21/09/2011 The One Show

Hello. Welcome to the One Show with Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Ow guest

tonight is a man who has watched some extraordinary homes take shape.

From an old water tower in Buckinghamshire, to a derelict

castle in Yorkshire, but tonight, in his honour, we have constructed

a vision on a scale that's never been realised in such a way before.

Inside is Grand Designs' Kevin McCloud.

APPLAUSE What a sport you are. That is not a

house. It's a kennel. Lovely to meet you. It's wrong, the plans. We

ran out of time and the budget went heywire. It's clearly finished.

are used to that. Let's pass over that. It hasn't got planning

consent. Presumably this is something you have come up against,

people having not measured properly and budget being not correct.

usual. It's all to do with that age-old drive that we have as

humans, to get up in the morning and make things and ignore all the

best advice from everyone around us, because we are think we are capable

- if we weren't all like that, we would all be living in caves still.

True. It's the flipside. I'm a big, big fan of the show. We'll find out

later about your thoughts on the new proposed planning laws as well.

Also, we give you the chance to show Kevin McCloud, your designs.

Whatever you have built from a potting shed to a book shelve. Send

us a picture of you standing proudly in front of it and we'll

see what Kevin makes of it later. E-mail us. Thanks for that! It will

be great. People disagree about whether

alternive medicine works or not. When it comes to a father and son

relationship and the father is a doctor and the son is the patient

and the illness is a brain tumour, then it becomes difficult. My

daughter Karen was 43 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She

went down the conventional medal route and then wanted to add other

therapies, complimentary therapies and alternative, anything that

might just cleanse her body of this hideous disease. The use of

unproven alternative therapies against medical siepbs has always

sparked a passionate debate. 24- year-old Sam has a brain tumour. He

has turned to alternative therapies. His father is a cancer specialist,

where he is working on a cure at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

immediate reaction was we'll get this fixed. Sam, you were emphatic

and you said, "You're my father, not my doctor." There needs to be a

line drawn. Having exhausted conventional treatments, Sam's

opted for the alternative route. decided that I'm going to try my

stuff out. Some of the lifestyle changes are radical. Sam now

follows what he describes as an anti-cancer diet, based on a

mixture of flaxseed oil and cottage cheese and contacted spiritual

healers. All three of them gave me heat inside the head, actual

physical heat. It was real and it did happen as I'm concerned it is

valid. Many people would analyse it and it is just clutching at

anything just in case. I don't clutch. I look at it very carefully.

I'm been conned before. I know how it feels. I'm very, very careful,

to the point of paranoia. Sam uses drum ing to help him relax, but

believes more potent remedies could help. One of them is the chemical

sodium dichloroacetate or DCA. It has had limited clinical trials,

but is currently viewed as a potential cancer treatment. His

father believes it caused Sam nerve damage when they took too much and

then there is the illegal stuff. Cannabis oil has been proven in

certain laboratory situations to destroy cancer cells and brain

tumours. Your dad is shaking his head. That is in the lab. It's not

really a drug. It's a mixture of a whole variety of compounds and

that's the problem. People watching would be very uneasy with the fact

that it is illegal. That is the other point. Sure. We have to make

that point. Absolutely. We have to have the right to cure ourselves.

For a trained doctor that approach can be hard to accept. Some of the

drugs that he's used are very potent chemicals and he's managed

to get those from the internet. That is a huge problem to me.

there any evidence at all in Sam's experience and his results, that

would encourage you to say to a patient, for example, you might

want to try this? Sadly, no. I really can't. The situation with

Sam, as you said, is extreme. Young man, terminal diagnosis, have to

try everything. For many patients now with the new therapies the

prognosis is not so bad. Many of them can be cured or even have

retained long-lasting remissions with conventional treatment. Sam is

convinced something he's doing is working. His tumour has shrunk and

he says it can't all be down to conventional treatment. He believes

the evidence is compelling and deserves properly scientific

investigation. Are these cures really so impossible to take

seriously? I don't think so. I think we should take them seriously

and I think there should be clinical trials, absolutely. The

sooner the better, because people may be dying needlessly and that's

a hoshing thought. What gesture do -- horrible thought. What gesture

do you think the medical profession will make to perhaps a new

treatment? I hope they find it and continue doing what they are doing.

I wan cancer to be gone preferrable -- want cancer to be gone,

preferrably within my lifetime. I am planning on going on and it's

possible. Much like my daughter, Karen, Sam has refused to let his

illness take control of his life. The path he's chosen is not without

risk. It has given him fresh hope. Cancer Research UK says there is no

evidence that any alternative diets can prevent, treat or control the

disease. Although, as Sam says, seeing a spiritual healer has

helped him cope, the charity says there is no scientific evidence to

support alternative healing as a cure. Kevin you have tried the

therapies? For asthma, not for anything more serious than that.

