‘ sphere forever. headline ‘sphere forever. headline -- they sphere forever. headline —— disappear forever. they sphere forever. headline —— disappearforever. headlines they sphere forever. headline —— disappear forever. headlines next. hello. this is breakfast, with charlie stayt and sally nugent. the united states warns it could take further action against syria. us officials say they will also impose additional sanctions as a war of words with russia intensifies. good morning. it's saturday the 8th of april. also ahead... reports from sweden say exposes has been found in the lorry used to kill

people in stockholm yesterday. —— explosives have been found. more disruption as rail workers plan another strike — there's a warning that the grand national could be hit. despite that industrial action, they're expecting another bumper crowd at aintree and a0 years on from red rum, definitely red is among the favourites with the punters at aintree. and ben has the weather. good morning. this weekend looks very likely to bring the highest temperatures of the year so far. plenty of warmth, plenty of sunshine but things change a little bit tomorrow across northern ireland and scotland. i will have all the details in 15 minutes. good morning. first, our main story. the united states says it's prepared to launch more military action against syria over its use of chemical weapons. it follows a missile strike on an airbase where the syrian government is said to have launched a deadly gas attack last week. the us says its also preparing new economic sanctions against the country. here's our washington correspondent, david willis. this was america's first direct involvement in the syrian crisis.

its cruise missile attack a contradiction of the trump doctrine of avoiding conflicts in far away lands and putting america first. and as syria's army chief inspected the impact of the attack on the air base from which us officials insist on tuesday's chemical weapons attack was launched, the trump administration insisted it was a one off and not the opening of a new front in the war against bashar al—assad. yet, although the administration's strategy in syria remains focused on defeating the so—called islamic state, there's no doubt it has hardened its stance on president assad quite considerably in the last few days. the united states took a very measured step last night. we are prepared to do more. but we hope that will not be necessary. all this has put donald trump on a collision course with his opposite number in the kremlin, vladimir putin. russia is syria's chief benefactor and following friday's missile

strike, the russians have suspended military coordination in the skies over syria. meanwhile, the pentagon is looking into suggestions that russia may have been complicit in the chemical weapons attack, possibly by seeking to cover up evidence — something which could harden the battle lines over one of the world's most intractable conflicts. let's speak to our reporter ben james, who's in beirut this morning. i believe you have some fresh information today about what the situation is at the airbase we've been speaking about. that's right. the syrian observatory for human rights, a uk—based opposition news service monitors events on the ground in syria and they say two jets were seen later on friday, taking off from the very airbase

that the american cruise missile attack was targeting, showing that there is still some capability for taking planes off from their, whether that is substantial capability or whether this was merely a symbolic show of defiance to save from the syrian government that the americans did not succeed in completely taking this base out, we're not sure. we don't know whether these are syrian or russian planes because it is very difficult to tell when you just look at them. we understand from this report that the plane struck so—called islamic state targets near palmyra. this baseis state targets near palmyra. this base is rather large with two i’u nways , base is rather large with two runways, both two miles long, and it covers about four square miles so it would be difficult to completely destroy the entire place. we know from some russian journalists. destroy the entire place. we know from some russianjournalists. media covering the aftermath yesterday, you could see that the shrapnel on

pa rt you could see that the shrapnel on part of the runway was not com pletely part of the runway was not completely destroyed so it may be that there is some capability to launch planes from there. thanks very much. swedish police say the man they're questioning about yesterday's lorry attack in stockholm has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. swedish television has reported that explosives were found in the vehicle but police have not confirmed this. four people died and 15 were injured when the stolen vehicle ploughed into a group of pedestrians and then a department store. maddy savage spoke to us earlier from stockholm. this is the department store behind me that the lorry ploughed into. security is very tight and the city centre still. police have confirmed that one man has been arrested for what they have described as terror crimes by murder. they have not formally released any more information about his identity but it is being rightly reported in the swedish media that he is a 39—year—old family man. —— widely

reported. he is understood to have sympathies with the group known as is. police earlier released a rather grainy photo of somebody they were searching for, a man with stubble on his face wearing a dark moody and a lighter jacket. they say the his face wearing a dark moody and a lighterjacket. they say the person may have been holding has borne a likeness to this person but they have not said as a victory whether it is the same man. a second suspect has also been arrested in another suburb north west of stockholm, about 20 minutes from where we are now, but very little information emerging about him so far, though some reports suggesting there are links between the two suspects. in the meantime, a couple of other details are emerging. six of the 15 people injured are understood to have been released from hospital and security remain intense with extra resources sent to police sweden's borders overnight. the basque separatist group eta is surrendering its remaining weapons and explosives in an orchestrated handover

in south—western france. eta killed over 850 people during more than a0 years of violence aimed at trying try to win independence for the basque country, which straddles france and spain. president trump has said he believes "tremendous progress" has been made during meetings in florida with the chinese leader xi jinping. they've agreed a 100—day plan for talks designed to reduce the us trade deficit with china. they also talked about north korea's nuclear weapons programme. a strike by rail workers at the rmt union is set to disrupt services to the grand national today, as members at three companies walk out in a dispute over staffing. members at southern, northern and merseyrail will strike in an ongoing dispute around the role of conductors. despite that rail strike, around 70,000 people are expected at aintree today. this year marks a0 years since the legendary red rum completed his unmatched treble of grand national wins, as andy swiss reports. it remains one of sport's

