Week 7- Victorian Bakers

Victoria Bakers- Episode 3

Summary
Victorian Bakers is a show where bakers from today are "brought" back to the Victorian Period. They get to relive the way the bakers in this periode made their goods. In this episode the bakers went to London. They visited a bakery that was founded in 1901. The bakers get to work with machines for the first time, because during the Victorian Period the industrial revolution started. The middle class was earning more money because of this. People could now buy cakes and other luxurious products. Bakers started tearooms to accomidate women, who were not allowed in pub, but still wanted to hang out togheter.

Opinion
As a history student, these kind of programs really intrigue me. We get to learn about this period in time from a very specific point of view, which is really interesting. The industrial revolution made the UK a really important part of the world, so this subject is really great to watch. I especially like that the bakers were also wearing clothes the people wore in this period. It makes the program so much more representable. As I said earlier on, I really enjoy watching food shows and this show combines that with my love for history.

Week 6- Antiques Road Trip

Antiques Road Trip- Series 12 (Anita Manning and Philip Serrel)

Summary
During the Antiques Road Trip, two experts go on a trip through Britain to buy several antiques within a budget. For five days we follow them as they go to buy items and sell them. The profit they make can be used towards their budget for the next day, but if they make a loss, their budget for the next day will shrink. The profit goes to a charity of their choice. During the episodes the experts also visit a special place (historical or monumental) and talk to someone there about the place.  Every week there is a different duo of experts.

Opinion
I was really happy that this week Anita was joining the trip. I really like to watch these experts talk about antiques and show us how to find good pieces. Just like with Bargain Hunt, this show teaches us about the history of the UK. The best thing about the show is that the profit goes to a charity. The experts really try their best to get the most unusual items and get as much profit as possible. I really like that Anita always goes for very bright colored and Scotish items, while Philip always tries to buy crazy things and wooden items.

Week 5- Ready Steady Cook

Ready Steady Cook Re-Run

Summary
Ready Steady Cook is hosted by Ainsley Harriot. He is a famous British cook. The program consists of two parts. During the first half, two celebrities cook against each other with the help of two chefs. The celebrities bring a bag with ingredients and the chefs think of what to cook with them. After 20 minutes the audience votes which food looks the best and the winner gets a plate. During the second half, a viewer from the audience brings in a bag with ingredients. Now the chefs have to come up with ideas and the audience votes which idea is the best.

Opinion
Ready Steady Cook is my favorite program to watch when I get home. I love cooking and this program shows us how many different dishes you can make with just a few ingredients. The chefs also make a lot of Britsh dishes, which learns the viewer a lot about the different kinds of food and dishes the British people eat. The chefs and Ainsley also give a lot of tips about how to make every day food more special with minimal effort. Most of the time I do not know the celebrities, but it does not make the program less enjoyable. You can probably say that food really brings people togheter.

Week 4- Homes under the Hammer

House under the Hammer- Season 12

Summary 
During an episode of Homes under the Hammer, the hosts follow a few houses that are for sale. The houses are auctioned and bought by people who want to develop the property. Sometimes the house is bought as a family home, sometimes it's bought to sell on and sometimes the house is bought so the owner can rent it to others. We get to see the house before it is bought, the auction, a segment with the new owner(s) and a segment were the host comes back to the house after a few months or even years. The hosts also give advise to the viewers about how to renovate houses.

Opinion
House under the Hammer is usually on when I watch tv in the morning. I really like this show, because we get to see a lot of different British homes. It's really enjoyable to see how people develop properties and how their view can differ so much from the hosts. I especially love the episodes where they are looking at cottages or old churches!
While watching this program, I do wonder how many people in the UK are actually doing property development. Some people really make a lot of money with this. There are over a thousand episodes, so I guess there are a lot of people watching this program and developing properties.

Week 3- Doctor Who

Doctor Who- Season 9 episode 3 (Under the Lake) and 4 (Before the Flood)

Summary 

The Doctor and Clara go into the future and get stuck inside a lab under water. The people in the lab are haunted by alien-like ghosts. The episodes revolves around the bootstrap paradox. If you go back in time to find Beethoven and you find out that he did not exist. You decide to "compose" his music yourself, so you can enjoy it in the future. The question now is: Did Beethoven exist or were you always supposed to go back and compose the music? This is the question the doctor has to solve in order to save himself, Clara and the crew. 

Opinion.

I love Doctor Who. The series are so impossible and have so many diffrent things going on, it never gets boring. The series are incredibly British, from the actors to the habits the characters have. In Britian you can buy everything with Doctor Who (magazines, dolls, sonic screwdrivers), because it's something most Britons are proud of. It's the longest running TV series ever! Most episodes (that are on Earth) are set in the UK, although the period may vary. I was really intrigued by these two episodes and the whole bootstrap paradox. It makes me, as a history student, think about time travel and how it might affect or already affected history.

Week 2- Bargain Hunt

Re-run Bargain Hunt

Summary: 

During an episode of Bargain Hunt, two teams are competing against each other to get the best bargains and the most profit. The teams are assisted by two experts, who know a lot about antiques. Both teams have to buy three items with a budget of 300 pounds within an hour. Both teams then go to auction and have to sell their items with profit. With the left- over money, the expert buys an extra item. The team can choose to go for the item and try to make more profit during auction. This episode the Blue team won with a profit on all three items. When a team makes profit on all items, they are awarded with a golden gavel. The host is Tim Wonnacott and has a lot of catch phrases, like: And very, very, very good look! 

Opinion:

I adore watching Bargain Hunt. Carboot sales and flea markets are really popular in the UK. When we got to the UK, we always try to visit at least two of them. I really love how this program also tries to teach the viewers some things about British history. Tim Wonnacott is a really lovely host and I adore his catch phrases. He makes the program really enjoyable and I love his segement were he visits a historical place in the UK. My favorite expert is Anita Manning. She is a very good expert and knows a lot of stuff about Scottish antiques. 

Week 1- Slaughter in Paris

BBC Breakfast special broadcast- Saterday 14-11 - 7:00 a.m.

Summary:
During the special boardcast last saterday, the hosts talked about the terrorism attack in Paris. On four diffrent places in the city, terrorists attacked innocent people. About 120 people died and more than 200 were injured. The attacks started with two suicidebombings outside a stadion. The French president Hollande was watching that game and was forced to leave. The spectators had to stay inside the stadion for their own safety. Soon after, terrorists started shooting at people in a street full of restaurants. But the worst attack was at the Bataclan, which is a concert hall. Terrorists got into the hall and started shooting at the fans. More than 80 people died at the Bataclan alone. 7 terrorists were killed during the attacks, 6 blew themselfs up and 1 was killed by the police. France is currently in a state of grief, fear and war.

Opinion:
I can not believe this actually happend. BBC Breakfast was the first thing I watched the morning after the shootings and I was in total shock. In this time of sharing and media, we get to see so much more actual footage of these terrible events. It's really scary to see what happend and to hear about all these victims. I do think BBC was covering the events better than the Dutch television, because the Dutch television was already pointing fingers and proclaiming war, while the BBC was giving all the facts. Terrorism is a really scary thing and these attacks shows us how we can never be prepared for these things. No matter what we do, they will always suprise us. It's a scary thought. Despite this all, we should not let it devine our lives and we must not give in to fear.