The Real Marigold Hotel

I just watched it. I thought all the women sounded a bit silly. And they need to watch their weight (Margolis and the chef woman). They look well lined up for diabetes and/or heart disease. Didn't show us Brits up in a very good light at all. The men were no better.

I think the Maharini was trying to excuse the wealth gap by saying that the poor could well come back as a higher caste. Yeah right. daft cow Silly woman.

BananaGran we have a group of friends who meet to appreciate different wines, not U3A. We are having Onion Bhajis and Raita with the Indian white and Falafel and stuffed vine leaves with an Israeli wine. Others are bringing Croatian and Austrian wines with accompanying food.

I'm not sure if I enjoyed the programme or not ?
Wayne Sleep irritated me, MM seemed utterly overbearing and Patti is definitely a diva.

I loved the scenery and learning a little about Jaipur but otherwise it didn't do anything for me

We had no problem getting wine!

I think there is a lot of outdated ideas about India. They actually have more mobile phones pp than any other country, they really care about education and pay poor people to send their children to school, provide the uniforms and feed them. Universities are free and if you want to go to one in another country the government pays half and will loan you the other half if necessary. It is my belief that India will outperform the rest of us in a few years. Money still talks though and I suspect a bribe was paid to get us to the front of the queue at the Golden Temple.

Agree with whoever said many of them wish we hadn't left.

We had a Muslim driver on our trip and got to know him really well. He wanted the best for his children, didn't care who they married and said the caste system was no longer relevant. I found the real India had moved on a long way from the attitudes of some people I know who came over in the 1960s who seem to be stuck there. We had some good cricket banter as well as we were playing them at the time!

I suspect the programme was carefully edited to make us think things are far more divided than they are. What the Maharani failed to say (or it was edited out) is that Hindus believe they are where they are at the moment but if they live well will come back as something better.

My daughter and I were already planning a visit and now can't wait to go.
£20 a week to be waited on? Beats any residential home here.

Just watched this on iPlayer and really enjoyed it. I loved the two films and it will be interesting to compare 'reality' with fiction. I thought Jan Leeming looked amazing for her age!

As far as the rich/poor divide, having lived in a country in Africa where this was rife when I was in my 20s this is very familiar. I remember being shocked at the time but it made me realise how lucky we are living where we do. I get so fed up with people moaning about this country. First world problems. Abject poverty is hard to see though.

Watched it last night and loved it. Dear little Wayne is trying so hard to be amusing etc but is so terribly shy! Not so sure about MM, seems a bit superior to me.

It all brought back so many lovely memories to us as we went to all except one of those places. Looking forward to the next one.

I watched this on catch-up earlier and really enjoyed it!
I'll definitely be watching again

Oh and I liked the programme a lot - which of course is what the thread is about, I rather went off piste as t'were.

Pittcity - would the Indian wine be for a U3A wine group? I'm in one - good idea which might copy!
Once saw a cooking demo by Rosemary, at a country fair, (her grandchildren were there too) & she was very entertaining.

Watched this as I actually knew who all the celebs were!? Enjoyed it but I suppose we are seeing the best edited bits. I could certainly enjoy the accommodation and would enjoy the true Indian food. But the heat would defeat me, and the noise and crowds in the streets. Suppose you could get used to it as long as you had somewhere quieter to live. Wonder if Jan Leeming will find a rich prince for her 6th,7th or 8th husband? Good on Rosemary to do some cooking.

I thought Patti Boulaye came across all right - but I don't like her politics.

gillybob I agree that the caste system in India is dreadful. It is now illegal but I don't think many people complain to the police - maybe because they're afraid of repercussions. This sort of discrimination isn't "racist", though, because the people involved are of the same race.

I, like Wilma, felt some annoyance at the maharani saying that the lower castes accepted their situation. I too thought how, as someone benefitting from a discriminatory system, it was very convenient for her to believe that it was accepted to be the natural order of things. Even though some people of lower castes may accept their lowly position, that does not make it right. Hopefully, in time, these horrible attitudes and practices will fade away but I wonder how pro-active the government is in campaigning against them and in dealing severely with the perpetrators of caste discrimination.

I suppose if we look back to our own past, there was also the view that people's social position was in some way preordained, as demonstrated in the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful:

"The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them high and lowly,
And ordered their estate."

These sorts of beliefs and practices are often propped up by religions.

I liked Sylvester and think he could prove to be quietly amusing.

