Richard E. Grant: Nigella recommends restaurants to me! Take your holiday food and drink seriously

0:00Hello and welcome to the Happy Place Guide to Holidays, brought to you by British Airways. holidays. I'm Fern Cotton and today I'm chatting to Richard E. Grant. There's a restaurant called La Petite Maison in Nice right on the seafront and they off-menu have a baguette that is filled with butter, melted butter and stuffed with black, shaved black truffle. I've never eaten anything that is quite as good. You have to take out four mortgages and bribe the woman who runs this restaurant. But that is somewhere I would go to. So this is, of course, Happy Place, but maybe a little sunnier, a little warmer than your regular episodes.

0:47This is the Happy Place Guide to Holidays, an exclusive mini-series brought to you by British Airways Holidays. They're all about helping you take your holidays more seriously. and this series is all about making the most of our travels. In each episode, we're getting to grips with the things that I and you lot, according to British Airways Holidays, love most about going on holiday. Things like getting to actually read a book uninterrupted. Oh, can you imagine? Discovering new passions and taking time out for some much needed self-care. Today, oh boy, we are going to get stuck in to a real treat of a topic, food and drink.

1:24And I know this chat is going to resonate with so many of you because according to a recent YouGov survey commissioned by British Airways Holidays, 69 % of us agree that food is an important factor in picking where we want to go on holiday. I wonder if you're one of these people who properly crafts their entire itinerary around finding local specialities and viral dishes. High chance of the latter given 40 % of you have tried a dish on your travels that was inspired by something you saw on social media. I'm totally with you. I'm more than happy to put in the research ahead of time to make sure I'm finding the most delicious food while I'm away.

2:08the same. Now we had this chat a couple of weeks ago and can I just say Richard is the most fun ever. He is such a hoot and also he's an incredibly deep thinker so as well as all the delicious food chat we really got into big emotions like grief because all this stuff makes up real life doesn't it.

2:49It's very good to see you again. You came on the podcast a couple of years ago now. I did, yeah. So much to catch up on. It's ridiculous. Have you had a good summer so far? Yeah, all good. You done Wimbledon? Done Wimbledon. Is that good? Yeah, really good. I'm going again tomorrow. Are you? Yep. Are you big into tennis? it's the only sport that I know anything about and play I've never seen football I know who David Beckham is because he's married to Victoria correct I did Spicewell the movie with of course you did so I know him I know who he is and I knew who George Best was yeah because my father's an alcoholic and George Best was an alcoholic yeah so that's about as much somebody asked me today who Christian Ronaldo what I knew about Christian Ronaldo and I said I've heard his name but in the same way that he would know me from a bar of life boys so I don't know who he is so I know nothing about football either oh he's a footballer I mean tennis seems it's a delightful sport to enjoy there's like a nice social setting the food and drinks really good delightful competitive and it's short yeah it's great so you're going to go again tomorrow have you been chilling in the garden a lot listening to Barbara Streisand?

4:04Streisand Streisand yes yes because her new album her 37th studio album that she released at the age of 83 10 days ago I was sent an advanced copy of it two weeks before and if you're trying to shame me in feeling embarrassed about my addiction to Barbara are you joking? not at all okay I celebrate it good so yes I have been listening to it pretty constantly. Yeah, I saw your review on Instagram and I was like, I'm in. I mean, what a voice. I agree. What a voice. I agree. There's not many people that are releasing albums of that quality in their ninth decade. No. And still able to belt it out.

4:43Still able to do it, yeah. It's something else. Yeah. I mean, you've got a full figurehead of her face in your garden. I do. I commissioned a sculpture. How beautiful. Yeah. I love that. And there's no shame. I mean, I've got, I have not got cool music taste at all. I like all sorts of Hanson put them in there I like Hanson I agree there's no shaming from me anything that makes you happy anything that makes you happy something that makes you very happy is gardening it does you love gardening I do I haven't reached that I know it's coming but I haven't got there yet what does gardening give you when you're pottering around your garden it happens how old are you now?

5:24about to turn 44 okay in six years time you will suddenly understand that going to the garden center is not something that you think oh this is what old people do because you will be old well correct and there's something i don't know the psychological that happens that i think it's because you know that your time you know the time is running out on you you have less time so planting stuff and seeing it grow and the seasons and things dying and regenerating. All of that stuff somehow, and you have more time for it as well. And usually by the age of 50, you will get there. You will be able to afford enough space.

