Well, I know it's nice to see your Auntie Zina's home and so on,

but, at the moment, I'm more excited and interested

to see who sees the sea first.

'And while we grab a bucket and spade,

'here's what else was going on in the world back in 1957.'

It was the year Britain reclaimed its superpower status

by successfully testing its first hydrogen bomb.

We also saw the very first winners of Harold Macmillan's Premium Bonds.

It was drawn by ERNIE the robot,

who went on to randomly generate the winning numbers

for £15 billion worth of prizes.

And sadly, Humphrey Bogart, star of Casablanca,

The Maltese Falcon and 73 other films,

passed away aged just 57.

As for music, let's just say we were all shook up.

# I'm in love

# I'm all shook up Ooh-ooh-ooh

# Ooh-ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah... #

Oh, yes. This was Elvis Presley's first UK number one

and it was a massive hit across the pond too,

selling more than 2 million copies in the USA.

# I'm in love

# I'm all shook up Ooh-ooh-ooh... #

'What a year, especially for a ten-year-old Edwina Currie,

'who couldn't wait to build her first sand castle of the summer.'

The final steps of that journey began here

on Fisherman's Walk in Southbourne.

Fisherman's Walk gardens were opened by the mayor of Bournemouth in 1913

and they still retain some of the original features today.

Thanks to a local group, the Friends of the Fisherman's Walk,

it's very much looked after,

and a great spot for me and Edwina to start our day together.

Well, back in '57, you must have...

The excitement must have been at fever pitch.

-Oh, we'd have run.

-Yeah.

-We'd have run.

We'd have run and my mum would have been saying,

-"Careful! Careful! Careful!"

-HE CHUCKLES

-It's gorgeous.

-Oh, it is, truly.

-It's still gorgeous.

-Yeah.

-Absolutely lovely.

This must have been like paradise.

-This is a little bit of paradise.

-Yeah.

Absolutely. Look, there's the beach.

That's what we've come for.

And your Auntie Zina, I think, had a beach hut.

They had a little beach hut which they rented out.

-For us, that was the height of luxury.

-Well, yes.

Oh, my goodness.

Well, you could get changed down there,

and you could get the sand out from between your toes.

Yeah, yeah. Well, it was a base, wasn't it?

You could walk. You could paddle. If you dare, you could swim.

I don't think we ever dared.

I'll give you a choice now.

We can either walk right down there about three quarters of a mile,

and then turn a loop and go another three quarters of a mile

to get down onto the beach, or we can go in that lift.

-There's a lift, isn't there?

-Shall we do it?

-We'll do the lift.

-Ooh, come on. SHE LAUGHS

Let's link, as though we're strolling down the prom.

-We ought to dance as we do this.

-Well, we should.

Now, technically speaking, the Fisherman's Walk Lift,

which has been going since 1935, is actually a light railway.

Font of all knowledge, me.

There we are. Oh.

-This was here then.

-What...?

-Yeah.

-Did you use it?

We wouldn't have used it to go down.

-That would have been regarded as a waste of money.

-Right.

But we did use it for coming back up again, occasionally.

Here we go.

Edwina, I...

Edwina, I've got to be honest with you,

I'm not a great lover of these sort of lifts.

Right. What you do is you look at me.

Would you hold my hand?

-I'll hold your hand.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, you're just like my hubby.

-Ooh, here we go.

-Just look at me. You'll be fine.

-HE LAUGHS

-I'm here.

-SHE LAUGHS

'Mind you, I should survive the journey intact.

'This lift is one of three in the area,

'and together, they're responsible

'for transporting more than 36 million people.'

HE LAUGHS Oh!

A day on the beach. You can't beat it.

I tell you what, I could use an ice cream right now, couldn't you?

Well, if you behave yourself...

-Now, I can't promise.

-Are you all right now? You're OK?

Yes, I can... Thank you very much.

If you behave yourself, I think you maybe...

-I'll get you a cornet.

-Yes, please.

'With an outlook like this,

'I'm tempted to do a chorus of I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside,

'but I think we can go one better.'

There we go.

