Timewatch: Queen Elizabeth's Lost Guns - "A mile off the coast of the channel island of Alderney lies a shipwreck that could rewrite English naval history. Presenter Saul David joins a team of divers and experts as they attempt to find and raise the ship's four-hundred-year-old cannons. By recasting and firing them, they hope to demonstrate how Elizabeth I became the mother of British naval dominance... "
Guns, Germs and Steel - "Jared Diamond embarks on a world-wide quest to understand the roots of global inequality, tracing humanity's meanderings across 13,000 years of history.
Jared asks why Europeans were the ones to conquer so much of the planet - why didn't the Chinese or the Incas become masters of the globe instead, and why are the tropics now the capital of global poverty?
As he peels back the layers of history to uncover fundamental, environmental factors shaping the destiny of humanity, Diamond finds both his theories and his own endurance tested."
Sissinghurst - "Series about the attempts of writer Adam Nicolson and his wife Sarah to bring farming back into the heart of the estate and garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent." - "Battling the National Trust can take time. Three years into the action, writer Adam Nicolson attends his 47th committee meeting, armed with tea, biscuits and bucketloads of patience. His grandfather, writer and politician Harold Nicolson, had donated the property at Sissinghurst in Kent to the Trust, on condition the family could always live there. While his wife Sarah yearns to modernise the restaurant, Adam itches to restore the farm as he believes his grandmother, writer Vita Sackville-West, would have wished. But it's the Trust that makes the decisions. In this opening double-bill, Adam's plans get the green light; but he'll undoubtedly need to stock up on digestive biscuits. "
Drama on 3: The Time Machine - Part of BBC Radio's forthcoming sci-fi season - "Robert Glenister stars in Philip Osment's dramatisation of HG Wells' classic story of a time-traveller's journey to the future, where mankind has diverged into two species - the Eloi and the Morlocks."
Horizon: The Secret Life of Your Bodyclock - "Why are you more likely to have a heart attack at eight o'clock in the morning or crash your car on the motorway at two o'clock in the afternoon? Can taking your medication at the right time of day really save your life? And have you ever wondered why teenagers will not get out of bed in the morning?
The answers to these questions lie in the secret world of the biological clock."
True Stories: Trouble at the Water - "A Grand Jury Prize winner at the Sundance Festival (and up for an Oscar two nights ago), this harrowing doc uses camcorder footage shot by New Orleans couple Kimberly and Scott Roberts to show Hurricane Katrina and the floods ripping through their community. "
Lloyd George: People's Champion - "Huw Edwards presents a profile of the former Prime Minister, depicting him as a brilliantly innovative social reformer to whom we owe old age pensions, National Insurance and much else. Contributors include Stephen Constantine, Margaret MacMillan, Neil Kinnock, Michael Heseltine and David Steel."
The Naked Archaeologist - "Bringing a touch of rock and roll to archaeology as he dances and raps his way around the ancient Middle East, he's been affectionately termed Ali G meets Indiana Jones. We know him better as The Naked Archaeologist. But just who really is Simcha Jacobovici?... "
Britain's Best Drives: 1/6 - Scarborough to Whitby - "Actor Richard Wilson takes a journey into the past, following routes raved about in motoring guides of 50 years ago.
In a classic Morris Minor Traveller, he drives from Scarborough to Whitby via the Yorkshire moors. He learns about the rise and fall of the British seaside resorts, takes a toll road through the Dalby Forest and checks out the mythical roadside wonder that is the Hole of Horecum.
He finds out how the village of Goathland now lives a double life and ends up with a carload of goths on their way to visit Whitby Abbey."
Britain's Best Drives 2/6 - North Wales - "Actor Richard Wilson takes a journey into the past, following routes raved about in motoring guides of 50 years ago.Richard takes the wheel of Ford Zodiac to drive the circular route from Caernarfon that loops through some of Snowdonia's most sensational scenery.He gets a Welsh lesson at Caernarfon Castle, learns the significance of the Dinorwic slate quarry, drives the Llanberis Pass, meets 71-year-old human fly Eric Jones and takes a trip down memory lane at a former Butlins holiday camp."
Caravans: A British Love Affair - "Documentary about the love affair between the British and their caravans, which saw the country establish the world's largest caravan manufacturer and transformed the holiday habits of generations of families.
In telling the intriguing story of caravanning in Britain from the 1950s through to the present day, the film reveals how caravans were once the plaything of a privileged minority but after World War II became a firm favourite with almost a quarter of British holidaymakers.
It explores how changes in caravanning across the years reflect wider changes in British society, in particular the increased availability of cars during the 1950s and 60s, but also the improved roads network and changing attitudes towards holidaymaking and leisure time.
Enthusiasts and contributors include Dorrie van Lachterop from the West Midlands and Christine Fagg from Hertfordshire, remarkable and adventurous women who started touring alone in their caravans during the 1950s."
Touring Britain: The Victorian Way 1/2 - "Cultural historian David Heathcote uses his favourite old 1887 Baedeker Guide to explore modern-day Britain, discovering unexpected delights and hidden treasures which were popular with Victorian tourists but are rarely visited today.
Following in the footsteps of early American tourists who arrived off the boats in Liverpool, he takes the advice of the Guide and discovers 'the most fashionable of Welsh watering places'. The Guide then recommends a trip to the salt mines, popular with American visitors 100 years ago and, surprisingly, just as interesting today.
He then travels on to Manchester, recommended by Baedeker as a hotbed of music, politics and radical thinking and discovers that the spirit of what attracted the curious visitors 100 years ago lives on.
The journey ends in York where modern day tourists follow in the footsteps of their Victorian counterparts and enjoy the magnificent medieval city and cathedral.
As he travels, Heathcote explores the story behind the guide books that were so influential in creating the independent traveller as we know it today."
Michael Smith's Drivetime - 6 part series "Novelist and raconteur Michael Smith explores Britain's modern obsession with cars and driving, as well as seeking to understand the effects it has on our daily lives." Part 1 Escape From London and Part 2 Long Days On Watling Street
The Joy of Motoring - "Tristram Hunt looks at how motoring has gone from allowing us to explore the English countryside to the present day of speed cameras, congestion charges and environmental issues."
Snowstorms: Britain's Big Freeze - "In the first weeks of February, travellers were stranded and thousands of schools closed as Britain suffered its worst snow falls in 18 years. This film documents that extraordinary week and the fallout from the storm, exploring the possible factors behind the freak weather.
On Monday February 2, large parts of Britain almost ground to a halt. The snow and ice continued over the week as parts of Britain began to adapt and resume their routine. Still, great swathes of the nation suffered from heavy snow, icy roads and flooding, crippled by relentless snow and rainfall, and unable to cope. People battled to get to work, some taking eight hours using skis and sledges, while others made the most of their wintry day off. Parents gave up and joined their children in a great snow romp across the country.
In a climate mostly dominated by the recession, Britain was turned into a fun, white wonderland by this sudden change in conditions, but with more than just a few broken bones as a result. Snowstorm: Britain's Big Freeze examines the causes of this dramatic weather and if it really is that unusual. The last great storms were in 1946, 1963 and 1991, and if this was part of a cycle we might have to wait another two decades before the next one.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.
No comments:
Post a Comment