Harry Bell

Giving it Stick

Shinty’s ancient origins date as far back as the 5th century, when it was believed to be the traditional battle game of the Highlands clans. By the 18th century, it had become Scotland’s most popular game and can lay claim to giving birth to golf, ice hockey, and even the development of football, which borrowed set positions such as defender, midfielder and forward from the game. Today, however, shinty is underfunded and largely ignored outside the Highlands, but it remains strong in the small communities where it began centuries ago.

Burns by the Lagan

A celebration in music of the Bard, Rabbie Burns, to mark Burns Night. Phil Cunningham, one of Scotland's most acclaimed traditional musicians, leads a star-studded line-up from the Titanic Building in Belfast. Scottish stars Aly Bain and Eddi Reader feature, alongside local talent Cup O'Joe, Andrew Calderwood and the Ulster-Scots Juvenile Pipe Band.

Constable: A Country Rebel

The Haywain by John Constable is such a comfortingly familiar image of rural Britain that it is difficult to believe it was ever regarded as a revolutionary painting, but in this film, made in conjunction with a landmark exhibition at the V&A, Alastair Sooke discovers that Constable was painting in a way that was completely new and groundbreaking at the time. Through experimentation and innovation, he managed to make a sublime art from humble things and, though he struggled in his own country during his lifetime, his genius was surprisingly widely admired in France.

The Bridges That Built London

Dan Cruickshank explores the mysteries and secrets of the bridges that have made London what it is. He uncovers stories of Bronze-Age relics emerging from the Vauxhall shore, of why London Bridge was falling down, of midnight corpses splashing beneath Waterloo Bridge, and above all, of the sublime ambition of London's bridge builders themselves.

Delphi: The Bellybutton of the Ancient World

The site of the famous Oracle, Delphi spanned two great classical civilizations - the Greeks and the Romans - and attracted travelers from all over the ancient world. The city's walls contain the hopes and dreams and the victories and failures that defined entire civilizations.