UK TV programmes to watch this week : 05/07/2014

The Armstrong Lie (YouView app screenshot)Tour De France 2014 Live (itv/HD | 10:30am to 3:45pm | Saturday 5th July 2014)

Yorkshire plays host to the start of this year’s Tour de France, with a 191km stage from Leeds to Harrogate, taking in the fantastic scenery of the Yorkshire Dales. The riders tackle three climbs en-route, including Buttertubs Pass. The last 60km is flat though, and the winner – and the Tour’s first yellow jersey wearer – will almost certainly be a sprinter. After missing out on stage one last year, Mark Cavendish will have extra motivation to be first across the line in Harrogate. Presented by Gary Imlach, with guest Chris Boardman, commentary by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, and reporter Ned Boulting.

Tour De France 2014 Live (itv/HD | 10:30am to 5:00pm | Sunday 6th July 2014)

The second of the two Yorkshire stages is 198km from York to Sheffield, passing through the hilly terrain of the Peak District. With 3,400m of climbing, the stage has been heralded as a British version of the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic, with the notorious climb of Holme Moss 50km from the finish. Presented by Gary Imlach, with guest Chris Boardman, commentary by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, and reporter Ned Boulting.

Tour De France 2014 Live (itv/HD | 12:00pm to 4:30pm | Monday 7th July 2014)

Live coverage of the third and final stage taking place in England, which features a short 155km ride from Cambridge into the capital, passing some of London’s most famous landmarks before finishing in a bunch sprint on the Mall. The Tour last came to London in 2007, when over one million spectators lined the roads to cheer Fabian Cancellara on to victory in the prologue. Seven years later, this is a time for the sprinters to shine in front of the enthusiastic crowds. Presented by Gary Imlach with analysis from Chris Boardman, commentary by Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen with Ned Boulting the reporter at the roadside.

John Bishop’s Australia (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 7th July 2014)

Series following comedian John Bishop as he sets off on an Australian adventure, cycling from Sydney to Cairns. John first made this journey back in 1992, and in 2014 he is back to see how this incredible country has changed. Along the route John meets extraordinary people, hears fascinating stories and experiences some true natural wonders. In this episode, John tests his nerves with a death-defying abseil in the stunning Blue Mountains, gets hands-on with the most dangerous snakes on the planet, and finds out about the surprising bedtime habits of the most Australian animal of all: the koala.

The Armstrong Lie (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 11:35pm | Monday 7th July 2014)

Lance Armstrong was a sporting phenomenon: an American who’d not only set his sights on the world’s oldest and most prestigious Grand Tour cycle race, the Tour de France, but had won it seven consecutive times between 1999 and 2005. And that was after surviving testicular cancer. Of course there were dark mutterings of doping, but Armstrong consistently, forcefully and litigiously countered such allegations. So, when he announced his intention to return to the fray in 2009, after a four-year retirement, the prolific, Oscar-winning documentary-maker Alex Gibney jumped at the chance to film the maligned Texan’s attempt to win the Tour an eighth time.

The Cycle Show (itv 4 | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Tuesday 8th July 2014)

Matt Barbet and Graham Little present a brand new series of the cycling magazine show. Including guests from the world of track and road, as well as celebrity two-wheel enthusiasts, plus equipment reviews and news. Today’s guest are Lizzie Armistead, Stephen Roche, Malcolm Elliott and Geoff Thomas.

George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Thursday 10th July 2014)

George meets two brothers in their 20s who can’t afford to get on the property ladder and plan to transform a fire-damaged narrow boat into a luxury bachelor pad, sometimes using YouTube tutorials to learn how to do it themselves. George also meets a police officer from Somerset who wants to convert an old campervan and caravan into a mobile cream tea business. And in Texas, George and Will discover an extraordinary 1950s trailer on the edge of the desert.

The Secret Life of Students (Channel 4/HD | 10:00pm to 11:05pm | Thursday 10th July 2014)

The Secret Life of Students follows 12 freshers in their first year at university, exploring the drama of their new experiences and sharing their texts, tweets, pictures, videos and status updates. This episode explores how the students cope making new friends and finding love, and whether they can maintain long-distance relationships with girlfriends and boyfriends back home. The students are experiencing communal living for the first time. Hormones, texts and tweets are flying and the gossip is spreading like wildfire.

I Belong to Glasgow (BBC 1 Scotland/HD & BBC iPlayer only | 10:35pm to 11:05pm | Friday 11th July 2014)

In the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, four Glaswegians celebrate their city. In this edition, actor and comedian Sanjeev Kohli asks his parents about their early days in Glasgow, dons his blazer and goes back to his old school, reveals the secrets of customer satisfaction in corner shops, meets some new arrivals seeking refuge from Syria and investigates if the put down is the basis for Glasgow humour.

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.

Website statistics for June 2014

Below are the main website statistics for June 2014.

  • Unique visitors: 7,653.
  • Bandwidth: 7.83 GB.
  • Browsers: IE (8.4%), Firefox (39.4%), Chrome (19.4%), Safari (15.3%), Opera (3.2%).
  • Operating Systems: Windows (66.3%), Macintosh (21.2%), Others (3.4%), Linux 8.8%).
  • Most viewed blog entry: Who looks better Peter Sagan or myself? (236 views | Posted: 05/06/2014).
  • Most viewed photo: Team GB Lycra skinsuit (1,839 views | Taken 19/05/2014).

