1979-1980

Season 16 · 1979 · 81 episodes

Episodes

1Episode 1Expedition Egypt: Treasure and Camels Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one still stands today, the massive Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mycetimus, built by the Pharaohs, nearly 3,000 years before the birth of Christ. Join Simon, Christopher and Tina as they explore these vast, burial chambers that were once filled with gleaming treasure. Simon finds that riding the ship of the desert can be a bruising experience as he and his camel part company, but the 80 pantomime horses that invade the studio today are a bit more docile. Find out how you can turn into a horse and how the four-legged members of the Blue Peter team have got on during the holidays.
2Episode 2Fit for a Queen A teddy made of chrysanthemums, a koala bear with a plum for a nose and an owl sitting under a banana moon were just three of the hundreds of stunning floral displays admired by Her Majesty The Queen when she made her first-ever visit to Westminster Cathedral for the International Year of the Child Flower Festival. Blue Peter film cameras were there to record this historic event and so were nine Blue Peter viewers aged from five to 16 -winners of the Flower Picture competition. For Cristian, Kate, Una, James, Christine, Rebecca, Lesley, Jenny and Sarah, who were all presented to Her Majesty, this particular Friday the 13th was one they'll remember for the rest of their lives!
3Episode 3Expedition Egypt: Hall of Pillars Simon and Tina explore one of the Wonders of the World-the temple built in honour of the great god Amun, at Karnak. One hundred and thirty-four massive columns cover an area the size of Westminster Abbey, with the 12 largest big enough for 100 people to stand comfortably on each one!
4Episode 4Transglobe Ahoy! Ran, Ginny and the crew will be reporting back to Blue Peter throughout the Transglobe Expedition's 55,000-mile voyage. Chris was on board the Benjamin Bowring for a behind-the-scenes look at the final preparations for this first-ever polar circumnavigation of the world.
5Episode 5The Gardening Family Are there michaelmas daisies at the bottom of your garden? Do you grow lilac, gladioli, tradescantia, Virginia creeper, or tulip, plane and acacia trees? All these plants and trees were brought to this country by one family, the famous Tradescants. Chris traces their extraordinary story that ends in a Lambeth churchyard.
6Episode 6'Expedition Egypt' Do you know what an oil tanker, a grand opera, a French engineer and an empress have in common? You can find out in today's report from Egypt, where Tina and Simon go snorkelling in the Red Sea and Chris tries his hand at underwater photography.
7Episode 7Goldie Goes to School Ex-guide dog trainer Richard Duckworth puts pupils of all breeds and temperaments through their paces at his unusual school for dogs.
8Episode 8Expedition Egypt The amazing child weavers of Herrania, whose tapestries are sought after by collectors all over the world.
9Episode 9It's smelly work down on the farm as Simon and Goldie get to grips with silage-making to feed the cows this winter.
10Episode 101066 and All That.... It's 913 years since Britain was successfully invaded and next Sunday marks the anniversary of the famous battle that took place at Hastings. Christopher has taken Blue Peter film cameras to Caen and Bayeux in France and Battle and Hastings in England to follow in the footsteps of King Harold and William the Conqueror.
11Episode 1121st Birthday Programme Join in the celebrations with Simon, Chris, Tina and the animals, including the first-ever presentation of the Blue Peter 'Award for Outstanding Endeavour'. With William the Conqueror and 14 dinosaurs in the studio, plus the band of the Royal Marines, anything might happen!
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13Episode 13Good news for model railway fans today! Vintage '00' gauge ocos dating from the 1920s will be chugging along the Blue Peter layout-making what may well be their last public run. before they're put up for auction next week.
14Episode 14'Oh I wish I'd looked after me teeth' - says Pam Ayres who will be in the studio today rendering her famous poem with its awful warning to compulsive sweet-suckers.
15Episode 15The Long Sleep Tortoises Maggie and Jim make positively their last appearance before their winter hibernation!
16Episode 16Where are they Now? News of the eight puppies born to Petra in September 1965.
17Episode 17Next Saturday's Lord Mayor's Show features a covered wagon from Alberta, Canada, birthplace of the new Lord Mayor. Meet the four outriders as they mosey along to the Blue Peter studio, together with cowboy Doug Johnson.
18Episode 18Top cook Delia Smith joins the team for the results of the Gorgeous Grub competition. Find out if you've won one of the unique Blue Peter aprons and whether your recipe has been chosen for the Gorgeous Grub Cook Book to help raise funds for the International Year of the Child.
19Episode 19Catch up with the latest news about The Great Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale... Find out how your gifts are helping to save the lives of the starving children of Cambodia.
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22Episode 22Make your pocket-money go further and give your friends and relations home-made cards this Christmas. They're cheap and cheerful and different from anything you'll see in the shops.
23Episode 23Flying Cats Jack and Jill take to the skies and jet their way to Dunfermline for a guest appearance at the Edinburgh and East Scotland Cat Show. Blue Peter cameras follow their flight from Gatwick to Edinburgh.