ultimate challenges. this year marks a string of anniversaries at aintree. 50 years since outsider foinavon romped the unlikeliest of wins. it's a tremendous reception. you've never heard one like it at liverpool. a0 years since red rum roared to a third victory. well, the challenge of the national is still like nothing else. these huge fences make it one of sport's most unpredictable events and, as history has proved, anything can happen. so, who will 2017 belong to? well, many are tipping this horse, definitely red, trained in yorkshire, aiming for glory. the pressure's always there anyway, whether you're running the national or any other race, but no, it's great. i've got one of the favourites. all we want to do is get him there and, in the race itself, have a bit of luck. yesterday was ladies'

day at aintree, the now traditional festival of finery. but could today's headlines belong to a female jockey? katie walsh is aiming to become the first woman to win the race on wonderful charm, just a8 hours after a fall so nearly ruled her out. we thought she had a broken arm, it was reported she had a broken arm. as it has turned out, it's only bruising. you imagine she was in pain but it will take more than that to stop her riding in the world's greatest horse race. yesterday's race over the national fences produced a typically unlikely winner — 50—1 outsider ultra gold and its 18—year—old jockey harry cobden. another dose of drama today is about the only guarantee. we have had a little tip from mike busheu we have had a little tip from mike bushell for later on today. we will share that with everybody later ran!

—— later on. yesterday, you may have seen our reporter fiona lamdin joining a world record attempt to cross from england to france in a flotilla of hot air balloons. the record of a9 was set in 2011, and yesterday, fiona set off with 82 hot air balloons from dover in the beautiful spring sunshine. she sent us this report last night. they gathered at first light in a field in kent and, as the sun rose, with almost military position, at exactly seven o'clock, the mass ascent began. 82 pilots from across europe, here to set a new record. the pack drifted over dover's castle and cliffs. england was soon behind them as they headed 26 miles across the channel to mainland europe. it's just fantastic being up with so many other balloons. it's a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity. after about 26 miles across the sea, we're only about half a mile from the shore and what a welcome

sight — the green hills of france. and after three hours drifting above the sea, they arrived in france, south of calais, to the warmest of welcomes. after three hours, 21 minutes and 20 seconds, it was down to earth with the gentlest of bumps. bend your knees. the pilots are confident they've broken the previous record of a9 balloons but are waiting for confirmation they hold the new title. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. russia says a us missile strike on a syrian airbase on friday could have very serious consequences in the region. it was the first direct action by the united states on syria since the civil war began in the country six years ago. haid haid is from the middle east and north africa programme

at chatham house and joins us from our london newsroom. thank you for your time. people will have seen already from the user reports that there was some degree of celebration from some people in syria that some action had been taken. that syria that some action had been ta ken. that is syria that some action had been taken. that is understandable. what do you think has changed as a result of that air strike? 50 do you think has changed as a result of that air strike? so far, it is difficult to really assess the impact of the air strike because all signs so far indicate that the air strike is one of —— a one—off attack in order to present assad from using chemical attacks in the future. but so far, there is no significant shift in the us position with syria and isis remains their main priority. pushing that political process is still not a priority and

this is why, for syrians, they are still waiting to see what comes next and if the us will push further for political progress in syria or not. we are hearing this morning the language coming out of the us administration is that there is a possibility of further action but specifically linking it to the issue of chemical attacks. definitely, and the thing is that what we saw in 2013 was that the us administration's attention was only limited to their use of chemical attacks but it didn't prevent the syrian regime from using other types of weapons in order to kill syrians and now we are making the same observation. syrians are worried that the regime will continue to use other types of weapons to continue to kill them on a daily basis without any kind of measures in order to stop them from doing so. our correspondence this morning are reporting that the airbase that was

attacked... there are reports covering that it has been in operation today, that they have seen aircraft taking off. some people are asking what has been achieved. exactly, and air strikes on civilians have been carried out yesterday and this morning and civilians on the ground still fear for their lives and they still don't have a safe place to go to, so this is why i think that the us redlines should also include other types of atrocity that are being committed by assad against civilians, and stronger language should be used in order to prevent further use of indiscriminate attacks. thank you very much for your time. we're going to take you outside for a moment to have a lot out of our window. can you make out the rowers out there? it looks beautiful. i

don't know what it is like where you are waking up but ben is here and he is going to tell us the forecast for the rest of the day and tomorrow. good morning. it is not like that quite everywhere. parts of scotland and northern ireland has started off and northern ireland has started off a bit cloudy. that was the scene from one of our weather watchers in helensburgh a bit earlier but, for the majority, it is a sunny start. that was pressed on with plenty of sunshine to start the day. the sunshine to start the day. the sunshine is quite strong. quite high uv levels for the time of year so berry might if you are out enjoying the weather, very warm for the time of year. high pressure in charge. is that drifts away to the east, it allows us to bring in more of a southerly wind and four central southern and eastern areas through the weekend, we are going to start to tap into some pretty warm air. having said all that, it is a chilly start, still on a two fog patches towards the south—east, and that

