Off-air recordings for week 22-28 November 2008

Please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

Time Team Special - Washingborough, Lincs - "Three thousand years ago the River Witham, just outside Lincoln, was very different to what it is today. The river itself, which is now channelled in a virtually straight canal, was then very much wider, 100 metres or more across in parts, winding its way through reed beds and marshes. And higher sea levels at that time meant that the coast was much further inland, with tides reaching the modern-day village of Washingborough. ... "

God Bless America - "George W Bush was one of the most openly religious presidents in American history. After his eight-year term of office ended this November, this documentary takes a look at the political future for America's conservative Christians... "

Lost For Words: Tonight - "Angie Mason looks at why some children arrive a primary school unable to string a proper sentence together, and how this lack of early development could affect their whole lives."

Horizon: Jimmy's GM Food Fight - "Jimmy Doherty, pig farmer, one-time scientist and poster-boy for sustainable food production is on a mission to find out if GM crops really can feed the world. We need to double the amount of food we produce in the next fifty years to feed the world's growing population. Are GM crops the answer? Or are they a dangerous Frankenstein technology that could start an environmental catastrophe? To find the answers Jimmy is on a journey that will take him from the cutting-edge technology of the GM laboratories to the banana plantations of Uganda."

High Society's Favourite Gigolo - "Channel 4's High Society season of fascinating documentaries examining secret scandals and notorious figures from the higher echelons of British society continues with the amazing but largely forgotten story of the meteoric rise and pitiful fall of Britain's first black superstar."

Francesco's Venice - "Francesco's Venice brings us the epic story of Venice, seen through the eyes of Francesco da Mosto, a descendent of one of the oldest and most distinguished Venetian families, whose ancestral history is inextricably intertwined with that of Venice. The book accompanies the BBC TWO series, in which Francesco takes viewers on an engaging and entertaining journey through Venice's history and the secrets and mysteries of its canals, palaces and homes... "

Travels with Vasari - "The first of two documentaries exploring the extraordinary achievement of the chronicler of the Italian Renaissance, Giorgio Vasari, author of the monumental Lives of the Artists. On a spectacular journey through Renaissance Italy, Andrew Graham-Dixon goes in search of the shadowy figure who wrote arguably the most important book ever written about art and looks at some of the most dazzling art ever created, including masterpieces of the early Renaissance by Giotto, Masaccio and Donatello."

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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.* 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.

Off-air recordings 15-21 November 2008

Please email Rich Deakin - rdeakin@glos.ac.uk - if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

The Fallen - "British troops have now been in Afghanistan for more than seven years and in Iraq for over five. This powerful and poignant film features families and friends of those who have died talking openly about their feelings, their loved ones and their grief. Epic in scale and spanning seven years of war, the three-hour film gives a rare insight into the personal impact and legacy of this loss."

Super Typhoon: Perfect Disaster - "The Pacific Ocean breeds the biggest and most powerful typhoons in the world. So far, the seven million inhabitants of Hong Kong have never felt the full impact of a typhoon, but a change in weather means that the most powerful force of nature has the island in its sights. Dr Chai of the Hong Kong Observatory has a few short hours to determine whether the super typhoon will hit or miss. Out on the streets, fire service officer Annie Soho is taking no chances, worrying that her father - a fisherman - may be lost to the storm. With conditions already ripe for the most destructive typhoon imaginable, watch as detailed CGI illustrates how the storm would come together and arrive at Hong Kong's door. Experts explain how the city's skyscrapers would react to a super-strength typhoon and how the city would deal with the crisis."

Time Shift: How To Solve A Cryptic Crossword - "A look at the world of cryptic crosswords, offering up the secrets of these seemingly impenetrable puzzles. Crossword setter Don Manley, AKA Quixote, reveals the tricks that compilers use to bamboozle and entertain solvers using a crossword he created especially for the programme. We also find out why Britain became home to the cryptic crossword, how a crossword nearly put paid to the D-Day invasion and why London Underground is elevating the crossword to an art form."

Mark Lawson talks to Quentin Blake - "In a rare interview, Quentin Blake talks to Mark Lawson about life as one of Britain's best known illustrators and children's authors, having illustrated over 300 books for writers such as Michael Rosen and John Yeoman. His most prolific collaboration was with Roald Dahl and together they produced some of the most famous children's books ever, including The Twits, The BFG and Matilda. Blake also taught at the Royal College of Art from 1978 to 1986 and contributed to Punch magazine when only 16."