BOTH: # Jammo, jammo 'Ncoppa, jammo ja

# Jammo, jammo, 'ncoppa, jammo ja

# Funiculi, funicula, funiculi, funicula... #

FUNICULI, FUNICULA BY LUIGI DENZA PLAYS

There's only one way to make this better -

two ice creams, please, with an extra scoop.

So, I don't think you can come down to the beach and not have a cornet.

You have to enter into the total spirit of it.

It would be unnatural.

This is why it's been popular with people,

-for millions and millions of people, for donkey's years.

-Yeah.

Ever since the railway started bringing people to the seaside.

Yeah, that's right.

'Every year, around 750,000 ice creams

'are bought on the seven miles of Bournemouth seafront.

'As far as I'm concerned... Ho-ho! ..this one's just fine.'

So, when you were down here on holiday,

how often would you have come to the beach?

Would it have been an everyday occurrence?

-Every day if the weather was good.

-Mm-hm.

We'd almost certainly have one day when we'd go into the forest.

-Oh, yeah.

-Go and have a picnic there in New Forest.

But this is the whole purpose of coming here.

We'd be out there, bucket and spade, building sand castles.

'And, of course, HQ was Auntie Zina's beach hut,

'where they stored the deckchairs

'and perhaps a cheeky sandwich for later.'

It would be one like this. And it's a great thing to have.

-You put the decking down...

-Yeah.

-..open it up, you get a bit of shade.

-Yeah.

-And they're actually quite big. They're surprising.

-Yeah.

You've got several seats in there.

'These days, a week's rental for one of these lovely beach huts

'ranges from 80 to 180 quid.

'You can hire them for a day.

'But I wonder how much it'd cost for a month. Phew!'

The wonders of this seaside icon don't end there.

Although the humble beach hut first appeared in the early 1900s,

the real inspiration goes back even further to Georgian times

and a contraption called the bathing machine,

into which you'd step and pop on your bathing costume.

That would be wheeled down to the shoreline.

You'd step out and you'd take a dip in the sea.

You would be helped by an assistant who was known as a dipper

who would dip you into the sea for a few minutes at a time.

By 1909, it had evolved into the beach hut we know today,

and after an initial surge in popularity,

they became known as holiday homes for the toiling classes.

But come the 1930s, their image was revived

after King George and Queen Mary spent the day

at a beach hut in Sussex.

Suddenly... Hey, hey! ..everybody loved them.

The real sort of big expansion of them was in the 1930s

and then again in the 1950s.

And given their huge popularity, especially after World War II,

they were quite the money-spinner.

Back in 1957, if you'd have wanted

to have hired this beach hut for a week,

it would have cost you £3, whereas today, it's slightly more.

Oh, yes. These days, the beach hut is more in demand than ever.

Though if you've got 20,000 quid or so to spare,

you could buy a decent one of your own.

In the last ten, 15 years,

they've become popular again to a whole new generation

and we've been building countless new huts

in new styles and new colours ever since then.

What else did you get up to on the beach?

-Um, donkey rides.

-Well, they're not allowed any more.

-They're not allowed any more?

-No.

-Why not?

Well, the council decided that they weren't for...

Weren't to be. But, you see -

and this is where the excitement arrives -

I've pulled a few strings...

..and if you look over your shoulder, we have...

-Donkeys!

-Donkeys.

-How lovely.

Now, the one condition from the council is

if there was any whoopsies...

That's what we do in the bucket.

Well, no, I've got a special pooper-scooper for you.

You're in charge of that. And I've got bags that we can use.

Look, I have two big dogs and I live in the Peak District.

'In that case, seaside hygiene couldn't be in safer hands.'

Well, come on. Let's go down and meet these two little beauties.

'Taking us on our donkey ride today, it's Ronnie and Reggie.

'Meanwhile, Sarah and Lydia here will be keeping them in check.'

They are absolutely super. How old are they?

They're about six now.

-They're brothers, these two are.

-Mm-hm.

-They're great.

And they're at an animal sanctuary, is it?

No, we're from a riding school just by Bournemouth Airport.

-Oh, right.

-Lovely.

They're not very good to ride, though.

No, well, that's good cos I have no intention of riding one.

'Instead, the four of us are going for a stroll along the beach.'

-So, have you ever been on a donkey?

-Oh, gosh, yes.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, loved it.