24Episode 24George Cansdale, who's bringing a mysterious animal to the studio. George has travelled all over the world in search of rare animals and birds - he once carried some exotic snakes from Hong Kong to London wrapped in his pyjamas. Find out what George turns up with today - you'll be in for a surprise!
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28Episode 28With only four Blue Peters to go before Christmas Day, it's time to light the first candle on the Advent Crown. Chris will be demonstrating another gastronomic treat to delight your family and friends, so have paper and pencil handy.
29Episode 29Two hundred years ago this week the most famous pantomime star of all time was born. His name was Joseph Grimaldi , and everyone from King George III to flower-girls in the gallery knew his catchphrase 'Here we go again!' Chris tells the story of Grimaldi's amazing life and shows one of the clown costumes he wore at Drury Lane.
30Episode 30Hurry, Hurry, Hurry! This week's your last chance to join in with the Great Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale before the Oxfam shops take down their posters this Saturday. Thanks to you, the lives of starving Cambodian babies, children and adults are being saved - watch out for the latest news on today's programme.
31Episode 31Christmas is Coming! And today you can see the results of the Great Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale Auction and find out how Blue Peter viewers all over Britain have given help and hope to thousands of suffering Cambodian babies, children and adults. Join in, too, with carols round the tree with the children of Allfarthings School, Warlingham County Secondary School and the Band of the Chalk Farm branch of the Salvation Army.
32Episode 32Question: What do Her Majesty The Queen, Rameses II, Yul Brynner, the Prime Minister, James Callaghan and 80 pantomime horses have in common? Answer: They've all taken part in Blue Peter during 1979. If you don't remember seeing them, find out today where and when they all appeared, in Blue Peter's highlights of the past 12 months.
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34Episode 34On the Trail of the Lonesome Pine Join Simon and Goldie deep in the heart of the Scottish Highlands and discover how an artist's sketches drawn on a wall in a mountain lodge have provided a clue to the age of the trees in the glen.
35Episode 35In the Swim Chris spends the day with Britain's 800m Women's Freestyle record holder, 14-year-old Jackie Willmott from Southend. Jackie swims a gruelling 10,000m per day and starts her training at 4.30 every morning - going on till after dark with lessons squeezed in between. Will all the effort pay off? Watch the 1980 Olympics to find out!
36Episode 36Frightful Flies to Freedom The remarkable story of the baby kestrel rescued and hand-reared by student Wendy Page of Loughborough University.
37Episode 37Shampoo and Set Tina shows how to make a dolls' hairdressing salon, complete with basins, showers and driers.
38Episode 38Cleopatra's Needle Each year thousands of tourists visit London's famous obelisk on the banks of the River Thames. Simon and Tina explore the quarry in Egypt where this gigantic granite block was hewn.
39Episode 39Operation Oily Bird A mysterious oil-slick off the coast of Somerset has resulted in the biggest bird rescue operation since the Torrey Canyon disaster. Tina helps John Hughes, Warden in charge of the RSPCA's animal centre at Little Creech, near Taunton, clean up some of the 2,000 guillemots and razor-bills whose lives are in danger.
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41Episode 41Join Simon on a trip back in time on the Severn Valley Railway and discover how you can win a ride on the footplate of a famous old loco.
42Episode 42Deep in the heart of Buckinghamshire, lepidopterist Margaret Beer has come up with a world first. By breeding death's-head hawk moths in captivity she has succeeded where international experts have failed. Blue Peter film cameras were there and reveal the secret of her remarkable success.
43Episode 43Welcome World ... We're Ready! That's the claim of Lake Placid, the small mountain village in the United States of America where the 13th Winter Olympic Games open next week. Tina reports from the Adirondack Mountains on how the people of Lake Placid prepared for the invasion of 1,200 competitors and 600 officials.
44Episode 44Champions All There's a studio full of celebrities today with Crufts' Supreme and Obedience Champions and, ' Great Balls of Fire', none other than rock 'n' roller Jerry Lee Lewis.
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46Episode 46Eager Beavers Barney and Bumble, two seven-month-old Canadian beavers bred at Chessington Zoo, try out the pond in the Blue Peter studio, with animal expert George Cansdale keeping an eye on them from the bank.
47Episode 47Calling All Gardeners Now is the time to be making plans for a bumper crop of spring vegetables and flowers. Percy Thrower joins the team in the Blue Peter garden with more helpful hints for saving money and producing mouth-watering home-grown food.
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49Episode 49Vote, Vote, Vote! Do metres and milligrammes drive you dotty? Are you flummoxed by feet and ounces? Today is your chance to join in with Blue Peter's nationwide Weights and Measures Poll and tell us whether you want Metric or Imperial measures used on the programme.
50Episode 50Ever seen a duck with six wheels? Now's your chance as Simon drives one at the Grange Cavern Museum -a mysterious labyrinth of caves underneath a Welsh hillside.