The Ascent of Money - New 6 part series - "Why did the CEO of Goldman Sachs make £27 million last year, and you didn't? What's a hedge fund? Why are people in Europe rich, and people in Africa aren't? These and other questions are answered along the way in Niall Ferguson's major new history of Money. "

Imagine: How An Orchestra Saved Venezuela's Child - "The Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, which caused a sensation at last year's Proms, is the product of an extraordinary music education system. Children as young as two get intensive music lessons designed to steer them away from the dangers of the street. With Scotland now trying its own version of the scheme, Alan Yentob investigates the phenomenon and meets its most successful graduate, conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who next year becomes music director of the LA Philharmonic."

Storyville: Please Vote For Me - "Chinese Director Weijun Chen's charming film takes us into the world of Chinese schoolchildren, learning about democracy for the first time as they try to vote for their class monitor. Elections are pretty uncommon in China, so when the children in a school in Wuhan, Central China are presented with the chance to choose their own class monitor they don't quite know what to make of it. It doesn't take them long to get into the swing of it, though, and soon all sorts of dirty tricks are going on. Urged on by their parents, the candidates launch elaborate campaigns of bribery and coercion. After tantrums and tears, it's finally time for the vote, and who will win - the sweet girl who woos her voters with her flute playing, the bully who beats his classmates, or the boy who has the best sweets."



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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.

* 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.

Booking the Digital Edit Suite in QU015 and using the DVD/Video player in QU006

Just to recap the procedures for booking the Digital Edit Suite in QU015 and using the DVD/Video players on QU006 (see also original entries from FCH Service Desk Blog on 14 and 20 February 2008):

Booking the Digital Edit Suite

• The Digital Edit Suite (FCQU015) is bookable for the transfer of media, and editing purposes only (Except in exceptional circumstances i.e. if hell freezes over, Ian Paisley sends the Pope a Xmas card, or Walsall finish higher than Leicester City in League 1 this season, etc. etc. [Thinking about it, the last one might actually be a miracle]).

• Before using the Edit Suite it is advisable to have an overview of the equipment available (unless already familiar with it), so please refer to them to me in the first instance, if possible, either by email rdeakin@glos.ac.uk, or telephone Rich Deakin on 01242 714665.

• I'll usually make a booking for them by using the "Edit Suites" folder in the "LC Staff" folder section in the Outlook Calendar - NOT via Aleph. However, once it's been ascertained what their needs are, any member of the FCH LC staff should have access to the Edit Suite folder and can adjust booking time accordingly if necessary.
  

• As a rule bookings are usually made for 2 hours at a time. However, they can be extended if the editing is likely to take longer than this.

• The key to the edit suite is non-bookable and non-renewable, and is also issued for 2 hours at a time. But, the issue of the key should correspond with a booking period made in Outlook, and can be extended as long as no else has it booked immediately afterwards.

• Remember to extend the booking time on the Outlook Calendar too if reissuing a the room key for more time.
  

Booking the DVD/Video player

• If anyone needs to watch a DVD they can do so by watching it on one of the LC PCs, providing they can get the DVD drawer open of course! Failing that they can book the remote control (kept in the cupboard behind the enquiry desk) and watch it on the TV/DVD combi in the small annexe (QU006) next to the room with psychology books in it.

• Likewise, VHS videos can also be watched on the same television.
  

• In all cases it is advisable to borrow a set of headphones from the AV cupboard behind the Issue Desk.

There endeth my gibberish for today. I don't think I've missed anything out.

I'm sorry this is a bit convoluted, but we had to make the room non-bookable on OPAC / Aleph so as not encourage people booking it for non-media / editing purposes. Give me a call if you want me to make anything clear.

Rich

Off-air recordings 8-14 November 2008

Please email Rich Deakin - rdeakin@glos.ac.uk - if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

A Woman in Love And War: Vera Brittain - "In 1914 Vera Brittain was young, in love and preparing to study at Oxford. She was at the heart of an intense friendship that bound five youngsters (four young men and Vera) together, full of ambition and excitement. Four years later, her life and the life of her whole generation had changed unimaginably. The war saw her companions killed. As a volunteer nurse in London and on the Front she witnessed horrors that turned her idealistic passion for a 'just war' to dust. This is the story of the First World War as seen through a woman's eyes."

Wilfred Owen: A Remembrance Tale - " Jeremy Paxman presents a docudrama about tragic WW1 poet Wilfred Owen, telling the poignant tale of his life from a childhood in Shropshire and northern England to his travels in pre-war France. Paxman visits the sites of the battles in which he fought and died, and there are reconstructions from Owen's experience in the trenches and in hospital, when he was writing most intensely."

WWII: Behind Closed Doors - New 6-part documentary series using dramatic reconstructions and testimony from witnesses to reveal the 'behind closed doors' politics of the Second World War. Episode 1 looks at the secret history of the non-aggression pact between Hitler and Stalin.