And, in fact, I loved it so much as a small child

-that when I was eight, my parents said, "Right..."

-Come on.

"..you can have ballet lessons or riding lessons."

And I said, "Riding lessons. It's got to be riding lessons."

-Of course.

-And I used to go to riding school...

-Right.

-..on Saturday mornings.

-Right out at Gateacre in Liverpool.

-Fabulous.

-I loved it.

So, what about your education?

-Did you manage to get to a grammar school?

-Yes, I did.

Um, very lucky because the city of Liverpool,

in those days, took education very seriously,

and they had what would be now a city academy, Liverpool Institute.

-Right.

-Where...

-Come on.

Paul McCartney and George Harrison went there.

-Oh, was you there at around the same time?

-I'm a little younger.

-Oh, right.

-Yes, is the answer.

We were at school at the same time. We overlapped.

And then, later on, we saw them, the Beatles,

-in their black leather days...

-Oh, yeah.

..hanging about at The Cavern corners and nearby.

John Lennon was at the School of Art,

-which is next door.

-Right.

It was great. We were very lucky, you know.

That was a tremendous generation to be part of.

'And while, clearly, The Beatles went on to greater success,

'so did Edwina.

'She won a scholarship to Oxford University, no less,

'where she eventually studied politics.

'Which makes it even more of a shame she's been reduced to this.'

Oh, we've had a double whoopsie. Incredible.

-They were doing so well.

-Right.

And, to be honest, it made me... Hello. What...?

You don't have dogs, do you?

-I don't fancy doing that.

-I have dogs.

Yeah, but they wouldn't do anything like that.

They'd probably do just a quarter pounder.

This is serious.

'Though seeing as Edwina's such an expert in the field,

'I might as well leave her to clean up after my donkey and all.'

God, you didn't half spray it around.

Yeah, that was Ron. That was Ronnie.

'What a liberty.'

Oh, are you doing it? Oh, what a bit of luck.

-You owe me.

-Well, I bought you an ice cream.

I don't know what you want out of life.

SHE LAUGHS

'And they say politics is a dirty business.'

Wait a minute.

God Almighty! There's about 3st of it there.

Reggie, you naughty, naughty donkey.

-He's got an expression on his face that says...

-I know.

-He knows what he's done.

-.."I've won."

'So, while we say goodbye to the donkeys,

'here's the first instalment of my seven top tips for Bournemouth.'

On a busy weekend, approximately 100,000 visitors

can flock to the beaches here, and if you're ever one of those,

why not get your head out of the sand and see what's about,

starting with a little something Edwina's Auntie Zina would love -

the oldest beach hut in Britain?

It's number 2359 and sits proudly right here on Bournemouth Beach.

Or how about a cheeky visit to the Oceanarium?

Not only is it home to the world's first interactive dive cage,

they've also recreated the waters of the world.

There's everything from the Amazon to the Great Barrier Reef.

We have otters, we have turtles, we have crocodiles,

sharks, stingrays, clownfish, tropical fish.

We have over 150 different aquatic species.

But one of the most popular attractions

has to be these little guys, the Humboldt penguins.

They're native to the coastline and beaches of Peru.

We have two pairs,

so we're hoping that they continue to breed in the future

and we'll soon have some baby penguin chicks.

Aw!

Back in 1957,

it was Edwina's Auntie Zina who did most of the cooking.

But as she sadly passed away four years ago,

I've lined up someone very special for Edwina to meet.

Oh, I know who lives here. I know who lives here.

HE CHUCKLES

SHE KNOCKS ON THE DOOR

-Hey!

-Hello!

-Hello.

-EDWINA LAUGHS

'Oh, yes. I've asked Zina's daughter Lisa,

'Edwina's cousin, to help us recreate

'one of those old family recipes.'

Look at you. You're like identical twins.

-Yeah.

-All the cousins look very alike.

-We do.

-We've got the same nose, same eyes.

-Yeah.

-Same smile. Same bossy personality.

Oh, it's good to see you. It really is.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Come in.

-Thank you.

-Lead on.

-Follow me.

Got a bit of a surprise for you in the kitchen.

-You're going to get me cooking.

-I am.

Don't know if you can work out

with what's on the table what you're going to make.