51Episode 51Operation Newt! The Cheltenham Tote Gold Cup horse race is in jeopardy-the water jump is full of great crested newts. Chris reports from the course on their rescue.
52Episode 52With Mothering Sunday only six days away, now's your chance to beat the high cost of flowers in the shops and make some everlasting violets that cost only a few pence. (Have a paper and pencil handy to jot down the instructions.)
53Episode 53Mountain Rescue! Chris takes to the hills on exercise with the RAF Valley Mountain Rescue Team and helps in the search for injured mountaineer Simon Groom.
54Episode 54A special programme for St Patrick's Day.
55Episode 55A-Z of Space Since 1957 five planets in our solar system have been photographed and men have walked on the moon. Reg Turnill, who reported for the BBC on the space programmes, investigates what the future holds for interplanetary explorers.
56Episode 56"I name this ship..." With the traditional crash of a champagne bottle, Tina launches the latest cross-channel ferry at Harland and Woolff's shipyard in Belfast. Watch out for details of a competition that could win you a trip on the ferry's maiden voyage.
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58Episode 58The Great Everest Mystery Fifty-six years ago two English climbers, GEORGE MALLORY and ANDREW IRVINE , made a bid to reach the summit of Mt Everest -and were never seen again. New evidence may solve the greatest mystery of 20th-century exploration.
59Episode 59Dr Who's Spring Clean The BBC's travelling Dr Who exhibitions are constantly changing to keep pace with the latest monsters the Doctor tackles. Tina goes behind the scenes, to lend a hand with this very unusual spring clean.
60Episode 60Octavia Aviator! Twelve-year-old Paul Sharp from Retford won Blue Peter's 'Name the Owl' competition and two days as a VIP guest of the RAF's Number 8 Squadron at Lossiemouth. As well as meeting the squadron's Great Eagle Owl mascot, newly-named Octavia, Paul joined the crew on a training flight over the North Sea in one of the squadron's historic Shackle-ton aircraft! Chris took to the air with Paul to report on the trip every plane enthusiast will envy!
61Episode 61Metric or Imperial? The results of a nationwide survey of 19,000 viewers are announced on today's programme. Find out how children voted in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and whether their mums, dads, and grandparents agreed with them!
62Episode 62Chris goes behind-the-scenes with the Mines Rescue Service - the emergency teams on 24-hour call to cope with pit disasters.
63Episode 63Crack Pots Do you throw away your broken plates and cups and saucers? They don't in Guernsey! Simon and Goldie investigate the Channel Island's famous crockery-covered Chapel.
64Episode 64St Christopher Ahoy! The results of the competition to design a mural for the newest cross-channel ferry. Find out whether you have won a vip trip on the St Christopher's maiden voyage for you and your family.
65Episode 65The Rochdale Pioneers It's hard to imagine life without supermarkets and nowadays we take clean shops and clearly-marked prices and weights for granted. But 130 years ago finding a shop you could trust was very difficult indeed - until a group of writers in Rochdale started Britain's first co-op.
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70Episode 70William and Dorothy: Dorothy Wordsworth's diary was the inspiration behind many of her brother's most famous poems Tina and Chris go back in time and become 19th-century detectives as they explore the Lake-land countryside where William and Dorothy lived and worked.
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72Episode 72A ginger tom-cat and Britain's oldest garden under continuous cultivation are two of the unexpected finds Tina makes when she explores Westminster Abbey.
73Episode 73Portable Pavement: A replica of the largest Romano-British pavement north of the Alps fills the Blue Peter studio today-all 115,052 pieces of it! Simon, Chris and Tina help to fit the giant jigsaw together and meet Bob and John Woodward, who've painstakingly re-created the famous Wood-Chester pavement.
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76Episode 76Fred, the bionic tortoise, shows off his new shell after a death-defying encounter with a tractor-drawn mower.
77Episode 77The Fishers of Mousehole Sarah goes mackerel fishing and eats Starry Gazey Pie.
78Episode 78Twelve years ago schoolboy Ray Gluckman grew a crystal in an eggcup. See it today in a dustbin - tipping the scale at 40 lbs and still growing!
79Episode 79' Dear Tina, Can you still cut your toenails? ' Find out today and hear Tina's baby's heartbeats through an electronic stethoscope.
80Episode 80Highland Fling! Goldie barks open the Irvine New Town Highland Games, Jill's kittens make their first-ever studio appearance and the team prepare for the summer expedition.
81Episode 81Goldie Special with Simon Groom Britain's best-loved golden retriever gets a programme all to herself today starting with a flashback to her first-ever appearance on Blue Peter on 18 May 1978. Simon joined Blue Peter on the same day too, and you can see how his training of Goldie has paid off as she comes face-to-face with cows, sheep, goats and chickens, to say nothing of giant St Bernards, without so much as a growl. Training dogs the Groom way has been very successful - see if you can pick up a few tips to make your dog as good as Goldie!