WithWOW What’s On WalesOnline
Stewart Lee St David’s Hall ★★★★I
than when he is in the kitchen too. Must be in the genes!
A: Having Arthur and Dorothy involved in ‘Chateau fife’ is the only way. Of course, we hope they have a full and fun childhood but it’s important that they understand the need to work hard to achieve your dreams.
A: They have the best playground imaginable! They appreciate good food and where it comes from.
They get to meet interesting people from different countries, though mainly English and French. As they are involved in all aspects of our life they learn a lot, from doing crafts with Angel to gardening and cooking with Dick.
Hopefully, they will pass what they are learning now onto their children.
A: Yes, they both speak French! Arthur can also read French! We think it’s brilliant that they are bi-lingual. Dorothy recently translated for us during a conversation with another parent.
Q: Do you both speak French A: Yes, we both speak French! One of us is a little more advanced than the other. It’s a confidence thing.
A: Having young children in any community is always handy as it gives you a way in.
Our Marie married us and we think the events business really supports the bakers and the local shops.
We don’t think that many locals really know what we do, but that doesn’t matter.
A: We think the wedding business will carry on. Angela says I can retire at 65…so that’s my 5-year plan! Actually, to be fair, retirement is not on the cards, we intend to keep living life to the full.
A: As far as possible, we eat and serve local, seasonal, produce.
It’s great that French supermarkets tend to only sell seasonal vegetables and fruit.
For example, it’s impossible to get strawberries at Christmas so when they start appearing in April they are very special.
One of the dishes we love is a creamy, aromatic onion and garlic soup served with a raw egg yolk and Herbes de Provence croutons.
To us, it’s a ‘white onion and garlic soup’ – and very delicious!
A: When the extra-large core drill failed to get through the walls in the very early days after buying the Chateau, we knew we had a challenge on our hands.
Every hole has memories attached but the most special one was the archway between two rooms in the Honeymoon Suite.
It was one of Angel’s first engineering tasks and we had a lot of fun.
Having said that, every project has been memorable: the lift, the Helter Skelter, the floating glamping dome, the Potagerie Suite to name just a few.
A: NEVER! We know that there is a way around every little problem the Chateau throws at us. We know this is our forever home.
A: Together we give each other the support to do what needs to be done. Of course, having complementary skill sets really helps but they would mean nothing without the drive and determination that comes from what we are trying to build; a future for our children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren, and for many generations to come.
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“FIRST, a spot of admin,” said stand-up comic Stewart Lee, addressing the attentive crowd at Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on Wednesday night.
“I will be signing some books in the foyer later on and I’d be grateful if you didn’t try to shake hands or kiss me at any point.”
Be that standard patter from the funnyman, who’s meticulously carved out his misanthropic act over the years, or a nod to the current coronavirus concerns doing the rounds, the smattering of empty seats around the venue still proved a puzzling sight.
‘Are people starting to shirk big public gatherings in light of all this contagion kerfuffle?’ I wondered - after all, this show had supposedly been sold-out for weeks.
‘Or maybe they’d all got stuck in the tailbacks from that lorry fire on the M4 an hour or two before and thought, ‘Stuff this’, before heading back home instead?’
Either way, Lee didn’t care.
“My dream is to play a sold-out empty room,” he shrugged. “I get paid regardless.”
And there was no let-up in the 51-year-old’s withering humour.
“Cardiff, this is a five-star show,” he began, one of several references to his recent glowing appraisal in a UK broadsheet. “But, right now, you’re being a three-star audience.
“Honestly, you’re the worst crowd of the tour so far. I use to enjoy playing here - what happened to you?”
The beauty of Lee’s conceited and self-aggrandizing stage persona, however, is that he always ends up on the back foot and looking preposterously pompous.
Now greying, bearded and out of shape - “I know what you’re thinking, Julian Assange has let himself go” Lee, over the course of two punchy hour-long sets, took on everything from Brexit and political correctness to Netflix and the time he says Rob Brydon laced the jelly of his pre-gig pork pie with LSD.
The only awkward moment came when, midway through a routine, he jumped from the stage to begin remonstrating with a woman who’d allegedly been filming the show on her mobile phone – despite everyone previously being warned not to.
Confiscating the device, Lee then returned to the spotlight and stuffed the handset into his underwear.
“I don’t want this stuff ending up out of context on YouTube,” he said, before then appearing to wedge the mobile between his bum cheeks for the show’s remaining 25 minutes.
“So, after you show me you’ve deleted that footage, you can have your phone back at the end – covered in my s***.”
All part of the act? Probably, but it still caused people’s mouths to hang agape.
My only criticism is that the evening overran, meaning I had to bow out early to catch the last train home, with one very important question left unanswered.
So, if anyone knows whether or not that woman ever got her phone back, could you please let me know.