30/08/2012 The One Show

Hello. Welcome to the one one show. We are back in the warm staued yo

after a great day out in Sheffield. It was raining all day but still

crowds came out to see us and we were grateful to everyone who

turned out. The crowd was a highlight, singing away. That

moment when the confetti came down. We are joined by a man who is used

to huge crowds, he has starred in It's Alfie Boe.

That sent shivers down my spine. You were just saying, We were stood

on the royal balcony over looking the Mall. It's been a busy summer

because you recorded the anthem for the GB team and Olympics and

Paralympics. We did one vision. From a performers point of view,

what did you make of the opening ceremony last night? It was amazing

to see such a spectacular. The lighting was fantastic. It is

wonderful to be able to celebrate such wonderful Olympians. People

have been pouring into the Olympic Park for the first day of

Paralympic action, many without a full idea of what they were about

to see. Lucy has been to Stratford to see what the public were looking

forward to on day one. Welcome to the Paralympics. It's

day one of what promises to be one of the most popular Paralympics

ever and the first wave of an anticipated 2.5 million ticket

holders is making its way into the Olympic Park here. We wanted to

come and absorb the atmosphere. We watched the Olympics and wanted to

experience it. It's the dream come true for those

people who can't run like me or you. They can run faster. They can run

faster. It's beautiful. With these tickets we can get into the copper

box, which is the goal ball. What do you know about that sport?

much, we want to see what the rules are. I have been in a wheelchair

for three years so it helps me feel like if they can do it, I can try

to do it. We are going to see wheelchair

basketball. We don't know anything about it. It looks like a fast game.

It can be quite violent, I am intrigued how it works. I have

track cycling. I can just almost take those from you. You are not

having them. It is the first time we have been to a big thing like

this. I want to see Olympic records broken. I like to see people

competing at the highest level. I think this is what we are going to

see today. With 21 different sports for us all to enjoy over the next

two weeks and the possibility of 103 Team GB medals it looks like we

will be celebrating a whole new batch of sporting heroes. Team GB!

It's been a busy first day of action with 28 gold medals

available over five sports. Tanni Grey Thompson has been following it

for Radio 5 Live. What have been the highlights? It's been a

fantastic day for cycling. Sarah Storey won the first gold of the

Games in the 4 K pursuit. She was amazing. Mark Col borne won a

Silver Medal, a good start to day one. Judging by the number of

tickets sold, it is the biggest Paralympics ever, does it feel like

that at the Olympic Park?. It feels really exciting. I have the

Aquatics Centre behind me, and we can hear the cheers. There is an

amazing atmosphere. I met people today who had tickets just to the

park and they were just soaking up the atmosphere. What does it

compare to the Olympics you have competed it? Barcelona was a good

games but the rest didn't have a great turn out. Beijing, all the

tickets went but in reality a lot were given away. There is a

difference when people have paid money to come and watch. There is a

different type of support and what the British athletes are going to

get, same as the Olympics, there will be massive massive support

which will push them on to perform at a higher level. The word

reclassification has hit the headlines for one swimmer who

wasn't eligible for the games but now is back in, can you clear it up

for us? It is confusing. She swims as an S 6 with Ellie Simmons and

there was a feeling she might get moved but generally you get moved

up or down one group and she was actually completely declassified.

They said she wasn't disabled enough to compete and she's come

back in as an S 6. I don't think we are going to hear the end of it.

The Paralympic team will be protesting. It might take a couple

of days to sort it out. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?

Athletics starts tomorrow. I will be at the track from 10.00 and that

is where I will be for the next few days. Get some rest. We are going

to be celebrating Team GB's success during the Games on our special

medal boards which are over here. Alfie is going to be doing the

honours for us. You have faces we are going to pin on. Sarah Storey

was our first gold, the 34-year-old won the first gold in the C5

pursuit. She has her eye on another three gold medals. Mark Col born,

silver Silver Medal winner, time trial.

Silver Medal winner Hannah Russell, 16-years-old. It's been a busy day.

Bronze Medal, Ben Quilter. That was for judo. With the target of 103

medals, hopefully these medals will be overflowing with faces.

