The Courgette Brothers

Italians invaded Richard&Judy this week in the form of the Courgette Brothers. They didn’t make it onto the show because of a fire in the car park before they were due to go on air. Their mobile kitchen caught fire and the inferno destroyed their food, props, and the brother’s moustaches. We filled in with more chat on the sofa while outside the studio, two irate Italians were kissing their fingers and waving their fists to the sky while crying ‘mamma mia!’

For those of you who don’t live in London, the Courgettes are two of the finest providers of quick food and their appearance on our show was to be their chance to reach a new plateau of culinary fame. They have just filmed a TV show for BBC2 in which they sail across the Atlantic in a rowboat, cooking many different meals from the things they catch or find along the way. ‘Two Men in a Boat Eat Flotsam’ should make them the stars they richly deserve to be and both Judy and I recommend that you tune into the show next week.

I leave you on this fine hot Saturday with some facts about Italy, one of my favourite holiday destinations. It’s also one of the oldest places in the world, with the average age of the population now reaching 83 years old. More money is spent in Italy on toupees than the rest of the world combined, though if you take out the money spent by Silvio Berlusconi on false hair, then they actually spend less per capita than any other country. Italian olive oil is one of the best in the world and achieves its distinct flavour by being pressed the traditional way, squeezed between the gums of Sicilian widows.