SUNDAY 15 AUGUST 2010

SUN 19:00 Behind the Scenes at the Museum (b00sjm1w)
National Waterways Museum

Series in which acclaimed filmmaker Richard Macer visits three different museums struggling to connect with a modern audience.

The National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port marks the birthplace of the industrial revolution when canals were built to transport goods to emerging cities like Liverpool and Manchester. A financial crisis has left the museum with a reputation for sunken boats, and unless the situation improves dramatically some of the country's oldest barges and narrowboats might have to be sold off or even destroyed.

The museum's many volunteers are angry and believe its dire predicament is the result of mismanagement, so a new director is being brought on board with the task of saving it. In just a short while Stuart Gillis makes a big impression and the staff and volunteers begin to see him as a saviour. But will Stuart be able to live up to such high expectations?


SUN 20:00 English Heritage (b00k7x7q)
The Queen, Her Lover and His Castle

Kenilworth Castle is a picturesque ruin. Once it was home to Robert, Lord Dudley, Elizabeth I's favourite. In 1575 he built a garden for a 19-day visit by his Queen that has gone down in legend.

English Heritage director Anna Keay is given the task of recreating Dudley's garden by her husband, English Heritage chief executive Simon Thurley. Anna has just one piece of written evidence to work from, a letter by a lowly courtier, describing a garden split into quarters, each containing an obelisk. The letter also indicates the existence of two arbours, an aviary, and a huge marble fountain.

The problems of relying on just one piece of evidence slowly become apparent. Archaeological searches find the fountain base, but no trace of arbour, aviary, obelisks or statue. The budget climbs, as English Heritage have to guess what the buildings might have looked like. They're now committed to spending two million pounds. After problems finding a suitable builder, they finally get on site a year later than originally planned.

On site, the problems multiply. They build a large earth bank, hard by the castle, in accordance with the dimensions laid out in the courtier's letter. Unfortunately it proves too steep for any grass to grow. They have to insert a plastic retaining mesh, to Simon Thurley's evident irritation.

The carpenters start to build the aviary and arbours, only to discover that they are structurally unsound. They too have to be redesigned, with steel inserted, raising questions about the historical validity of the entire exercise. Worse still, nobody wants to pay for the vastly expensive structural steel.


SUN 21:00 Women's Institute (b007sfh4)
Girl's Talk

Three-part documentary about the Women's Institute as it finds its way into the 21st century, revealing the lives of a formidable group of women holding communities together across Britain.

A magnificent Georgian house set in 17 acres of garden, Denman College is often described by WI members as its jewel in the crown. Named after the first national WI chairman, Lady Denman, it is the epitome of the organisation's core belief in education for all its members.

Women from the length and breadth of the country come to Denman to learn, but also to socialise, relax and have fun. Doris tells a tale of two unhappy marriages survived with a strong spirit. Susan is at a crossroads, 50 last year and with her children now grown up, her time has come at last, but what should she do? Dorothy and Liz are very different characters with very different backgrounds - maybe that's why they like each other so much. Each tale is narrated by the women themselves and is touching, poignant and at times funny.

Interweaved among them is the story of the Denman Committee's chairman. Newly-elected Anne is determined to give the drawing room and bar a makeover, but first she has to convince the WI’s formidable Denman Committee that this is how precious funds should be spent.


SUN 22:00 The Market: A Tale of Trade (b00tgw40)
Drama in which a Turkish small time black marketeer wants to enter the cell phone business. To get enough money, he promises the local doctor to get medicine for sick children.


SUN 23:30 Glastonbury (b00td5y5)
2010

Ray Davies

A look back at the performance by the legendary British singer/songwriter Ray Davies from the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury festival. He and his band kick off proceedings with the likes of Dedicated Follower of Fashion and Sunny Afternoon and are then joined by the 40+ Crouch End Festival Chorus in choral renditions of classic Kinks' numbers such as You Really Got Me, Victoria and Waterloo Sunset.


SUN 00:30 Brothers in Arms (b007cblj)
They say that blood is thicker than water and this documentary puts that to the test by examining the brothers who have formed and fronted rock bands. From the Everlys to the Gallaghers via the Kinks and Spandau Ballet, it tells the stories of the bands of brothers who went from their bedrooms to become household names - often with a price to pay.

With contributions from Martin Kemp, Matt Goss, Dave Davies, Phil Everly, David Knopfler and the Campbell brothers of UB40.


SUN 01:30 English Heritage (b00k7x7q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SUN 02:30 On Hannibal's Trail (b00td4n6)
Over the Alps

History and travel series in which three Australian brothers - Danny, Ben and Sam Wood - set out cycling on the trail of Hannibal, the Carthaginian warrior who marched from Spain to Rome at the head of an invading army accompanied by elephants.

The brothers take on the most challenging leg of their trek - crossing the Alps. Historians disagree about which route Hannibal took across the mountains, and the Woods split up and each cycle a different path. They brave snow, altitude and sheer exhaustion as they carry their bikes across some of the highest peaks in the Alps. Finally, they meet up in northern Italy, ready to take on Rome.


SUN 03:00 Britain by Bike (b00td4sg)
West Yorkshire

Clare Balding sets out on a two-wheel odyssey to re-discover Britain from the saddle of a touring cycle.

In a six-part series, Clare follows the wheeltracks of compulsive cyclist and author Harold Briercliffe whose evocative guide books of the late 1940s lovingly describe by-passed Britain - a world of unspoiled villages, cycle touring clubs and sunny B roads. Carrying a set of Harold's Cycling Touring Guides for company and riding his very own Dawes Super Galaxy bicycle, she goes in search of the world he described with such affection.

As she cycles through Bronte Country on the Yorkshire/Lancashire border, Clare uncovers a unique photographic collection depicting the hidden daily life of a Yorkshire mill town, a string of truly remarkable women and a secret club for henpecked husbands.