Not Forgotten: the Men Who Wouldn't Fight - "In this special edition of Not Forgotten, journalist and broadcaster Ian Hislop explores the compelling and emotive stories of conscientious objectors during the First World War. Ian visits war memorials and the battlefields of the Western Front, and looks for evidence in local archives and personal war diaries to inspire his search for stories. He meets the descendants of some of the ‘Conchies’ and hears how they have dealt with the social stigma of their relatives’ refusal to fight...."

Horizon: How Mad Are You? - "For the first in a new series Horizon has drawn together ten volunteers for an extraordinary test. Five are 'normal' and the other five have been officially diagnosed as mentally ill. This programme asks - can you tell who is who? And where does the line between sanity and madness lie."

The Words of War - "To commemorate ninety years since the end of the Great War, letters, diaries and poems depicting first-hand accounts of life in the trenches are read by serving soldiers, relatives and public figures. Interwoven with archive images of the war, the accounts tell of the optimism felt in 1914, the horrors of trench warfare, and of Europe's exhausted armistice four years later."

Oceans - New 8-part series on BBC2. "A team of intrepid divers explore the oceans of planet earth... The Oceans dive team travel the globe from the Southern Ocean to the Arctic Ocean unravelling the secrets of the depths."

Secrets of Eygypt: Screaming Man - 8 part series - "In the first episode, scientists attempt to unravel the mystery of a 3,000-yearold ‘screaming’ mummy. The man was recovered from a tomb devoid of the usual trappings of Egyptian burial, with his features locked in a screaming expression. Who was this man and what does his fate reveal about the ancient Egyptian attitude to the afterlife?"

Beeching's Tracks - New 6-part series "Crane's Trains and Automobiles.
Nicholas Crane explores what happened to Norfolk's railways 45 years ago when many of the county's branch lines were closed after the Beeching Report, and he learns of an ambitious plan to build an orbital railway by reinstating some of those axed lines."

Walter Tull: Forgotten Hero - "Walter Tull was a pioneering black British footballer and the first black officer in the British Army. He died heroically fighting in the First World War, and yet almost no one has heard of him. Former EastEnders star Nick Bailey has long been obsessed by the incredible story of this forgotten black British hero. In this programme, Nick investigates war records to establish whether there was a colour bar in the British Army and asks how Walter managed to become an officer, despite Army regulations requiring only men "of pure European descent". Nick also examines why Lieutenant Tull was denied a Military Cross for heroism, despite the fact that his commanding officer recommended him for one. "

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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.

* 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.

Off-air recordings for week 1-7 November 2008

Please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

Timewatch: The Last Day of World One - "In the week before Remembrance Day, Michael Palin tells the story of how the First World War ended on 11 November 1918 and reveals the shocking truth that soldiers continued to be killed in battle for many hours after the Armistice had been signed. Recounting the events of the days and hours leading up to that last morning, Palin tells the personal stories of the last soldiers to die as the minutes and seconds ticked away to the 11am ceasefire."

Armistice - "Professor David Reynolds takes a fresh look at the extraordinary events and personalities that brought about the armistice of 1918, venturing beyond the familiar British account of Remembrance Day to unravel how the other side, the Germans, plunged to total defeat in just a few months at the end of the war.In a journey that takes him through command centres and battlefields, he uncovers a story of wounded egos, mental illness and political brinkmanship as statesmen and generals haggled over the terms of peace, while, at the front, the soldiers fought on with sustained brutality.For many Germans, the armistice was a betrayal of all they had fought for and it caused lasting resentments that would eventually fuel Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Reynolds argues that the bitter endgame of the 'war to end all wars' tragically sowed the seeds of even more appalling conflict to come."

An Awfully Big Adventure - "Looking at the life of the creator of The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame."

Picture Book - "3 part Series which reveals the enchanting story of our childhood reading.This opening part looks at our very first books and the picture book heaven they create for under fives, exploring the magical interplay of words and pictures and how they begin to shape our childhood imagination. Featuring favourites from The Tale of Peter Rabbit to Charlie and Lola, from Noddy to Thomas the Tank Engine, plus modern classics such as We're Going on a Bear Hunt and Each Peach Pear Plum.There are also interviews, readings and demonstrations of their art from leading writers and illustrators including Michael Rosen, Shirley Hughes, Alan Ahlberg and Lauren Child."