-I can tell.

-Come on, then.

-That's lokshen pudding.

-It is.

I hope we've got a recipe.

-I used to eat it, not make it.

-You did.

Look, I printed it out specially for you.

I've called it my Auntie Zina's lokshen pudding.

'Just like Edwina's upbringing, this recipe is Orthodox

'and was a firm favourite on her summer holiday in '57.'

The rules are you can't mix milk and meat,

so if you had a chicken dinner,

then the dessert had to be something without milk.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-No cream or anything like that.

I never knew that.

And that meant that they were quite imaginative

-about how to do it.

-Shall we have a go?

'So, while Auntie Zina looks on,

'the three of us are going to attempt her classic dessert.'

Three whole... Yeah, not the shell.

'And seeing as Edwina's got a history with eggs,

'it's up to yours truly to do the whisking.'

Oh, whisk it. Go on. Give it some welly.

I'm just building up. SHE LAUGHS

-That's a very ladylike whisk.

-That is.

No, now, look, I'm getting the rhythm now.

See, I started off waltz time.

-I've gone into a salsa now.

-Oil next?

-When you've got those whisked...

-Yeah.

-..we can get the oil in.

That'll turn into mayonnaise, won't it?

I don't think he's whisking hard enough.

Oh, well, don't all pick on me. WOMEN LAUGH

-The liberty!

-Don't tip it on the table.

I reckon you're worse than my mum.

-Come here.

-What?

-Watch it.

-I'm going to give it some welly.

You're going to have someone's eye out in a minute with that. Look!

'And once Edwina's finished criticising my technique,

'it's just a case of adding a little flour and a fair bit of...'

-# Cinnamon. #

-Ooh, that's a lot, isn't it?

'Followed by a generous handful of raisins.'

-I love raisins.

-Go on. Nick one.

-I'm going to nick three.

'Then, finally, we're ready for the grated apple,

'and, of course, the star ingredient, lokshen...

HE CHUCKLES '..fine egg noodles.'

-Do you know what? I'm starving hungry.

-Good.

So, I'm going to enjoy this.

I hope you're not so hungry that you can't wait an hour

cos it's got to go in the oven for an hour.

-No.

-Is that OK?

Look, let me put it in the oven and see if I can...

-What, an hour?

-..tell it to bake quickly for you.

Let me take that for you. Let me just see.

Oh, look. What's that in my oven?

Oh, no! Oh, naughty, naughty Lisa, who's a teaser, but a pleaser.

Better wipe the table.

'Because after all this rigorous whisking,

'I, for one, can't wait to tuck in to a slice of 1957.'

Come on, then. Come and sit out here...

-Ooh, lovely.

-..in the sun.

-HE CHUCKLES

-Oh, brilliant.

-Oh.

DISH CLATTERS Ooh, careful.

'Now, as I'm sure Auntie Zina would say herself,

'the proof of any pudding is in the eating,

'and this looks fantastic.'

-Now, let me try this.

-Come on.

-Come on.

-Have a go.

-Oh, this is lovely.

Is it as you remember, Edwina?

-The cinnamon is what matters.

-Oh, it's lovely.

Cos you never got, in English cooking of the time,

-you never got cinnamon.

-No, that's right.

You never got spices of any kind. It tasted very exotic.

That's right. Exactly.

Did you have similar upbringings as children?

I think we probably did. Traditional family values.

It was all very much about that,

-only I grew up in the south and Edwina grew up in the north.

-Right.

I suppose your first freedom was going to university, was it?

-Was that your first taste of freedom?

-Yes.

There was a tremendous sense of pride in the achievements

-of the younger members of the family...

-Absolutely.

..and of planning and hoping for the future.

So, when I had a chance to go to university

when it looked as if I was going to be able to do that,

for my mum, I think it was a bit bittersweet

because it could have been her, but it wasn't.

On the other hand, she was very worried

that if I went anywhere but Liverpool University,

if I went away from home, I would never come back.

-And, of course, she was right.

-Really? Yeah.

-She was right.

Lisa, what is it like to see Edwina on the TV

-and go, "That's my cousin"?

-Well, it's really special.

You know, it's lovely.

