Portsmouth Sea Cities

Around the coast of Britain are cities

where lives are shaped by the sea.

Whoa! Turbot. Nice turbot.

Yeah, lovely job!

Each city is a gateway to the wider world,

and around each city, thousands of people work in jobs

that touch all of our lives.

Whether it's shipping cars...

We're just short of £29 million worth today.

..or importing fruit.

What I love about bananas is they don't answer back!

Jobs that keep the nation afloat.

This is the tricky bit, this is where the skill comes in.

Where every day brings fresh challenges.

Whoa!

These are cities that welcome the Navy,

both serving sailors and new recruits.

From clocking on in the morning...

You should see me flying a kite, mate, I'm brilliant!

..to relaxing after work.

It's all part of the warm up.

Around the shores and rivers of people's home towns,

water is a way of life.

On the south coast of Britain,

Portsmouth has been a base for the Navy for 800 years.

Attention!

You've got to impress me. That's why we're here.

The Royal Marines Band Service is on the hunt for new recruits.

Deep down it means the world to me. It's what I want to do.

And beyond the barracks, Portsmouth thrives on tourism, trade,

and time off.

On the quayside of Portsmouth's naval base,

families are waiting to be reunited with loved ones.

I miss my little boy and my missus more than anything.

I am over the moon. I cannot wait to see them again.

It's quite nice seeing Pompey come over the horizon,

seeing my wife and my boy.

Yeah, having a bit of time at home, a bit of downtime.

After eight long months away, HMS Severn is returning home.

You just want to get hold of that child of yours and just hug them,

you know, and say, "Well done, lad. We're so proud of you."

Yeah, it feels good to get back into Pompey, see all the family

and everyone.

Get away from the sun and get back into the rain again.

I shall give him a big hug, just like his mum will,

but I'll let her get in first!

Out the way. Mum coming through.

That's it, he'll expect that.

Commanding officer Stephen Banfield has been in the Navy for 12 years,

serving around the world.

Any homecoming is always special.

I have my wife, two children and a very excited dog waiting for me

when I get back.

Have you missed him? Yeah?

Steve's wife Georgina can't wait to get her husband home.

-Cuddles and bedtime stories?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Very emotional. He's been gone since November, and it's July now.

So yes, it's been a long eight months.

It's nice to be home,

and there will hopefully be a lot of people on the jetty waiting for us.

HMS Severn and its 35 crew members have been on patrol,

hunting drug traffickers,

and flying the flag in ports across the Caribbean.

She's one of 38 naval ships based in Portsmouth.

HMS Severn, stand at ease!

Chaplain of the fleet Ian Wheatley is on board

to welcome HMS Severn home.

The best ships become greater than the sum of the parts.

And I think you have proved that.

35 of you have achieved so much in eight months,

and you should be rightly proud of it.

It's a great privilege, just to be able to see people who have

been away for a period of time, doing a really good job.

Just to be able to come out here

and say thank you for what you've been doing is a real privilege.

..because it's been noticed and it does matter.

Portsmouth 350, run a correct.

Starboard 350.

345.

SHIP'S HORN BLARES

There is always that excitement in the bottom of your stomach,

as you round the Isle of Wight and see Portsmouth for the first time.

Yes, there he is!

He's on the bridge up there. Hello!

He's probably a bit more tanned than the last time I saw him,

after having spent all that time in the Caribbean.

Seeing the ship come down, you're thinking another five minutes,

I'll have him, you know, and I'll be able to hug him.

He'll probably go, "Please don't embarrass me, Mum. Please don't!"

After eight months and 30,000 miles, the crew are finally home.

WHISTLE BLOWS

Hello!

Hello.

'Arabella took her first steps...

'You know, she was a baby when he left,

'and now she's a grown-up little girl.'

Yes, it will be really nice to get him back on daddy duties.

For sailor Ben Dowsett, a reunion with his mum

is well worth the embarrassment.

Who couldn't be proud of that?

Come on, who could not be proud of that?

We are so proud of him. Look at him. And I'm so embarrassing him!

What are mums for? We can get away with that.

It has been a good deployment, yes. Lots has been achieved

and now I can't wait to spend a bit more family time.

Nice to know that you've got family that are there for you all the time.

It's a very nice feeling.

We can't do this without you guys supporting us.

I like the Navy and the Navy likes me,

but most importantly, my wife lets me be in the Navy.

So, you all let us be in the Navy, let us do the job we love to do.

Portsmouth has been welcoming home warships since the Middle Ages.

Its position on the south coast, and narrow harbour entrance,

makes it virtually impregnable to attack from the sea.

More recently, Portsmouth has developed a major commercial

ferry and cargo port, with 80,000 ship movements every year.

But the naval base is still the city's largest employer.

Around 12,000 people work here, and much of that work involves

maintaining two-thirds of the British Navy's fleet.

This will soon include the country's newest and largest warships,

when two brand-new aircraft carriers make Portsmouth their home.

On the far side of the base, away from the clatter of industry,

come very different sounds.