Chronic asthma, that is pretty bad? I've had it for 30 years. It's been

a lifetime companion really. It got to the point a few years ago when

it got seriously bad and I found a consultant, this is after 15 years

of not drinking alcohol and not touching wheat and having

supplements and other stuff and finally he put me on some

conventional drugs. I'm back on the booze now! All I'm saying is I'm

very interested by this idea of alternative, because I see it as

complimentary and I think if conventional medicine fails, and

clearly you are going to want to try and find anything you can to

support you, whether that is counselling or whatever. The

important thing is one shouldn't necessarily throw away conventional

medicine and say no. The two can live together. We think you are

going to love our next film. Archeologists in Northern Ireland

are excited about this discovery. What they have found has been

hidden for centuries, but it's now slowly revealing itself in the

shadows of this castle. Joe has been to seen history in the making.

Since the 1408's, this castle has stood on North Antrim's coastline.

From here, generations of chieftans were able to dominate. The castle

is steeped in legend. Everything from tales of love to tales of war,

but now archeologists and historians have discovered an

untold story. It's hidden for hundreds of years, just outside the

castle walls. Photographs reveal scars in the field surrounding the

cast. Land surveys backed up what was seen and the pastures were

definitely hiding something. The only way for us to find out what

was hidden under the fields was to dig. And their discoveries took

even the experts by surprise. Buried just a few feet below the

surface of that grassland is an entire town. Colin is the

archeologist whose hunch led to this discovery. This is an amazing

site. Give me a sense of where we are standing nought within this

town that you are uncovering? is an amazing site. It's probably

the best site I've ever worked on. The town itself was built in 1608

and freestanding by 1611. 400 years ago you would have come down this

surface which stretches across to the wall. There would have been

another line of buildings on the far side of the cobbled surface.

This was a significant settlement. This isn't a village? No, no, this

was very much a town. It would have had anything up to 60 to 90 houses

across the whole of the town and a population of something between 900

and 1,000 people. Wow. You said we are standing on cobbles that go

down to the castle. This seems to be a bit of a feature here? What we

actually have is a series of drains running down the surface, but what

the drain is telling us is that there's a change in society and

people who lived in the town are conscious of hygiene and conscious

of their appearance. What we are really seeing here is a movement

into the modernity On site there's a museum displaying previous year's

finds. Is there one favourite item? I have to say there is. It's this

object, a small bronze item. This is actually a late 16th early 17th

century tuning peg for a harp. That find was found literally in the

gutter, just outside the blacksmith's. We know that

travelling musicians were visiting the houses at tight within the

settlement. It is tempting to say that this harpist left the house

very late at night and made his way back up the surface and bumped

against the corner of the blacksmith's and lost this quite

valuable item. Not so many documents survived that describe

the town or what happened to it, so how or why was this forgotten

about? Professor Brian Williams is the man responsible for the

castle's heritage. Brian, was was it a town was built outside the

castle walls? What is the idea? 1608 was a time of massive

political upheavel and change for the whole island of Ireland. The

Earl of Antrim was trying to position himself politically and

read the ruins how to survive in this time and he decided to set up

a series of towns to grow the economy. He went to Scotland and

brought in proven business people, entrepreneurs, merchants, who had a

track ro record. -- a track record. They could set up business with him

over here. Where did it all go wrong? The town thrived for 30-odd

years, but then got caught up in the maelstrom of Irish history and

in 1641 there was an Irish rebellion and rebels attacked the

town and what we have found is they simply folded the houses in on

themselves. The walls were pushed in and the whole town of 1,000

people were flattened and it became a grassy field in no time. It's

amazing to think that this quiet stretch of coastline was once a

thriving commercial centre. The lost town was more than just a busy

market town. It was a unique community. Scottish settlers and

Irish natives lived side by side here. What is more, as this dig

shows, they built this forward- looking and sophisticated society

together. Grand Designs back then as well. Your very own home is 500

years old? It's not as beautiful as that. I live in a Tudor eco-home,

built out of the field in which it sits. Has it got loads of glass in

it? Yes. Is it open-plan? No. It's got small, tiny windows and it's

dark and gloomy, but I'm fond of it. The people like their homes to be

flooded with light and I'm - I The new series has started. Let's

How do you balance, on the one hand, this desire to create the Arts and

Crafts spirit of the nineteenth- century, the 21st century, with

your instinct as an accountant to save money? Because this sat --

house is never about money. You will be surprised to hear that.

