Mary Berry

Speaker 30:00

Hello, I'm Kirsty Young. Thank you for downloading this podcast of Desert Island Discs from BBC Radio 4. For rights reasons the music choices are shorter than in the radio broadcast.

Speaker 30:10

For more information about the programme, please visit bbc.co.uk/slash radio four.

Speaker 30:34

My castaway this week is the cookery expert Mary Berry. She's sold more books than most of us have had hot dinners, and currently stars as a judge in that surprise T V Smash hit, The Great British Bake Off. She started out when there wasn't, in her words, an avocado, mango, or kiwi in the country, brought up in a household that grew its own fruit and veg, and sent the family pig to slaughter. Now the undisputed queen of cakes, she says, the idea of baking as therapy, and an effective one, might seem a little far fetched to some, but not to me. Explain that to me, Mary Berry, then. Is it that it's sort of baking is a a shortcut to some sort of domestic contentment, do you think?

Mary Berry1:15

I enjoy baking. I do it as a total uh relaxation. And the wonderful thing about baking is you have an audience who's going to say ooh and ah and isn't that delicious and can I have another one? It's very rewarding. You've said you've described baking as love on a plate. Exactly. It is love on a plate because you are putting yourself into it. I mean the whole thing is to give it time, not to do it in a rush for the first time. And follow the recipe carefully. And with baking you do have to weigh the ingredients. So often people say, Oh, well, my Gran was a great cook, but she never weighed anything. But that Gran often had a handleless cup.

Speaker 11:32

Exactly.

Mary Berry1:57

and a particular spoon, and a s a small uh selection of things that she baked. And so uh they put three cups of that, two spoons of that, and it did work every time.

Speaker 32:09

Um I read in one of your cookery books you you say be methodical and follow the recipe meticulously. Are are you quite bossy?

Mary Berry2:16

I'm quite bossy in the kitchen just to see that everything runs smoothly. I hope I'm not bossy. I'm just giving advice to get the best results. Does Mary Berry's Victoria Sponge ever sink?

Mary Berry2:28

Mary Berry's Victoria Sponge could sink if I opened the door or used the wrong fat or something, because I mean I can almost do it in the dark, but I do measure very carefully and I make sure I put the right ingredients.

Speaker 32:42

Time for some music, then, Mary Berry. Tell us, what are we going to hear first of all to day?

Mary Berry2:46

Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 32:46

Gracie Fields. Why have you chosen Gracie?

Mary Berry2:49

Well, because I can so remember after the war and the end of the war, her singing me, Wish Me Luck as you wave me goodbye and my mother, who died quite recently at 105, my brothers very kindly let me do the service. And I was thinking now what shall we end up with? And then I it suddenly crossed my mind, of course mum absolutely loved that. And so I've chosen a nice noisy version.

Speaker 13:17

Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye. Cheery-o, here I go on my way. Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye. Not a cheer, but the cheer, make it gay.

Speaker 43:21

Real Here I go.

Speaker 43:24

Yeah.

Speaker 13:33

Give me a smile I can keep all the while In my heart while I'm away Till we meet once again, you and I Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye

Speaker 33:50

That was Gracie Fields, and wish me luck as you wave me goodbye. So, Mary Berry, you were born in nineteen thirty five. Uh presumably then your early memories would have been during the war. What what do you remember?

Mary Berry4:02

I remember during the war, um

Mary Berry4:05

I remember the h the house, the garden. It's funny, I still even when I was v very small, I can remember the three gardens that we have. I can remember almost every plant in them. And your dad built is this

Speaker 34:17

But your your father built a little boat that you would sail down the Avon, in, is that right?

Mary Berry4:23

Dad always had a hobby of something. He built a boat that we kept near Bath when we'd moved, and it was on the river, and we used to go every weekend. We didn't sail, we had oars, and you know, that was great entertainment. We'd arrive, and there would be a primus, which usually didn't work too well, and you'd make tea and you'd have sandwiches, but it was a great way of being amused. But in those days, you know, the seasons you had the

Mary Berry4:58

primrosing. We used to go and pick primroses and take a picnic. Then we would go and pick blackberries and again there were picnics.

Speaker 35:08

And it was it was, it sounds like, an outdoorsy life. I mean, was it sort of building dens in the garden and all that kind of thing?