BRASS BAND PLAYS

At the Royal Marines School of Music,

students study for a prestigious place in a Royal Marines band.

Assistant Director of Music Lieutenant Sam Hairsine

runs a tight ship.

Be in a straight line all the time...

It's his job to add military precision

to the students' musical skills.

Well, this is our HQ.

We're going past the percussion suite, which is a purpose-built,

soundproofed studio, with all our percussion equipment.

We've got Parker VC Hall, which is our concert hall

and the largest rehearsal space. ..Thank you!

This is the home of music in the naval service.

There's music going on all the time.

It's a really fun, really positive environment.

The Royal Marines School of Music

has been based in Portsmouth for 20 years.

Students live and study in an old converted naval prison.

It's only a semitone. La-da-da.

They all get their own practice room.

It still looks like a cell, but it's more homely inside.

They can personalise it, decorate them,

put some posters up, a few pictures.

Because it's Grade II listed,

we've kept it looking as much like a prison as we have to.

There are five Royal Marines bands.

Together, they perform over 1,400 engagements a year.

Audiences include heads of state, royalty, and foreign dignitaries.

It takes three years of hard graft

before musicians graduate from the school into a band.

During that time, they have to master a range of musical styles,

from classical to jazz.

To be a professional musician takes about 10,000 hours of practice

so, yeah, a lot of time spent in here.

A bit of sweat when it's warm, but hopefully not too many tears,

and certainly no blood!

The school recruits 35 students a year.

Arriving today are a group of hopefuls,

who will spend a week here, battling for a place.

Competition is fierce.

During their time here, they will be under the watchful eye

of Lieutenant Hairsine and head of the school, Major John Ridley.

Welcome to the Royal Marines School of Music.

I'm sure you're all a little nervous.

It's quite a...an arduous few days,

to be honest, but it is arduous for a reason.

You are auditioning for a job within, in my opinion,

the finest military music organisation in the world.

And I say that absolutely categorically with a full heart.

16-year-old Ashley Forshaw

has always dreamed of playing in a Royal Marines band.

I've always loved music.

My parents are both ex-forces themselves,

so I've always enjoyed the military lifestyle.

We got tickets to go see Mountbatten Festival of Music.

My mum took me there, and I just loved it.

I fell in love with the band.

From then on, that inspired my ambition to join up.

Ultimately, it's down to me

and my team of advisers who we offer jobs to.

Competing alongside Ashley is 16-year-old Joshua Drew

from Yorkshire.

A member of the Band Service came to the band I was in and showed a bit of what he does

and how he can drum.

I must say, it appealed to me and ever since that,

I've just researched YouTube videos and all sorts, and when I got to the

age of 14, I thought, "Right, this is what I want to do, definitely."

And applied.

The biggest thing I want to see is determination.

That's what impresses me the most

and that's what it's all about, that's what's key to this audition for you.

Ashley and Josh are applying to become buglers.

As members of the Drum Corps,

they'll need to master the bugle, herald trumpet

and the military snare drum.

Being a bugler, you're out there, you stand out and especially when

you're playing Last Post, everyone's looking at you and I like that.

I got the little books that you can get, you know, the careers guides,

and constantly read them.

Obviously, the experience I've had marching down Main Street

in Disney, in Paris, that was an experience.

When you've got all the tourists next to you, dancing,

obviously it just makes you feel brilliant.

The hairs on the back of your neck stand up immediately.

We're all in the same boat, we're all supporting each other as well,

but there's also that thing if there's that one place

and you all want that one place, we all know what we need to do.

You've got to impress me. Of course. That's why we're here.

But if you're the kind of person who's got those skills,

believe me, you'll do well on this audition.

For the next week, Ashley, Josh and the rest of the group will be living

in each other's pockets and getting a full dose of military life.

We want to assess them in all aspects that we're going to see them

later on in their careers, so we need to assess their music, but also

their physical ability and their character.

Through the week, we'll get a really good measure of them,

particularly in the physical test when they've perhaps got to dig a little deeper they're expecting.

SHIP HORN BLARES

Opposite Portsmouth's naval base is the international port.

One regular visitor here is a cargo ship from the Caribbean.

Her bounty - the vast majority of Britain's supply of bananas.

Before the bananas leave the port,

each shipment gets meticulously inspected.

The perfect banana is cosmetically free of any defects,

so when you go in the shop, you pay a higher price for that banana.

Matthew Reed is a quality control inspector.

Today's shipment of 40 million bananas has to be closely

monitored and free of any hidden extras.

We do find the odd insect.

I've come across a dead spider, who was about the size of my hand

and I lifted up the box lid and as it came at me,

I took a step back... To say that is an understatement.

Frogs, when they're dead, smell terrible.

Just to let you know.

We very rarely see these things, but they have got

a habit of crawling in, you know, where they shouldn't, now and again.

I love, love bananas, yes. Yeah.

Full of potassium!

What I like about it is the peacefulness, actually,

believe it or not.

I've been doing it for about 20 years now and thoroughly enjoy

it and, you know, what I love about bananas is they don't answer back.

