‘they have never studied art, even if they have never studied art, never crossed the threshold of the school of art. charles rennie mackintosh has significance across the world. we just celebrated over the world. we just celebrated over the last few days his 150th anniversary. that was an event which was marked all over the globe, because he designed that building, and he is also a figure of such global standing. i wonder if i could press eu, is the uk government willing to help foot the bill for the restoration of this building? we helped previously. we will help again. iam helped previously. we will help again. i am clear on that. we are committed to ensuring that this iconic building can and will be restored, if it can be. we do hope that it can be. most grateful for your time. thank you very much. we have seen some outbreaks of rain

spreading east and this afternoon there will be some in scotland, maybe thundery at times but the northern isles are dry. the west and south of scotland have some sunshine. further south, some heavy showers in northern ireland and northern england. wales, the midlands, south england, a few sunny spells between the showers. cooler kebede yesterday. in this evening, few heavy showers around but sunny spells to end the day as well. clear for a calm overnight, cloud increasing in the west later you'll stop some places in single figures. some sunny spells, north—east scotla nd some sunny spells, north—east scotland and the east of england for time tomorrow, a lot of cloud around. whilst it is drier compared to today, in western parts that could be some patchy rain at times. breezy cross the uk, a bit warm in

the south—east. this is bbc news. our latest headlines... a fire has devastated glasgow's world —famous school of art. it was undergoing a multi—million pound restoration project following a similar blaze four years ago. people, the citizens of glasgow, certainly further afield, need to be prepared for what they will see in the next few hours which is a very seriously damaged building. the mother of 12—year—old billy caldwell who wants to use cannabis oil to treat him says he is in a life—threatening condition. the home office says it's sympathetic and will take advice from his doctors. the prime minister has expressed "disappointment" after one of her own mps, sir christopher chope, blocked legislation to make upskirting a criminal offence. hundreds of civilians are said to be trapped in their homes by the latest round of fighting in yemen. pro—government forces, backed by saudi arabia, are said to have the upper hand in the battle to take

the city of hudaydah. now on bbc news, the travel show. coming up on this week's show: i meet the new robot helping to keep beaches clean here in thailand. i'm cleaning the beach! we travel to the most crowded island in the world. you asked for a seven—storey bronze statue of yourself. ade tries his hand at comedy improv in new york. it's beautiful, man. and we go behind the scenes at the lab that looks after priceless old masters in florence. we are starting this week in thailand, a country with over

2000 kilometres of coastline, and every year, millions of tourists come here to enjoy its tropical sandy beaches. but some of those tourists are having an impact on the marine environment. they are the ones who leave their rubbish behind when they've finished their day at the beach. and it seems that smokers are among some of the worst offenders. so much so that thai authorities have now introduced a smoking ban at some of the country's most popular beaches. it is now illegal to smoke at 2a beaches across the country, and if you're caught smoking or dropping cigarette butts, you risk a fine of up to 100,000 thai baht - that's over £2000 — and a year in prison. i have come to songkhla in the south of thailand to find outjust how big the problem with cigarette butts is.

yupa was part of a team which sampled different beaches around thailand to count the number of cigarettes. this beach in songkhla was found to have more than anywhere else in the country. wow, that's a lot. is that normal? normal. almost all cigarette butts contain plastic and take years to decompose. 0n the beaches where smoking is banned, there are designated

areas where people can smoke and dispose of their cigarette ends responsibly. anybody caught smoking or dropping cigarettes outside of the zones risks punishment. cleaning up thailand's beaches has become a priority for a network of volunteers called trash heroes. the group operates in 35 cities across the country. yupa started a branch here in songkhla after she was shocked by the rubbish problem, following some time working away. the first time that i came

back to my home i said, "what happened with my hometown? why is it like this? everywhere is full of the trash." itjust made me think, i must do something for my hometown. so much plastic! yupin runs weekly cleanup sessions, and people of all ages and tourists are encouraged tojoin in. a cigarette lighter! cleaning the beaches of trash and tiny pieces of cigarettes seems an unending task. but the trash heroes here could soon have some help. why do we need a beach robot here?

because there is too much trash. this place, where i grew up, so many tourists come to this beach, but if the beach gets dirty, no—one will want to come. so i started this project. how does it actually work? the robot is digging in the sand about five centimetres deep. shaking to separate the sand and move the trash into the back. how much rubbish do you actually collect? if we do about 80 metres we get about four kilograms of trash. four kilograms in 80 metres! ok, i'm dying to have a go, to control it. sure. easy to control. forward and backwards, 0k. turn left and right. this is the controller speed. if you push this down, it is digging in the sand. this is great. i'm cleaning the beach!