extra glad i spoke about towards parts of scotland, northern ireland, most of that will burn back to the north and for the wood daugherty blue sky day with plenty of sunshine. there is so often an exception and that is the far north of scotland. —— for the majority a blue sky day. temperatures could lift in northern ireland to 17 or 18. 21, 20 2 degrees could be yours if you are thinking of heading to the coast, but bear in mind you will see a sea breeze developing so around the immediate coastal strip it will feel chillier. for the grand national at aintree, fine weather, temperatures not far from 20. not bad for a barbecue. if you are out late, temperatures will drop away again overnight. it will turn into a chilly night and we could see fog patches here or there and may be cold enough for a touch of frost out of the countryside with lows of two or three. tomorrow, a fine start for

many. but our mist and workaround and ona many. but our mist and workaround and on a two fog patches but, for most, some sunshine. western coastal areas clouding over a little bit but areas clouding over a little bit but a weather front is going to spoil the party for northern ireland and north—western scotland. vicar closed, outbreaks of rain, maybe just 12 in glasgow but come further south and east. without that, 2a, maybe 25. high uv and pollen levels across england and wales. if you like the warmth or, indeed, if you don't, it isn't going to last that long because from sunday's very high temperatures, particularly in the south, by monday we see much cooler conditions and spreading south. enjoy it while it lasts! you're watching breakfast. let's have a look at this morning's newspapers. the chief constable of durham police, mike barton, is here to tell us what's caught his eye.

we will have a quick look at the front pages and then talk to you. the front page of the sun and many papers has in the aftermath of the missile attack. same thing on the front of the daily mail. same on the front of the daily mail. same on the front page of the daily mirror. they are saying trump is one step from war. you can see some of those images of the blast. if i show you the front page of the telegraph, this is one you were going to become, that this is the immediate aftermath of the attack and stockholder and you can see this extraordinary picture. this was the truck used in the attack at those people still fleeing the scene. we know three people died in that attack. this has become a male —— real issue. you are a serving police officer and are in charge of a city yourself and it is a big issue for anyone looking at security. yourself and it is a big issue for anyone looking at securitym yourself and it is a big issue for anyone looking at security. it is a great worry to people and people are thinking, ami great worry to people and people are thinking, am i going to be safe in crowded places? for several years we

have been working on a protection programme, working with city developers and planners to make sure that crowded places are safer but, of course, you can't turn cities into fortresses. you can try, though, i guess, and you've got to try something? i think what we're finding is that you can do things that still give a city visual amenity. so when i say don't turn into a fortress, clearly people need to drive into cities and i don't think it is feasible to completely separate cars and pedestrians but, certainly, i'm optimistic that there will be a step change in the way we can make cities safer. on a slightly lighter note in relation to big cities, this story is about rome and how it is let. that's right, it is. it isa how it is let. that's right, it is. it is a controversy in rome, the eternal city, a city for romantics,

and they've decided they want to save 23 million euros a year lighting the city, turning from the old sodium lamps to new led lamps. beautiful golden glow of the sodium lamps, which makes everything look gloriously warm and fuzzy, to bright blue light. leds that much cheaper but harsher. they think they may have come up with a compromise, where they are going to look for soft lights from the leds but it is set to continue but if you want to get your warm glow, i should go to rome pretty quick. lots of residents saying the blue light keeps people awake too much. this is the headline which turns romans into zombies that can't go to sleep so they are awake all night. it is the weekend, some people might be going to the pub, they want a nice drink but there is a problem? yes. be careful if you are in the south because you may be

drinking dirty beer! but if you are in the north—east, we've got the clea nest in the north—east, we've got the cleanest pipes. this is the story about republicans should clean their beer pipes at least once a week to get rid of the yeast and bacteria. if you don't, it alters the taste of the beer. is it just if you don't, it alters the taste of the beer. is itjust literally crying? they've called it crime, gentle men because it is a good headline. if the heating is wrong... i sound like an expert, i am usually on the other side of the bar! the pipe... because it is a living organism, the beer, and the temperature of the pipes, it is the yeast and bacteria that grow which turn into the ground. do you do home—brew is by any chance?” turn into the ground. do you do home-brew is by any chance? i don't but my sun does! as i said, i am on the other side of the bar. i am not on the business end! you picked up on the business end! you picked up ona on the business end! you picked up on a great story this morning's

guardian paper about a bet that was placed on redcap bobrov am, a3 years ago. —— on red rum. placed on redcap bobrov am, a3 years ago. -- on red rum. 11-1, £81 bet but he didn't get £11, the son—in—law was clearing out his father—in—law‘s home. rosicky has got £130, taking account of inflation. is i don't have any winning bets, let alone one that is a3 years old it up i would like to pick up on one thing on the guardian, if our camera can go over to this side. some of the papers have used not great pictures but i think these are fantastic examples of people dressed up for the races. i love the flamingo! the shoes. we

