0:02:37 > 0:02:40We live in a fertile land,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43a land of goodly crops, of fragrant flowers.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Of sturdy animals.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Fertility is the basis of our national life.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57A new life that comes unfailingly every year.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00A new life that is a never-ending miracle.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09More than 4,000 years ago, the ancient Celts practised
0:03:09 > 0:03:13in Britain a form of fertility worship which went on for centuries.
0:03:13 > 0:03:14Not surprising.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18If the gods weren't pleased, the people starved or died out.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22And even today, in many parts of the country, the old fertility customs
0:03:22 > 0:03:26are still kept up, even though the old superstitions are dead.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30At Padstow in Cornwall, every year on May Day,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32the hobby horse custom is danced
0:03:32 > 0:03:35and most of its 3,000 people turn out for the celebrations.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40The hobby horse, symbolic of life triumphing over death, begins
0:03:40 > 0:03:44his dance round the maypole with his traditional followers and musicians.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00They sing and they dance and the whole town dances
0:04:00 > 0:04:02and sings with them.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11They dance through the town and they dance into people's homes.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14They repeat again and again the story of new life
0:04:14 > 0:04:17and the more they dance, the more fervent they become.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24They dance in the streets and down on the harbour.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27And they sing, even in the rain.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Nearly 300 miles away, in the heart of London,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41is the headquarters of a society, one of whose objects is to keep
0:04:41 > 0:04:43alive the old fertility customs.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Cecil Sharp House is the centre to which
0:04:46 > 0:04:49hundreds of people from all over the world come to learn
0:04:49 > 0:04:53about English traditions and to see some of Britain's dances.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56The English Folk Dance and Song Society,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58which has been celebrating its golden jubilee,
0:04:58 > 0:05:02has gathered together an immense library of books, music
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and knowledge of folklore from every part of the country.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Director Douglas Kennedy and his staff are continually looking for
0:05:15 > 0:05:19evidence of the origins of national folk dances and music
0:05:19 > 0:05:21and are always finding new exhibits
0:05:21 > 0:05:24for their collections of Mumming and Morris dolls.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Morris dancing is another fertility custom.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30There are over 1,000 serious Morris dancers in England
0:05:30 > 0:05:33who perform publicly from May Day to midsummer.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Outside St Paul's Cathedral are some of London's Morris dancers.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07The Beaux of London City, as they call themselves,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09are dancing with the hobby horse
0:06:09 > 0:06:13and the fool with the traditional music and the colourful costumes.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31The Tutti-men of Hungerford in Berkshire go one better.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Every Hocktide, that's just after Easter, the chosen
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Tutti-men are allowed to kiss as many girls as they can in one day.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48They carry staves of flowers and they reckon
0:06:48 > 0:06:51a girl is anything between eight and eighty.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53Based on an ancient fertility rite,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57this ceremony is connected with the annual court which regulates
0:06:57 > 0:07:01the freedoms and land given to the people of Hungerford by John O'Gaunt
0:07:01 > 0:07:05in the 14th century, before the days of lipstick, of course.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09But at Helston in Cornwall, they're more formal
0:07:09 > 0:07:12when the town turns out for its annual Furry Dance.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14It's also known as the Flora Dance
0:07:14 > 0:07:16and Flora was the goddess of fertility.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20Here too, they don't let rain damp their ardour.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24From early morning, they dance, a celebration of the awakening
0:07:24 > 0:07:26of spring with all its fruits and new life.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28Once a year, many of Britain's 250,000 students take time off
0:08:28 > 0:08:32from their books and studies for the serious business of making whoopee.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35And the crazier and madder it is, the better they like it.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37And in the process,
0:08:37 > 0:08:41they virtually take over their local town or city, so that everyone,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44especially the police, knows that Rag Day is here again.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48In this way, the students hope to collect more money for charity,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51which is the whole point, or excuse, for holding Rags at all.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56The highlight of any Rag is the procession,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59like this one at Sheffield, when 35 floats and hundreds
0:08:59 > 0:09:03of students move through the city under the eye of the police.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07With vehicles and drivers lent by local firms, the students
0:09:07 > 0:09:11entertain the crowds in the hope of extracting still more money.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Spectacular ideas are always needed for Rag days.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Sheffield University has made use of their local river, the Don,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22for a popular event. It's the Boat Race, but with a difference.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Students must build their own boats
0:09:24 > 0:09:27and each boat mustn't cost more than a pound.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29A mass start and they're off!