From our heroes of the Paralympics to our flying heroes of World War I.

The pilots of the Royal Flying Corps were the first Brits ever to

fly into battle. Joe Crowley visits the airfield in Wiltshire where

these brave men first took off 100 If anyone with the slightest sense

of history, this is an awesome sight. That gent is 89-year-old

Doug, a World War II pilot, he is doing pre-flight checks. Today his

plane is taking off from an airfield near Salisbury and flying

around eight miles north-west to a special place called Larkhill to

salute the centenary of the Royal Flying Corps. Larkhill became a

centre for the development of aviation.

We are surround by what was then office land but was made available

to the early air noughts to use for their experimentation. A pilot

built a hangar to set up a small aviation company. In those days, no

trees, no buildings, so nobody to to complain about the noise. Here

in Britain the government was slow to see how these new flying

machines could be of benefit. 1909 the war office issued an

announcement which said they weren't prepared to invest any more

money in experiments with planes because they considered it a

useless and expensive fad. About that time Germany had invested

�400,000 in aeroplane research alone. Clearly they could see it

had a future. But the enthusiastic lobbying helped to move aviation

forward. When the Royal Flying Corps was founded in 1912, this was

an obvious location for the first squadron with military aeroplanes.

The lack of both machines and men was a problem. Not helped by the

fact the first recruits had to pay for their own flying lessons. They

did get a refund but only once they had joined up. The Royal Flying

Corps had an army wing and naval wing which split apart but both had

a Hoch poch much second hand planes mostly French built. What we needed

was a good British aircraft. So one of the first events at Larkhill was

a competition, to find an outstanding machine for the corps

to fly. Anybody in Europe who was interested in aviation would have

wanted to be here and most of them were. All the famous French,

Italian pilots were here and they had the public, they were allowed

to come as well. The man who won it was Samuel - Samuel F cody and

produced an impractical aircraft, with a massive engine so he could

outperform anybody else. The aircraft was made of bamboo and

with fabric. Although he won it wasn't a very practical aeroplane.

Cody's winning machine never actually made it into service, but

when the First World War broke out British aircraft developed rapidly.

One of the most successful was the SE 5 A, a a much stronger and more

stable biplane. This one is a fully accurate replica, flown by the

World War II pilot Doug Gregory. You thought in the Second World War

and you have an incredible amount of experience, what do you make of

the early pioneers in the in the World War I pilots I take my hat

off to them. Wonderful bunch. Going off into the unknown and generally

wondering if the jolly thing is going to stay together. I think

these chaps, keen to find out, keen to explore, wonderful, I wish I had

met some of them. The Royal Flying Corps was our first air service but

lasts just six years. Then on 1st April 1918 a single service was

formed. The royal air forms. Where the Royal Flying Corps began with

so little, by the end of the First World War the RAF was the most

powerful air force in the world with more than 20,000 aircraft and

nearly 300,000 personalel -- personnel. Larkhill is where it all

began 100 years ago. Doug deserves some respect going up

with that plane. Brilliant. We were saying your brother used to be in

the RAF. He wasn't a pilot, he was in the Royal Air Force police, so

spent more time in the pub than in a plane. But he was a in there for

30 years and we used to visit him on the RAF camps and get to see a

lot of those sort of planes. Speaking of your brother, there

were nine of you all together, you have written about your family in

your new book My Story and it tells the story of how you became the

singer in the Boe household. My mum and dad were into music in a big

way. My father was into lots of different types of music, not just

the classical tenors, there he is, not just the classical singers, he

was into country singers, folk singers, Glen miller stuff and so

his taste passed down to me and I have that sort of same feeling

towards music, I don't see any boundaries, it is one big world.

is a fascinating story, your life. You weren't like a stage school kid.