we re i love the flamingo! the shoes. we were talking about the weather earlier and i think you are a keen gardener. tell us about what is going on. there is a tiny little cutting but slime watch is the headline. it has been a very mild winter so there are i think 80 billion more slug x that we have had before and they are all going to start hatching but the plea is, please don't use chemicals because you do actually need hedgehogs and i think yesterday morning, we had a hedgehogin think yesterday morning, we had a hedgehog in our garden and it was looking a bit sleepy, had probably just woken up, so we gave it some eggs. what do we feed a hedgehog? i just cracked a couple of eggs into a low dish. poached or fried? we will have to see whether the hedgehog has left a ny. have to see whether the hedgehog has left any. i bet there will be none

left any. i bet there will be none left in the hedgehog will stay around. this is one of those extraordinary stories. hold that up and... just talk her through this. this is in india, where this young girl has been found and she has been dubbed the mobley girl. the montage of the story is a reprieve is of many other stories were young children have been left in the wild and raised by animals. the suggestion is that she was found, spotted in a forest, running on all fours. that's right, and then monkeys tried to prevent the adults from saving her but they have now taken her into care and she still isn't speaking and is reacting violently to any sort of human contact. so that is a story. i've got to say, the link to mowgli is a happy ending but there is just a bit ofa happy ending but there is just a bit of a sinister edge to this, how this

child has actually been brought up, so it is a bit ofa child has actually been brought up, so it is a bit of a worry but they have a history of looking after them. would you mind awfully doing a plug? it is for the bbc. it is about missing people? we've had the bbc cameras in durham police now for six months and as a result of that, on wednesday at 9am, reported missing, and the times have described it as and the times have described it as an intense new 3—part series. explain what it is. a lot of our work in policing is about finding people reported missing so we have 17 people go missing in our county area every week. —— 70. a7 of them area every week. —— 70. a7 of them are children. it is a lot of our work so the bbc commissioned a story with us so they have been with us

for six months. three hard—hitting programmes starting on wednesday. a0 a week children? a7. programmes starting on wednesday. a0 a week children? 47. how quickly is a week children? 47. how quickly is a child a missing child? if somebody has just left the house a minute ago, they are not missing. but we realise that the first hour of anybody going missing is absolutely crucial so we don't have a set time period that you are now missing. if somebody‘s loved ones thinks they are missing, that's what we think, too. very interesting. that's wednesday. wednesday at nine o'clock. this is breakfast. we're on bbc one until ten o'clock this morning, when matt tebbutt takes over in the saturday kitchen. good morning. good morning. hope you are well. our special guest is nick knowles, facing food heaven or food hail. what is your food heaven? aubergines, something veggie like

that. tasty aubergines, not slimy. what about hail? a heavy beef dish. i actually turned veggie and i find the beef dishes a bit heavy. two great chefs are here. what are you cooking? a dock and sorrel broth. what are you doing? a west african inspired dish, some fried plantain and cr pe and pea fritters, fried with mullet. and our wine expert is joining us. happy to be here. see you at ten. making us angry. we will see you then. sorry, ishould have saved you! it is a banana! he was talking about food. i was listening to matt andi about food. i was listening to matt and i didn't realise. normally at that point you would have kept quiet andi that point you would have kept quiet and i would have carried on. you're watching breakfast.

still to come on the programme this morning... fred astaire was once told he couldn't sing or act, but could dance "a little". his last dance partner, barrie chase, willjoin us to talk about teaching younger generations about the hollywood star. stay with us — headlines coming up. hello, this is breakfast, with charlie stayt and sally nugent. coming up before 10am, ben will have the weather for you. but first, a summary of this morning's main news. the united states says it's prepared to laurchl more military action against —— launch more military action against syria following the use of chemical weapons. it follows a strike against an air base when the attack was said to have come from. swedish police say the man they are questioned about the lorry attack in stockholm has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. swedish television reported that explosives we re television reported that explosives were found in the vehicle. the police haven't confirmed this. four people died and 15 were injured when

the vehicle ploughed into a group of pedestrians and then a department store. the basque separatist group eta is you are endearing its remaining weapons in an orchestrated handover in south—western france. eta killed over 850 people during more than a0 yea rs of over 850 people during more than a0 years of violence aimed at trying to win ind for the basque country, which straddles france and spain. president trump has said he believes tremendous progress has been made in meetings with florida with the chinese leader. they've agreed a 100—day plan for talks designed to reduce the us trade deficit with china. they talked about north korea's nuclear weapons programme a strike by rail workers at the rmt union is set to disrupt services to the grand national today as members of three companies walk out in a dispute over staffing. members of southern, northern and merseyrail will strike over an ongoing dispute over the role of conductors. those are the main stories this morning. mike is here. i don't know if you're starting with aintree or elsewhere?

so much to talk about. the grand national in a moment. celebrating a0 yea rs on national in a moment. celebrating a0 years on from red rum and the masters. and qualifying for the chinese grand prix. we will have qualifying news in our sports bulletin. is that a bit a warning. . a hint to those people who say, you've spoiled it for us. being fair, iam you've spoiled it for us. being fair, i am going to mention qualifying in a moment. first we start with the golf. a bit a surprise, or is it a surprise when you think of augusta, a pretty course. but mean. it eats people up. they call it the monster sometimes. the defending champion, danny willett, will not be involved in the final weekend of the masters, after he missed the cut. willett dropped four shots, on the first hole and was one of several who struggled in their second round. but there is still some british interest among those chasing the leaders, patrick gearey reports. there is no sporting stage quite like augusta, a mixture of beauty and cruelty, where nothing is guaranteed. ask lee westwood whose opening day charge wandered off course.