With nearly 40 million bananas off-loaded, the Klipper Stream

will soon be ready for her trip back to the Caribbean.

But she won't be returning empty.

POLICE SIRENS WAIL

Back at the Royal Marines School of Music, auditions are underway.

Colour Sergeant Bugler Ross Piner and Bugle Major Simon Chapman

are about to test Joshua, who has dreams of becoming a bugler.

What I'm looking for this morning, or this afternoon,

potentially, is for you to give me what you know.

What I'm looking for overall is potential. Try and relax, OK?

I want you to be completely relaxed and show me what you can do. OK.

It is quite daunting, because obviously, they know everything.

If you think you've done all right, but you've made this

slight little mistake that you don't know about, they'll pick it up straight away.

So they know what they're talking about.

Have you done much bugle before?

Er, not much. I have...

Although a competent drummer,

Josh has had little experience with the bugle.

PLAYS SLIGHTLY HESITANT NOTE

OK.

My dad was in the RAF. He's supported me all the way,

because obviously he's been in the military, he knows what it's like.

Obviously when he went away to war zones, I was worried,

and enjoyed the Skype calls I got with him.

You know, I'd write him letters while I was at school.

Yeah, struggled a bit.

HE PLAYS TWO NOTES

Competing for a place alongside Josh is local lad, Ashley, from Gosport.

My nerves are sky-high.

I don't normally get nervous,

but I waited most of my life for that moment.

Good. Thank you very much.

This year will see the first major shake-up in recruitment.

A new role is being added to the band.

We're about to audition for our new singer category,

which is really exciting.

It's a new category that we're forming

to professionalise our singing cadre

within the Royal Marines Band Service.

# When Britain first at heaven's command... #

29-year-old opera singer Katrina Nimmo

trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

She's hoping to be the first ever singer

to be recruited to the Band Service.

I always just knew I wanted to be a singer and I just thought,

great, a position with a real sense of duty and where I can sing.

Or whatever they give me, if they let me in!

# Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!

# Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. #

We're looking for classically-trained singers

to sing in the wide range of ensembles that we provide

within the Royal Marines Band Service.

# Don't know why

# There's no sun up in the sky... #

One of the skills you learn as a singer is how to bluff it.

How to be absolutely terrified

of singing in front of hundreds, sometimes thousands of people

something that you've maybe only known for six weeks.

# Stormy weather... #

It's a nervous time for all auditionees

in every addition that they might do.

I don't think the nerves ever go away for people when they are auditioning

because there's a lot at stake, at the end of the day.

SHE SINGS

You have to deliver.

And it doesn't matter how scared you are.

So, I'll be using every single trick I know.

SONG FINISHES

That's great. Thank you ever so much.

That's a really nice, broad view of your singing

and we'll talk later at the interview and discuss further.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

The musical auditions continue throughout the day.

Opera singer Katrina and buglers Josh and Ashley

won't know the results until the end of the week.

Before that, they'll need to prove

they're physically up to a job in the Navy.

Royal Marines Commandos fitness instructors await.

At the commercial port,

the Klipper Stream is craning off

the last of her 5,000-tonne delivery of bananas.

She'll soon be empty and ready for her long voyage back to the Caribbean,

where she'll pick up another load of fruit.

But in the shipping industry,

empty vessels don't make money.

So any cargo they can take along is gratefully received.

My car's a Ford Escort Mark II, 1981-ish.

It's won quite a few rallies. It used to be quite famous in its time.

1980 Talbot Sunbeam, 1.6 Ti.

Yorkshire lads David Hemingway and Ian Coulson

are competing in the Barbados Historic Rally Carnival.

It's taken them weeks of meticulous preparation

to get the cars race-ready and shipshape

for a transatlantic voyage.

It becomes part of your life.

So, consequently, in terms of how many hours have I put in,

immeasurable.

This is like an old friend, really.

It keeps getting new bits on it, new axles, new engine,

new wings and new doors and stuff like that.

ICE CREAM VAN JINGLE PLAYS

Yeah, you've got to draw attention to yourself somehow.

If you're not very good at driving, you've got to have some other gimmick to let people remember you.

Their much-loved cars have to be craned on to the Klipper Stream.

With the wind gusting, it's a tricky, nail-biting process.

Pride and joy. You love them to bits until you start them up

and then you thrash the living daylights out of them.

There's going to be somebody on the boat to drive them off,

somebody on the dock to load them on to the crate.

Dave takes up position inside the ship

to wait for his treasured Ford Escort.

I'm assured it's going to be third or fourth in line

because it's third or fourth in the queue.

So they will have got it all right by the time mine comes in, so it'll be fine.

First up is fellow club member Neil Reddington's vintage Triumph TR5.

-I'm not sure...

-Yeah.

It all looks a bit wobbly. It's quite windy today.

The Triumph is winched 50 feet in the air

and carefully lowered through a small hatch,

with only inches to spare.

-That's yours landed.

-That's landed.

The TR has landed.

Without a hitch!

After weeks of painstaking restoration work,

Ian's Talbot Sunbeam is driven on to the cage.