Unlike Miriam who disappointed me very much - I always thought she was quite amusing but I found her attempts (to the camera) at humour rather puerile, shouting 'look at me, how rude and naughty I can be with my toilet jokes'. The kind of 'humour' little boys go through at an early stage in their life and hopefully grow out of.

jimorourke Sylvester is the wizard Radagast the Brown in the new Hobbit films. If you've seen any of them you might not have recognised him in his costume and makeup.

There's an interview with each of the group Here

I think Patti is ok. She's always dressed flamboyantly, so she probably doesn't own casual clothes. I doubt if she'll be able to maintain her makeup habit in that heat. It was funny when Bobby made the joke about dressing up one night (think it was Bobby).

The thing that has stuck in my mind is the discussion with the woman from my 'Royal family'. She said the people from the lowest castes accept their situation because they believe they can come back the next time as something else. I thought that came over as an excuse for an unfair system and easy for someone at the top to say.

Loved the show and thought Miriam Margoyles very amusing as usual. I thought she might turn politically confrontational when the Maharani said the poor don't mind being poor. It was also interesting to see Sylvester McCoy because outside of Dr Who I haven't seen his work so I will look forward to the next episode. Hope they remember that mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun , but elderly Brits must be more careful about the heat.

I watched it last night and was fascinated. I saw the movie too which I really enjoyed. Bit hectic on the streets - but so colourful and lively. Definitely watch the following episodes.

I've just realised, I don't think it's realistic to plan to retire there because of the visa system, which is very strict. Even our son, who has a job there, has to return to the UK every few years to renew his visa.
Maybe if you married someone with an Indian passport?

I have been to India many, many times and I just love it. I was married to an Indian who was brought up under the Raj and he saw a very different India to the one I got to know. He along with other Indians thought the worst thing the British did was to leave. And still there is a huge legacy of the Raj - not always good, but in general we are very welcome there, I never had any problems with the Indians, quite the opposite. I find it very embarrassing to be pulled to the head of queues just because I was a white Memsahib!

I didn't see the programme, but love the two films and the book they are based on. It is very typical of many parts of today's India. Many of the locations are in palace hotels that I have stayed in and thoroughly enjoyed being waited on.

and Leonora you are wrong to sneer at those who love this way of life. The one thing we Westerners can do is to be there and spend money, employ local labour even for the most menial task. It's peanuts to us in comparison, and not to do this is denying a whole extended family food for a week. It can get very annoying at times, but please don't deny them a livelihood.

Mark Tully - BBC correspondent for India - once said when asked how he coped with the poverty 'I don't - the poor do'.

I could wax lyrical for hours about this country I know well (I think) and love. It is very diverse and pervades the senses in every way. It's not all unbearable heat, especially in the North, and in Simla where my ex was brought up the temperature doesn't often go above 65F in summer. I would have loved to have had the chance to live there for a few years, but India is hard work so I don't think I would want to retire there on a permanent basis. So I'll stick with France.

Yes Ana, I really did understand that the celebrities had no intention of retiring to India - that was exactly why I questioned the whole enterprise.
If the programme makers had funded half a dozen, cash-strapped
OAPs to experience how they might be able to support themselves in that beautiful, but flawed society, we might have learned something worthwhile.
What we got was a gaggle of celebs on a paid Holliday. Yet another celebrity travelogue.
I wonder if the Maharaja and his lady wife would have invited, (to take tea with them) a group of ordinary OAPs who were considering retirement in India?
I doubt it.
The programme was a cynical exercise in hooking itself onto a film, popular with oldies.
There was never any intention of discovering , as we were informed it would be, what retirement could be
like for ordinary older folk,who having enjoyed the film, wondered if it might, just, be possible.

Me neither Juggernaut I am not sure I could even enjoy a holiday where such extremes were evident all around me.

I think that young guide saying how hard it was for someone of "his caste" to get a job as a tour guide just sums that up. Horribly racist.

I couldn't bear to live anywhere that has such a difference in the 'haves' and the 'have nots'!

I thoroughly enjoyed it, and really liked Rosemary, I think she could turn out to be good fun, MM disappointed me, I didn't like her refusal to pitch in with the chores, or her not wanting to share, I'll be interested to watch the next episode, and thought some of the scenery was beautiful. Maybe I should visit (in the cooler months of course)

Thought MM was great. Agree with comments about Patti Boule. Thought that she had far too many glamorous clothes for India. The colour and photography were great and I ejoyed it immensely but would not like to retire there away from my wonderful six grandchildren!

I have got a bottle of Indian wine in the rack for my next wine tasting group. Got it from M&S. Looking forward to trying it.