We have grown used to climate change activists sitting down in the road to stop the traffic and make their point. Brave and necessary or foolhardy and a pain in the passenger seat?
A new six-part documentary takes the viewer back to an earlier time in environmental protests and a different approach to getting the public’s attention. The question remains the same, though. Only this time there was an added factor to consider, one that goes by the name of Vladimir Putin.
On Thin Ice – Putin v Greenpeace (BBC2, Sunday-Tuesday, 9pm/9.30pm) tells the story of the charity’s 2013 attempt to turn back the tide on oil and gas extraction in the Arctic Ocean. You may recall what happened. Even if you do, prepare to have the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention all over again.
The plan was to occupy a Russian oil rig, stop production, and send a message to the world that the Arctic was not open for business. Most of those taking part were experienced activists who had broken the law for a cause before and knew what to do in the aftermath (basically, call the lawyers). But some of those caught up in the subsequent events were first-timers. One PR officer on board the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise had previously worked in marketing in Abu Dhabi.
That was the plan. The reality was something else and had to be seen to be believed. Fortunately, it has always been the Greenpeace way to film everything as a way of getting their message out, so there is a wealth of archive here. Some scenes were not caught on camera and have been dramatised, others are described by those who were there.
The end result resembles an action movie. As one of the Greenpeace crew says, “It felt like being in the middle of James Bond film.” Only this was fact not fiction and the outcome was terrifyingly uncertain. As one contributor puts it, an attack on the Kremlin-owned Gazprom was seen as an assault on Putin that could not go unpunished.
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Now for something that’s the polar opposite to chills in the Arctic - The World’s Most Luxurious Retirement Homes (Channel 5, Sunday, 8pm). Finally, an answer to the question of what happens to those super rich people who don’t want to spend the last years of their lives cruising the world, rattling around a house that’s too big for them, or leaving all their money to the kids.
First stop is The Palace in Miami, which bills itself as “a hotel for the elderly”. Prices start at $84,000 a year to £200,000 for a two-bed penthouse. Drinks are included in the package in case you are wondering.
Or how about the Danny House, an Elizabethan mansion in West Sussex offering what narrator Frances Barber calls “a real life Downton Abbey experience”?
Back in the US, there’s The Ridge in Colorado, a favourite with those who still like to ski. Not every resident in these luxury retirement homes is retired. Among those still working are Larry, 85, a lawyer and resident of The Palace. He and his wife are delighted with their decision to swap their home for a hotel with all mod cons. “We’re here till we go to the cemetery,” he laughs.
It’s that time of the year again as the final of Scotland’s Home of the Year (BBC One Scotland, Monday, 8.30pm) sails into view.
This year’s finalists gathering at the House For An Art Lover in Glasgow are the owners of: Quiney Cottage, Banchory (North East & Northern Isles region), a postcard-perfect Scottish cottage bursting with personality; 1960s Bungalow, Milngavie (West), a one-of-a-kind family home with a unique personal styling; Earth House, Aviemore (Highlands & Islands), an historic fishing lodge dating back to the 18th century; The Old Mill, Dunblane (Central), a former industrial building transformed into a three-storey, five-bedroom home; Honeysuckle Cottage, Moffat (South), a stone cottage that can trace its beginnings to the 1700s; and Coldwater, Linlithgow (East), a mid-century bungalow renovation refurbished using innovative ideas and techniques.
Anna Campbell Jones, Banjo Beale and new judge Danny Campbell have the unenviable task of choosing a winner.
A new, seventh series, of the show will begin filming in locations around Scotland from July and air in 2025. If you would like to take part, visit www.bbc.co.uk/shoty. Applications close July 5. There is chance that by now you are thoroughly sick of the general election. If not, tune in to watch The Rest is Politics: Election Special (Channel 4, Tuesday, 11.10pm). That’s right - watch. The hit podcast with former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell and ex-Tory MP Rory Stewart is now in sound and vision up to election night.
When the polls close on July 4 the two podcasters will be part of Channel 4’s through the night team, which also includes The News Agents’ Emily Maitlis, regular Channel 4 News presenters Cathy Newman and Krishnan Guru-Murthy, plus contributions from the regulars on Gogglebox.
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