It doesn't look very stable. I'm sure it'll be fine.

I've never seen it from underneath that far up in the air before.

In the gusty conditions, Ian's Sunbeam makes a safe landing.

Just about.

Well, quite nervous for that first 20 feet. Relieved now.

Because it appears that that cable is no longer going down.

That means my car's inside that boat.

Very relieved.

Finally, Dave's beloved 25 grand Mark II Escort

joins the others on the ship.

Well done.

Let's hope she gets off all right.

Going on her holidays.

We'll see her in a few months.

It's a 4,000-mile trip to Barbados for the rally cars.

Dave and the rest of the club will soon be flying out

to be reunited with their loved ones.

Until then, it's a less glamorous trip back to Yorkshire.

Very relieved and we've now got a six-and-a-half hour journey home.

Happy days!

The city of Portsmouth welcomes over nine million tourists every year.

One of the biggest attractions is the historic dockyard,

home to legendary ships such as the Mary Rose and HMS Victory.

Standing alongside is HMS Warrior.

Launched in 1860, she was the pride of Queen Victoria's fleet.

170 feet tall, Warrior was the most powerful warship of her day.

Maintaining the rigging on a ship like this

requires a specialist crew.

They are amazing things, to be honest.

The technology that was involved in building them at the time

was, you know, state-of-the-art.

It kind of shows why we were a great sailing nation.

Ian Bell has been working on historic ships for over 20 years.

He's one of only a few riggers in the country

experienced enough to work on a national treasure like Warrior.

I don't get all caught up in the, you know, romance of the sea and all that rubbish.

But you can kind of get a bit of a feeling about, you know,

what these ships were like, you know?

Yeah, all that gun smoke and all that stuff going on must have been brilliant.

Today's job requires a team of riggers.

That's Number One over there.

Thanks. I don't even get a name any more!

Well, you can learn their names, but they're not here long enough normally to worry about,

so we don't really bother.

Did you just ask him to turn round so you could touch him on the arse?

Number One, also known as Rhys, is an experienced climber.

But when it comes to old ships, he's still learning the ropes.

I think in any kind of job like this,

if there's no banter, then I think somebody, they might lose it.

You should see me flying a kite, mate. I'm brilliant.

Today, Ian will be climbing up the mast to replace the strops and blocks,

part of the rigging once used to help steer the ship.

For me, I'm 47 next week, I don't really want to go up there.

And he's, like, three and he doesn't want to be down here.

But he doesn't know what I know. I know what he knows.

He knows nothing.

But I know what I know and he doesn't know what I know.

So I have to do that bit and he has to do this bit.

-So kind.

-That's all right, mate.

If you hear any creaking, it's my knees.

That's about 90 foot, something like that.

But after six foot, it doesn't matter.

It's just how long you got to think about it on the way down.

That view... What do you think of my office?

When you get a really clear day, you can see for ever, really.

All right, mate. Hold it there a second.

Take out the gathering, Number One, please.

That means up!

Yeah, a bit further.

Whoa! Yeah!

So all these bits

are bits which we've previously taken off

and now have got to pop back on now they're all bright and shiny.

On a day like today, it's very, very calm

-and it's relatively easy to get up there.

-Number One!

Sorry. Yeah?

-Can you go and ease that brace?

-Yeah, I've got you.

I'll be back in a sec. Cheers, boys. Sorry about that.

He's a bit like that. You just shout at him and he runs.

Yeah, we get a few moments.

Thunderstorms, we don't like them very much at all.

They can come out of nowhere, especially around here.

Snow is horrible.

But the sun's quite nice.

The Warrior had a crew of over 700 men.

The vast majority were required to help work the 25 miles of rigging.

Seven miles of rope still need looking after today.

When you are up that high, a little bit of fear, I think it's natural.

If you didn't actually feel a little bit afraid,

I think there's something wrong with you.

Right off!

It's quite important now that there's a big push to conserve the skills.

You know, there's not many people that do it.

Give us a bit on that, mate.

Can you push?

It's those little tricks and techniques

that are the things that will go missing and will never come back.

Yeah, good now, mate. You've done it.

The boy's done something useful!

People have asked me about, you know,

justifying the costs of these ships.

9.9, if ever.

I think they're absolutely priceless.

-High-five.

-Thank you.

And I don't know how to do anything else.

A mile along the coast from the historic dockyard

is Southsea Esplanade.

This seaside spot has been a place for city dwellers to unwind

since Victorian times.

Today, the Royal Marines band hopefuls

are beginning their physical tests along the promenade.

Opera singer Katrina and wannabe buglers Ashley and Josh

need to prove they're fit enough for a job in the Armed Forces.

People don't see the actual physical side of it.

They don't realise how hard it is that you've got to train to get in.

110%.

Well, more 200%.

It's something I've wanted since I was ten.

I knew the tests were going to be hard, but not as hard as they were.

The three-mile run, that was hard.

As a singer, especially as an opera singer,

you have to have a very active life.

You can't just sit around and be the fat lady that sings.

I've done a lot of fitness before even contemplating this.