0:09:29 > 0:09:31More than 40 odd-shaped craft
0:09:31 > 0:09:34leave for the mile-and-a-half sprint downstream.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38The river runs through the centre of the city,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41so spectators get a good view of the race.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43But the weir is the favourite place to watch,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45where casualties come thick and fast.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Craft sink, others have to be manhandled,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56and a few reach the finishing line.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58It all makes for a good laugh.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05On a local boating lake, students of Leeds University square up
0:10:05 > 0:10:08for their annual Rag water battle.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11It's the School of Technology versus the Engineers.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14The winner has to knock the opposing team off their raft.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23It's a free-for-all. Anything can be used. And the Engineers win.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26They always do! There are always more of them in the battle.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Although the Rag itself lasts only a day,
0:10:32 > 0:10:34all sorts of stunts lead up to it.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Planning and preparation go on for months beforehand.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Manchester's Rag is now controlled by regulations
0:10:40 > 0:10:43agreed between the students and the local authorities after
0:10:43 > 0:10:47a recent Rag Day procession got out of hand.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Flour bombs, such as these lads are making,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52or any form of missile, are now banned in the streets.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Penalties include fines, or even dismissal from the university.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59The chance of being Manchester's Rag Queen always draws
0:10:59 > 0:11:01a queue of student beauties.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05But it might be the £25 prize money they're after.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08A panel of judges fires questions at each girl,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11for personality as well as beauty counts here.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14The winner in the centre is 19-year-old Sheila Clivery,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16who studies domestic science.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Good cooking pays off in Manchester too!
0:11:20 > 0:11:21But what's this?
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Two late arrivals were determined to get in on the act.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Every girl must be given her chance, even if
0:11:27 > 0:11:29she's skipped those eliminating trials.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Wait a minute! Is this another stunt?
0:11:40 > 0:11:44As the months of planning come to an end, stunts and competitions
0:11:44 > 0:11:48whip up the students' enthusiasm for Rag Day itself.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51The pipe smoking competition is a big draw and a big cough for some!
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Pipes and tobacco are supplied,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02but some students, like these technicians, bring their own.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04With five minutes to light up,
0:12:04 > 0:12:08the winner is the person who can keep their pipe alight longest.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Incidentally, this chap gets no more tobacco than the others.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Manchester won the women's Varsity record for pipe-smoking,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23just over 43 minutes.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26Then the final day comes.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Rag Day, when a procession of nearly 50 floats heads for the city centre.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Floats representing films are very popular.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43On a fine day, about 70,000 people come out to see the show,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47and every collecting box is there too, after their money.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Work is brought to a stop, and, in places, the crowds almost
0:12:50 > 0:12:52prevent the floats from getting through.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55But thousands enjoy the fun, and in Manchester alone it means
0:12:55 > 0:12:58nearly £20,000 a year for good causes.
0:14:11 > 0:14:16The stately homes of England, how beautiful they stand.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20Mid their tall ancestral trees, or all this present land.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24And what they say today is this,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27the stately homes of England,
0:14:27 > 0:14:28how lucrative they stand.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33And if they were not lucrative, or at least helping to pay their way
0:14:33 > 0:14:36many of them would not be standing at all.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40In these days of high taxation, it is becoming increasingly impossible
0:14:40 > 0:14:42for one man and his family to live solvent
0:14:42 > 0:14:44amid his ancestral splendours.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51So the stately home has had to become the public show.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54All over Britain, the castle gates, once so firmly closed, are being
0:14:54 > 0:14:57thrown wide open to the world and his wife,
0:14:57 > 0:14:58and their children as well.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00About three million people a year
0:15:00 > 0:15:03are drawn by the irresistible attraction
0:15:03 > 0:15:05of seeing not only the treasures of these great houses,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09but how a duke or a lord lives when he's at home.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13There are now more than 400 castles, halls and mansions in Britain,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16the majority in the south of England, which keep open house.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18At a price, of course.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Average entrance fee is half a crown.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Top of the stately homes league is Woburn Abbey,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26home of the Duke of Bedford.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Faced with a bill of £5 million death duties,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31he's made it the liveliest stately home in the world.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35The great state rooms include a magnificent bedroom,
0:15:35 > 0:15:36used by Queen Victoria.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41With a bed once occupied by Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46The Duke's own voice gives visitors the details over a walkie-talkie.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Finest of the state rooms is the state dining room.
