I was never a massive fan of The Young Ones but I’ve always liked Ade Edmondson, he’s a particularly funny and talented guy.

Ade has been involved with comedy and humour for many years now. My personal enjoyment of his undoubted artistic abilities however, has mostly centered around his more recent (and popular) documentary work – serious stuff presented with a humorous twist.

Ade in Britain

During the Ade in Britain TV series, Edmondson took a culinary road trip around Britain. Touring the country in a Mini and armed with a collection of pots and pans, he cooked up regional dishes from the back of a “spiffing” little caravan. All the time revealing some of the eccentricities and character of each region.

The series was interesting and refreshing; I generally find any culinary show that features traditional or robust and ‘simple’ food, cooked by ‘normal’ cooks in ‘real’ circumstances, far more enjoyable than any ‘arty-farty’ Nouvelle cuisine crud. The latter usually conjours up thoughts of Emperor’s New Clothes in food terms for me. I’ve always been more of a Cuisine Classique kind of guy – if you get my drift?

The Dales 

In The Dales series, Edmondson busied himself touring and getting to know both the area and the residents of the Yorkshire Dales. Another series of TV shows that were obviously of interest to me.

In the episodes of three separate series, Edmondson meandered around the parts of Yorkshire which were synonymous with the earlier years of my life. Places where I have lived, places that I’ve loved and still do (see My Yorkshire). 

His undoubted interest in all things foodie, along with his own proven culinary skills, also saw him scoop the 2013 Celebrity Masterchef trophy.

Ade at Sea

It’s one of the reasons I’ll be making efforts to follow his latest work, coming to ITV soon. “Never one to rest on his laurels” apparently, Ade Edmondson is “about to ‘set sail’ on a brand new documentary” exploring Britain’s maritime past (see here).

As Ade points out “Everything about Britain is focused on the sea – the fact we drink tea comes from our tea clippers. The fact we had an empire had to do with the number of guns we could put to sea in boats. We owe a lot to the sea.”

Like Edmondson, along with many other occupants of our small island nation no doubt, I too have a great love of the sea and all things maritime. Our history and culture have in many ways, been shaped by the sea. For centuries, we’ve used our waters for fishing, trade, exploration, conquest and defence, and sometimes simply for pleasure.

The series reflects the rich diversity that our sea and coast has to offer, as Ade discovers those gems of tradition, heritage, invention, and modern expertise that makes our British coastline unique…(ITV)

Being both a beer and music lover also, Ade and I have other interests in common. I’ve found his somewhat whimsical and unusual mix of folk and punk both entertaining and fun. His band, The Bad Shepherds were also nominated for the Best Live Act award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2010, only missing out to the critically acclaimed Bellowhead. Testament to the quality of their musical performances.

Sifting through the Adrian Edmondson website prior to this post, I found his comments about his entry at wikipedia.org amusing. Apparently he’d registered with wikipedia.org and tried to log in and correct some of the inaccuracies published about him.

…every time I make a correction it is immediately ‘undone’ by some nerdy wikipedia bastard who apparently knows more about me than I do. One of them even describes my knowledge as ‘not exactly encyclopaedic’ – a phrase, which really applies to Wikipedia itself. And the editing language is so unnecessarily complex – it’s the kind of stuff that attracts boys with no friends and poor hygiene…(Ade Edmondson)

Those who, far too often, rely solely upon wikipedia.org for the majority of their ‘knowledge’ should probably take note!

Ade at sea, will see its first ITV airing at 8.30pm on 20th March 2014. I for one will be battening down the hatches and dropping anchor in front of the TV for the duration. Assuming no loose cannons, I might even splice the mainbrace for an evening of enjoyable plain sailing – anything less would be a fine kettle of fish!