even those who appeared to be coping well, could be lured off shore. in there went ricky fowler's ball and with it a shot. he retrieved that on the next hole. resilience here is key. not something you can always say about sergio garcia, a talent, never before a major winner. now with a share of the lead is he closer? at a gusty augusta experience matters. fred couples has plenty of experience. he won here in 1992. he knows how to stay out of trouble. that was the goal of many, justin rose went neither forward nor back in his second round, but by standing his ground he stayed in touch. as did rory mcilroy. he knows the wind is due to drop and playing will get easier. a perfect setting for masters i enjoy when courses play tough. i

enjoy when the masters plays difficult because it means that the high quality shots are going to be rewarded and you have to hit the ball the right way. usually, if i'm in good form, i can do that. it all continues later today. now it is time to reveal what's happening in qualifying for the chinese grand prix. have i given you enough time. lewis hamilton is on pole in qualifying ahead of tomorrow's race. he was almost two tenths of a second faster that sebastien vettell. hamilton is popular with the fans and he's happy too. his sixth consecutive pole position. the former england rugby star brian moore is recovering in hospital in london, after suffering a heart attack. moore, who's played over 60 times for his country as hooker, in the scrum, is in intensive care. these days he's a regular commentator with the bbc. he's now 55, and has been on twitter thanking the health professionals who saved his life.

we wish you a speedy recovery. striker harry kane could start for spurs, when they take on watford in the lunch time premier league kickoff. kane, who's already scored 19 goals for spurs this season, has missed the last three matches with an ankle injury. we'll see tomorrow if i decide that he start on the game or will be on the bench. but the good news that he's ready and he feels good, fully recovery and i think it's very good news for, first of all, for him and then for us. he's an important player for us. then for us. he's an important playerfor us. and to be then for us. he's an important player for us. and to be available again to help the team is fantastic. third placed liverpool are at stoke this afternoon, with manchester city hosting hull. at the other end of the table, west ham will hope to halt their slide, when they take on third from bottom swansea. leaders chelsea are at bournemouth in the teatime kickoff. great britain face an uphill struggle to stay in the davis cup.

without world number one, andy murray, they trail france 2—0, after a disappointing first day of their quarter final in rouen. kyle edmund lost in straight sets to lucas pouille. dan evans then followed suit, beaten 3—0 byjeremy chardy. ifjamie murray and dominic inglot lose their doubles rubber to nicolas mahut and julien benneteau today, the tie will be over. yeah, a lot of times, you know, it's quys yeah, a lot of times, you know, it's guys thrown together to play. these quys guys thrown together to play. these guys obviously played hundreds of matches together, won a bunch of tournaments over a long period of time. nico has been number one the last maybe six, seven months perhaps. he's been playing really well with herbert, benneteau in the finals of wimbledon last year and won roland garros. it's going to be a tough match. so back to the grand national, and a red horse will definitely be one of the favourites.

definitely red and vieux lion rouge lead the betting, a0 years after another red horse, red rum, won the race for a record third time to secure the future of aintree and the reputation of this famous race around the world. stuart pollitt explains why red rum was an unlikely hero. archive: they're willing him home. red rum wins the national! it's the greatest movie never made. the horse with a gappy leg —— gammy leg, trained by a taxi driver an unlikely hero. but by 1977, red rum had already

won the national twice and runner—up on two occasions. yet this was what sealed his place in history. riding red rum that day was tommy stack. to find him a0 years on, you need to come to tipperary to find where his family trains horses. 77 looks a longtime ago now. it's a0 yea rs. 77 looks a longtime ago now. it's a0 years. it's only like yesterday looking back at it. tommy rode red rum more than a0 times. but this was his first national win on board. you could hear the crowd, it felt unreal. he is as popular in ireland as liverpool. this is the thomas town village pub. people come in and ask if they can take a picture. chinese, japanese, anyone! americans! he is famous worldwide.

in racing generally, he is the one horse that everyone can remember. we could not believe what had happened. we dreamt it, and we were just amazed that the horse came home fit and well. ao 40 years on, michael burns returns where he was that they. they own the horse the family knew as red. my grandfather was 89 years of age then. the only time i ever saw him move, i sat with him, he got up and raised his arms. then he sat down again.|j then he sat down again. i couldn't believe the crowd that was there, clapping and the horse just stood, you would think he was a saint. i think he thought himself. there will never be a horse like him again. red

rum never felt in 100 never be a horse like him again. red rum neverfell in 100 races. incredible horse. for the name? why red rum? his parents, they took the last three letters from his sire and dams name. quorum, dad, and mared, his mum. so it's not murder backwards. that's came later in the film. very scary stuff indeed. i might not be able to pick the winner of the national, but i have found the best and biggest fascinator yesterday. look at this. i couldn't reach the top of it. those peacock feathers on siobhan johnston. reach the top of it. those peacock feathers on siobhanjohnston. why blue? she works for manchester city. manchester city colours, of course. she arrived too late for the competition. she couldn't win. she arrived too late for the competition. she couldn't winm gets intense that competition on a friday. exactly. always looking for signs with the grand national. next item is about smelling, a smelly horse, not a smelly horse! but a

