..but if you come here and explore, you're going to fall in love with this part of france. it's the place that gave us a king that changed the course of history. it inspired the painter that started a movement that took the art world by storm. claude monet never painted any water lilies. what?! yes! he painted the light on top of the lilies. whilst 80 years ago its coastline was at the forefront of a fight for freedom. i want to say an enormous thank you to all those who have taken part. it was a team effort. this is the region that's seen it all. and its stories have all been woven into the tapestry of time. whoa—ho! this is so cool! you have to release the rope... yeah, 0k. ..until the sail is flapping. just... you can release, yes. so the flapping starts... yes. ..and then from the flapping, we bring it injust... a little bit. just to stop. yes. that's perfect now. two centimetres. yes. ah, look at me! you see, the sail is stable. perfect. fantastic. i'm a sailor! france and england may be neighbours, but in the middle ages they were bitter rivals. mainly thanks to this man, william, the duke of normandy, who history would come to know better as william the conqueror. in the year 1066, he left these shores to invade england and set it on a new course of history. william was descended from the fierce vikings, or norsemen, who gave normandy its name. in 2027, normandy will mark the 1,000th anniversary of william's birth. but the preparations for this big occasion have already begun. la mora was the flagship of william's invasion fleet. and now, a historical society in the port town of honfleur are busy recreating the viking—style longship that would have carried william, his most trusted knights, their horses and 60 oarsmen to the brutal battle of hastings. and there's not a power tool in sight. this is me splitting wood in what would be the norman way of doing it. yeah, and with this technique, you can split any tree. yeah, good. and that is how you split wood norseman—style. jean—marie is the president of the society and has some big plans for la mora when she's finished. so, it's all about timing. you start now so the boat is finished for the anniversary. oh, wow! we hope, we hope! yeah! we hope that. wow! the team made their plans for the new—look la mora by studying the 70—metre—long bayeux tapestry. so all of this is the battle of hastings? yes, it's all the battle. here is the famous death of king harold, which marks the end of the battle. where's the eye? where's the arrow in his eye? harold isjust here. you can see it with the arrow in the eye. yeah! the tapestry was completed in the decade following the battle of hastings. martin is a historian at the bayeux museum, whose job it is to study and interpret this priceless a rtefa ct. and on the next scene, you can see that william is taking off his helmet to being recognised by the helmet to show that he is alive and the battle have to continue to the victor. the story starts with the dying king of england, edward the confessor, promising the throne to william. he sends the message to william in france via a trusted nobleman called harold godwinson. but when edward dies, harold is offered the crown by the governing council of england and takes it for himself, ensuing william's rage. how factual is it? how factual? it's a representation, you know, of the events of the year 1064—1066. so, it's a story written by the victors, you know, and there is a lot, of course, of what we can call inaccuracy, and so mistake or choice to show some...only a point of view of the history. yeah. it's like... we can call it propaganda, you know? now over 900 years old, the bayeux tapestry has survived major events like the french revolution and even acted as a potential crib sheet for those looking to invade england as recently as world war ii. then it was confiscated by the germans. so it did end up in german hands? it did end up in german hands here in bayeux for they study it, and also to know how to invade england, of course. really?! yes, of course. so germany were taking tips from william the conqueror�*s story? dives—sur—mer is the town william left from to invade england. though i must admit, it's hard to imagine a full—blown invasion force gathered here today. wow, look at this place! where were all the knights in their suits of armour? i'm meeting francois, an archaeologist who, like many other normans, is in love with his history. wow! hello, steve. francois, bonjour! salut. nice to meet you. but what is it that separates normandy from other regions in france? what's so special here? there is so much history here. in dives—sur—mer, the past isn't just consigned to books and museums, it's part of everyday life. even the weekly market takes place in a hall that dates back to the 1300s. this all looks so nice. yes. what have we got here? that doesn't look french. yeah? when i think french food, i think cheese, bread — not this. yeah? oh, really? i'd love to, please! thank you. when the baker finished with his oven, the villagers would make this? 0ui. 0h, amazing. that's nice, eh? francois chuckles. that's nice. look, all of these names, the people — it's bizarre. you thinkjust william the conqueror. notjust soldiers — archers, stable boys. 0ui. there's lots of people involved. the names featured on the wall are william's top brass, the ones who helped him rule england, and that would later become the cornerstone for the country's aristocracy. william the conqueror — a national hero? was he a tyrant, a kind king? what kind of person...? normandy�*s countryside is — well, let's face it — picture perfect. and there's only one way to see it — in the passenger seat of a french classic car... ..like the citroen 2cv. french culture has an abundance of style and a certainje ne sais quoi. so it's no surprise france has produced some of the world's finest artists. 