6:05And then you think, well, I've got to fill it. And you have more time to do it. So it's all of those things. We've got a nice gardening centre near us, the Palm House. Yeah. It's a lovely gardening centre. I've spent a huge amount of money in the Palm House. I'm sure you have. They've got like a whole tropical tree section around the corner that I only just discovered. It's lovely. I mean, like going to gardening centres, I'm just not into the planting bit yet. It happens. I had very little interest when I was your age, very young, but it does happen as you get older. And everybody in garden centres is silver surfers, as you'll notice.

6:36It's like going to the theatre. Everybody's old. Take your teeth out. I love it. Put your wigs on and get out there. No, I'm really looking forward to that era of my life and enjoying that. I know it's coming. It's so close I can smell it. Yeah. It's going to happen. I mean, sort of going back to the earth because you know that that's where you're headed for. Right, that's quite bleak. I find that reassuring. I don't find it bleak. Really? Yeah. Yeah. My dad was absolutely right from the get-go said, ever since I was four or five years old, he said, heaven and earth are human concepts and nobody's come back from the dead.

7:10And I said, but Jesus had, and he said, no, people say that he did, but do you know when the Bible was written? And I said, well, yes, in the ancient times. And he said, well, it was written 300 years after Jesus had died. So if you try and remember what you discussed with Fern on that Monday in 2025 and what she was wearing, in a week's time you will have a different idea than what she had about what you talked about. So if it's 300 years later, chances are it's not going to be entirely accurate. No. Agreed. Yeah. But you don't find that thought bleak? No, I find it reassuring that this is it.

7:47You only have one chance. Yeah. You believe in reincarnation, I know. I don't know. I'm sort of open to all sorts. My mum is big on the reincarnation thing. She loves talking about that stuff. I don't know. And I think actually when you lose people, you do have that stark moment of, wow, this is quick. Life is fragile. Yes. You know, I lost a couple of people this year and it's awful and terrifying. But I think it is motivating to live in the now and to embrace every good thing in your life, but also to not be so terrified of the bad bits. You know, it's kind of it is such a cliche, but I think that happens.

8:34Yeah, absolutely true. I agree with you 5000%. Yeah. And I loved your Instagram video. I think it was back in maybe April, May, where, again, you were incredibly honest about grief. And you'd been out for dinner with friends and you came home and you just, grief just hit you. And it is, of course, undulating. It's not a linear ascent to feeling better. How do you deal with those moments when they arrive? Well, I think that I've been out for dinner with people that I really got on with and they were all coupled up. I was the only solo there and it was driving home and it's a steering wheel stuff when I instinctively want to turn to my left and speak to my wife and say this is what and you know Fern asked me that and she was wearing that and this is what she smelled like and she had those sparkly shoes on.

9:24all of that stuff that you want to download which i love doing um their silence and you can you know i write i'm in the habit now of writing with no expectation of an answer so i'm not you know wibbly wobbly about that but i find that writing to my late wife keeps the conversation going but because I wasn't you know sitting able to write that down I was in the car just with the radio on and it's not being able to share that with that person and that I found I was suddenly sort of walloped by it and what anybody who's been through grief you know that it's a it's sort of passing phase that you have to hit the wall with it and then the next day you'll be fine again or maybe in two days time you'll be fine so you get habituated to it yeah of course and then you have to and you have to of course and then even I guess even like the bits where you're not feeling completely bombarded by grief that's complicated too because is there sometimes guilt that you're not grief stricken in moments where you're actually feeling happy or okay ah well my late wife gave me the guide for that because she said to our daughter and I four days before she died try and find a pocket full of happiness in each day and that in that little phrase absolve i realized absolves you from guilt in feeling joy and delight in things because if you're finding those if she has she gave the instruction do this it would be rude not to so i think that that has been an incredible mantra to really live by yeah and i try and do that every day yeah it's such a good one whether you're in grief or not like we have to find these little moments and they could be so tiny that no one else can see them yeah just something nice when you're out walking well that brings you back to the gardening question that you asked me earlier yeah that you know when you're younger um and i still feel 19 that is the problem yeah we all do yeah as you look in the mirror oh there's the old grunt looking back at me bored along a tooth is that it's not thinking that you've got to win an Oscar or win the lottery or have these big things that are going to happen.