horse, not a smelly horse! but a horse related to a smell. i don't know. leave that for you to discuss. asi know. leave that for you to discuss. as i ride off into the distance. #6 the scent of old books and the cologne that lingers #6 #6 t lingers on the gloves worn by the duke of dorset, just two of the smells scientists are bottling to preserve them. they want to capture the aromas for their historic value, so they can be recreated after they disappear. joining us in the studio now are matija strlic and cecilia bembibre from university college london, who are working on the project. morning to you both. good morning. you started particularly with the smell of old books, why was that? it's familiar to most people, who've ever been to an historic library. we worked with the grand library at st paul's cathedral. the curator there said whatever you propose us to do in view of its preservation, please keep the smell. it's so important to

our visitors and in fact, the visitors write in the visitor book that they feel as if they're inhaling the knowledge as they enter the library. so important to the experience. is it the paper that gives us the smell or is it the surroundings in which it's being kept? it's a little bit of both. it's the smell of paper as it's decomposing as the books are dying, if you like. there is a lot of chemistry there, which we try to understand, as heritage scientists, trying to understand the science of books decomposing. there's a lot about people's perceptions and their attitudes to smell of which as visitors in museums and galleries, we are slightly robbed a little bit. but not in the context of a historic house, which is why we work with the national trust. in an historic house experience, you get the whole experience, you get the whole experience, the smell, the sound and the shapes and colours. we just saw you doing yourjob there. what do you doing yourjob there. what do you notice about the different

elements of the smells that you work with? we said it's notjust the paperfrom with? we said it's notjust the paper from the books, with? we said it's notjust the paperfrom the books, what with? we said it's notjust the paper from the books, what else comes in? well in st paul's you have a lot of old wood and there's some leather, some of the books are leather, some of the books are leather bound, for example. so they all combine to form this unique sensory experience that people associate with many pleasant memories. actually old books, they don't smell particularly nice, do they, but it's not an unpleasant smell. it's almost like a reassuring smell. it's almost like a reassuring smell because it's familiar and it's all linked with memory. it's very much linked with memory. that's because the sense of smell is very close to the memory centre in our brain. we link very old memories with smells as well, which is why smells can very often take us back to our very early childhood. you've bottled the book smell, haven't you. you've got it in a flask here. we can't do the test because we did it earlier on. how did you bottle the smell of old paper? it's not very

difficult. you bake a piece of paper in your kitchen oven in a bottle for two hours. it's such a distinctive smell. i wish i could describe it properly. smell. i wish i could describe it property. you know immediately. old library with a wooden floor. we asked a lot of people to get in touch about smells generally, things about smells that really get them going. some more familiar than others. gordon got in touch to say the smell of freshly cut grass, especially after a rain shower. the other one he says is the oily smell from race cars. those are quite distinctive smells. and comments like that are so important to us because what we do at the ucl institute for heritage is try to identify those smells that hold cultural value to us as a society and develop techniques, use science to protect them, study and preserve them for future generations, but communities have such a central role in this, because they are the ones who should pick the smells that are important. roslyn has been in touch.

she says, the smell of washing that's been dried in the fresh air when you bring in it. what is the science behind that? there's got to be something scientific about that smell, particularly on cotton, when it's been in sunshine and dried and brought inside. what is it? there's quite a bit of chemistry there. especially in intense sunshine and cellulose being part of the textile, it oxidises a bit. there is a smell of ozone that we can sense, the human nose is quite sensitive to that. there's a mixture of all of that. there's a mixture of all of that. clothing has a lot of smells to it. presumably in an historical context that would be interesting, old clothes. they get kept for many yea rs. old clothes. they get kept for many years. yes, they do. many of them carry still the body smells of the people who wore them and they're mixed with the material change of the textiles themselves. it's fascinating. not always talking about nice smells are we? well, no,

but smells that are not inherently nice also carry information and they're nice also carry information and they‘ re important. nice also carry information and they're important. kelly has been in touch and said her favourite smell, this is a classic, newborn baby. that's just a lovely kind of clean smell of lovely skin, but it's different. a newborn baby has a very different. a newborn baby has a very different smell. you're laughing. it's true. top of the baby's newborn ba by‘s it's true. top of the baby's newborn baby's head it's true. top of the baby's newborn ba by‘s head is it's true. top of the baby's newborn baby's head is amazing. why?m does. and it turns quickly into something very farfrom does. and it turns quickly into something very far from olfactory heaven, after they grow up, doesn't it? it can do! when i came in the studio this morning, i thought the inside of this building smelt a bit smoky. i don't mean cigarette smoky, i meant lykins a wood smoke —— meant like a wood smoke smell. due notice that? it's difficult to say. i smelt, this is probably 5am in the morning, just coffee in the air. you

