These are smashing Meesh, and without intent to patronise - well done! There's no turning back now you know, no doubt you can see now why I love this programme so much and still have not tired of it. I have to say that Carol get's my first vote every time, but Lucy is a really tight second. She drove me crackers on Gems, but this channel seems to be exactly right for her and I think she's played a major role in making it what it is. If it weren't for the blimmin' "what is it", "potato" (which seems to be gradually disappearing) they'd probably be head-to-head. What I like about Carol is first that she is totally crackers in the right way, always the same - full of beans and naturally funny, doesn't rely on the "in" TV programmes for her vocabulary and is never moody (I'm not for one minute saying that Lucy is either of the latter two).
I only have a couple of whinges about JM and that's the endless "Chinese jade" - they must know by now what it is and to be honest always should have. I refuse to sell mine as "jade" as I know Brits expect nephrite when buying jade. I have to say "probably quartzite (a very lowly mineral) but not certain" and sell it as I would man-made, i.e. no claims as to what it is. I don't think calling it "Chinese jade" (people who don't watch JM will expect this to be nephrite from China) is anywhere good enough for sales in Britain. Another is findings - horrendously expensive, and generally unimaginitive, so no sale. Lastly, "shell" pearl, I really can't call these natural. Powdered shell reconstituted, reformed and dyed in a factory. Small things in the grand scheme and which I'm happy to accept given how much pleasure I get from the channel in general. xxxxxxxxxxxxx