It's all about the style and design, beat money is... The money is

almost completely irrelevant! will not disclose the amount. Do

you think it is money well spent? When you walk away, will you be

pleased? I am sure that he believes it is. I'm sure he thinks he has

spent his money wisely and well. It isn't foolish to build a very

expensive house, in an expensive part of the world. It's the south

of London, an expensive area. Real estate costs a lot. I'm sure he did

the right thing. I'm being very correct, as you can guess. What I

want to say about this is that... I shouldn't be talking too much, it

is on in 105 minutes. But he does run out of money at the end. It is

a cautionary tale. Many of the project will broadcasting are,

because the money is not there. awkward Steve Field, when you are

talking about the Budget? It is their life, everything. -- How

awkward do you feel? You know, I'm not really interested in money. I'm

really interested in the design, the architecture, the experience of

the building, what it contributes, what it says about where it is and

how the talks about its neighbours. Where did that inquest come from?

My dad was an engineer and scientist. We were encouraged to

take things apart, like engines. rocket scientist? Well, he built

bits of rockets. Systems for missiles. We have to ask, there are

lots of things in the news about the proposed changes to planning

laws. What is your view on it? nutshell, it is a guide. It is 52

off 58 pages. The last document, in 1957, was 1000 pages long. Whatever

this government did, it would get in trouble. They have produced

something that says, we want to see sustainable development. We are

going to say yes to this sustainable development. Then it

defines what that is. The design bench marks are really quite

stringent. But because it is a discussion document and a guide,

everybody is up in arms. They are saying, this is outrageous, we are

going to see green land carpeted over with rubbish housing

developments. Well, that may or may not happen. It is at a very early

stage. I'm interested to see how it works out in the detail. That will

be down to local authorities, not to central government. We do live

on an island, there is a certain amount of space and there are more

people now. We are the most populous country in Europe, it is

going to be a big issue. Now, how do you deal with the green menace

of bracken without destroying the countryside? Kate Bevan goes to

Herefordshire to find out how horse power is proving an efficient way

to tackle the problem. This is a very special, hard

working horse. She is part of a pioneering conservation project to

protect our countryside from a plant that is taking over. It is

bracken. You would not expect such a familiar firm to be a problem.

Until recently, it wasn't. In the past, it was cut for livestock

bedding. But changes in farming practices means that it now covers

nearly 3 million acres of Britain. And it's spreading. The problem

with bracken is that it smothers the forest floor with a toxic

blanket of dead leaves and blocks out the sunlight, excluding all

other plants. In turn, that deprives insects of food. So, the

countryside has declared war on bracken. That is where Ella and her

owner come in. They specialise in controlling bracken in

environmentally sensitive places, like here, amid the ancient oaks in

Herefordshire. The blanket of bracken threatens the future of

these Oaks, as the acorns cannot germinate in its shadow. But the

park is protected by laws, due to its Lydney -- unique flora and

fauna. Chemical sprays and heavy vehicles cannot be used. So they

are pioneering an alternative technique. She's pretty nimble on

her feet? She is, this is the advantage of horses. Wigan Wigan

more difficult places. A quad bike or a tractor could not. It's very

special, isn't it? These are some of the oldest oak trees in Britain.

They are allegedly 1000 years old. The bracken is on the increase.

designed this yourself? It's based on a technique from the 1920s. I've

produced this designed specifically for horses. Wouldn't it be easier

just to chop it down? It would, but then the route, the biggest part of

the plant, would throw up new growth. It wouldn't control it.

bashing it, what actually happens to it? Well, bashing, these are not

sharp. They crush it. You can see the wounds in the bracken. That

makes the plant try to carry on living. But the sap leads out. It

can't put food back into the Ritz. So it is weakened over winter.

bit of a battle of wits? Yes, I hope I'm cleverer than Bracken!

Bracken bashing has become popular right across the country. Not only

is it good for the environment, as there are no nasty chemicals, it's

also cost-effective because there is no need for diesel. So, it has

become popular, so he has had to take on apprentices to take on

extra work. This area you can see behind me has been brats. When we

first came here, the bracken was 8 foot tall. It's now very standard

and there are grassy areas. Have you seen differences with wildlife?

The benefits are immediate. The bracken is crushed and it doesn't

come up again. Things like violets, the grass is, they can grow through.

We've seen an increase in all sorts of insects, butterflies. In

woodlands we will get natural regeneration of the trees.