do get a lot of that. you get a smell like that, because it's brought into the building by the air conditioning system, might be just outside. and it's funny, because it's very similar to the smell of old paper. a lot of chemical components are the same, but they are in different proportions, which is why the human brain interprets those proportions differently when you smell coffee and very, very differently when you smell old paper. very quickly, because we out of time. what are your favourite smells? my favourite smell? the smells? my favourite smell? the smell of london underground, nothing spells home to me than the london underground. wow. go on. i love the smell, part of my family is from scotland, i love the smell that you get as you get off the plane and that crisp air hits you in the highlands. nice. one more... no don't. it's strong. thank you for bringing this in. nice to see you. thank you very much indeed. shall we

look outside and think about the fresh air here, sunshine, but it smells glorious outside in the sunshine. this is the view — oh, that's not the view outside our window. that didn't work. it does look nice. ben has the details for the rest of the uk. there it is. lovely and calm. yeah. probably a bit ofan lovely and calm. yeah. probably a bit of an ozone smell in the air there. morning ben. bit of an ozone smell in the air there. morning benlj bit of an ozone smell in the air there. morning ben. iwas bit of an ozone smell in the air there. morning ben. i was worried night had fall anyone salford for a moment. no lovely start in salford. lovely start here as well in aberdeenshire. ourweather lovely start here as well in aberdeenshire. our weather watchers have been doing wonders this morning. i've tried to show as many of them as has been possible. amazing pictures in. another one from twickenham, the wild foul certainly enjoying the sunshine this morning. and for the weekend, that really is the main story, some strong sunshine to come. fairly high uv levels. with that sunshine increasingly high temperatures as well. here's our look at the satellite picture. mist and fog

patches across the south—east, west midlands and wales as well. extra cloud in the north west. most of thatis cloud in the north west. most of that is now burning back. the story is one of sunny skies. certainly across england and wales, but much of northern ireland and scotland joining in as well. the one exception, the far north of scotland. here the cloud will be a bit more stubborn. we'll see breezy conditions and there could be the odd spot of drizzle. here more cloud and some spots of rain. eastern and southern scotland, northern ireland, northern england decent day for you. temperatures across northern england could get up to 20 degrees. then further south into the midlands, wales, the south of england, here inland spots up to 21 degrees. around the coastline though just a bit cooler as we develop something ofa bit cooler as we develop something of a sea breeze. it looks fine for the grand national at aintree. race goers can expect sunshine and temperatures up to 20 degrees. fine for saturday evening as well. bear in mind, if you're out late tonight,

overnight, it will actually get a little bit chilly under clear skies. we could even get a touch of frost out in the countryside. quite hard to believe after the daytime temperatures. i think most towns and cities hold up around six or seven degrees. into tomorrow then, the odd mist and fog patch here and there first thing. it turns into a day of divided fortunes, for glaelds, a lot of —— england and wales, a lot of sunshine. extra cloud for western coasts. for northern ireland and scotland, here a different story. a weather front spoiling the party, bringing cloud, outbreaks of rain and lower temperatures, 12 to 1a degrees. but for central and eastern areas, we could get those temperatures up to 2a or 25 degrees. that will be the warmest weather of the year so far. i do just have to show you what happens on monday, though. we lose those highs of sunday. on monday, coolerairsweeps across the country and that is going to feel very different indeed. make the most of the warmth and the sunshine. back to you. that's exactly what we're going to do. thank you very much for your time. we're going to have a busy weekend. whether it's dancing,

gardening or painting, this weekend people right across the uk will be getting involved with events to celebrate creativity. there's a particular emphasis on community and public spaces. our reporter, tomos morgan, travelled to the brecon beacons to find out what it's all about. as they came together yesterday on the slopes, the people, the lifeblood of a country created the heart beat of wales. designed to be interpreted best from the air, an artistic impression, the brain child ofa artistic impression, the brain child of a local artist. so the idea of heart of wales, i took the idea of wales being a creative nation and created this movement. we want to move the mountain with creative people. those creative people with the people of wales. almost 100 volu nteers the people of wales. almost 100 volunteers from the local area created this art work in south wales. its purpose? to inspire

creativity, so did it hit the brief? yes, it's inspiring. it's fun. it's fun, it's interesting. it's a different thing to do. yeah, we're doing something with lots of people has been good fun. yeah, it inspired us, yes. perhaps to get out and be more creative, yeah. this human art installation on the slopes of the brecon beacons is a launch event and one of more than 600 events happening across the uk this weekend. wonderful. whoa, look at that. several pottery studios like this one in nottingham, will be opening their doors giving some guidance and an opportunity to break the mould. those who want more exercise, can get down and twerk at several dance master classes like this one in the capital. and even our presenters are getting involved, with mixed results, and making origami rabbits. it takes three weather presenters to make one bunny. as the mountain came alive

yesterday, the hope is others will ta ke yesterday, the hope is others will take the opportunity this weekend to try something, make something and get creative. rather good effect. they had the weather for it as well. you can find out more about events organised by groups in your local area at bbc. co. uk/getcreative. in a career that spanned eight decades, fred astaire became an icon of the golden age of hollywood, whose dazzling dance routines continue to entertain. now a new stage show, featuring two stars from strictly come dancing, pays tribute to the legends originality and flair. its premiere had a special guest of honour, fred's last dance partner, barrie chase. barrie's here, but before we speak to her, let's take a look at the pair in action. barriejoins us now. tease pictures are courtesy of mrs fred astaire. wow. there can't be many people, good morning. good morning. can't be

