My Family and Other Animals

Corfu 1935. Mrs Durrell is persuaded by her eldest son, Larry, to quit England's rain-soaked shores for the beautiful, sunlit island of Corfu. The Durrell family are promptly pounced upon by Spiro the taxi driver who announces that he will take them in hand and fix everything.

Guided by Spiro, the Durrell family begin to settle in on Corfu. George vainly attempts to teach Gerry basic arithmetic but Gerry is far more interested in doing business with the rose-beetle man. He soon acquires a tortoise and a pigeon who can dance.

The family become concerned when Spiro starts behaving very strangely. Gerry is worried when his bottle of scorpion poison goes missing.... and even more worried when Larry says he's feeling ill.

Mrs Durrell invites Margo's young man, Yasha, to tea, but he soon succeeds in upsetting everyone. Leslie wants to shoot him and have done with it, but it is Spiro who finds a simple solution to the problem.

The family have moved to a larger villa to accommodate Larry's weird bohemian guests. Hoping to cure her acne, Margo kisses the feet of the mummified St Spiridion. Gerry is preoccupied with a pregnant scorpion whose offspring soon cause chaos.

After a moonlight boating expedition nearly ending up in Albania, Gerry announces that what he really wants for his birthday is a boat of his own. Peter, Gerry's latest tutor, is hopelessly in love with Margo. It's plain he'll have to go.

While Margo moons over her departed Peter, Gerry is able to enjoy life again, exploring the underwater world in his boat. Mrs Durrell is feeling less cheerful. A dreaded aunt is threatening to come and stay. Dramatic measures are called for.

A move to yet another villa. Spiro finds another tutor for Gerry. Mr Kralefsky is not only a good teacher but more importantly knows a lot about birds. Gerry is fascinated by old Mrs Kralefsky, who listens to flowers talking.

To the alarm of the family, Gerry acquires a large, vicious gull. Larry is convinced it's a doom-laden albatross and Mrs Durrell is horrified to learn that Gerry's latest friend is a convicted murderer.

Both Kralefsky and Theodore reluctantly agree that the time has come for Gerry to go to school in England. A farewell party is arranged but, true to form, everything goes wrong.