It's a push. It's a push, but it's not totally alien.

Lieutenant Sam Hairsine is joined by Royal Marines Commando instructor Sergeant Liam Bennett

to assess their fitness.

Head and shoulders all the way back in contact with the ground.

It's going to be a personal fitness assessment.

And that's going to then measure the aerobic output and power

and also muscular endurance for us to then get a gauge where we're looking at

and are they going to be then suitable to then go into

initial military training in four months' time.

So we need you, when you're feeling rough, when you're feeling tired

and you don't think you've got a lot of energy left, to keep on going.

This is our first opportunity to see a bit of grit.

It's the first time they can really show us what they're made of.

There is no leeway on any of these press-ups.

The way it is demonstrated is exactly

the way that you will be required to perform that press-up.

They've got to do their best and that's the key to this.

It's a best effort.

So they should all be equally tired by the end of it.

OK, two minutes, then. Stand by...

Three, two, one, go!

How many military-style press-ups and sit-ups can they pump out in two minutes?

That's ten seconds gone. Remember what we said - pace yourselves.

Keep working hard. Good effort. Well done.

40 seconds gone.

Come on. Good.

Get those knees squeezed together. All the way down!

Three, two, one, steady there.

The Band Service are not only sort of the world's best military band,

but they are then also attached

and they come away with us in 3 Commando Brigade

and travel to all parts of the world with us.

That could be a war zone, could be on humanitarian missions, or anything like that.

So they've got to have a physical and also a mental sort of fortitude and robustness.

That robustness is about to be examined back at the barracks

with the dreaded determination test,

an hour of extreme circuit training

to see how the potential recruits cope mentally

when they've reached their physical limits.

It's not an easy test.

It's something that some of them have probably never even done before in their lives at all.

So it's something new, but that's what it's all about, isn't it?

Hence the term - determination test. So, see how they get on now.

Hopefully, a few smiling faces at the end.

Doesn't matter if they're not, though.

Those body weight exercises, ladies and gents, work hard!

Up and down. Come on, let's go.

Let's see a little bit of grit now!

All the way to the line.

They're doing all right. I don't need to tell them that, though.

They're putting the effort in, which is all that matters at the minute.

I've certainly never experienced that, no.

I've only ever had two personal training sessions in my life, actually.

Straighten into it.

We're all egging each other on.

And there is also a bit of friendly rivalry,

trying to beat the person in front of you, as well.

Come on!

I'm not here to break people, I'm not here to put people off.

But we are here to push people to that maximum point where they're going to then start to think,

"Wow, is this what I really want?"

Hard. Especially because there was heat, as well.

You've just got to pace yourself, make sure you do it right.

We will push them as hard as is necessary to find where that point is.

Let's go. Up!

OK, then, ladies and gents. How did you find that?

Hard? OK, yeah.

That's the whole purpose of the determination test,

finding that little bit inside you and that little bit of grit and determination.

When it starts to hurt, you have to dig in.

If you are successful in this audition, then you really have to find that inner strength.

That is only a fraction of what you are going to come up to face.

You should be aiming to achieve the highest of standards every time in fitness.

OK, off you go.

I appreciate that it's completely new and it's a new environment for them

and they've never done it in this format before probably ever.

But if they are interested in joining the military, and it is a military organisation,

then this is the sort of stuff they need to get used to.

But, all in all, not too bad a performance, to be honest.

Halfway through the week

and the group have had their first real taste of military life.

But even if they get accepted, years of training lie ahead

before they'll be able to play in a Royal Marines band.

19-year-old trombone player Jack Lewis is one of those

who'll soon be making that transition from student to professional musician.

This is my seven-hour-a-day room you know, give or take.

I've spent a lot of three years in this room, you know, gruelling away.

It's my own personal bubble.

Nothing can touch me in here and this is where I learn music.

The emotion you can portray with an instrument is unlike any other.

An artist can show how he feels through what he or she draws.

But I don't think it conveys the same way as an instrument can.

Because then you have the raw feeling right then and there.

Three years goes like nothing.

At the time, when you start, it feels like it's going to be a long process,

because there's a lot of work to do in that three years.

But when you get to the stage that I'm at now,

it's like, where did the time go, you know?

It's the final physical test for the young hopefuls.

As a potential Navy recruit,

everyone is expected to feel at home in the water...

Off you go!

..and confident enough to jump from a ship in an emergency.

Halfway!

But not everyone is comfortable jumping off a five-metre board.

Relax!

Some people, when they're up there, if they just gather themselves a bit,

that time up there is valuable for them just to get that extra push, that extra determination,

find it within themselves.

For opera singer Katrina, it was her worst nightmare

when she found out what the final test involved.

That was horrible.

I found out on Monday when I arrived.

And I was barely able to eat dinner.

I just thought, "Oh, God.

"I've got to pass everything in order to stand a chance."

Juggling contracts, scraping by isn't the option that I want.

I want to be able to have a satisfying career,

so I thought that would be enough to get me off the edge. And it wasn't.

On my count...

Three, two, one.

OK, relax. Relax from halfway.

