Wonderland (UK) Season 4 Episode 6 -

Airdate: 2012-Feb-29

Episode summary:

Until last October, Stamford Hill's highly orthodox Gaby and Tikwah Lock -married for 40 years and who featured in a previous Wonderland film about Hasidic weddings - had never been on a holiday. Their leisure time was spent divided between religious study and domestic duties. Then they booked themselves a 12 day Mediterranean kosher cruise. Although it tours the same destinations as many ships, this is a cruise like no other. Alongside universal entertainments like belly dancing and a communal jacuzzi, the Golden Iris boasts religious lectures, creative towel folding and couples relationship workshops. The experience of life on board seems to bring a sparkle to many of the marriages it hosts. 'It's like putting a log in the fireplace,' says one woman, 'For the flame not to go out, you have to feed it once in a while.' For Gaby and Tikwah, however, the story of the holiday throws a surprising and revealing spotlight on married life. Home truths and frustrations emerge from their visits to the cruise ship couples workshop, which Gaby resolves with an unexpected gift for his wife and a little more understanding of Tikwah's exasperation at his domestic shortcomings.

About Wonderland (UK) series:

BBC Two’s documentary strand, an annual eight-part series of hour-long films about different aspects of contemporary British life.