You were a mechanic in a garage. Yes. How did you make the

transition from the garage to the stage? When you are a kid, you get

told to get a trade behind you and then you have something to fall

back on. That was what I was told and I started looking around my

local area and got a job working for a car factory as a body

mechanic. It was one particular day I was working on a car and this

customer whose car I was working on said you have a good voice, you

should do something with it. Why don't you go down to London, there

is an opera company auditions for people. I took the day off work,

went down, sang to them, got taken on, came Back To Black pool and

handed in my notice and went on tour as an opera singer. I wonder

if that customer knows? I don't know. If you are out there, e-mail

us, it would be lovely to hear from you. I hope he has bought my

albums! And my book! In the book, it is obvious you

suffer with quite a lot of self- doubt, there are lots of ups and

downs. Was there a point when you thought I can make a living from

singing. I think when my bank balance started to get better.

Inevitably in this industry, you never know how it is going to be.

You don't know what is going to happen. There were times that were

really struggles for me and you just have to try and believe that

you are doing the right thing, that it is going to happen, get better.

But sometimes you weaken and start looking for other options. I did, I

looked for other careers and a couple of people offered me a job

as a trainer, as a physical trainer. I got advised about going and

developing my cookery, because I love to cook. It is a hobby. I

would have been useless at it professionally. But I knew singing

was something I couldn't give up. We are glad you didn't give up on

it. There are endless stories, it is a fascinating read. My Story is

out now. Most children in England are still on hol day, 65,000 pupils

are back at the government's summer schools. The extra lessons are for

kids who are predicted to struggle from going to primary to secondary

school. 11-year-old twins as tonne and tar

rin are enjoying the last few minutes of their summer holidays.

They start classes at their new high school today. I am eager to

find out what they think about having their summer holidays cut

short by a fortnight. Is it nice having new kit, getting ready for

school? Yes. Why do you think it will be good to have these extra

lessons? We will get used to the work. The boys are part of a new

�50 million summer scheme targeted to help children who are more

likely to struggle academically. Their Mum thinks it's great. Have

you been worried about their development at school? Yes, more

maths than English. They need that constant extra help. Do you think

the summer holidays are the right length of time?. They are too long.

There are so many places you can do and if the weather is not nice then

you can't. Does it put financial pressure on you? Yes, because extra

food shopping, extra money for days out. We are getting to the point

where it is right, we are ready now, ready for school now. Almost 2,000

state summer schools are running across the UK and here at westly

high school 32 pupils are coming to school two weeks earlier than their

classmates. The scheme is totally voluntary. Pupils don't have to

attend. It is offered to children qualifying for free school meals

because research shows it is these pupils who regularly fall behind

and would benefit most from a shorter holiday. What are the main

reasons you have chosen? 11-year- old cody has chosen to come to

summer school. At home she helps care for her younger brother John

who has special needs. I play with him, I look after him, I stop my

brothers getting in arguments. you annoyed your summer holiday is

going to be cut short?. No, because at the end you start getting really

bored. Why do you get bored?. There's nothing to do. Cody's

father is John's full-time carer. He's keen for cody to attend to

take advantage of the extra support. I thought it was a great idea, a

bit of academic learning before she starts full-time. Hopefully it will

give her a bit of a boost and she will be ahead of the others when

they start in September. Do you think it will help going to summer

school? Yes. Why do you think it will help? When you are at the

summer school, it can help you with your learning. Teachers always

focus on you, not having to focus on lots of children. The school

runs six hours a day, with the main focus on numeracy and literacy.

Headteacher John Banks believes a shorter holiday will make a big

difference to the children. Can two weeks really make a difference?

think so. Some of the students do tend to under perform. We have a

dip in performance when you get children coming from primary school

to secondary school. To start them off early will help them because

after they finish the two weeks summer school they start high

school straightaway. Would you like to see summer holidays shortened?

Yes. Why? It is a long time to engage students and particularly

when they have just finished primary school, to reengage into

learning it is a long break. There is a lively debate about whether or

not the school holidays are too long. In some areas of the UK

education authorities are even considering cutting the break to

four weeks. The kid in me feels sorry for the kids having their

holidays cut short but six weeks is a really long time and I can see

from today, they are really engaged and they have loads of activities

and for those children who need more support this can only be a

good thing. One man who is looking forward to

the start of term is the one one shows's favourite teacher Mr Drew.