You're going to walk from halfway. You're going to continue walking. Stop fazing yourself out.

There's just something about being petrified.

You know, turn to stone in the literal sense of being petrified,

where every cell in you wants to move forward,

but your legs just won't.

Being in the Royal Marines, you've got to be comfortable with water

and, of course, jumping off a high board.

Just because it's all part of sea survival, those kind of things.

So it will come into training.

Unable to jump from the five-metre board,

Katrina is talked down to try a lower level.

She's just going off the three-metre board, hopefully.

So we'll try again with this one.

Just keep breathing, Katrina. Just keep breathing. Just keep walking.

That's it.

Failing the test would put a serious question mark over Katrina's military career.

It's, again, a bit of a determination test.

If people want to do it and see if people are able to make themselves do it.

And that's a good insight into their character, as well.

I could really do well and enjoy this career.

I obviously want it more than anything.

But I do know that there are some serious gaps in my abilities.

Ten minutes later, Katrina finally takes a leap of faith...

Not good enough. I didn't expect it to be so hard.

Because I don't really have a problem with heights,

just falling from them, clearly.

But, yeah, definitely something to work on because I've failed this test now. So...

Soaring 170 metres above Portsmouth Harbour is the Spinnaker Tower.

Taller than the London Eye and the Blackpool Tower,

the views from the top stretch for miles.

We start around 9:30 in the morning.

I always make a plan of getting in early

and before we even start work, I just come up here

and just unwind and look at the views.

There's always something going on.

To me, it's just so peaceful.

Visitors to the Spinnaker are greeted by tour guide Alan King.

If you can just come this side for me?

Just flip your hand over. I need to give you a little stamp.

I was born and bred in London, so I'm originally a Londoner.

But left the UK in '77, travelled the world

and came home a couple of years ago.

OK, come on straight through and enjoy your visit. Thank you.

I'm loving my autumn of my days now,

doing something I want to do for a change.

A lot of people say, "You're a long way from home.

I say, "Yeah, about 50 miles."

The main attraction on the tower is the observation deck.

At a height of 105 metres, it gives a bird's-eye view of the city.

A high-speed lift shuttles visitors up and down.

The journey gives Alan a captive audience.

Good afternoon. Welcome to the tower.

I'm going to take you to the first of our main levels.

It's 100 metres above sea level.

And it only takes 28 seconds for us to get there.

It's almost like being on the stage.

You actually prepare yourself, so as they come in the lift,

it's almost as if the curtains are opening on the stage

and you're giving your performance to the audience.

You don't feel it right now,

but we're going up at four metres every second.

That's where you're going to find part of the floor is made out of glass

and we've got a beautiful panorama right round the city.

If you have a little look to the right,

you'll get an idea of how high you are now.

Oh!

Yeah, that's sometimes our wow moment.

Yes, nice, isn't it?

We had almost 2,000 guests one day last year in the middle of the summer.

So it was 26 up, 26 down, nonstop.

It gets cosy.

Come on through, if you would.

Come and walk across the glass floor.

You just slip your shoes off, ma'am.

Yeah, give me your hand. It's all right.

Come and stand right in the middle there.

OK?

Good lad.

You can jump up and down, ma'am, if you want, as well.

That's the new Ben Ainslie building.

Because obviously the America's Cup races

are going to be starting quite soon in the Solent.

We do get some sort of fighting to a certain extent

who's coming up here and who's not.

Especially if there is any naval movements.

Wir haben...numbers, eins, zwei, drei...sieben, OK?

Or we might have someone who's a bit of a buff on the naval

and I actually am myself.

So if there is any naval movements going on,

I try and make sure I'm up here myself.

Like I said before, I don't need to be here.

I'm here because I want to be here.

And at this stage in my life, I absolutely adore being here.

I absolutely love it.

OK, when we get back to the ground floor, exit through those doors

and enjoy the rest of your day.

It takes three years of hard graft

to become a Royal Marines band member.

Or bandy, as they call themselves.

It doesn't matter. The figure's there to be played, OK?

Training students is expensive,

so the Navy have to be completely confident in the musicians they recruit.

16 have been competing for a place here.

Their week of trials is coming to an end.

Who will measure up?

They'll find out after their interview with the top brass.

He wants to be a bugler. Instrumentally, poor.

Major Ridley and his team are concerned about Josh.

During his audition,

he failed to make a good impression on the bugle.

I was quite shocked that he wanted to be a bugler

and has wanted to for some time.

Yet, he turned up for audition and he could not play the bugle.

He did react a little bit to tuition.

OK.

I knew what to expect, but I didn't expect it to be this hard.

In my eyes, the Marines, best in the world.

You know, nothing better than them.

All these talented musicians.

Come and have a seat, please.

And, hopefully, I'll be among them, someday,

playing my instrument.

Joshua, how do you think this week has gone?

Erm, I think it's gone good.

It's been a little bit of a shock to the system,

-especially with the determination test.

-Good.

And what's your overall ambition in life, Joshua?

To get into the Royal Marines Band Service

and, hopefully, work my way through the ranks.