Mary Berry5:14

Oh, absolutely, uh building dens. Um we had a den that we built up against the uh wall. It was a really good one and we had hot water. I mean can you imagine health and safety nowadays? We lit a fire which we put uh made with bricks at the side and then there was a pipe, a curved pipe that went through and you poured water from the top and it came out into a bucket. I mean I don't even know if our parents knew about it. You could get into corners of the garden that you wouldn't be found. Or the goat pen would be a great place to go and hide.

Speaker 35:46

And when you grew up a little bit, you you were quite a naughty little thing, were you not?

Speaker 35:51

Don't tell my child.

Mary Berry5:52

Uh

Speaker 35:52

Um, I was quite naughty. I what sort of things did you get up to that you shouldn't have?

Mary Berry5:58

Um

Mary Berry5:59

Well, I've never smoked at all, but I did smoke, and I can remember with my brothers in the goat shed smoking, but I've never had one since. Oh, I remember we had lovely flowers in the garden.

Mary Berry6:13

and I was at home in the school holidays, and I picked flowers from the garden, did them in bunches, and set up a stall outside with no permission whatsoever, and then Dad came back on a m on his motor bike, because we weren't allowed cars and the wall we had no petrol.

Mary Berry6:30

and I was scolded, and uh Dad said, Well, this afternoon you go across to Miss Jackson, who raised money for the Red Cross, and you give all that money to the Red Cross.

Speaker 36:42

But if that was the naughtiest thing you ever did.

Mary Berry6:43

Oh no, there's one more, but I can I've convenient

Speaker 36:45

Yeah.

Mary Berry6:46

Remember to

Speaker 36:46

Too much.

Speaker 36:48

Yes, you wouldn't get an Asbo slapped on you for that, I think.

Mary Berry6:50

No no no.

Speaker 36:50

Um, let's have some more music then, Mary. Your second choice of the day is what? Um

Mary Berry6:56

Spring from Bivaldi's Four Seasons. Why do you like this? I love it. It is mellow and being spring, it is my favourite season. Um I think when you look in the garden after about March, it's full of promise. Things are coming up, and with that in the background, would be lovely.

Speaker 38:15

The opening of spring from Vivaldi's Four Seasons performed by the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta.

Speaker 38:22

So we know about the goat shed then, Miri Berry, but you also you kept pigs, didn't you? And there was a veg garden and stuff. It was it sounds like like a lot of families, I suppose, at that time, relatively self sufficient.

Mary Berry8:32

We were self sufficient. The the pig would be fattened and then it would go to be slaughtered and come back to us. I think we shared it with a neighbour.

Speaker 38:42

And mealtimes were important probably to the family around about then. I mean, did you all sit around the

Mary Berry8:48

Table?

Mary Berry8:49

Breakfast was usually before school just on our own with mum encouraging us not to be late, but all other meals were round the table, and I think that's perhaps what's missing now. I know with my own young, and even now, when we all sit round, the tummies are full, and then the children begin to tell you a bit about their life when they're happy. And I think it's very sad that so many people have uh meals every day by the television.

Speaker 39:16

There'd be so few people, I think, who would disagree with you, but you know, an awful lot of people don't live those kind of lives. They might listen to you and think, Well, uh that's all very well in a sort of perfect idyllic family, but you know, I'm working a different shift from my husband and my son doesn't like the same food as my daughter and you know, it's not that easy, Mary.

Mary Berry9:30

It is not at all easy, but it is nice to plan an occasion once a week when you are all together. I I think it's a great way of communicating.

Speaker 39:39

Yeah.

Mary Berry9:40

Now you were

Speaker 39:40

You were thirteen, Mary Berry, when you contracted polio. Tell tell me what happened.

Mary Berry9:45

I was just very ill in bed, and I was sent to the isolation hospital in Bath.

Mary Berry9:51

and I was put in a room with glass sides, and so my mother could not touch me.

Mary Berry9:59

And that's very hard. I could see her face there, and I had no idea what I'd got wrong with me. I didn't know. And nobody told me. That was what was so odd. How long were you there for?

Mary Berry10:10

I was in the isolation hospital, I suppose, for uh a month, and then I was moved to the orthopaedic hospital. And in those days, most of the people there w had T B, and so the one idea was to have one side of the uh ward open. And I remember my father bought my pony. I mean, can you imagine it now? Bought my pony to the hospital, walked it there from you know, about three miles. He walked with my pony so I could see it.