map many people in the world —— many people in the world who can say they've done that, danced with that incredible man. yeah, no. well, yeah. what was he like? what was he like, you know, i get asked that question a lot. sorry. it's ok. i hope the answer is not sorry. we hear all the cliches, he was a perfectist, he was a hard worker, so on and so forth. all of which are true. and kind of boring. because everyone works hard and everyone tries to do their very best. but i think some of the things maybe, he always tried to create an environment that it was really easy. i had to have wardrobe fittings at the end at night, because it couldn't interrupt rehearsal. so it was all about the dancing. it was all about the dance, yeah. we were

watching that clip. can we see it again. this is another clip here. can you talk us through, when is this? this is the last show. this is in '68, the last time that he danced. what age would you have been at that time? approximately. fred was 70. i think i was 35. now hitting 83! it's a weird — you have to get over the shock of it. yeah, the last show, we did four specials over a ten—year period. then other shows too. the last show, he started to show that he was older. he called me after the show and said, that's it. i'm not dancing any more. he knew. he knew, yeah. we knew on the show but we wanted so to do that show. fred wants to dance, go for

it. i was going to say, because you, we've seen these fantastic clips dancing with imhad, you didn'tjust —— with him. you didn'tjust overnight start dancing with him as his main dancer. you were in the chorus. incredible films. white christmas? oh, yeah! you know that if- christmas? oh, yeah! you know that if — you know they talk about legacy, and i can't go there, because that happens or it doesn't happen. it's certainly not anything while you're doing your work or living even. but i am continually get fan mail about white christmas and would i sign it, mutual i'm sure! !. and would i sign it, mutual i'm sure! ! . i'm sure. so it's living forever that film. forever and ever, yeah. white christmas. i was very young when i did that, about 19, 18 or19, young when i did that, about 19, 18 or 19, something like that. young when i did that, about 19, 18 or19, something like that. tell young when i did that, about 19, 18 or 19, something like that. tell me, when you're doing those routines, we

saw you with fred astaire there, we re saw you with fred astaire there, were there times, maybe at the beginning, where you were mid—dance you had to pinch yourself? no, i wouldn't allow that. that's a natural thing. no, can't wouldn't allow that. that's a naturalthing. no, can't do wouldn't allow that. that's a natural thing. no, can't do that. because you — i would be natural thing. no, can't do that. because you — iwould be paralysed. did you concentrate on the steps. that's all you're doing. yeah, yeah. you're aware of it obviously. but it's got to be back there somewhere. because, yeah, it's about what you're doing and what you're trying to do. you wouldn't be able to move, would you? no. you are now, still all these years on, was it last night, you went to watch a performance of the show. yes, remembering fred. what was that like? i think it's a very happy show. i think people, it's a feel—good show. if you like dance, it's solid dance from beginning to end. we have strictly come dancing here, it's dancing with the stars in the states. this is aljaz and janette, who are in the show. they pay tribute to that whole era of

dance. yes. yes, they do. the show is dance from beginning to end. i don't know how they do it. you know, it's a lot of numbers. i was talking to them afterwards and they had two weeks rehearsal for probably, i don't know, maybe six numbers in the first act, and six numbers — it's a lot! those kids are working all the time. two weeks rehearsal and then, a different stage every night. yeah, amazing. truly amazing. speaking as amazing. truly amazing. speaking as a complete non—dancer help me with what the fred astaire magic was. there would have been a lot of dancers at that time, male dancers. what was the thing he had. how can you define magic. help me, go on. you do it, help me. i don't know, magic isjust that, it's inefinable. it's something unique and special and it catches you and you don't

know why. if you try to break it down, you can do that, but it's the coming together of all that that just would. something effortless. totally effortless and totally, you know, i was looking, you have the races going on and fred loved thoroughbreds, i was thinking about that cliche, awful question, what was it like to dance with fred, and i don't have a good answer for it. i was thinking about it and i thought, you know, the word "class" claim to mind. that's a word that it's become a bad word almost. you know, it's become a snob word. it really wasn't meant in that way. you can look at a thoroughbred and you say oh, that horse has class and it's perfectly all right to say. look, it's been lovely having you hear this morning. thank you so much. good to see you. remembering fred is touring now. that's it from us. we're back tomorrow, see you then bye—bye. this is bbc news.

i'm maxine mawhinney. the headlines at ten... swedish police are questioning a man who they believe is the driver of a lorry which killed four people when it was driven at pedestrians in stockholm. the united states warns syria further military action can't be ruled out over its use of chemical weapons. more disruption for passengers as rail workers across england stage another strike — there's a warning of travel delays expected around the grand national. also in the next hour...

honouring seven young people who've made extraordinary contributions to their communities. we'll be live at the ceremony in manchester for the tenth anniversary of the rotary young citizen awards. he has set the bar and raised it even higher. lewis hamilton storms to pole position for tomorrow's