11:45It's being a sort of cognizant or mindful, whatever you call it, of the stuff that is around you and what you can get delight out of. And that's where gardening comes in. That you can find, that you can get completely like listening to somebody's new album. You go down the rabbit hole of getting distracted by something and gardening forces you and allows you to do that. Yeah, I have that with painting. Well, there you go. That's my gardening. I completely have that. I'm in the moment. Nothing else exists. It's like sex. It's like sex. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's just no time. Time doesn't exist.

12:19Exactly. It's the best. And I completely get that because I think, you know, I'm in my 40s, but I've already definitely landed on that notion of You look amazing. God bless you. Thank you, Richard. Whether it's fish sperm, salmon fish sperm that you've had injected subcutaneously. I keep hearing about salmon sperm you mentioned. Salmon sperm. I've not had it. Is that what the Kardashian ladies had done? Apparently, this is what you do. It's salmon sperm under the eyes. I've not done it. I need to. I want to try. Yeah, I think you should. I mean, we'll have to go and find a professional. Will you be the guinea pig and then let me know?

12:54Fine. Shout down the hill to where I live. I also don't eat fish, so I feel like that's a bit of a loophole. It's a problem if you're a vegan, and I know you are. Yeah. But anything to look better. So, we'll see. I might find a loophole for that one. But I've definitely landed on that notion of... You'll forsake your principles for vanity. Yes, correct. Absolutely. I will. If someone says to me, oh, you know, what are your work goals or what are your life dreams if you were to write them down? It used to be, be the biggest presenter, blah, blah. It's definitely not that anymore. That's because you are.

13:29Yeah, but it doesn't give you anything. You know, I like being in the moment, having a chat and enjoying like, oh, I had a good day at work. But having getting an award or being told you're great. I know it won't touch the sides. I know it won't. I know that's not where I'm going to get happiness. It's just not. Yeah, but I wouldn't discredit those things entirely because. Not discredit them. I'm just not pinning. If nobody was giving you an award or saying, you know, you did good, you look good. Everybody needs approbation or, you know, confirmation in some way, don't you think? Without a doubt, but I'm not pinning the entirety of my happiness on it anymore.

14:04And I used to, which meant everything was just a roller coaster. I feel amazing. I feel fucking shit. I feel amazing. I feel dreadful. Now it's just, it's more the, oh, I'm walking by the river, like near where you live. That bit. Oh my God. I've never been happier. Walking on my own at sunset by the river. That is happiness. One of your happy places is traveling. Yeah. I mean, having a light look on your Instagram, I can see that this year, You've already been to, correct me if I'm wrong, France, Rome, New York, India, Kenya, Barbados, anywhere else? Yeah. Morocco. Morocco. Yeah. I went there for the first time this year.

14:42I loved it. Yeah. Really cool. It's incredibly violent. I'm going on Wednesday. Oh, those markets. Yeah. I bought lamps, rugs. Shopaholic. Yeah. It's just. Heaven. Yeah. Are you good at bartering? That makes me nervous. I have a go. You know, I'm sure that, yes, part and parcel of it. I can't do it. I was just like, yeah, I'll take it for that. Or I'll give you more. That seems too cheap. One thing that I think is really evocative, certainly of beautiful, nostalgic holiday memories, is smell. I know that you're big on smell. Obviously, you've got your own scent, which is delightful, Jack. What smells really evoke great holiday memories for you?

15:22Gardenias. What? Gardenias? How come? And where are you placing them? They are the most erotic smell of anything. They're also the flower that have so far eluded all scientific extraction. So every gardenia that's on the market as a perfume is an industrial concoction. There's not like you can extract from other white flowers. It's the one that has. So to me, that makes it even more the Holy Grail. So exclusive. Yeah. And its leaves are incredibly luscious and shiny green. and then this soft velvety white of the petals. And they only last for a very short time when you pick them. Let's talk about food as well, because it's a huge part of going away, whether it's trying local cuisine or just indulging because you're on holiday.