Speaker 310:40

There of course must have been the worry that you were going to be left with some sort of permanent paralysis.

Mary Berry10:44

Yes, when I came home I just had this weak left side and I had my arm in a brace that held it above the head. But uh I recovered remarkably and uh my left hand is a bit sort of uh smaller and misshapen. And I when I'm doing television people think that I've got arthritis and they send me all sorts of cures. But it's not a real disadvantage. I manage well. So your dad, um he sounds he sounds like a real doer. Tell me a bit more about him.

Mary Berry11:14

My father was a very strong person.

Mary Berry11:17

He was not er affectionate towards us. He was very strict.

Mary Berry11:23

But he did things with us. He was a he was a great man. He was very involved with Bath, and he encouraged Bath to have a university.

Mary Berry11:35

and he was a surveyor and he was chairman of planning, so he found the land for the Bath University on Claverton Down, and persuaded uh the Powers that Be that there should be a a university.

Speaker 311:48

And did he make uh you feel as though, you know, you needed to be out there contributing to the world? Was that something that seemed to be a

Mary Berry11:54

Yeah.

Speaker 311:54

Yeah.

Mary Berry11:54

I don't think he did, really. No. Uh, to be honest, I think he was immensely disappointed that I wasn't academic. He was just really just sad about it, didn't do anything about it.

Mary Berry12:07

And I didn't work at school, which I think is very sad that I didn't, and I regret it, but I've worked very, very hard since.

Mary Berry12:17

I do remember when I was about twelve I made a rag doll, and I made it beautifully, and Dad said, Where'd you get that from? and I said, I made it, and he gave me a shilling.

Mary Berry12:30

5p and I can't ever remember being rewarded for doing something and I was really chuffed about that.

Mary Berry12:38

Time for some more music.

Speaker 312:39

We're on our third of the day.

Mary Berry12:42

Cliff Richard and Summer Holiday. Because we always used to have holidays with our our three children. We would go every year to Devon and Dad had a VW camper van which he lent to my two brothers and to me and we all loved it. And on the way down we'd be playing Summer Holiday and Cliff Richard as we went along and everybody was thinking well we are going to get there.

Speaker 413:11

All going on a summer holiday No more working for a week or two Fun and laughter on a summer holiday No more worries for me for you

Speaker 413:26

What are we going to?

Speaker 413:29

We're going where the sun shines brightly

Speaker 413:32

We're going where the sea is blue We've seen it in the movies Now let's see if it's true

Speaker 313:43

Cliff Richard and Summer Holiday and Memories for You, Mary Berry, of you and the three kids in the camper van heading off on your summer hauls. And when did you first um cook? When were you allowed to rustle something up in your mum's kitchen?

Mary Berry13:55

Yeah.

Speaker 313:56

Yeah.

Mary Berry13:56

I didn't cook in my mum's kitchen at all. My first cooking, really, was at school. It came to the choice of subjects for school cert. And those clever people did Latin and maths, and the dimmers token lamp people did domestic science. And from the moment I did domestic science, I absolutely loved it. We had a wonderful teacher called Miss Date, and you know, suddenly I could do something, and it really seemed such fun, so interesting, and you took it home. And I remember taking treacle sponge home, and my father saying

Mary Berry14:39

Gosh, that's good. It's as good as mum's. Well, what did I feel like? Wonderful.

Speaker 314:43

And so, um, you went to France, didn't you, once you left school? You went on a sort of was it a a a three month culinary uh course that you you went on?

Mary Berry14:52

When I left school, mum and dad had to go to Miss Blackburn to you know, what career is she going to have and um Miss Blackburn said there's very little she could do she could possibly look after children and I remember Dad saying, Well, I pity the children.

Speaker 315:08

And this was the head teacher, so

Mary Berry15:09

Yes. Or she could do cooking. I was too young to go to the domestic science college, and so I was sent to Po in the Baspyronese, and I went to a a school of all French girls. Did you speak French? Very poorly.

Mary Berry15:26

and I had to stay in a family with ten children, and the first thing when I got there for our supper we had horse meat.

Mary Berry15:36

and I had left my pony.

Mary Berry15:39

And I can remember sobbing all the way through, having to eat horsemeat, because all I could think of was what I'd left at home, my pony, for the the time I was at school. I was pretty homesick. I'd never been away from home at all, and I was very pleased to get back again.