Get a few qualifications out of it, as well.

This is a job interview. It could be successful.

It might not be successful.

Imagine if you weren't,

what do you think your sort of mental response to that would be?

Initially, I'd be a little bit upset and annoyed at myself

that I haven't got in.

Then look at what I need to work on and then obviously next year, try it again.

-OK, lovely. Well, nice to meet you.

-Thank you.

And we'll let you know how things have gone tomorrow morning.

Thank you.

I don't really know. I'm slightly relaxed. Not too relaxed.

But I found it all right.

Some good questions that I thought that I answered well.

Next up for interrogation is fellow bugler, local lad Ashley.

Having lived near the naval base all his life,

he's desperate for a place in the Band Service.

How have you found this week?

Interesting. Very interesting.

-A lot harder than I thought, especially the phys.

-Yeah? Good.

You look very excited, you know, when you're talking about bugling and drumming and everything

and what you've done so far.

Why do you want a career in it?

It's something I've always loved.

I've always liked the military side of life

and I've always loved music, so...

Who is the principal director of music? Do you know?

Erm...

Lef... Lootenant-Colonel Nick Grace?

Good. OBE.

And it's left-tenant, not loo-tenant.

That's the American way of saying it.

But you're absolutely right. Your knowledge is good.

OK, well, thank you. Thank you for your time.

Cheers.

Very daunting, but I felt proud, like,

I've got this far in the joining process.

A good interview. Got a little bit nervous in the middle.

It's like a relief off my shoulders,

but the pressure's still on because I don't know the results yet.

-He looks excited, doesn't it?

-That's the thing.

You could sense it, couldn't you?

-That's all he's wanted to do since the age of nine years old.

-Yeah.

And he's on the verge of doing it, as well, isn't he?

# Land of hope and glory... #

Opera singer Katrina's vocal talents have impressed from day one.

But she struggled in the fitness tests

and needs to explain her stage fright on the diving board.

So, Katrina, how do you think this week's gone for you?

Overall, it's been a really positive experience.

It's been a real eye-opener. I've learned a lot.

I've learned where my strengths lie and my deficiencies.

-Shall we talk about those, while we're on there?

-Yes.

-What were you disappointed with?

-That I failed the five-metre board.

What was that down to, do you think?

-That was down to never having done it before.

-Yeah.

And I was totally overcome.

And it was one of the more embarrassing episodes of my life.

So I'm going to get straight back to Cardiff International Pool

and nobody is leaving until I'm off that board!

Well, it's really pleasant to interview you

and we'll give you the results tomorrow morning.

-Thank you very much.

-I hope tonight isn't too nervous for you.

-Thanks very much.

-Thank you.

Cheers, Katrina. Bye-bye.

In just 12 hours' time,

the potential recruits will be called into the major's office

to discover if a dream musical career in the Navy lies ahead.

I'm pretty sure I will be good at my job, if they'll let me in.

But I don't have any expectation.

I just...

I would appreciate it more than anything if they hired me.

I'll be nervous, in all fairness.

And, hopefully, if I get that result that I want, I'll be over the moon.

I don't know what I'm going to feel.

Excited.

Nervous. Proud.

And I don't want to do anything else.

Ferries, fishing vessels and cargo ships

make Portsmouth Harbour one of the busiest in the country,

worth £5 million a year to the city.

But it's not all about business.

Thousands of pleasure boats are moored here.

Most are used as weekend retreats, but some have become homes.

I'm Morris Owens and I was born in North London in 1922.

In 1922, the BBC started, as well!

When I lost my parents in '89,

I then decided that I would live on a boat.

And it was such a lovely marina and they were so helpful here,

I decided to stay and have never looked back.

Right, starting the engine now.

Making sure my instruments are ready for use

by pulling up various switches.

ENGINE STARTS

And we're away!

See you, Morris. Have a lovely trip!

Oh, hello there, Peter!

-All the best!

-These are the BBC people.

Oh, you're kidding?!

Well, you deserve the best!

This is where you have to keep your eyes open all the time,

because a vessel can pop up from nowhere.

Doesn't matter where you are,

every harbour is an attractive place to be.

All the activity that goes on.

There is such a wonderful sense of freedom.

And, of course, today we more or less have the perfect day

because the breeze is lovely and soft

and it makes you forget all about our dreary old winter.

Even two or three days like this...

..makes you feel a lot younger.

Before Morris retired, he had a career mapping the world's oceans.

Those navigational skills still come in handy today.

Back on course again now.

All these small sailing craft, pleasure craft,

keep to this channel on the right here.

Hello, Journeyman!

And we give a casual wave to all our yachting associates.

And you can see...

SHIP HORN HOOTS

There's a fellow in the way up there.

That's why he's giving them a hoot. He's in the fairway.

The tide gets very tricky all around here.

I'm now standing by to unfurl...

..with the starboard jerry sheet.

I'd like to think I could still be sailing on the Solent when I'm 100.

Although, I'm looking forward to being at 95. I could be lucky at 95.

Release that one there.