16:14What's the best meal you've had on holiday? We went to an opera festival in Cortona in Italy and had a bowl of pasta that I've been, again, holy grail, I've been trying to find how they did it. And if you can ever repeat that, I've never eaten. And it happened to all of us. What was in it? What was so good about it? I don't know. I think that elves and goblins had come out of the woodwork. They had made the equivalent of an Italian leprechaun delight that was absolutely unbelievable. They just get it right, don't they, the Italians? and a small portion of it which makes you want it even more yeah and you have to eat it so slowly and really enjoy every minute yeah it's like you have a tomato in italy on the south of france it is different from having one in our climate ours are not great well they're less flavorsome yeah they just are yeah have you tried to recreate that pasta dish at home no no i haven't no i'd rather rather go and have it again in italy you should yeah my favorite thing on holiday and again it doesn't work in the uk it's not a meal but it's a combination of olives yes in a little tiny bowl yeah a packet of crisps but completely opens the packets flat and just like plain sort of they're not even ready salted there whether you're in spain or whatever just salt crisps and a beer.

17:44That triangle just seems to be That does it for you. perfect. And especially on a towel on a beach. I can't think of a better scene than that. A bit of sand in the old crisps? That is slightly annoying, but I'll worry about that later. It's just that triangle of food. It just works. So you're very easy to please. Yeah, completely. Common as muck. It's just a great little, it just works. It's a great combo. Heaven. That's what I'm wanting this summer, for sure. Now, you don't drink alcohol. So what are you drinking away? Allergic too. Yeah. So what are you drinking when you go away? Oh, I discovered in Morocco, they have fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, which to me is if there's a champagne of non-alcoholic drinks, that is it.

18:32Will you have a non-alcoholic cocktail or not bothered? Not bothered. No. No. Seems like a waste of calories. Well, when you see that they charge about 20 bucks for something that's a bit of syrup and three quarters of crushed ice. Yes. It's a bit of a rip off. A bit pointless. Yeah. But specifically pomegranate juice in Morocco. Pomegranate juice. Yeah. Oh, pomegranate juice anywhere. Yeah. But in Morocco, they squeeze on the side of the street. I don't know if I've tried pomegranate juice. My daughter loves pomegranates. It's just one of the great things. It's a great flavour. It's not too sweet, is it?

19:03No. Not at all. It's really, really good. Really good. Have you ever travelled somewhere specifically for the cuisine? France and Italy. And there are countries that I won't go to because the cuisine is, well, I don't like cheese. Right. So the Greek islands, beautiful as they are. A lot of feta. There's a lot of feta. Yeah. And cheese pies. So I find Greek cuisine less attractive than Spanish, Italian or Turkish is great too. Yeah. So say you're going to France. I was in Turkey. Oh, it's Turkey this year as well. I was in Turkey two weeks ago. I'll just add that to your list. Two weeks ago. There we go.

19:45So if you're going to France, what is that meal that you are dreaming about on the plane there that you want to have when you land? There's a restaurant called La Petite Maison in Nice, diagonally across from the Opera House on the Promenade des Anglais, right on the seafront. and they off menu have a baguette that is filled with butter, melted butter and stuffed with black, shaved black truffle. Oh, I love truffle. And I have never, I've never eaten anything that is quite as good as that. Oh my God, that sounds amazing. And if you have it again, it doesn't disappoint. The smell of truffle. You have to take out four mortgages to buy one, and bribe the woman who runs this restaurant.

20:34But that is somewhere I would go to. Oh, my God. I would walk that from here. I think a lot of the best restaurants are the ones that are so simple where the menu has four things on it. I agree. You know they're going to be amazing. If you walk down the street and you have not gone on any of the apps or the stuff of where you're supposed to eat, and you look at just the size of the menu, That to me is the best indicator of almost anything. Yeah, you don't want a Bible with pictures in it of the food. That's not what we're looking for here. Oh, you're sounding very judgmental and snobby. Yes, I am.

21:11This sounds like a description of Leicester Square. Correct. Exactly. Exactly. Okay. What other telltale signs would notify you that restaurant is worth going into? So we're saying minimal menu. What else? the moment you sit down the quality of the bread tells you something oh yeah and I've found obviously not certainly in England or in America if you order a Caesar salad before you order anything else on the menu and say well I'm going to decide once I've tasted this you will know within one bite if the place is shite a lot and then you can go check please I've lost my appetite I'm not going to order anymore I found that has been almost foolproof.