Speaker 315:56

Time for some more music, and we're on your fourth choice of the day.

Mary Berry15:59

Um Susan Boyle, I am a huge admirer. I think she has done so magnificently, and what a voice and I know she worked very hard to get there. How great thou art

Speaker 416:12

Then sings My soul, my Saviour goes to thee.

Speaker 416:26

How great no hope

Speaker 416:32

A great love.

Speaker 416:39

Then sings my song

Speaker 416:44

Why save you gone to the

Speaker 416:53

How great no.

Speaker 417:00

Congrats, Ramon.

Speaker 317:07

That was Susan Boyle, and how great thou art. You seemed lost in the moment there, Mary Barry, weren't you?

Speaker 417:11

Yeah.

Speaker 117:12

Yeah.

Speaker 317:13

Um you studied catering then, as we know, and you went on in in London to have a series of I mean, they sound like pretty dynamic, interesting jobs. You were working for big companies, making up recipes, demonstrating to to new owners of cookers how to use the cookers. Qu quite a dynamic life. W did you swing your way through Swinging London?

Mary Berry17:31

I wasn't allowed to go to London until I was 21. Right.

Speaker 317:35

Right.

Mary Berry17:36

We don't have control over our children nowadays like this. You know, mum and dad said, you know, you don't have.

Speaker 317:41

And with one of your first jobs that you were to be paid a thousand pounds a year for, your father didn't quite believe it. Is that right? He thought there's something fishy here.

Mary Berry17:49

You're so right. It was my very first job after working for the Electricity Board in Bath.

Mary Berry17:55

And I went to see this mister Sevink, and he gave me the job and told me I would have a thousand a year. And I went back home and my father looked at me, and he was on the next train the next day to see mister Sevink. Anyway, he went and realized that it was all authentic.

Speaker 318:15

And given that he was, you know, by your estimation, pretty disappointed that you weren't an academic girl and that you didn't do well in school, do you think there was at least a a a flicker of respect for the fact that you could be out there in the working world and be earning a thousand pounds a year?

Mary Berry18:28

I did and I used to go home every weekend. I didn't make my life in London and I'd drive up the drive and the door would open, Dad would have a gin tonic and I think I'd arrive.

Speaker 318:40

The reason people love your books so much and we'll talk a a bit more later about how well they sell but uh you started out writing in was there a magazine called Housewife magazine?

Mary Berry18:48

I was. I was working for Benson's and I was running their test kitchen and I was cooking with all different things and being paid for it. And while I was there, my boss said, Housewife cookery editor has gone to Spain on a press trip and the pages aren't done. You will do it. And I said, I can cook, I can write recipes, but I can't do any more. I didn't pass English in my school search. She said, You write the recipe as you talk to me.

Mary Berry19:20

And I've always thought I am chatting to the person who's doing the recipe.

Speaker 319:25

There's been an enormous explosion, of course, of cookery shows and cookery books, and and the great irony is that we cook less at home than we ever have. Do you think in a way we're almost fulfilling our own domestic fantasies by watching people do it on telly, but not actually managing to translate that into life at home these days?

Mary Berry19:41

Well, I really hope that people are taking note of all the cooking that's going on, Teddy. I think a lot of the cooking is a bit theatrical, but I think there are plenty of programmes that show you exactly what to do, and I hope it tempts people to cook at home. Sounds like you're not a fan of the Gordon Ramsey School of Television Making, then. I think he's a brilliant man, but I don't like the sort of television that is swearing and noisy. It is entertainment more than teaching you to cook.

Speaker 320:12

You said that because I couldn't do anything else, they told me I may as well do domestic science. It has been relegated to the bottom of the pile when it comes to education. And Jamie Oliver has written recently to the Prime Minister saying you should make cooking lessons compulsory. Do you think he's onto something?

Mary Berry20:27

I think Jamie Oliver is absolutely brilliant. Cooking should be in school. When everybody leaves school, whether they're boys or girls, what do they have to do in the home, produce a meal? And they haven't been taught to do it. I think it should be absolutely essential.

Speaker 320:43

Let's have some more music, then, Mary Berry. We're on your fifth choice of the day. Tell us what we're going to hear and why.