0:15:53 > 0:15:54Commentary points out
0:15:54 > 0:15:58that this is not the way the family dines every day.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01The centrepiece is the Ascot Gold Cup of 1846.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04The table is laid with a priceless silver service,
0:16:04 > 0:16:06made in 1770.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Women visitors are apt to say, "Well, I wouldn't like
0:16:09 > 0:16:10"the job of washing up that lot."
0:16:16 > 0:16:20But the grounds and the outbuildings are places where the Duke has
0:16:20 > 0:16:22really gone to town to please his public.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26No wonder, with all these attractions,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29that he gets over 430,000 visitors a year.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34There is even a stagecoach to recapture the joys of an age
0:16:34 > 0:16:36when parks meant open spaces.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Probably the most popular sideshow is this, the Duke's stepdaughter,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52his Duchess,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55and the Duke himself selling souvenirs.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59All this puts the Duke of Bedford about 130,000 visitors
0:16:59 > 0:17:00ahead of his nearest rival.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Derby Day is not just the date of a great horse race,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35it's Britain's unofficial bank holiday.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38A day out for nearly half a million people who flock to the Downs.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42Show folk converge on Epsom from all over the country.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Their fairs, booths and caravans set up days beforehand.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51And everything is spit and polish. Yes, even the kids, on THE morning.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56The beautifully carved horse-drawn carriages of yesterday
0:17:56 > 0:17:58are side-by-side with the deluxe models of today,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00complete with TV and fridge.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07Coach parties, booked up a year ago, roll in from all over the country.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11The gypsies meet everyone. "Heather for luck, Mum? A bit of heather?"
0:18:11 > 0:18:13"A winner for the big race, sir? Only two bob."
0:18:18 > 0:18:21For over 300 years, there's been racing here at Epsom,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24while the Derby itself goes back as far as 1780.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28The big race of the day isn't run until mid-afternoon,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30so the crowds flock to the fairs, the coconut shies,
0:18:30 > 0:18:32the roundabouts and the hurdy-gurdies.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Music, fun and laughter everywhere.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53And then, the food, the eats and the drinks.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Candy floss, enough to cover the one-and-a-half-mile Derby course.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Ten tons of ice cream go down the same way as the jellied eels.
0:19:01 > 0:19:02"Oi, they're luvverly!"
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It's the air of the Downs. Everyone wants to eat.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Some even bring the dining room suite.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Mmm! That looks good!
0:19:17 > 0:19:18Spread it out on the grass.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24But what about the big race? After all, that's what we came for.
0:19:24 > 0:19:25Or did we?
0:19:29 > 0:19:32As the big race gets nearer, the crowd gets bigger,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34and the tic-tac men work overtime.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36The money rolls in to the 300 bookies on the course
0:19:36 > 0:19:38in bob-each-way bets and up.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41On the Derby, 7-1 on the field, ten bar!
0:19:41 > 0:19:447-1, seven on the deal. Ten bar!
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Two bob for Dalgo. Two bob par, yes?
0:19:47 > 0:19:49And here comes the Queen and Prince Philip.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52A practical owner and enthusiastic racegoer,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55her Majesty has 24 horses in training.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58And although she was leading owner in 1954 and 1957,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00she's yet to win the Derby.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05They're under starter's orders.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06And, yes, they're off!
0:20:06 > 0:20:12This year, an all-time record of just over £36,000 for the winner.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13But how many spotted him?
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Number 21, Parthia.
0:20:24 > 0:20:29Yes, it's over. Fortunes have been won and lost.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32The price of a drink made, a drink lost.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35One woman on her first Derby visit hears that she's just
0:20:35 > 0:20:38won £5,000 on a gypsy's tip.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Others, well, some even lost their shirts.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Ah, here we are, the greengrocer's.
0:21:41 > 0:21:42Now, what did he have on his list?
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Elephants do forget sometimes, you know.