21:58Really? Yeah. And what classifies as a good Caesar salad in your books? One that's been properly made. I made one this morning for two friends of mine from America. And they said, oh, that's a proper Caesar salad. Yeah. And I get you with the bread thing. You want the bread to be warm for a start. Yeah. And I also, I think I want it like, it's not even been cut up. I want to tear chunks off of it. It's just like a big chunk of bread. Yeah. Oh, it's making me really hungry. With really good olive oil and balsamic. And you know what really annoys me is if they bring around a bread basket with some tongs and then they ask you to choose what you'd like.

22:33Just leave it all. Leave the tongs and I'll take one of each onto the plate. Correct. And they'll look at you as though it's the Home Alone poster. Mouth in and big O. I agree because I want to be in control of my bread consumption. Pop it on the table. I'll work it out. Yeah. And charge whatever you want to charge. But, you know, don't be mealy-mouthed about it because that's the beginning of the meal. I agree. I also think lighting is important for me in a restaurant. Candles, imperative. As you are over 40, you will understand. You haven't been to my house yet, but I've got candles in every single room.

23:06The best. And I've eaten by candlelight for dinner for the last 50 years. There's something quite ritualistic about it, isn't there? Lighting a candle before you eat. I love that. I like it too. And everything looks better. It does. And people look sexier and your clothes look good. People's faces look everything. It looks great with candlelight. Yeah, I love that. We should do this interview by candlelight. Oh, my God, we should. This lighting is so hard. It's so brutal. I mean, it's good for when we look back at ourselves on the internet and go, we look great. But in terms of just atmosphere, it's not good.

23:38It's not good. There's no salmon pink filtering here. Salmon sperm pink filtering here going on. It's like fluorescent. It's so good. How do you find those good restaurants when you go away, especially if you're visiting a new country? How do you do it? I will usually actually ask friends. I'm going to Mallorca this summer and I haven't been since about 1997. So I asked a friend of mine who goes all the time and she gave me, and I said, I don't want to go to like the tourist spots. Tell me where the locals go, like the good, quiet spots. And she's given me a phenomenal list and I will work from that list.

24:15Yeah. And Instagram is good too. Instagram is good. Yeah. And I also have been friends with Nigella Lawson for many decades. Come on. So when in doubt, where do I go here? And she will tell you. I bet she will. Have you been to a restaurant that she's tipped you off about? All of them. Really? Yeah. And they're all phenomenal. Never. Yeah. There's never one that's been a dud. Oh, my God. Has Nigella ever been to your house and you've had to cook for her? Yeah. How does that work? Just go for it. Really? And she's kind of complimentary about it all. Yeah. Well, she's come back. That's a good sign.

24:52I suppose that's the same. Can you remember what you cooked her last? I cooked those giant Madagascan prawns. It comes from Sandy's fishmonger in Twickenham. Right. And just barbecued with garlic butter and a bit of chopped chilli and rocket salad. And yeah, that's about it. And crab linguine, the other one. Oh, nice. A classic. Yeah. And she loved it. Well, there's nothing left on the plate apart from the shells. So that's an indicator that the person is... I've been really nervous to cook for her. I've known her a long, long time. So that helps. She's a legend. I've never even met her before.

25:32That's how I avoided her. I don't know. I love her. I'm a huge fan. She's an incredibly generous person. Yeah. She's an amazing human being. We love her. British Airways Holidays and YouGov did a survey. Yeah. And they found, this is such a pleasing fact, that 54 % of travellers are likely to visit a supermarket as a sort of tourist activity. I love nothing more. I love nothing less. What's wrong with you? Because I have to go to the supermarket all the time to cook at home. So when I go on holiday, I want to have somebody cook for me. Right. In a hotel or in a restaurant. But what about for a snack?

26:14You're popping out for your olives and crisps. So you're not quite intrigued by the supermarkets? No. No, because supermarket to me is like being at home. So it's like the opposite of the holiday. So no, if it's a souk or, you know, a big open air market, like in France and Italy, all across Europe. Yes, I'll go to that. But not the old aisles and the tins and the stuff. I love it. No. I absolutely love it. Me and my kids. Well, we can't live together then. No, no, no. You'll be eating, a chef will be cooking for you over here and I'll be picking really shitty kid cereal from a foreign supermarket.