Speaker 320:49

Onward, Christian

Mary Berry20:50

and Soldiers. Sir George Grove, who wrote the Dictionary of Music and Musicians, lived in our house. And a frequent visitor was Arthur Sullivan. He composed the music to the current edition of Onward Christian Soldiers in our summer house. And so we always play it at occasions. And we had it at Tom and Sarah's wedding, and we loved it. And then when Annabel and Dan got married, Dan quite firmly said, I'm not going to march down the aisle with Annabel to war.

Speaker 421:31

What Christians are just watching us to watch?

Speaker 421:39

Awesome Jesus

Speaker 322:20

That was the bands of the Salvation Army and Onward Christian Soldiers. So you've been married now to Paul for forty six years, and you had three children in just four years. Did you give up work entirely during that period, or were you still doing writing?

Mary Berry22:35

I didn't give up work at all. The maternity leave wasn't really were you really expected to um leave and not come back. Well, I so enjoyed what I did. I came back very soon, and I didn't have a smart nanny either.

Speaker 322:51

That the life you described in your own childhood, certainly the outdoor memories and, you know, building the den and going down on the boat, it all sounded well almost like the ideal picture of a childhood. Were were you conscious of, with your own kids, of trying to give them lots of the same sorts of memories when they were tiny?

Mary Berry23:08

When uh the children were young we very much had uh an outdoor life. They were all very sporty, and really you had to keep them busy. They were not the ones who were sitting in a corner with none of them, with a book and their knees up in front of them and reading. They were out either playing or getting into trouble.

Speaker 323:27

Your family was hit by an horrendous tragedy when your son, one of your sons, died in a a car crash. He was driving the car, and your daughter Annabel w was in the the car too. She survived.

Speaker 323:37

He was just nineteen years old. I mean, that must have just hit you like a brick wall.

Mary Berry23:43

Yes, William was at Bristol Polly and he'd come home and I remember the night before, for we had supper in the dining room and we had roast lamb and I'd really gone to a lot of trouble because it was lovely to have him home and we were all as a complete family the night before, which is a huge bonus because I remember that.

Mary Berry24:05

And then on the morning he was doing business studies and he said, I want to get the times. Can I borrow the car? And we and we'd had a a sports car restored. And I said, well, just ask Dad. It was a January morning with the sun streaming in the windows. And so Paul said, absolutely fine, off you go. And he didn't come back.

Speaker 124:15

And

Mary Berry24:30

And um the next thing I knew was a policeman at the door.

Mary Berry24:36

I must say I felt really sorry for the police. Oh, you know the moment the policeman comes to the door you know exactly. And he said that that sadly William had died, and Annabel is in Wickham Hospital.

Mary Berry24:47

And then you think of two.

Speaker 424:50

Mm-hmm.

Mary Berry24:51

ghastly. And so we sped off to see Annabel.

Mary Berry24:56

And we arrived at the hospital and honestly a brilliant hospital. I can remember them giving you sweet tea and saying sit down and being really nice. And then out of the corner of my eye I saw Annabel in her pink track suit rushing down a corridor covered in mud. And I thought, Oh, thank goodness

Speaker 325:17

And you work with her now. You run a business with her now. You're obviously very close to her.

Mary Berry25:21

Yes, um it's been going on for, I suppose, fifteen years now. Um when I was running an AGA cook school at home, my husband said, You make the best dressing.

Mary Berry25:32

um which is the family dressing. I had it from my parents. Why don't you sell it? And I said, I really don't have time to to set up a business making dressing. And Annabel perked up at the age of about seventeen, saying, Well, I'll do it.

Speaker 325:47

You mentioned the cookery school, the aga classes that you would hold in your home. That was something you started after William's death. Was that more you felt like an.

Mary Berry25:50

Yeah.

Speaker 325:55

I can do something at home. I'm not sure I can do something out in the big, bad world right now. Was it from that?

Mary Berry26:00

That's exactly how it was. When William has died.

Mary Berry26:04

Um

Mary Berry26:06

I you it is shattering. And you don't I didn't want to leave Paul. I didn't want to leave the family. I I thought, what can I do from home? And having uh written the aga book, I knew a lot about it, so I thought, nobody's doing the school, I'll do it. And we had a steady flow of people and we were always full.

Speaker 326:24

I in the introduction to you, I said this idea of well, you said particularly baking as therapy, but I'm thinking now of cooking as therapy. Was there something about it that maybe helped you to?

Speaker 326:36

Maybe in some way deal with the horror that had hit you.