2024 is a really important anniversary in the world of art. it's150 years since the movement of impressionism was founded, giving the world artists like monet. i've come to the norman village of giverny. it's famed worldwide as being the home of french artist claude monet, who lived here from 1883 all the way up to his death in 1926. the gardeners here do an amazing job. they must go around with one of monet's pictures. it's identical! patricia is a local artist, and with giverny being a major tourist attraction in normandy, she has a sideline running tours around monet's house and gardens. patricia, this place is as pretty as a picture. i think i recognise it. really?! yeah! is it possible? he painted this place more than 250 times. yeah? yeah. so, tell me, why did he paint it so many times? because he made series of the light, yeah? so, you see today we have wonderful reflections, and this is what he loved. so, he created this garden being inspired by the japanese art, because at that time, in europe and all over the world, japan was the new fashion. and monet became a fashion victim. 0h, right! so, that makes sense. we've got the bamboo, we've got the very japanese—style bridge. yes. impressionism was groundbreaking. the year 1874 was a time of great change in france. claude monet and a group of his friends decided it was time for art to change too. with the opening of new train lines and the invention of paints in tubes, they could leave their studios in paris and capture places like normandy on canvas. when they set up their own radical exhibition on their return to the city, a notable critic of the time compared their work to a sketch for a wallpaper pattern, a mere unfinished impression, which gave this movement its name. but looking around this museum in giverny, it's clear to see who got the last laugh. how does yours already look better than mine? laughing: because i'm a painter- _ because you're a painter, yeah. so, tell me a little bit about monet's relationship with normandy. normandy became one of his major subjects because he loved the light changes. you know, monet always used to say, "here the light changes every seven minutes." and if you look at that today, i think that's true. yeah. claude monet never painted any water lilies. what?! yes! he painted the light on top of the lilies. 0h... you get it? ..my mind is blown! i've come to that reflection part now, and i don't really know what i'm doing. in fact, to paint the reflections, you should do vertical lines. this is what monet made. and look, it's vertical. can you see? no. they both laugh. how is yours so different from mine? i don't understand. because you have a different style. i don't have a different style, i can't do it. patricia chuckles. it's starting to rain. i think we should better stop. what do you think? because otherwise, our paintings will be messy. we will never be able to sell them for $1 million. they both laugh. ok? ok. normandy�*s ever—changing weather has put an end to my lesson, but that is my first — and possibly last — effort at impressionism art. it's no monet, but it's a steve brown. back here on the coast, scars from normandy�*s more recent history can still be felt today. 0njune 6th, 19114, 80 years ago, the d—day landings happened on a stretch of normandy�*s beaches. the objective of d—day was to secure a foothold in nazi—occupied europe. it was the largest naval, air and land operation in history. on that fateful summer's day, the allies used over 5,000 ships and landing craft to carry more than 150,000 troops to normandy�*s beaches, codenamed utah, 0maha, gold, juno and sword. 4,414 allied soldiers died on d—day itself. in 2021, the british normandy memorial was opened overlooking gold beach. to mark the 80th anniversary of the d—day landings, dan and his team of volunteers from the arts group standing with giants will place 1,475 handmade silhouettes at the memorial to mark the number of servicemen who died on d—day itself under british command. applause. hey, look at that! give it a wiggle, ed. get your toes on it. so, that's the first one up, then. do they all look the same? no, we've got 11 different designs, all representing different groups that came over the beaches on that particular day. yeah, you don't want to leave anyone out, do you? well, no. we was told, apparently we've left out frogmen. oh, no! do you know, my great uncle was a stretcher—bearer on d—day? 0h, right. you know, it's amazing, isn't it? everyone�*s got their stories. and did you meet your great uncle? um, no, i didn't, and if i'm honest with you, my understanding and the facts that i've got from family are quite sparse. but, do you know, standing here with you, looking out across the beach that he would have been helping on, i'm certainly going to go back and find out more about him. because everyone played their role and the stretcher—bearers and the nurses, i mean, they were witnessing horror continuously — just continuously. and, you know, it was just so hard for them. and because of that, we've also designed two nurses. there were two nurses on one of the boats that hit a mine, and they got blown up and killed. so we've actually brought with us two giant nurses, laser—cut in steel, to represent the nurses and the ladies that took part and that worked so hard behind the scenes. i'm... i'm lost for words. dan chuckles. i'm lost for words. cafe gondree was the first french home to be liberated on d—day. it's so good to meet you. thank you very much. it's still run by the same family. and i'm meeting arlette, who was just four years old in 1944. but what a cafe! i mean, look around. there seems to be so many bits of memorabilia. it seems like everybody wants to share things with you. that's absolutely right. they want to come in