GOOD TV

[Sue]

I have just watched Venice 24/7 about the Popes visit. It was May 7th last year. Ironically Bob and I were there the previous weekend, leaving on May 2nd. There was absolutely no indication of aan imminent visit. No posters , no talk about it, nothing. How strange!

[Nolic]

Anyone catch the documentary about the pre D Day tragedy at Slapton Sands? It was a good piece of TV based around extensive research undertaken by a local historian.It looks like well in excess of 1,000 US personnel were killed not the 650 or 750 that the yanks laid claim to at the time. Worrying point is that the Americans are saying now that they actually don't know how many were killed as there is no accurate record.
Hundreds of lives sacrificed with no recognition adds to the tragedy. Nolic

[Tizer]

I didn't see the Slapton WW2 programme but have heard good reports about it. There's another disaster and scandal that occurred near there that isn't so well known. Torcross village is at the southern end of Slapton beach. A couple of miles beyond Torcross was the village of Hallsands. Below is the story copied from the Features tab of this web page LINK

"In the 1890s, following a scheme proposed by Sir John Jackson, it was decided to expand the naval dockyard at Keyham, near Plymouth, and dredging began offshore from Hallsands to provide sand and gravel for its construction. Soon, up to 1,600 tons of material was being removed each day, and the level of the beach began to drop, much to the alarm of local residents. The Board of Trade agreed to establish a local inquiry in response to protests from villagers, who feared that the dredging might destabilise the beach and thereby threaten the village. The inquiry found that the activity was not likely to pose a significant threat to the village, so dredging continued. By 1900, however, the level of the beach had started to fall. In the autumn storms that year, part of the sea wall was washed away. In November 1900, villagers petitioned their Member of Parliament complaining of damage to their houses, and in March 1901 Kingsbridge Rural District Council wrote to the Board of Trade complaining of damage to the road. In September 1901 a new Board of Trade inspector concluded that further severe storms could cause serious damage and recommended that dredging be stopped. On 8 January 1902 the dredging licence was revoked. During 1902 the level of the beach recovered; however the winter of 1902 brought more storms and damage. On 26 January 1917, a combination of easterly gales and exceptionally high tides breached Hallsands' defences, and by the end of that year only one house remained habitable. The villagers' fight for compensation took seven years."

[Stanley]

Watched and enjoyed 'Orbit' last night.

[Stanley]

Panorama last night on possible Murdoch involvement in hacking attack on their rival. On-Digital.

[Stanley]

Saw the last part of Diarmaid MacCulloch's ptog on 'How God made the English'. Nice to know that he and I agree!

[Whyperion]

One for Stanley if he missed late night BBC4 - catch up with a one off on Metals (or watch the repeat Thurs 22:00 ~) 'Metal - How it Works' Presenter Professor Mark Miodownik. ( Would have been more fun had Fred Dibnah done the voice over instead )

Next weeks program is on Plastics

[Stanley]

I recorded it. Watched the programme on AI last night. Funnily enough I had been pondering the subject before I knew the prog was on TV. Nice to know I was on the right lines. What triggered me off was reflecting on the way my brain enabled me to reach out for a mug of coffee, take a drink and replace the mug on the table. Dead easy for us but I'll bet it would take some programming! Think about the way your brain keeps you upright all the time with no conscious input by yourself. We may not be as good as the IBM super-computer in the prog at numbers of calculations a second but we are more flexible and our brains are much smaller, more versatile and more energy efficient. The human brain is a wonderful machine!

[Stanley]

I enjoyed the two programmes on the Titanic on BBC2 last night. One was on the genesis of icebergs and the other dispelled some of the myths associated with the Titanic. The one I like best is that if the ship had hit the berg head on it would almost certainly have survived. Shades of the Costa Concordia ripping its side open on the rocks.

[PanBiker]

Before the event so don't know if it will be good but Country File this week (Sunday - BBC1 7.00pm) will have a report from Matt Baker at Clarion House.
He cycled over to the Clarion as part of the show when filming for this weeks issue which features the Yorks/Lancs border. He chatted with Sue Nike over a pot of Clarion best brew.

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Ian, I shall make sure I catch it.
It looks as though F1 will be on this weekend in Bahrain. PE gave some viewing figures for Sky's new offering of F1 and it would seem that they are not getting the numbers they expected. The BBC version is still good.

[Stanley]

I watched and enjoyed two programmes I had recorded, One on bell founding and the other on the T34 tank. Both right up my street and fascinating. Problem was I picked up a reference to a book on the T34.... Bugger!

