2:30 duration

Every year in July the dirtiest race ever takes place in Holland. The course is 3,5 km long and incorporates 21 canals as obstacles. The participants have to jump in and out of stinking muddy canals 63 times.

Teams of four men transport one woman in a rubber dingy so she doesn't have to enter the water. Not the fastest team wins but the team with the least muddy woman.

At the end of the day hundreds of filthy competitors take a communal bath in the open.

3:25 mins. duration

6th February saw the 40th. Anniversary of the Munich Air crash, when over half the people travelling on board a plane taking Manchester United from a European Cup game against Red Star Belgrade crashed at Munich airport after two abortive take off attempts.

We show archive footage of the crash and then visit United's memorial exhibition. Also at Old Trafford we speak to survivor Jackie Blanchflower.

1:40 mins. duration

John Russell, chairman of third division Scarborough, has kicked off a plan to increase the football club's income. He has patented goal advertising. "I can't believe nobody has thought of this before. The only parts of the ground without advertising are the goals."

Clubs from all over are lining up to buy covers to shroud their goals. Naturally the covers come off during a match; otherwise it could prove an interesting game.

2 mins. duration

Underwater Hockey was first invented in 1954 as a means of keeping divers fit during the winter months.

It is now a full-blown sport! We visit the British Octopush championships at London's Crystal Palace.

2:44 mins. duration

Manchester's bid to stage the Olympic Games in the year 2000 aroused athletic ambitions in the local business population.

Traditionally dressed, with bowler hats and umbrellas, 4 British executives show their mettle as they climb 500 stairs, run 3 miles of hotel corridors and swim 20 lengths of the pool.

Manchester's oldest hotel organised these mini Olympics to support the city's own efforts.

duration 1'06 min

Paddy O'Doyle is a record-breaking fanatic. His 101st Guinness Book of Records feat is to do 660 Press Ups on the back of his hands in one hourÉ

2:30 duration

In a new EU ruling farmers have to supply an object to keep pigs happy and deter them from chewing each other’s tails and ears.

Official recommendations are footballs and basketballs. Farmers will also need to change the balls so the pigs don’t get tired with the same one.

We have a closer look at how British farmers carry out the new ruling aiming at keeping pigs happy in their environment.

3 mins. duration

Polo is played every winter on the frozen lake at St Moritz and the game attracts a wide array of international glitterati at this opening event of the high society winter season.

Apart from the spectacular visuals and riveting play on the sun drenched snow covered lake we observe such celebrities as Jodie Kidd and Shawne Fielding enjoying cocktails at the luxurious Suvretta Hotel.

Duration 6:00 minutes

Polo is played every winter on the frozen lake at St Moritz and the game attracts a wide array of international glitterati at this, the opening event of the high society winter season.

We follow a regular face in St. Moritz, Renate Hirsch Giacommuzzi, throughout the weekend's festivities. We visit her at her luxurious hotel, Badrutts Palace, and then do some window shopping downtown St. Moritz. In the evening we go to the lavish Gala dinner at the Suvretta Hotel and meet the rich, famous and beautiful. The next day we go, of course, to the game itself on the frozen lakeÉthis is the highlight of St Moritz's winter season and everyone is out in force.

2 mins. duration

The 17th Polo World Cup on Snow took place between the 27th and 30th January 2001 in St. Moritz. First class Polo players from all over the world show why this is called the Sport of the Kings.

Spectacular visuals of galloping horses on ice and snow in the picturesque setting of the Engadin. We also mingle with the jet set glitterati.

images: ©Verkehrsverein St Moritz

2:30 mins. duration

We visit the 16th Polo World Cup on Snow in St. Moritz.

This year’s event boasts a very special attraction – Lady Gwendolyn Ashborough. Lady Ashborough of French and Cherokee parentage, has in the past been a track star, bodybuilder and a wrestler, only to switch to polo in 1997.

On Sunday January 30th 2000, we accompany Lady Ashborough and witness the surprise and controversial appearance of England’s Duchess of Wessex.

3:52 mins. duration

The Great British Pudding breaks every rule in the healthy eating book.. Ingredients must include dozens of eggs, kilos of flour and sugar, lashings of alcohol and other goodies.

The Pudding Club is a haven for old-fashioned gourmands with a taste for the treacly monsters first made famous by the Victorian cookery writer Mrs. Beaton. The club in Stratford upon Avon opens its doors twice a month and allows its members to gorge on delights such as Queen Anne's Pudding and Spotty Dick.

We join the distinguished guests as they put 7 puddings to the test before casting their final votes.

The Quest Adventure Race series is a series of 10 events that take place throughout the year. They are usually one-day races. This round of the Quest Series had been selected as the first round of the British Adventure Race Championships, and therefore the organisers had extended the race over two days and made it more demanding

The event consisted of five stages ÉTrail Run. Mountain Bike, Night Navigation, Canoe and Endurance.

2 mins. duration

More than 1,000 amateur runners compete every year in the 'Race the Train' competition.

The event takes place in the picturesque Snowdonia National Park and runners do battle with a narrow gauge steam train for 7_ miles between the seaside town Tywyn and the slate village of Abergynolwyn.

3:12 mins. duration

Modern Tennis is a direct descendant of a far more ancient game, played for some eight centuries before the present game was invented. Real or Royal Tennis is still played on 17 courts throughout England.

The oldest court still in use was built by Henry V111 at Hampton Court. We visit the Palace court, which is also frequented by Prince Edward, observe the game and try to come to terms with it's unique rules and traditions.