because it's a house, a little house from the surface, that has lived history. we were woken up, or half asleep, by a tremendous crashing noise and then different movements around the house. and then suddenly the shutter from our dining room was being forced open and window panes were being broken, and we heard footsteps above our head. we thought the germans had come in to get us, but fortunately... that is... ..fortunately, daddy left us for a short time, walked up the little steps and was faced by soldiers saying to daddy, "it's all right, we've arrived. we're british." so he brought them in the cellar. and naturally, i was very frightened, so i went to hide behind the barrels. but then one of them took some chocolate out of his jacket with some biscuits, and so i came forward. mummy started kissing them. and then after that, daddy said, "it's all for you, this house," and opened the door. and by then, casualties were brought in. i want to say an enormous thank you... ..to all those who have taken part. it was a team effort. here, it's the british, but within the british army there were other nationalities that were trained together. and this is to be commemorated for the 80th anniversary. and i can see you mean that, as well. i can see you mean that from the bottom of your heart. d—day didn't end world war ii, but it was the beginning of the end, and there were still dark days ahead, and many more lives would be lost on all sides. the final stop on myjourney through time is the german war graves at la cambe. above the cemetery is a statue of a mother and father. it was placed there to watch over the sons that are buried below. history isn't just about buildings and museum pieces, it's about people. when you come to somewhere like normandy and see the places where it all happened, you start to realise that every name on a stone or in a textbook is a real person, and that offers you a perspective like no other. hello. a real mix of weather coming up this weekend. some rain, some sunshine, but one thing there won't be much of in the mix is warm weather. now, the warmest weather on friday was found in the east and the south east of england. 21 degrees is actually about right for this time of year. 12 in the north of scotland, that is a little below par. and we will keep, generally speaking, below average temperatures for most parts of the uk, not only through the weekend but actually into the start of next week. a feed of cool air from the north. now on saturday morning, we start off with a fair amount of cloud across england and wales, some splashes of rain. but much of that clearing southwards, skies brightening sunny spells and just the odd shower into the afternoon. similar story for northern ireland. for scotland, there will be a few more showers, some heavy ones, still some wintry ones over the very highest mountains. temperatures in northern scotland, ten or 11 degrees, perhaps 18 or 19, in south wales and southern england. so yes, below average temperatures for most. now through saturday night we'll see cloud and showery rain pushing into scotland, perhaps into northern ireland, much of england and wales holding onto clear skies. and it is going to be a rather chilly night, five degrees there in the centre of cardiff, for example. some spots in the countryside will see temperatures fairly close to freezing, i suspect, for sunday morning. now, on sunday, this little frontal system in the north bringing some showers. this next weather front just easing its way in towards northern ireland. that could well bring a spell of more persistent rain as it pushes across south—west scotland into northern england as well. to the north of that it is sunny spells and showers. to the south of that wales, the midlands down towards the south of england, a decent amount of dry weather, some sunshine, perhaps highs of 19 degrees, whereas further north, just 14, for example, there in glasgow. now through sunday nights and into monday, this little frontal system here is expected to ease its way southwards at east with some uncertainty aboutjust how much rain it will bring and how long that will linger across central and eastern parts of england. if rain does lingerfor any length of time on monday, it really will feel very disappointing indeed. even if you get some sunshine with a scattering of showers, temperatures at best 10 to 17 degrees. and we stick with those rather cool conditions for much of the coming week. and there will be further outbreaks of rain at times. live from washington. this is a bbc news special report on the us—eu relationship. president biden defends democracy in a speech marking the d—day anniversary in normandy — comparing the threats posed by nazi germany then to those posed by authoritarians now. they are asking us to do our job to protect freedom in our time, to defend democracy, to stand up to aggression abroad and at home. president zelensky receives an apology from the us president after a months—long delay in military aid to ukraine. and as people in 27 european union countries vote in parliamentary elections, we look at what the outcome could mean for the us�*s relations within europe. hello, i'm caitriona perry. you're very welcome. in a week where world leaders gathered to remember the sacrifices of those who fought in the second world war — us presidentjoe biden spoke about how lessons of the past apply to today. delivering a passionate speech at normandy in northern france, he delivered a passionate defence of democracy. he spoke at the pointe du hoc where on d—day, us army rangers scaled 100—foot cliffs to storm a nazi stronghold. it's the same place where us president ronald reagan delivered an address in 1984, capturing his nation's attention, and helping him secure a second term.

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