How Mary Berry ended up at RNLI Rye Harbour.
It all began with a phone call at the beginning of September. A question was posed: “Are you the right person to talk to about the RNLI?” In reply I said: “I hope that I can help.”
The phone call was from Kelly at Sidney Street TV and the request was to use the boathouse for Mary Berry Christmas Makes. This was to be a Christmas party filmed in the boathouse in October as Mary wanted to include the RNLI in her show.
The requests came flooding in: “Do you know of a local character who was larger than life and had a loud voice?” Yes, the town crier Paul Goring came to mind.
“How do we look inside the local church?” Martin and I replied: “We hold the keys as we are involved in setting up the monthly services – no problem.”
“Did we know of a local musical group that could sing shanties?” Yes, right here: Martin Bruce runs the local group called Harbour Herrings and would be happy to help.
“What about handbells with children involved?” Luckily Martin is a handbell ringer and we have a lovely relationship with St Thomas’ school Winchelsea so a little group was formed and coached in the art of handbell ringing with Martin and the music teacher of the school.
The list went on and on, but it was such fun sourcing venues, places to stay, kitchens to cook in – and the pièce de resistance: “Could you find seventy people to come and sing carols at the Christmas party?” No problem: we had the crew and their families, strong connections with the local am-dram group, the Rye Players, and the wonderful Marsh Choir. Seventy people, no problem and so in late October the three-day filming began.
The Mermaid Inn was showcased first, Judith and Martin being in their element, and Mary Berry cooking pasties for the shanty group, followed by the handbell ringers in the Church of the Holy Spirit with Amanda Holden. Tuesday shone a spotlight on Camber with Oti Mabuse, endless sandy beaches and wild-water swimmers.
Day three, the longest of all, began early in the boathouse with the lifeboat, tractor and carriage being moved onto the forecourt. There was lots of cooking, retakes, much laughter and fun and quite a bit of hanging about for us extras. The afternoon ended with the singing of Christmas songs and flapjacks for the children with Mary and Nick Grimshaw handing out the treats. Mary and Nick spent time talking to the volunteers at the station and their families. The carol singers sang beautifully and Father Christmas played the keyboard. It was jolly cold but it did not rain and we did not have a shout, so all was good.
Everyone who took part loved it and the proof is in the (Christmas) pudding. Please watch on catch-up as it was aired on Wednesday, December 18 at 8pm. What a way to showcase the amazing work of our crew at RNLI Rye Harbour and the lovely town of Rye and Camber village, too. No more spoilers: we want you to watch the show and enjoy it.
One phone call and what a result and for me a credit in the credits for the local researcher, so I am told.
Image Credits: ESUK BoxAdmin , Mary Berry Christmas Makes , Kt bruce , Arabella Ansar , Polly Brown , Pam Carroll , Martin Bruce , Arabella Ansar .