Since Meatloaf gave him interview tips in the studio, you have gone

on to become a headteacher. You only turn up when you have singers

here. Absolutely. Did they mention Meatloaf in the interview at all?

No, it was like the elephant in the room. What do you make of summer

schools?. Generally summer schools have got to be a great idea, young

people from primary to secondary school, they can get used to how

things are going to be different. The big fish in the little pond to

being the little fish in the big pond. It's got to be a good thing.

It is a big move for those children. But what about other pupils that

aren't switching schools, those summer holidays are long for all

children. They are long, but you are only young once and there is a

mixed bag of research on whether having so much time off means you

have to start all over again or whether young people need that time

for a chance to be a child. We also forget we have two weeks ago, it

takes us a while to get going when we come back. You spent most of

your summer holidays working. I got a job when I was 11 and I

always worked during the summer holidays to fill up my time. Would

you think about putting opera into your classes? I would hope any

secondary school would be including the study of opera. If you are

studying music you have to study the full range of things. The skill

involved in an opera singer's voice is something all young people can

learn about. There are a lot of young kids and adults who are

intimidated by classical music, think they have to be educated, but

it is for everybody to listen to. Putting music into schools, it

shouldn't just be classical music t should be lotss of different music.

Walking past music classrooms, you hear everything from African music

to opera, to rock, to everything, children are learning a wide range

of skills. Good luck with the new job and the new term.

We would like to hear your stories of your first day at school. Were

you scared, were you happy, what scrapes did you get into. Send them

in to us. The tiny village of Ratcliffe-on-

Soar doesn't get many tourists but it has a loyalist group of visitors

who come every summer. Throughout the year millions of

birds migrate to the UK. Choosing ideal locations like estuaries and

river banks to nest. But one species has turned its back on

traditional sites and prefers a more industrial landscape. Here at

Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire. This power plant

produces electricity for around two million homes. By burning around

four million tonnes of coal a year. One of the biproducts is tonnes of

ash and for the last three decades these mountains of ash have become

the ideal nesting sight for sand Martins. Keith marshal is the

logistics engineer. Isn't that wonderful.

You can see all the holes in lines across the top. Between 100 and 150

pairs. They are beautiful birds. You have been working here for

decades. How are they doing this year. They were very late arriving.

Normally 1st April they arrive. This year we didn't see any until

5th May. We were concerned they weren't going to turn up at all.

You would never expect that, such a wildlife friendly habitat in the

middle of this. It is stunning to find. Just so unusual. Sand

Martin's are the smallest member of the swallow family. They are one of

the first spring migrants to appear in the UK. For a small bird, it

makes a massive journey every year of over 3,000 miles, crossing both

Sahara desert and Mediterranean sea. They usually nest in Sandbanks

along rivers but here in Britain, those can be at risk of flooding.

So this ash pile is a perfect high and dry alternative. The birds will

dig back creating a tunnel of about 35 centimetres and right at the

back will be their nesting chamber. They will line it with grass and

feathers and lay the eggs there. The amazing thing about this ash is

it is a really similar consistency to sand. It is soft enough to be

able to dig out, but hard enough so it won't collapse on their heads.

With the female laying around four to five eggs, both parents help

with incubation and feeding the chicks. It is about a month before

the chicks are independent. Keith and his team ensure there is an ash

pile for the birds each year, but it does take a bit of housekeeping.

What we found in the past is, where the birds have been here for two or

three years on the trot, we had a major collapse of the face. So we

now form the face every year for them. The birds come back year

after year. They do, they are back here this year in sim wlar numbers

to what we have seen. It's such a lovely sight. They are enchanting

birds. They will stay here until late summer. Why do they bother

coming at all, when they could stay in sunny Africa all year round.

That is down to the abundance of insects we get in spring and summer.

Eventually the chicks will fledge and with their parents they will

then fly all the way back to Africa. I hope he's recovered from the

cutlery game yesterday. You have migrated back and forth

between the States and UK for the last two decades because your wife

is American. Yes. Where do you call home now? I was hoping I could kip

down here for the night. It's crazy, I think England is definitely where

I will always have a home, I do a lot of work here, there is a lot