And I have to say that when we watched her

on I'm A Celebrity... recently,

it's not a programme that I normally watch,

but, of course, I had to watch it and root for Edwina.

And all my children kept phoning me, "Mum, Edwina's on the television.

"It's like watching Bubby." That's what they called my mother.

As we both get older, we're both turning into

a combination of both of our mothers.

And my mum would have been...

-She actually, I think, initially...

-She would have been cheering.

..had she watched it, she would have been a bit horrified.

"What? Edwina's doing that awful programme?"

But then she would have watched it religiously

and would have been rooting for you.

You had a go with those horrible challenges you did.

She would have been so proud, you know?

-This is delicious.

-Is that all right?

-Isn't that nice?

-You can have a copy of the recipe as well to take home.

-Thank you.

I will take it home and I will make it for hubby

-and he'll be thrilled to bits.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

But I tell you what, you've made family size.

That's cos you've got a big family.

And actually, that, in the recipe that I gave you,

-is half the quantity, so it does...

-EDWINA LAUGHS

-Really?

-I don't do small.

'So, while we have a second, and possibly a third helping,

'here are a few more of my seven top tips.'

For all you adrenaline junkies out there, try Surf Steps,

a surfing school whose instructors reckon they can teach

even people of my vintage to be absolute pros.

Or how about Hengistbury Head,

a breathtaking nature reserve which overlooks the English Channel

and boasts 65 million years of history,

including this fun fact?

12,000 years ago, at the retreat

of the last ice age,

there was still a land bridge

between here and France,

and that's when our records show that people first started

coming across to the Head from the continent to hunt deer.

Oh, yes, the Celts, the Romans, the French,

they've all been to Hengistbury.

And here at the visitors centre,

you can see some of the artefacts that they left behind.

Lovely.

There's loads to do here,

whether that's bird ringing or astronomy courses.

We've got wildlife demonstration gardens and bird cams.

We've got cafes, we've got an outdoor water sports centre

or you can just take in the peace and tranquillity of the site

or enjoy our fantastic beaches.

As for Edwina and my good self,

we're off to relive another highlight of her 1957 holiday -

a visit to the Tuckton Tea Gardens,

a beautiful setting next to the River Stour.

Apparently, the local cafe sells 14 different flavours of ice cream.

It sounds right up my street.

'However, we're not here to eat, but to take a spin around the lake.

'Hey-hey! And guess who's the captain.'

Adventure...

-..is what we're after today.

-But you know what?

-All the nice girls...

-Love a sailor.

-..love a sailor.

-Ooh.

Onward.

Oh, look out. HE LAUGHS

Ho-ho, me hearties. THEY LAUGH

'Now, when Edwina first came here, it was with her dear old mum,

'and on that occasion, they rode the ferry.

'But I say this former Right Honourable lady

'deserves to travel in style.'

What was your first step on the ladder to politics?

Once I got to university

and I was meeting lots of people whose daddies were politicians

or whose grandfather had been an MP

and I looked at some of them and I thought, "Do you know what?

"I'm just as smart as you are. If you could do it, I could do it."

I didn't realise how challenging that ambition was going to be

because when I actually entered Parliament in '83,

-there were only 23 women in the entire House of Commons.

-Really?

-It's now getting on for 200.

-Yeah.

So, it was quite an ask then, and discrimination was normal.

Was Margaret Thatcher then the prime minister?

Margaret was the prime minister.

So, there were ten Labour women, 13 Tory women,

-but one of them was ours, and that was Margaret.

-Lovely.

And what was it like, you know,

being in the Cabinet and having her to contend with?

-I was never in the Cabinet.

-Oh, were you not?

That was one of the problems - that in all her 11 years in office,

she never promoted any women

-from the House of Commons into the Cabinet.

-Right.

I think Margaret felt that she'd made it,

and one of the ways that she felt she'd made it

-was by wowing the blokes.

-Yeah.

And if there was another woman there,

that she would have competition.

Well, it was a load of rubbish. That's not how she made it.

-She made it through sheer force of character...

-Yeah.

..personality and conviction.

'While she didn't make the Cabinet,

'Edwina was appointed junior health minister,

'and it's in this role she helped revolutionise women's health,

'creating programmes that have literally saved lives.'