Mary Berry26:40

Um

Mary Berry26:41

I think keeping busy and my way of keeping busy was to cook, but I always look back and I think it is a huge bonus to have two other children.

Speaker 426:54

Yeah.

Mary Berry26:55

I mean, if he'd been the only one, shattering

Mary Berry26:58

And of course it brings you terribly close together. And uh Annabel and Tom and their other halves, you know, if we're having an occasion we always raise a glass to Will, or Will would like this or uh what a shame he can't see this. I think for us we like to uh keep him very much part of the family.

Speaker 327:19

Let's have some music and take a break. What are we going to hear then, Mary? We're on your sixth choice of the day.

Mary Berry27:25

Rod Stewart and Sailing. It was something that the boys, when they were back from school, they would have it on full blast upstairs, and when Will's funeral came, not only did we have Onward Christian Soldiers, but we finished with sailing to remember him.

Speaker 427:45

I'm sorry.

Speaker 427:48

I am sailing.

Speaker 427:52

Oh my God.

Speaker 427:56

Across the sea.

Speaker 428:00

I am saving.

Speaker 428:03

Starmie Waddy.

Speaker 428:07

To be where are you?

Speaker 428:11

To get free

Speaker 328:14

That was Rod Stewart's Anne Sailing. And so, for a girl who never passed her English exam, you've sold well, I've been told, six million cookery books. Is that right? I think it is. Not bad going, is it?

Mary Berry28:24

Uh

Mary Berry28:26

and whose spelling is pretty bad.

Speaker 328:27

Uh

Speaker 328:28

And we must then, of course, talk not just about the books, but about the great British bake-off, which has become.

Speaker 328:35

Actually, something of a televisual phenomenon. I mean, people, I include myself, are absolutely glued to it. Why do you think that is?

Mary Berry28:42

Well, they are all amateur bakers. Everything you see is absolutely genuine. No dramas and, you know, there isn't a camera going round. Ah, she's crying. Shall we put that in? They're very likely not to put it in. If people do things that uh don't work and uh you know a source doesn't set or something, the camera is on it, and then later on, either Paul Hollywood or I will say, to avoid that, we do such and such, so people really get the feel it is a baking lesson in disguise.

Speaker 329:16

And um Paul Hollywood, you mentioned there is your is your fellow judge. And and th the greatest sin of all is surely the soggy bottom.

Mary Berry29:24

Soggy bottoms, if there's one thing that I really don't like in a quiche, and you can imagine when I go to charity lunches and things, it's always the committee make things like quiches, and you lift it up

Speaker 129:35

Yeah.

Mary Berry29:38

And it's just underbaked and it's horrible to eat, but I can never tuck it under a lettuce leaf because somebody's going to be hurt when they clear the plate. Of course. How do you avoid a soggy bottom? A soggy bottom you avoid by baking blind. And then I always put it in on a hot baking sheet, nice thin pastry underneath, dry it out.

Speaker 329:58

Yeah.

Mary Berry29:58

Then

Speaker 329:59

Yeah.

Mary Berry29:59

App

Speaker 329:59

Put the filling in. So, the Great British Bake Off is a big TV hit, and I'm wondering what your grandchildren make of that, because Granny's a TV star. What's that like?

Mary Berry30:08

Well, um I have twin granddaughters, Abby and Grace, and I've been to their school doing bakoff judging. Have you? Annabel and Dan have Hobie and Louie and I've been there cooking fairy cakes with them and I enjoy that. Um they watch the programme and I had one phone call from Gracie absolutely sobbing.

Speaker 330:15

How to

Mary Berry30:32

Granny, why did you send Janet home? We love Janet.

Speaker 330:36

Oh yes, we love it.

Mary Berry30:37

We know wrong. Pierrel

Speaker 330:39

Right, let's have some music then, Mary Berry. We're on your um penultimate choice. What are we going to hear?

Mary Berry30:44

Lord of the Dance. This reminds me so much of Annabel's wedding. We were lucky enough to have sun and lots of jolty and lots of singing and dancing. Great day.

Speaker 431:02

Oh sweet, wherever you're living in youngster morning when you're tossed!

Speaker 431:08

I danced with the moon and the stars and the sun And I came down of heaven and I danced on the earth And I twenty third I have my

Speaker 431:35

Oh shit, wherever you can see.