Michael Portillo: Death of a Schoolfriend - "A trio of BBC2 documentaries about mental health will see Michael Portillo examine youth suicide, Terry Pratchett discuss Alzheimer's disease and Meera Syal look at self-harm... The first of the three documentaries, Michael Portillo: Death of a School Friend, looks at the suicide of one of the former MP's close friends. The Liberty Bell Productions programme features interviews with the parents of Gary, a friend of Portillo who died just before his 16th birthday.

Unreported World: Paraguay's Painful Harvest
"Documentary series on topical global issues. Paraguay has become one of the world's biggest suppliers of genetically modified soya, much of it destined to feed cattle that ends up on European plates. This programme reveals how our demand for meat is driving the industrial farming of soya to epic proportions, leading to violent clashes between peasants, foreign landowners and the police."

People's Century: 1929 Breadline - "The story of 'the hungry thirties' told by men and women who suffered in the worldwide depression that followed the Wall Street Crash. In Chicago, the unemployed ripped wooden paving blocks from the city streets, while in Belgium, laid-off miners broke into their own pits to scavenge for waste coal. Sweden was the first democracy to fight the depression, and America's President Roosevelt offered the country a new deal."

Regeneration - "Powerful, grim and compelling adaptation of Pat Barker's prize-winning novel, set in a Scottish hospital during the First World War. Eminent psychiatrist Captain William Rivers (Jonathan Pryce) questions his values and training when charged with treating victims of shell shock, only to send the soldiers back into active service at the Front."

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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.

* 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.

Off-air recordings for week 25-31 October 2008

Please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

A Midsummer Night's Dream - 1999 adaptation directed by Michael Hoffman

Reader I Married Him - "Daisy Goodwin delves into one of the most successful literary genres - romantic fiction. From Jane Austen to the present day, via Mills & Boon, this three-part series explores the enduring appeal of the love story and the integral part it plays in readers' lives."

Dispatches: Jon Snow's American Journey - "As Obama and McCain's gladiatorial showdown enters its final week, Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow goes in search of the new America. Starting at the border with Mexico, Snow takes a road trip up the Pacific highway linking San Diego to Seattle, travelling though areas of great affluence, deprivation, innovation and tradition to find out about the new Americans, new economy and new directions that are shaping the next America..."

Little Dorritt - New BBC adaptation "Little Dorrit tells the story of the Dorrit family and the rich array of characters they meet on their way from rags to riches and back again."

Diwali: A Sikh's Journey Home - "To mark Diwali, a story symbolising the hurdles faced by families caught up in the clash of cultures, religions, generations and genders in the 21st century."

True Stories: Jesus Politics the Bible and the Ballot - "Showing as part of More 4's US election season, Ilan Ziv's film is a probing look at how deeply religious faith shapes 21st century American politics."

Earth From The Air - "French aerial photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand spent ten years making a photographic inventory of the earth's surface. From magestic landscapes to rubbish dumps, the images are shockingly beautiful, but for Yann the most important part is the powerful environmental message which accompanies each image.
Yann takes on various photographic assignments, amongst them locations such as Russia and the Lebanon, learning on the way about the ecological issues that drive him."

Radio programmes

Archive Hour: Potteries Fascists - "Seventy years ago the Public Order Act of 1936 marked the beginning of the end of the British Union of Fascists, banning the wearing of the blackshirt uniform and giving police the power to ban fascist marches. Within a year, the movement was also barred from most big halls in the country, leaving its leader Oswald Mosley without his two main weapons processions and mass meetings.In Potteries Fascists, Gerry Northam marks the anniversary of the Act with a unique set of recordings, never before heard on network radio, chronicling the rise and fall of the fascist movement in one of its strongest provincial bases, Stoke-on-Trent."

Classic Serial: Robinson Crusoe and His Farther Adventures - "Adaptation of Daniel Defoe's less famous sequel to the classic adventure Robinson Crusoe. After returning to England from his island home, Robinson Crusoe sets sail once more in search of adventure."

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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.
* 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.

Off-air recordings for week 18-24 October 2008

Please email Rich Deakin rdeakin@glos.ac.uk if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

Timewatch - Young Victoria - "Timewatch tells the story of how an unassuming little girl rose to be the most powerful woman in the world. At her birth few believed Princess Victoria would ascend the throne, but a number of untimely deaths and the failure of her uncles to father any children meant that Victoria became heiress to the throne of England. The battle between her and her mother the Duchess of Kent, however, was to become one of the fiercest mother-daughter struggles of all time, as the Duchess schemed to share in the power and riches that would one day be Victoria's."

Violent Women: Tonight - "With recent figures showing 240 women are arrested for violent crimes every day, the programme investigates the reasons behind this rise in aggressive behaviour. Former Big Brother contestant Alex de Gale, who was removed from the house for intimidating other contestants, tries a variety of anger-management therapies to curb her temper."