We had very little on prevention,

and I knew that we could do preventive programmes

for breast cancer, for cervical cancer.

We pushed hard to get those.

Persuaded Margaret Thatcher on the basis that,

for breast cancer, for example, if you did screening,

it would be women of working age and we could get them back to work

and they'd be paying their income tax

and looking after their families.

And I must just briefly ask you

because there was the big brouhaha with the eggs.

HE CHUCKLES 'And that's putting it mildly.

'When Edwina publicly stated

'Britain's eggs were carrying salmonella,

'well, everyone went bonkers.'

-OVER TV:

-'Just 14 words during a casual television interview

'hit egg sales hard and cost Edwina Currie her job.

'Millions of eggs had to be destroyed

'and flocks of hens culled as consumers turned away.'

Well, we had a lot of sick people.

We had 500 confirmed cases a week

of people with serious food poisoning, which is not funny.

-No.

-And what the public didn't know was confirmed afterwards -

we had a death a week.

We had over 60 people dead that year.

And I was under pressure just to cover it all up.

The scientists in the public health laboratories

were saying to me, "It's coming from eggs."

"Something has happened amongst the hens

"and what we've got now is a particularly unpleasant form

-"of food poisoning, and it's lethal."

-Right.

So, what will you do? I always turn to audiences.

"What would you have done? Would you have shut up?"

-The thing was...

-"Would you have said there was no problem

"or would you stand up and say we've got a problem?"

You're damned whatever.

You're damned if you do and you're damned if you do,

so I think it was a very brave call.

-So, I was content. I went off and did other things.

-Yeah.

-I wrote books.

-Yeah.

Well, one thing's for sure -

you haven't let the grass grow under your feet in any way.

'Speaking of which, it's time for us to move on as well to our next stop,

'the Pier Approach.

'It's the gateway to those gorgeous beaches,

'and recently, the old girl's had a bit of work done

'to the tune of £4 million.'

Well, Edwina, does this area bring back any memories?

It's smartened up. It's amazing.

Absolutely fabulous.

Well, I was thinking more of around here.

-This area.

-What was this?

-A swimming pool or something?

-The swimming pool.

Officially opened in 1937,

the Pier Approach Swimming Baths

was much-loved by locals and tourists alike.

In fact, it was a star attraction for almost 50 years.

They filled in the swimming pool

-and then they built a cinema...

-Yeah.

..on the site, and now that's gone as well.

And now it's just an open area.

-You used to come down to the pool, did you?

-We did.

-Yeah.

-It was safe.

-Yeah.

-You know, you couldn't really swim in the sea.

You'd worry about being washed away and whatever.

Well, I've got a gentleman I want you to meet just over here.

-Edwina, this is Andrew.

-Hello.

-Pleased to meet you, Edwina.

-Nice to see you again.

-Good to meet you.

Now, Andrew, you know all about this,

-the pool that was.

-That's right.

-What happened?

-Well, on this site used to stand the Pier Approach Baths...

-Yeah.

-..which had fantastic swimming galas and shows.

-Yeah.

And we had this line of fantastic, gorgeous girls

called the Aquabelles,

and they would put on all sorts of performances, comedy dives,

music acts and singing.

It was fabulous entertainment.

Their inspiration may have been American movie star

and former swimming champ Esther Williams,

whose films throughout the '50s

always included elaborate scenes of synchronised swimming.

And here in Britain, we would love to see something of that ilk

every time we went to the baths.

But while the Pier Approach Baths are no longer,

there's still plenty to do in the area today.

And some of them are listed

in the final instalment of my seven top tips.

Apparently, Bournemouth experiences

an average 7.7 hours of sunshine a day during the summer,

but if you're worried about sunburn, you could always head indoors.

At number three, it's the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum,

a clifftop mansion overlooking the sea.

It was originally a birthday gift from one Sir Merton Russell-Cotes,

the former mayor of Bournemouth, to his wife Annie.

Blimey, that's generous, innit?

Or how about painting your own pottery at The Clay Studio?

After all, there's nothing quite like discovering your inner artist.

But top of my list has to be the most inventive scenic tour

I've ever come across, the Zip Wire on Bournemouth Pier,

which puts you about 60 feet above the sea

and sends you hurtling towards the shore.