0:21:48 > 0:21:49Ah, yes, apples, that's it!
0:21:57 > 0:21:59There's a lot to be said for self-service.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01All the best people go in for it.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04But only a bloke his size can get away without paying.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Now here's a chap who doesn't attract any attention at all,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11but he could be a much bigger source of irritation. He's got fleas.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13They're in the little bag he's carrying.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Fleas don't enjoy as much freedom as elephants.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18They find people are always itching to get rid of them.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Whereas the elephant gets a welcome wherever it goes.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Come right in, mate. Mind the door!
0:22:30 > 0:22:33These kids, of course, have seen an elephant before, but in this
0:22:33 > 0:22:37clean, new world made safe by DDT, they've never seen a flea.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Who'd have thought the time would come
0:22:39 > 0:22:41when people would pay to see what a flea can do?
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Not that fleas live for very long, only about ten days.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49The professor's got some new recruits this morning.
0:22:49 > 0:22:50They cost him half a crown a head
0:22:50 > 0:22:53and they'll be finished with this world in less than a fortnight.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57No wonder he starts to get them into harness straight away.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00Literally into harness.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Professor Tomlin, like most flea trainers before him,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05served an apprenticeship as watchmaker and jeweller.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Even then it took him two years to harness his first flea.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34What next, I wonder? Can I have a flea, Mum?
0:23:34 > 0:23:36You'd know it if you got one, son.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Especially a busy one like either of these two.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41They're best of pals offstage.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42Each day they duel to the...
0:23:42 > 0:23:45well, not quite death, but until one of them's disarmed.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53SWORDS CLASH
0:23:53 > 0:23:55FLEA SQUEALS
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Incidentally, records show that wherever there's been a flea circus,
0:23:57 > 0:23:59there's been a blonde.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Like fleas and gentlemen, elephants also seem to prefer blondes,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05and chasing a blonde helps to keep them fit.
0:24:27 > 0:24:28If you're a clumsy dancer,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30unkind people might say that you dance like an elephant.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32But in spite of his size, the elephant loves to dance,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35and when they play a waltz, there's hardly anything more graceful.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47With trainer Gosta Cruz up, the elephants make a spectacular exit.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50And another satisfied audience leaves the flea circus,
0:24:50 > 0:24:52and it's all over until the next show.
0:24:52 > 0:24:53Percy goes home on his bike.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58And Jumbo in his car.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01But there is, of course, a moral to all this.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04You may feel as a big as an elephant, or as small as a flea,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08but you won't get very far if you don't come up to scratch.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28When the kettle's boiling in Britain, everything stops for tea.
0:25:28 > 0:25:29That's not really surprising,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32since we in the United Kingdom are the world's champion tea drinkers.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Our lives are organised around tea breaks.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40And sometimes a threat to stop tea-breaks
0:25:40 > 0:25:42can bring factories to a standstill.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Tea runs through our lives like a great river.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58For generations, it has been Britain's most popular drink.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Every year in Britain,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04we drink more than 90 thousand million cups of tea.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06And in factories like this, cups, saucers
0:26:06 > 0:26:09and spoons are turned out in hundreds of thousands.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Plastic tableware has become more popular as its quality
0:26:13 > 0:26:14and colours have improved.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Handles used to be made separately for plastic teacups.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Now, many are moulded like these in one operation.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24The outsides and insides of these cups are made in two colours,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27which are moulded together under great heat.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29The makers claim that, given proper care,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31plastic tableware is almost indestructible.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Today, you can buy a machine which will do almost anything,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44including making a nice cup of tea in the morning,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48or any time you like, provided you set the alarm.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51There are machines for making tea on a grand scale too,
0:26:51 > 0:26:53which are being used in factories and offices.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57This one actually prepares the tea with tea-leaves and fresh milk, and,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00by pressing the right button, you can have it with or without sugar.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03A model made for Russia provides tea with lemon.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07Cups of tea in the office are now as indispensable
0:27:07 > 0:27:09as the boss's secretary.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15Even iced tea in some offices.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22People in many countries prefer lemon with their tea.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24But most of us in Britain have been drinking tea with milk
0:27:24 > 0:27:26almost as long as we've been drinking tea.
0:27:30 > 0:27:31Or gulping it!
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd