Never mind the sewing, Esme’s putdowns had us all in stitches
Take no notice of the braggarts, the selfproclaimed party animals who boast of their marathon allnighters and hedonistic binges. it’s the quiet ones you have to watch.
As The Great British Sewing Bee (BBc1) reached a triumphant climax, with the four finalists vying to create a series of party outfits, diminutive judge esme Young, 73, couldn’t conceal her naughty smile.
Presenter sara Pascoe hailed the contest, spread across a weekend at sunny Bank Mills in leeds, as an epic.
‘It’s not the longest party i’ve ever been to,’ esme shrugged. Photos of a younger esme, modelling a dress called the slasher, confirmed her taste for racy living.
The slasher, which looked like it had barely survived an encounter with edward scissorhands, was one of the designs by the iconic brand she co-founded in the 1970s, swanky Modes.
Another in the range was the ‘padlock dress’ worn by Grace Jones on the cover of her 1977 album Portfolio.
That dress is in the Museum of london, but esme’s ‘ amorphous’ dress, all lycra and peek-a-boo holes, goes one better... the original is at the v&a. ‘cher bought one,’ esme said, in the tone of someone who knows a few other secrets about cher that she will never spill.
Her fellow judge Patrick Grant, looking more than ever the edwardian gent with his salt-andpepper moustache, sighed: ‘Most of my parties are parties for one.’
‘What a sad old man you are,’ esme chided.
As the contestants raced to sew their own amorphous dresses, Patrick looked quite flustered by how revealing they were. This was not, he said, a dress for a coffee morning. Once again, saucy esme had the last word. ‘it is,’ she confided, ‘if you’ve been up all night.’
Eavesdropping on the judges has become one of this series’s added pleasures. swift editing keeps the show visually entertaining, even if you haven’t much idea about the sewing techniques. and after being almost paralysed with nerves during the first couple of weeks, sara has found her role.
She runs around the warehouse trying to be helpful, wanting to be liked, getting in the way but indulged by everyone.
The producers have found the perfect pattern, setting challenges that range from the easy to the impossible, for seamstresses who were all very talented and competent but still had room to learn and improve.
Like a collection of cutouts and frills, it combined to create something truly spectacular — the best Bee yet.
New bartender shannon, brought over from east village in New York to re- open the american Bar at The Savoyup (iTv), inherited a history of spectacular combinations.
They included the Moonwalk, a cocktail invented in 1969 to welcome home the crew of apollo 11, and the Hanky-Panky, created in the 1920s by ada coleman.
This documentary didn’t tell the story, but the Jazz age pickmewas first mixed for actor and connoisseur sir charles Hawtrey (not to be confused with the carry On star).
When ‘coley’ served him this blend of gin, sweet vermouth and Fernet-Branca, the old thespian’s eyes watered and he gasped: ‘By Jove! That’s the real hankypanky!’ and the name stuck.
A few more details like that, and a lot less forced badinage between the receptionists and the concierges, would give this series an injection of zip.
It lacks facts and depth. shannon said she added pear brandy, eucalyptus and absinthe to her Hanky-Panky recipe, but didn’t explain further. Tell us more — that’s why we’re watching.