Countryfile (Sunday 6th January 2008) PDTV (XviD)

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Countryfile (Sunday 6th January 2008) [PDTV (XviD)]

NATURE: Countryfile
On: BBC 1 North West
Date: Sunday 6th January 2008
Time: 11:00 to 12:00 (1 hour long)

John Craven takes a look at all that's weird and wonderful in the British countryside. He visits Faringdon House and Folly in Oxfordshire, formerly owned by Lord Berners, one of the last great British eccentrics. Adam Henson has a very different day at the races, and Michaela Strachan pulls some funny faces.

From the BBC's Countryfile website...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/countryfile/

Eccentric Britain
A celebration of all that's weird and wonderful in the British countryside.
Faringdon House and Folly
Lord Berners, former owner of Faringdon House and Folly in Oxfordshire, was a writer, composer and artist. He was also one of the last great British eccentrics. Lord Berners liked to surprise visitors with a flock of fantail pigeons dyed the colours of the rainbow and invited a horse called Moti to regular tea parties in the house.

* Faringdon Folly Trust - http://www.faringdonfolly.org.uk
/>
Haxey Hood
One of the great twelfth night traditions, Haxey Hood is an event that involves the entire village of Haxey in north Lincolnshire. A large scrum, called the sway, pushes a leather tube (the hood) to one of four pubs where it remains until the following year's game.

* The Haxey Hood - http://www.northlincs.gov.uk/NorthLincs/Leisure/tourism/placestovisit/placesofhistoricalinterest/HaxeyHood.htm
/>
Hen racing
The Bonsall World Championship Hen Races are held every year on the first Saturday in August. This part of Derbyshire has a long history of hen racing, the most famous race being the Ible Hen Race. The races at the Barley Mow began 15 years ago when landlord Alan Webster decided it was time to revive the old tradition.

* The Barley Mow, Bonsall - http://www.barleymowbonsall.co.uk/default.aspx?tabid=259
/>
Follies
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a folly as, 'a popular name for any costly structure considered to have shown folly in the builder'. Diane-Louise Jordan visits some of the more outrageous examples.

* Stourhead Estate - National Trust - http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-stourhead/
/>* Barwick Park Follies - http://www.follytowers.com/barwickintro.html
/>* Castell Coch - Cadw - http://www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/default.asp?id=6&PlaceID=48
/>
Gurning
The World Gurning Championships are held at the Egremont Crab Fair in the Lake District, a tradition dating back to 1266. Competitors pull faces through a horse's collar, and the ugliest face wins. Michaela Strachan had mixed feelings about her win in the ladies championship.

* Egremont Crab Fair - http://www.egremontcrabfair.org.uk/
/>
Brambles cricket match
The Brambles Sandbank is uncovered only once a year, and then only for about an hour. It appears midway between Southampton and the Isle of Wight and when it does members of The Royal Southern Yacht Club at Hamble and the Island Sailing Club on the Isle of Wight race out to it... for a cricket match.

* Royal Southern Yacht Club - http://www.royal-southern.co.uk/
/>* Islands Sailing Club - http://www.islandsc.org.uk/
/>
Nude rambling
Charlotte Smith joined a group of ramblers who don't believe in venturing out in outdoor clothing. They prefer to throw caution, and pretty much everything else, to the wind.

Tetbury woolsack races
Tetbury thrived in the middle ages as a market for wool, standing as it does in the middle of sheep country on the route from Oxford to Bristol. The wool trade went into decline in the early 19th century, but is still remembered with the annual woolsack races. The races are thought to have originated in the 17th century when young drovers showed off to local women by running up the hill carrying a woolsack. Tom Heap flexed his muscles and joined in.

* Tetbury woolsack - http://www.tetburywoolsack.co.uk/
/>
World Pea Shooting Championship
This annual event is held on the village green at Witcham, near Ely, in Cambridgeshire. Accuracy (not distance) is the aim, with contestants shooting a pea through a 12 inch tube, 12 feet towards a 12 inch target. There are open, ladies and junior competitions. The event began in 1971, as a fund raiser for the village hall.

* Witcham village website - http://www.witcham.org.uk/_sgt/m1m6_1.htm
/>
Cheese Rolling
One event that Countryfile's normally fearless presenters refuse to take part in is the The Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake, an event held each May in Gloucestershire. It is traditionally by and for the people of Brockworth, the local village, but now people from all over the world take part. A double Gloucester cheese is rolled from the top of the hill and competitors race after it. The first person over the finish line at the bottom of the hill wins the cheese. In theory, competitors are aiming to catch the cheese, but since it has a one second head start and can reach speeds up to 70mph this rarely occurs.

* Cheese rolling - http://www.cheese-rolling.co.uk/
/>

Video info...

Freeview DVB -> VirtualDubMod -> De-interlaced XviD (2 pass) & LameMP3

AVI File Details
========================================
Name.........: Countryfile080106.avi
Filesize.....: 501 MB (or 513,772 KB or 526,102,528 bytes)
Runtime......: 00:58:56 (88,398 fr)
Video Codec..: XviD
Video Bitrate: 1056 kb/s
Audio Codec..: 0x0055(MP3) ID'd as MPEG-1 Layer 3
Audio Bitrate: 128 kb/s (64/ch, stereo) CBR
Frame Size...: 704x400 (1.76:1) [=44:25]



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