Otherwise they would be killed by the bracken. Then are enormous

By bringing working horses like a lead back into the countryside, he

has shown that bracken can be beaten, wherever it grows. It seems

that even in 2011 there is still a place for the great British horse

We love bringing old friends together on this show. Unbelievably,

Kevin knows that horse personally. I've worked with her. I spent a day

with her. It was for a Grand Designs programme, coming up in

this series. We went with the owner of this extraordinary house that he

is building in the forest. We went with her, and her other job, when

she is not smashing bracken, is pulling out felled timber from

National Trust's Boris's -- forests. Because that doesn't damage the

floor. It looks like I'm sitting between two keen loggers!

You've been sending in your wonderful Grand Designs. A modern-

retro party shack. Have you got a line for that? What would you say

at the end of the programme? It's a 50s American diner, with added

relish. Then we've got this one. This has been sent in by Peter and

Amanda from North Dorset. This is a picture of a barn that they built.

They also have a house, to clarify! There are no windows. Yeah, a

charming, con textually responsive, timber clad, green route the Koh

Phi Phi barn. This is a grand Now, all week we have been bringing

you wonderful sights from The One Show hot-air balloon. Today you why

in for a real treat, as with Goodman reveals how 18th century

discovery not only changed how we drink tea, but also transformed the

# Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon? # What could be

more British than a cup of tea? These days we take fine china for

granted. But there was a time when a porcelain tea cup was reserved

only for the richest of the rich. The Far East had a monopoly on the

precious resource and charged merchants a small fortune. When it

finally arrived back in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century,

the Italians named it after the beautiful shell-like translucence.

The British aristocracy simply named Trina. It was far superior to

anything the West was producing at the time, both in strength and

beauty. Understandably, the Chinese were reluctant to reveal the secret

recipe and relinquish their monopoly. That was until 1746, when

a British chemist named William Cook were the made an observation

that would change the china industry forever. He went to visit

a Cornish tin mine in Cornwall. He noticed that the miners were

repairing the cracks and holes in their furnaces with its local

material. This pale white clay was remarkably resistant to extreme

heat. On closer inspection, this humble material turned out to be

very high in porcelain's secret ingredient. It shattered China's

monopoly and made a Cornish quarry the envy of the world. The china

clay industry in Britain exploded. With the techniques of extraction

moving on since William Cook would be's day, past -- poll Slim was no

longer reserved for the rich. Britain was producing fine china

for the masses. What began as a small mining in west Cornwall has

become the biggest china clay pit in the world. It has changed parts

of the Cornish landscape beyond recognition. The St Austell china

clay pits covered 25 square miles and are known locally as the

Cornish Alps. The only way to appreciate the magnitude of the

workings is from the air, in The One Show balloon. Ivor Burdett used

to work for the mining operation. Today, he's an expert on the

history of the clay pits. We are looking at an area that has been

intensively mined over 250 years. The lakes are in fact disused

workings, which fill up with water. The largest of the Six minds that

we operate is over 200 hectares in size. They are giant holes in the

ground. The all of this is to make cups and saucers? Not at all. That

is our oldest market, 50% of what we produce goes into the

manufacturing of paper. Paper?! have 20% going into things like

paints, adhesives, pharmaceuticals. We probably use china clay in some

form or another every day. Nevertheless, the impact of William

Cook were the's findings has been immense. The Eden Project has been

praised for its reclamation of 37 acres of china clay pit. But these

works cover 16,000 acres. Mining is likely to go on for another 100

years. Over the last 20 years it has been a fairly intensive

programme of reshaping some of the old pits, creating up to 750 acres

of heathland, planting over 1 million trees. A lot is going on

today. Well over 113 million tonnes of china clay have been extracted

from Siddle stroll over the last 200 years. It will take decades to

turn this lunar landscape back into something approaching its original

state. I think William Cookwere the would be stunned to see this now.

He'd never have thought that his experiments would not only break

China's monopoly on porcelain production, but also transform a

Far Eastern treasure into Britain's most versatile resource. There are

few who can claim to have made quite such an impact on the

countryside. Now, more grand designs. They have

been flooding in. Kevin? I've got a dome of made out of plastic milk

containers. I like it. It's lovely. It's a little bit of a love shack.

I think you'd need to tie it down. This one is a home-built structure

from Kevin. Did the cat build it? That would have been interesting.

This one is lovely. A bridge built with two other students at Bath Spa

University. It's from Annabel Williams. They knitted it from

recycled wool. That is all we got time for. We're going to be

returning to the subject of Dock training tomorrow. If you do have a