26:49But I like seeing all the different sweets, the different types of cereal, the different biscuits. That's a key one for me is finding. And when the labels are in a language that you don't understand. Exciting. Who knows what's in it? It's a surprise. No. No? No. Oh, my God. You're not in that 54%. No, I'm not. Sadly. Sadly. Gladly for me. Now, I need to ask you some very serious questions. I'd rather be on the beach or, you know. Well, same. But I do like to go, especially in a new country. I love it. I've never done it. You've never been in a foreign supermarket? I don't think so. I have in France because I had a house there.

27:23So, you know, I had to go. You have to, yeah. Yeah, but I'd opt for a market rather than going to a supermarket. What about, say you went to somewhere really different culturally, like Japan. Yes. Would you not be intrigued to go to the supermarket and just buy random stuff? No. God, really? No. Okay. Never done. I've been to Japan three times. I've never gone to a supermarket and I never will, Fern. Right. I feel like I need to stop asking you that same question in a different style. I think you should. Okay. Is that on my own holiday? What's the one thing that you do to take your holidays more seriously?

27:57Because, you know, we need to go there and properly switch off. What's aiding you in really relaxing? Begins hand luggage only. I've done that for 25 years. Wow. because I like to shop yeah and if you need to shop at the other end you can buy an extra suitcase and get it back that way and what are you buying like but oh just stuff just but going to so I try and travel with as little as possible so that I can buy more stuff at the other end but I've never gone with luggage even if I have to go away on a job for three months I will literally to only take hand luggage? I have never managed to do that.

28:39Even when I went to Newcastle for one night last week for work. We live very near each other. A suitcase. Call me, text me, and I'll come around and I will pack what you need. You'll tell me how many days you need. You'll have one pair of shoes in your feet. You'll have one extra in the suitcase. That's it. The problem is... That is it. But wait, hold tight. Okay, hold tight. One of the big problems is... Yeah. And this takes up half a suitcase. I have to take my own pillow can't deal with other pillows tragic yeah so it's a big suitcase because half of it it's one of those memory foam ones why?

29:17because it's the only pillow that works you've convinced yourself of this perhaps I've got that I've got my eye mask my ear plugs sometimes take a travel kettle in case I haven't got one that is insane but the ear mask and the earplugs take up no space whatsoever. But the pillow, I mean, stuff it up your front so that you look pregnant. Not a bad idea. Yeah, true. You could do that. I could do that. I could do that. But taking up a suitcase with a pillow. I know, it's so silly. At what age did you convince yourself that you needed this special pillow? I think when my sleep got quite bad at about 34, maybe.

30:01Is that when you stopped having regular sex? because if you have regular sex that pillow will become less of an issue How? I need that pillow It's a really good support on your neck Buy one of those things in the airport then that you can blow up It's not my pillow It has to specifically be mine Oh you see you've gone all anal now It's self-defeating You're obviously Dr. Freud You need this adjunct to you to go travelling. Whip-a-fologising my pillow. This is great. Clara Ampho is going to be on this series in a bit. And we're going to talk about holidays that are specifically about hobbies and passions.

30:44Have you ever been on like a painting holiday, a pottery holiday or a hobby style holiday? No, because that would involve having to meet total strangers. And that would be the equivalent to me of saying, would you come on a cruise ship? and be it's a no it's a no would you like to go on a guided it's a no I'd rather be lost than be guided with those little umbrellas or a flag people sort of following around I would I'd have to pull my teeth out it is a no I've never done one but I nearly went on a walking holiday last year that appeals to me I will rebook that trip but you could walk on your own you don't need to Go and do it with other people.

31:31Yeah. I guess I'd be less inclined to walk for so long if I wasn't motivated by someone telling me I had to do it. And that was the thinking behind it. But if you, I mean, you paint, would you go on a painting holiday with other people? You'd just go anywhere in Europe or anywhere in England. Yeah, maybe. And just go and paint. I maybe would because I think, again, it's the time you've set aside to do that and someone's telling you to do it, so I would then do it. I'd be less accountable if I was on my own, I think. I don't know. You're unconvinced, like the supermarket gate. Yeah. It sounds like painting by numbers, where you're all going to look at this lovely landscape or vase or naked person, and we're all now going to do it.