Lots of lovely things to remember...

..which keeps the mind so active.

Release the starboard one and haul in the port one.

I drink in moderation. Not when I was a young man.

I've done all the binges like young people should do.

HE CHUCKLES

I'm coming round now while it's all clear.

It's just a wonderful life that I have.

I think you understand nature more, this planet of ours.

And it does teach you about being respectful

to all manners of things in life on the sea. It's wonderful.

Where else in the world would you like to be?

Peace and serenity, just for a little while.

You don't have to go to parties every day to enjoy yourself.

You can enjoy yourself in serenity like this.

BUGLER PLAYS A TUNE

At the naval base, decisions have been made.

The hopefuls are about to find out if they've been awarded a place

here at the prestigious Royal Marines School of Music.

Major John Ridley will be breaking the news to them,

fulfilling some dreams and crushing others.

First in line is prospective bugler Joshua Drew from East Yorkshire.

I've had mixed emotions where I've thought,

"Oh, I could have done better there. Or I've done really well there."

There have been ups and downs throughout the week.

It's something I've wanted for so long, I'm that passionate about it.

My friends back home, they're all rooting me on.

I've had texts and all sorts off them during this week.

It'll make my family proud, as well.

Come on in, Joshua.

-Please, come and have a seat. How are you?

-A bit nervous.

I'm sure you are. Well, I won't dwell.

Put you out of your misery.

I'm afraid it's not good news this time, Joshua.

You've not been successful at your audition

-with the Royal Marines Band Service this time.

-Yeah.

You seem a really decent young man

and so that's credit to you for a start. So it's not all bad news.

Josh's lack of experience on the bugle has cost him dearly.

You just don't have the quality required at present.

I think you have the kind of personality that we like

in the military and in the Band Service.

But you need to show me a great deal more potential

for a career in professional music.

And that's what it boils down to, OK?

Sorry it's bad news, Joshua.

-And good luck.

-Sir.

-Maybe see you again. Thank you.

It's heartbreak for Josh.

But Major Ridley thinks he could succeed with a bit more bugle practice under his belt.

Deep down, it means the world to me.

There's no other words. It's the world to me.

It's what I want to do.

Good morning, Ashley. Come on in. Come and have a seat.

-How are you this morning?

-Nervous.

-I'm sure you are.

I will put you out of your misery, Ashley,

and deliver what is, hopefully, very good news for you

in that you've been successful on your audition

for the Royal Marines Band Service.

And we would like to offer you a place for September this year as a bugler.

Thank you very much.

So it's probably all of your dreams come true in about 30 seconds, I imagine.

Very well done. I'm delighted for you.

Ashley's determination has paid off.

He'll report for his initial Marines Commando training in three months' time.

And then you present to the Royal Marines and then you'll come here for music training as a bugler.

-Yeah, thank you.

-OK?

-Yes.

Congratulations. Really delighted for you. Well done.

Thank you.

I love that. I absolutely love that part of the job.

Ashley is one of those that is clearly ready and able

to have a career and able to tackle training in all of its regards.

Yeah, I'm in. I've succeeded.

-How fantastic.

-Yeah.

How do you feel?

Amazed. Very proud of myself to have gone this far.

And...

..overwhelming, yeah.

It's fantastic.

You can see a young man there

that you genuinely believe has great potential for a great career.

I love that. That's great.

Now it's opera singer Katrina's turn to find out if she's made it.

She's pinning all her hopes of a long career on this moment.

-Katrina, come on in. Come and have a seat.

-Thank you.

-How are you this morning?

-I'm OK.

-You're OK?

I will put you out of your misery, Katrina.

You have been successful in your addition.

We would like to offer you a place in the Royal Marines Band Service for September this year.

It seems Katrina has made history.

She's the first ever person to be recruited as a singer

in the Royal Marines Band Service.

I'm delighted for you, Katrina.

I'm also delighted for the Band Service

because this is a great step forward that we're going to take

and embrace this new category of singer.

-Congratulations. Delighted for you.

-Thank you.

-Well done, Katrina.

-Thank you very much.

I've just been in the right place at the right time

and that's really the career of singing.

You don't get anywhere without a bit of luck.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

Hi, Mum. It's me.

Hello! How are you?

-I'm OK. I'm OK. How are you doing?

-I'm good.

Good.

I got into the Royal Marines Band Service.

-No!

-I did.

I'm so pleased for you!

Oh... Mum, don't cry. You're on telly!

It's probably one of the best parts of the job,

giving good news to people that they're going to have a hopefully a long and fruitful career

in the Band Service that I love dearly.

PHONE RINGS

-Have you found out?

-Yeah, I just got in.

Fantastic!

-Are you chuffed to bits? Cos I certainly am.

-Yeah, I am.

I bet you're proud as punch, hey?

Yeah, I am. Thanks.

Oh, I'm so proud, son. So proud.

It takes you back to the day when you were given the great news that you could have a great career.

And for me, that's 27 years ago. And I've loved every minute.

So I can only hope that they will enjoy it as much as I ever have.

Attention!

Quick march!