Discovering Britain

[John Arton]

This is an interesting program here in the U.K. on channel 4 where actors Larry Lamb and Maureen Lipman travel around Britain exploring Britain's cities along with other well known actors or presenters.
Last night episode featured Liverpool with great shots of Jim B's favourite beach (Crosby) and also explained how the first and largest China Town outside of China came into being. Apparently it was all down to the Blue Funnel and Lamport and Holts line employing Chinese seafarers at at one time there was a Chinese seamans home capable of holding 250 sailors whilst they were waiting to sign on there next Blue Flu ship. Some jumped and settled in Liverpool with the first marriage between one of these Chinese sailors and an English girl actually making the newspaper headlines. The Chinese restaurants and laundry's were started by these ex. sailors as a means of gaining employment.
It also featured Oldham which at one time was the cotton weaving centre of the world, weaving more cotton there in one year than the rest of the world put together and the company that made the cotton weaving machines (Platts) been known throughout the world and also exporting is machinery world wide.
The River Severn was also explored with Ironbridge where the large scale production of iron that led to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution began.
Finally it was in London exploring all those small green parks scattered around the city with most of them being actually defunct graveyards where church's congregation had moved out to the new suburbs, the church fallen into disuse and its graveyard being turned into a parkland.
Very interesting program but I cannot find a way to put up a link to it.
rgds
JA

[Richard Quartermaine]

What is the name of the programme John?
Richard

[Jim Brady]

Just watched that John very interesting.When I moved here my kids only had to walk across the road onto a nice big field and then onto the beach,now the container base is in the way.Thats progress I suppose and living near to the docks is not like living near the docks of yesteryear and we still have that nice beach on our doorstep.
Regards.
Jim.B.

The show title Discovering Britain on the play back it is showing as Disappearing Britain.