You're travelling up to 30mph with a good backwind,

and so it's quite an adrenaline rush and it's really exciting.

We've even adapted the lanyards

from your traditional zip

where you go down straight.

These lanyards, you can spin around

so it gives that extra little bit more fun,

excitement, adrenaline, and it's a great ride.

'As for me and Edwina, well, let's just say we're more than happy

'to keep both feet on the ground.'

Well, Edwina, you know, you've been on TV,

you've been in radio, you've presented programmes,

written books.

What is your favourite? What are you most proud of?

Ooh, I don't know. Having a family, in the end.

-Having a family.

-Yeah?

-Having daughters.

In fact, hubby and I, between us - cos I'm Mrs Jones in real life -

we have got six children,

nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren now.

Yeah.

Proud going backwards as well in the sense that, you know,

my grandparents arrived in the UK with nothing -

absolutely nothing - and they made a good life.

And it wasn't financially, materially very strong,

but it gave us all the values.

-I thought the world of my grandad.

-Yeah?

And I'm told I look like him and I walk like him

-and I think like him, and that's wonderful.

-Yeah, yeah.

'And I'm guessing the old boy, much like his granddaughter,

'wasn't afraid to speak his mind.'

You know, it would appear, Edwina,

that you love being involved in things.

You know, you're on Twitter and Facebook and stuff.

Well, I enjoy an argument, I enjoy a fight.

If I'm in the right mood and I go on Twitter

and somebody's talking complete rubbish,

you can say so immediately.

And, of course, what they don't realise is,

you and I, we have in our heads little proverbs, little sayings,

little bits of information that the next generation don't have,

so it makes us sound terribly wise.

I think the entire retired population of the United Kingdom

-ought to be on Twitter.

-Yeah.

-It would disseminate information and knowledge and wisdom...

-Yeah.

-..in a great way. It's wonderful.

-Yeah.

And what about the future? Have you got anything in the pipeline or..?

Well, I'm heading towards my 70th birthday.

-You've done this already.

-I've just pipped to you.

-Right.

-Is it OK? Do you change afterwards?

-I've enjoyed it very much, yeah.

And all the things that I thought an adult male should be able to do,

like putting up shelves and things, I was never good at.

Now I'm 70, oh, you give me a screw and I'll work magic.

Shelves, bookcases, anything you want, yeah.

I tell you one of the nicer things about being a little bit older

is you have a lot more choice,

-and when people ask you to do things, you can say no.

-Yeah.

I've no desire to go commuting into town any more.

I have no desire to have to work a 90-hour week

like I used to when I was an MP.

I have no desire to be forced to earn a living any more.

It's wonderful being retired

-cos it means I get to be here...

-Yes.

-..with you.

'Edwina, the feeling's definitely mutual

'because for my money,

'nothing beats a good, old-fashioned seaside holiday.'

BOTH: # Jammo, 'ncoppa, jammo ja

# Jammo, jammo... #

'Even if it did mean cleaning up after Ronnie and Reggie here.'

Reggie, you naughty, naughty donkey.

'And we even delved into Auntie Zina's recipe book

'for a warm slice of 1957.'

-Come here.

-What? Watch it.

-You've got to give it some welly.

You're going to have someone's eye out in a minute with that.

'What a holiday it's been beside the seaside, beside the sea.'

I'm hoping you're going to remember today,

and to help you along...

..I have a little scrapbook of photographs and things...

-Oh, wonderful.

-..to remind you of our time here.

-Thank you.

Every one of our precious moments

captured for posterity.

But I'm not finished yet. Oh, no.

I've got something else

I'm hoping will make a splash.

And I've got this.

Not '57, but it's '59, which is pretty close.

Yeah, I think we were here then.

Oh, that's super. That's the Aquashow.

Oh, that's absolutely lovely. Look at that. That's lovely.

-Thank you very, very much.

-Well, it's been... Let me put that down.

And I've got to just say thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-It's been lovely.

-It's been good fun.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-Good fun.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, good fun.

And so, as we take one last walk along the pier,

it's tatty bye from Bournemouth,

a resort that will always hold a special place in Edwina's heart.