32:14And then it becomes competitive with the other people. Yeah, maybe. Okay. I'm understanding it's just a no. It's just a long-winded no. It's just a long-winded no. So, and where would you say your holiday happy place is? If you could pin down one place, maybe somewhere you've not even been before. There's a beach called Macaroni Beach. Maybe you've been there. No. On the island of Mustique in the Caribbean. Oh, I'd love to go to Mustique. It is absolutely, because it's got surf, white sand, palm trees, no street vendors no cafe nothing at all there's nothing there there's a couple of picnic tables and that's it and there are usually very few people on it and that is if I have to think about a place that I would like to go to right now that's far from that supermarket and that hobby trip that you have in mind for me you know the hobby trip also sounds like really old age stuff it's like oh we'll get the Ramblers Association You think, yeah, the people who are the anti-sex, from their clothes to their walking sticks.

33:25That's me. I want to do that. That's a dream trip for me. A rambling holiday. Never going to catch me there. No. I'm going to do it one day. I'll have to be strapped down. Strapped down a gag. What's that brilliant lady called who wrote the book who her husband invented Mustique? Oh, what's her name? I love that book. Lady Glen Connor. Yes. I love that book. That was fabulous. Mustique's got some very good historic stories attached to it. It does. Rock and roll royalty. It's glamorous, quite decadent. Yeah, but I'm talking macaroni beach is a beach. Yeah, just a lovely beach. Yeah. Heaven. Where is left on your list where you haven't been as yet?

34:02I've never been to South America and I've always hoped that I would get a job that would take me there because I've travelled so many places and I'd like to go there. Whereabouts? Because there's such different terrain and Costa Rica? Yeah. I don't want to go to Machu Picchu or I don't want to go up in the mountains. worth it. Yeah, but you like all the climbing goat stuff. Yeah, I did a five-day ramble. Did you? It was really good. A whole bunch of other 44-year-old lots of llamas. It was so good. Do you eat guinea pig? I didn't eat guinea pig. Oh, yes, because you're vegan. Yeah, I wasn't then, but it was offered and I was like, absolutely no way.

34:39I don't want that anywhere near me. Yeah, like me in supermarkets. Abroad. The supermarket was actually fascinating in Peru. It was brilliant. The guinea pig section of the freezer department. Yeah. Literally whole. I don't know. I've made that up. But Costa Rica, that's on my list. I've heard nothing but good things about it. I'd love to go. Everything from rainforest to beach, gorgeous hotels. You've got to go. Okay. You've got to do it. In the time I have left, the 60-year-old veteran had to be pulled away from his gardening potting shed to go to South America. You've got to do it. Rich Lee Grant happy travels wherever you end up going next Morocco Morocco Morocco happy shopping in Morocco thank you thank you for coming back on Happy Days thank you very much oh Richard I love that chat what a shame he doesn't like supermarkets in other countries I'm still perplexed by that how can you not how can you not be completely intrigued by new labels and different things that you don't quite understand but we give him a try anyway anyway we're all different but I love that and he just made me laugh so much throughout that whole chat.

35:46That was just like a jolly, brilliant half an hour. Loved every minute. Now, if you want help taking your holidays more seriously, then you know where to go. British Airways Holidays allow you to book with a low deposit and pay off your holiday in flexible instalments. They offer a 24-hour holiday helpline and all holidays include a generous baggage allowance per person. What's more, all British Airways Holidays are at all protected, so they've got you well and truly covered. As I said, next time, I'm going to be chatting to the wonderful Clara Ampho about getting stuck into our favourite hobbies on holiday.

36:22And this is going to be a pretty cool episode, gang, because it will be coming to you live from the Happy Place Festival in Gunnersbury Park. So you might even be there in person listening with a lovely bit of street food on your lap in the sunshine. Until then, a massive thanks again to Richard, to British Airways Holidays for making this episode happen, to the producer Anushka Tate at Happy Play Studios and to you, I completely adore you.

37:12Thank you.