Speaker 431:38

I danced for the stars and the fairies sings, But they would not dance and they wouldn't follow me. I danced for the bishops and for James and for John. They came with me and the dance went on.

Speaker 431:51

God's blessed God of his I am the Lord of the Gods and He

Speaker 331:57

Lord of the Dance, sung by the Bach Choir. You mentioned your mother died recently, she was a hundred and five, and your father died in his late eighties, so they both of course lived to see your great success.

Speaker 132:05

Uh

Mary Berry32:06

So they

Speaker 332:09

Did they ever talk to you about it? What did they make of it?

Mary Berry32:11

I think that they were proud, and mum particularly, because she had all those years um afterwards. But I think Dad was proud. But you see, I was proud of my father.

Mary Berry32:22

He achieved great things in Bath, so I am proud of him, and I think perhaps he was proud of me.

Speaker 332:28

And so you're filming a third series of The Great British Bake Off now, that no no signs of retiring, Mary Berry?

Speaker 332:34

Yeah.

Mary Berry32:34

Retiring. Why would I retire? I am so blessed with good health. I love what I do, and I'm very honoured to be asked to still be in the bake-off. I love it.

Speaker 332:43

I worry about your husband Paul, saying to you, Mary, you know, maybe the seven week cruise would be a nice idea. You know, we are the age we are. Do you ever have those sort of conversations with him?

Mary Berry32:52

The seven-week cruise wouldn't be on. I think he'd take me to see some golf matches or something. I love my husband dearly and he supports me in every way. When I came back from the bake-off last night, there's a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in his hand, just like my father with his chin and tonic. And together we have supper because it's usually late. And it's Tom, our sons, hens, boiled eggs. And what's more delicious?

Speaker 333:21

Delicious. Yes, nothing really. Um what about going to the island, Mary Berry? There'll be no um proofs to read of new cookery books, there'll be no filming schedule, there'll be no poll with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. You're going to find it very

Speaker 333:34

Very lonely. How are you with your own company?

Mary Berry33:37

I'm fine for a very short time. Yes, I think I am going to be quite lonely there. I'm a bit worried.

Mary Berry33:43

Let's hear your final piece of music. What are you going to choose?

Mary Berry33:46

Oh, Abba, Mamma Mia. My husband and a group of chaps all I think it's about once in six weeks they play cards. And of course, all the wise off we go to a cinema, or we might even come to London, some treat, local pub. But we all went to Mamma Mia, and it was hilarious, and actually as you sit in the seats and you look round and you see all groups of girls.

Mary Berry34:10

Perhaps I shouldn't call myself a girl, but you know what I mean. All in groups. Everybody who went to see that in the cinema, I thoroughly enjoyed it. You come out singing.

Speaker 434:18

Come on here.

Speaker 434:20

Here I go again, my mile. How can I resist you, Mama, Mia?

Speaker 434:27

Does she show again, mama, just how much I missed her?

Speaker 434:35

Blue since the day we parted Why but did I have electrical Mama made up

Speaker 434:44

Now I really love my mind. I think

Speaker 334:49

That was Abba and Mamma Mia. So we come to the books, Mary. I'm going to give you the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare, and your other book is going to be what?

Mary Berry34:58

I would like to take with me a book that I have in the kitchen, because I have gardening books in the kitchen, the A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Flowers. It's a huge book, and it has a photograph of every single plant. I may find some plants there, and also I'm not staying on that island too long. I'm going to be rescued. So I want to go on planning the garden. You may have that. And a luxury, too. What are you going to take? That was difficult. Everybody would say, I'm the coldest mortal in the world. I think I would have a huge cashmere beautiful rug. I know it's going to be cold at nights there. And the thought of being on that sand with nothing round me, no loving children or husband, I'll have that rug to keep me warm. Pure cashmere, please.

Speaker 335:47

You shall have that one hundred percent. And um if you had to choose just one of the eight discs today, which one would you choose?

Mary Berry35:54

The one that I would take, I think

Mary Berry35:57

To remind me of William would be Rod Stewart singing sailing.

Mary Berry36:01

It's yours. Mary Berry, thank you very much for letting us hear your Desert Island discs. Thank you very much for asking me.

Mary Berry36:08

I've enjoyed myself so much.

Speaker 336:45

You've been listening to a download from the BBC. You'll find more information on the Radio 4 website: bbc.co.uk slash Radio Four.