Data from AWStats.

June 2014 most popular photos

Below are the top three most looked at photos on this website during June 2014.

Number 1 (1,839 views) : Team GB Lycra skinsuit
Team GB Lycra skinsuit

Number 2 (765 views) : Team GB Lycra skinsuit
Team GB Lycra skinsuit

Number 3 (411 views) : On the way to Oban
On the way to Oban

End to End cycle photos from 2009!

Still can’t believe it was way back in August 2009, that I did the End to End cycle. So will be 5 years ago this coming August. No idea where the last 5 years have gone?

I still really want to the End to End cycle again at some point! Just need to find some fit lads to do it with me!! When I say fit, I mean good looking! Any offers???

More photos from this set can be found at www.gordon-valentine.com/zenphoto/endtoend/

UK TV programmes to watch this week : 28/06/2014

The Secret Life of Students (YouView app screenshot)The Quest for Bannockburn (BBC 2/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 29th June 2014)

The first of two absorbing documentaries telling the story of a two-year project to identify the spot where Robert the Bruce secured victory over the English in June 1314. The Battle of Bannockburn helped seal Scotland’s future as an independent country, but the precise location of the rout of Edward II’s vastly superior army on the second day of the fighting has been a matter of conjecture. A major investigation involving bodies including the BBC, Glasgow University and the National Trust for Scotland has come up with the answer and with some fascinating archaeological finds. Neil Oliver and Tony Pollard take up the story of a battle that became a defining moment in Scottish history.

A Cabbie Abroad (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Sunday 29th June 2014)

London cabbie Mason McQueen takes on the challenge of driving a taxi in three very different cities around the world. In this episode Mason takes on the harsh conditions of Iqaluit, Canada’s gateway to the eastern Arctic. The boomtown of the far north, Iqaluit’s population has doubled in the last decade. With no public transport to speak of, the city’s small band of taxi drivers are vital to keeping the city on the move in the face of some of the toughest driving conditions on Earth. Mason battles Arctic storms, icy roads and winds of 70 miles per hour as he tries to get his passengers to their destination. Through his passengers, Mason discovers the story of the native population, the Inuit, whose way of life has been radically transformed over the last century. During his time Mason has a glimpse of their traditional values and ways of life, from hunting to throat singing, as well as the modern challenges of poverty and homelessness that now plague the Inuit.

Coast Australia (BBC 2/HD | 9:10pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 2nd July 2014)

Series exploring Australia’s coastline. Tim Flannery begins this Top End adventure at Victoria Settlement and learns of its tragic history in the struggle to colonise Australia’s northern frontier. Neil Oliver examines the ferocious bombing of Darwin and a remarkable story of reconciliation between former enemies. Miriam Corowa confirms that not all Hollywood dreams come true, especially along this unforgiving coast. Plus, Xanthe Mallett goes on patrol with Australian Customs Fisheries to hunt for killer ghost nets. And no Top End story would be complete without a crocodile – Emma Johnston draws blood in the name of science.

George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Thursday 3rd July 2014)

George meets a couple who love VW campervans so much they have given up their jobs and sold their home in order to completely drop out of the rat race. They are spending £40,000 renovating an original split screen van which will become their home on the road. George and Will’s Texan road trip brings them to the state capital of Austin, where no more than a mile from city hall a woman has handbuilt her £10,000 three bed family home from mud. George attempts to fulfill a lifelong ambition of building a butterfly house. He also meets a glamping enthusiast who, having been made wheelchair bound after a motorcycle accident, has set about making luxury glamping pods which are accessible to everyone.

The Secret Life of Students (Channel 4/HD | 10:00pm to 11:00pm | Thursday 3rd July 2014)

Every year, thousands of students head off to university for the first time, leaving behind their friends, family and childhood homes. This brand new documentary series presents all the drama, gossip and goings-on from 12 students embarking on their first year at Leicester University. And it’s not just their grades that are being examined. Their texts, tweets, pictures, videos and status updates pop up on screen alongside their on-campus shenanigans. From neknominations to 3000-student strong bar crawls, getting ‘smashed and dashed’ and gossip spreading like wildfire, how do the students cope in their first term? Will they struggle with homesickness as lectures begin and the reality of living away from home sets in? And how will their social media updates correlate with their real life experiences?

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.

Channel 4 launches two new HD channels on Freeview

Great news, Channel 4 is launching two new HD channels on Freeview on 1st July 2014.

channel4

The two new HD channels – Channel 4+1 HD and 4seven HD – will launch on channels 110 and 111 respectively and anyone who can already receive channels including BBC Four HD (channel 106) and Al Jazeera HD (channel 108) will be able to receive the new Channel 4 services when they launch.

More information can be found at www.a516digital.com/2014/06/channel-4-launches-two-new-hd-channels.html.

News update about man carrying knife

Just found a news update about the man, that I seen carrying a knife and covered in blood in Cambridge on Sunday afternoon.

I even got a quote in the newspaper! Read the news article on the Cambridge News website.

Below is my tweet, just to show the quote really was from me!

Vlog: What an interesting day that was…

That turned out to be a very interesting day in Cambridge. Had to ring 999 (police). About a man walking about with blood all over his face and a knife.