[Stanley]

Watched the Panorama programme on Glencore last night. Why do I feel apprehensive about so much power in so few hands......

[Tizer]

BBC2 tonight, 9.00-10.00 `Meet The Romans with Mary Beard'
From the beeb's web site:
"In the first episode in a new series exploring Rome from the bottom up, Professor Mary Beard asks not what the Romans did for us, but what the Empire did for Rome.

"All roads lead to Rome, but this isn’t the tale of trading might and imperial power - it’s a portrait of the world’s first global metropolis as seen through the eyes of the ordinary Roman on the street. This is a city where everyone and everything came from somewhere else. The Empire affected everything Romans wore, ate, touched and worshipped.

"Mary rides the Via Appia, climbs up to the top seats of the Colosseum, takes a boat to Rome’s famous port Ostia and takes us into the bowels of Monte Testaccio (‘broken pot mountain’). She also meets Eurysaces, ex-slave and eccentric baker, who made a fortune out of the grain trade, building his tomb in the shape of a giant bread-oven; Baricha, Zabda and Achiba, three prisoners of war who went on to become Roman citizens and Pupius Amicus, the purple-dye seller making imperial dye from murex shellfish imported from Tunisia."

[Stanley]

I watched the programme and she raises some interesting questions about the Roman attitudes to assimilation of aliens and even slaves. Watched the programme on plastics as well and learned a lot.

[Whyperion]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17745100

http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae30 ... Ceefax.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sod0wyJpds ( this actually missed the C4 London closedown analogue message )

[Stanley]

I enjoyed the programme on Divine Women last night. Bettany Hughes has done her homework and presents a convincing case for the role of women in the church before Augustine introduced the concept of Original Sin. Original thinking and very persuasive. Contrast the intransigent attitude of the lady who supports the church position....
On another matter, something that has been bothering me for a while. Why do all shots of landscape have to be speeded up so clouds scud across the sky? Why sudden speeding up of shots mid scene? Why do we have to have background music in the most inappropriate places, ie. in documentaries, where they often make it difficult to hear the presenter clearly? Am I alone in wanting natural scenes and being able to here explanations clearly?

[Stanley]

Bumped

[Stanley]

I recorded the Director's Cut of Das Boot and yesterday I finished watching it plus snooker and F1. Too much telly for one day! (But I needed a rest from reposting....)

[cloghopper]

I know I'm way behind time compared to most of you; but yesterday managed to watch 'Countryfile' of 15/04/2012. Really enjoyed its reportings from areas we all know well. Enjoyed a glimpse of Blackoe tower as they reported from the Clarion tea rooms.
Still have to watch the programme on Rome, which should be interesting. Should explain that I have to download from a torrent file onto a dongle, and then plug into TV. I would need a 2 meter dish to catch any satellites where I live; and we catch too much wind to risk that.
cheers,
cloggy

[Stanley]

Remind us where you live Cloggy. Sounds remote!
I was up to my knees in snooker again yesterday......

[Stanley]

Enjoyed the third and last episode of 'Divine Women' presented by Bettany Hughes. A persuasive and at times surprising account of women in religion prior to the 7th century when the Roman church turned against women on principle. Well worth catching if it is repeated.

[Julie in Norfolk]

Not TV but I heard part of a programme on the current state of play of Lancashire Cotton Mills last night on R4. Either I was tired or it was riveting as I fell asleep before the end. I think I was tired.

[Stanley]

Julie, it was Business report repeated again on Sunday evening. I caught the end of it.
Enjoyed the snooker again yesterday and then for a complete change two good programmes on BBC4, one on medieval attitudes to death and the other on the linkages between Shakespeare and James I. Good telly!

[Tizer]

Earlier in this thread I mentioned the collapse of houses into the sea at Hallsands, Devon, 100 years ago due to extraction of sand and gravel from the sea bed (LINK). Well, the effects are still being felt as shown by this BBC new story yesterday...

"Landslip sparks fears Hallsands house could fall into sea."
"Hallsands landslide Part of a barn at the property has already fallen into the sea."
"A house on the edge of a cliff in Devon has been evacuated amid fears it could fall into the sea. Devon and Cornwall Police said the owner of the house in Hallsands, called Sea View, contacted emergency services after a large landslide. Part of a stone barn has collapsed into the sea and a viewing balcony has started to slip. A holiday let next door to the property, which is empty, could also in danger."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-17974087