3 mins. duration

Farmer Harry Goode and PR man Richard Strange came up with the ultimate solution to farmer's loss of income due to the BSE crisis.

Animal advertising is the name of the game and as you pass Harry's farm next to the M40 near Birmingham you can see cows happily grazing wearing coats, which advertise local wares.

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, Robin Hood Golf clubs and Marketing net PR company were the first to seize this unique way of advertising for £300,- per week.

An exotic location, this beautiful island in the Indian Ocean close to Madagascar. 1800 participants start the 125 Km Marathon in full carnival atmosphere at 4 o'clock in the morning. They cover an ascent and descent of 8000 metres. It takes 15 hours and includes over 300 doctors masseurs and helpers. Exotic pictures.

2:40 mins. duration

This is an independent series of 36-hour long races in various spectacular locations throughout the world. We go to Japan, Switzerland, France, Spain, Austria and Germany to show some of the worlds best teams

Disciplines are orienteering, mountain biking, canoeing, horseback riding, abseiling, and in-line skating, a rarely used discipline in adventure racing.

3:30 mins. duration

In the heart of London a nightly ritual takes place, which is reminiscent of the barmy days of childhood.

School Dinners are served by uniformed St. Trinians look alike waitresses, who not only entertain the over enthusiastic guests but punish those who go too far. The Maitre de Plaisir and Headmaster, Kim, presides over an unruly but hilarious evening of food, fun and games.

2.28 mins. duration

Thirteen year old Scott Parker's football skills are legend. That's why Tottenham Hotspur has offered £87.000,- for him to sign up with them.

However, since appearing in a television commercial, Scott and his family have been overwhelmed with offers from all the major premier league football clubs.

1.30 mins. duration

Two gentlemen carriers and a lady passenger race in specially constructed 18th century sedan chairs over a 100-yard course in front of historic Lancaster castle.

The participants wear appropriate Georgian costume and points are given not only for speed but dress, manners and deportment.

3:42 mins. duration

Some people collect them... others find them offensive. London telephone boxes are full of them: every day thousands of these so-called Calling Cards are hung up inside phone boxes to advertise prostitutes' services.

Westminster Council spends large sums of money removing the "illegal and immoral" adverts: the prostitutes spend large sums sending carboys round every day to replace them. British Telecom makes a fortune installing new telephone lines and London Printers can't keep up with the demand for bigger and better cards. A cat and mouse game in the heart of London.

The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles was in Ashbourne, England for the sport of Shrovetide Football, which dates back to the 12th century. It is the world's oldest, largest, longest and maddest football match.

Up to ten thousand players compete for two days with a hand painted, cork filled ball. The goals are two miles apart and the ball is played through the streets and the local river.

The rules prohibit only murder, movement of the ball by vehicle and play after

midnight.

3 mins. duration

Snuff has been used in Europe for over 400 years and it was only in the middle of the 19th century that it was overshadowed by cigarettes. Several countries maintain the snuff tradition e.g. England, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

Bavaria in Germany has dozens of snuff clubs and it is here that the national German Snuff Taking Championships take place. We also visit the world championships in Switzerland. 45 teams, each comprising 6 members compete for the title.

Each contestant has a box containing 5 grams of snuff. He has to snuff as much as possible during the 60-second time limit.

2:44 duration

Expedition style adventure racing is very popular in New Zealand and is a rapidly growing sport around the world where teams race 24hrs a day to cover a varied course.

Disciplines include kayak, trekking and mountain biking covering a distance of 532 km

45 mixed teams of 4 from 10 countries battled for 5 days non-stop in this spectacular event.

3:14 mins. duration

Named after the famous Beatrix Potter character St. Tiggywinkles currently houses 800 patients, who have been hit and run victims, run over by lawn mowers or attacked by the local cat.

It is the only Hedgehog Hospital in the world.

2.42 mins. duration

London's biggest attraction, Madame Tussauds, has issued a Star-spotting guide, which shows the favourite haunts of celebrities and stars.

The idea is to show some of London's most exclusive Hotels, bars, restaurants and stores. We spend a day and a night following the trail and come up with a few well-known faces in the city's hottest spots. We round up with a tour through Madame Tussauds to match up some of the stars we have seen in the flesh.

4:30 mins. duration

Steve Cram no longer holds the "mile" record, which he held for almost nine years. Now in his mid thirties he has time to reminisce along with his German mother and trainer Jimmy Hedley.

We trace his career from his schooldays to the present.

2:48 mins. duration

4,000 foolhardy runners run and swim 14 miles in the maddest, most dangerous gruelling slog, half cross country race, half assault course, in which contestants have to run across bogs, crawl under barbed wire, swim under water through a soup of mud, clamber up rock faces, walk planks, haul themselves across tightropes and grope their way through tunnels of freezing water.

This year was the “Year of the Braveheart”, with competitors encouraged to defy the nettles and brambles by wearing a kilt for the race.

At the end there are usually broken legs, dislocated joints and shock. The ambulances never stop.

2:55 mins. duration

London clergymen are taking self-defence classes to ward off attackers. Priests have been threatened, physically assaulted, subject to arson attacks and some have even been murdered.

The British clergyman union, Amicus, has advised Father Paul Andrew of West London to take taekwondo lessons.

We visit Father Paul and show him learning the finer points of self-defence. The union's taekwondo coaches put on an impressive display of martial arts in the unlikely setting of a Hammersmith Church.