Channel 4 Education -
What's So Good About Jamila Gavin? (ages 7-11)
What's So Good About Roald Dahl? " "
What's So Good About JK Rowling? " "
We Are From Croatia (ages 9-12)

Imagine: A Love Story - "What makes a great love story? Imagine looks at the great books, films and pop songs that have tackled the thorny issues of love, pain and desire. Lancelot and Guinevere, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, Lady Chatterley's Lover, 24 Hours from Tulsa, Casablanca, Brief Encounter and Lolita are all great love stories, but what makes them special?

According to Pulitzer prize winner Jeffrey Eugenides, "A great love story has to have a fly in the ointment." Other contributors include best-selling authors Sarah Waters, Helen Fielding, Jane Austen's biographer Claire Tomalin, Burt Bacharach's lyricist Hal David, screen doctor Robert McKee, psychoanalyst Adam Phillips, and literature professor John Sutherland"

1914-1918 - "Documentary series telling the history of the Great War, in which nine million people perished. Beginning with the origins of the conflict." Parts 1-2 of 7.

True Stories: No End In Sight - "A searing indictment of the Iraq War, representing a full analysis of Iraq's descent into civil war... Based on over 200 hours of footage, the shocking story of post-invasion Iraq is told via interviews with high-ranking Bush Administration officials including General Jay Garner, who briefly ran the reconstruction before being replaced by L. Paul Bremer; Ambassador Barbara Bodine, who was placed in charge of the Baghdad embassy; Richard Armitage, former deputy secretary of the State Department; Robert Hutchings, former chairman of the National Intelligence Council; Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief of staff; Col. Paul Hughes, who worked in the ORHA and then the CPA."

Mum, Heroin and Me - "This is a film about what happens when your daughter becomes a heroin addict. Shot over the course of a year by award-winning documentary-maker Jane Treays, the film follows Kate (49), her 20-year-old heroin-addicted daughter Hannah (pictured) and Hannah's boyfriend, Ricky (31). As Hannah moves from pavement, to hostel, to bedsit, the film provides a moving portrait of a mother and daughter trying to love one another through the fog of heroin addiction."

British Transport Films – A Nation On Film Special - "... reviews the work of Edgar Anstey and his team of film-makers in the state-owned British Transport Films Unit after the Second World War. The archive features beautiful documentaries and travelogues, but did they strike the right balance between truth and propaganda?"

Elizabethan Express - "'Elizabethan Express' is an example of a widely released British Transport Film (BTF) film which focussed directly on rail travel, this film features the express locomotive Silver Fox which travelled from London’s King’s Cross to Edinburgh – a distance of 393 miles in six and a half hours."

Greart Railway Journeys of the World: Euston, London to Kyle of Lochalsh, western Scotland - "Avid trainspotter Michael Palin fulfils a boyhood dream as he travels from Euston in London to Kyle of Lochalsh in Scotland. Part of The Golden Age of Steam season."

Unreported World: South Africa Body Parts for Sale - "Channel 4's acclaimed foreign affairs strand returns with an eye-opening, and horrifying, investigation into "Muti Murder" in South Africa. While the country is modernising fast, Unreported World reveals how hundreds of people, including children, have been killed for body parts destined for the booming practise of traditional medicine and talks to a "healer" who claims he tortures and kills people for his trade."

Unreported World: India: God's own Country - "Kerala is apopular tourist destination in southern India where thousands of pilgrims seek slavation from the growing number of gurus in the region. However, as Jenny Kleeman reports, many of these so-called godmen now face allegations that range from fraud to sexual abuse."

Radio Programmes

Wayfarers All: a Hundred Years of Wind in the Willows - (5-part series) To mark the 100th anniversary of the publication of Kenneth Grahame's iconic children's novel, The Wind In The Willows, BBC Radio 4 has commissioned five authors to write short stories inspired by the names of the book's main characters. The line-up includes: Rat by Candia McWilliam; Toad by Beatrice Colin; Mole by David Almond; Weasel by Zoe Strachan; and Badger by Mark McNay.

Misfits in France: Wild(e) about Dieppe - (3-part series) "Series in which Julian Barnes and Hermione Lee explore the connections between a group of Victorian writers and artists who crossed the English Channel for different reasons. Examining the differing fortunes of Oscar Wilde and the painter Walter Sickert during their time in the French town of Dieppe. Wilde arrived at Dieppe in May 1897 in disgrace, following his release from Reading Gaol, but quickly moved on. Sickert enjoyed a long and happy association with the resort, beginning with childhood holidays there and including an affair with one of the local fishwives."

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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.

* 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.