dr a and his team are working on a second prototype that will separate the shells out from the trash. at the moment that has to be done by hand. it is so satisfying to see so much rubbish coming in. so many children come and watch it. and after i take the robot into the truck, they started to pick up trash by themselves. that's a good result. there's a big focus here on getting the next generation to think differently about how they treat the country's beaches, to protect this beautiful landscape for the future. time now to leave the wide open beaches of thailand behind and head somewhere a little more crowded. we are off to the island of santa cruz del islote, off colombia, where space really is at a premium. still to come on this week's travel show, we head to italy to find out what it takes to keep priceless old masters in tip—top shape.

they told me, you're totally crazy, it's impossible to do something. this week i'm exploring songkhla in the south of thailand. it's nicknamed the city on two seas because it sits on both the gulf of thailand and an enormous lake. although close to the malaysian border, songkhla has been largely unaffected by the unrest that has been seen in some of the areas in thailand's deep south, and its location means its cuisine and architecture are a blend of thai, chinese and islamic influences. a lot of tourists come here. ah runs an art gallery in the city and has agreed to give me a tour. i will show you the most unique ice cream shop of songkhla. 0k! mrs yu's father came here from china 85 years ago.

0n the way, he stopped in singapore and learnt the art of making ice cream. this is the vanilla ice cream? vanilla ice cream. some here say this was thailand's first ice cream shop. why egg yolk? because egg yolk is creamy. and a sprinkle of chocolate. tastes much better with it. it looks good. here goes. it's really creamy, almost like a coconut flavour. who would have thought it was so good? now, if you're a fan of comedy, then there's a long list of improvised comedy festivals taking place all over the world this year, from edinburgh to singapore, and cape town to copenhagen. but what's it like to actually stand in the spotlight and try and make people laugh with no idea what's coming next?

a while back, we sent ade to a theatre in new york, where tourists can do just that. improvisation in its simplest form is the art of creating a scene or play with absolutely no preplanning. you allare in unfamiliar territory... i've come along to the pit in manhattan to give it a go myself. the venue offers classes for first—time tourists, as well as a place for more experienced comedians to hone their craft. leslie collins, an improv veteran, led the class. i think i did see a ghost, not recently but like a few years ago. to kick off, we did some warm—up exercises. um, boxes. five. boxer briefs. six... everyone was given a category and had to list seven things in quick succession. seven types of hairstyles. the bob. 0ne. bang. two. short haircut. three. long hair.

four. pigtails. five. longtail. six. tail. seven. ok, i'm really nervous. i'm about to get a category and i've got to name seven different types. what's going on, while patting my legs and rubbing my stomach. they're coming, they're coming. trust me, with the pressure on, it's not as easy as is. seven creatures that make bad house pets. k. rooster. 0ne. uh, a gremlin with one toe. two. right, game's over. time for the comedy to start. i let the pros go first. now, all you're given is a word or a song, and where the skit goes from there is totally up to you. my fists are always right, bro. good. you're gonna need to keep them there. i like your attitude. i like your game face. of course, this is — it's sort of like trying to release your inhibitions in a place where people are so uninhibited. a key part of improv is supporting your scene partner

and building on their ideas — something these guys have down to a tee. you probably know that too, right? i do. you must be joan. joan, yes. joan collins, future president of the pta. nice to meet you. nice to meet you too. i'm sorry the book career didn't work out. these guys are really good. it'sjust like — it's great to watch them at work. this isjust like, this is too much. and before long, it was my turn. with knots in my stomach, i took to the stage. you asked for a seven story bronze statue of yourself. i mean you had a school and hospital levelled so you could put this here. it's beautiful, though. it is beautiful, don't get me wrong. no, no, i'm coming around to it. yeah, i would think you would,

i mean it will take you a long time just to get around it. uh... good job. all right, so the other guy definitely put in most of the work but i gave it my best shot. so verdict time, how did i do? ade did great. i know he was so concerned before the class, he was very worried. this is too much. what? this is too much. i think most people are scared at improvising because they don't actually know what it is or how much fun it is. they are also very concerned about being funny and the pressure to be funny, but improv isn't really about that, it's about being honest and having fun. if you're on a budget in new york, improv gigs are a great way to pack in some entertainment. a lot of places put on free nights and if not, tickets are usually cheap. or, if you're brave enough, why not try it out for yourself? we'll end this week in the historic

city of florence, birthplace of the renaissance and home to some of the most famous old masters in history, from rafael to giotto and da vinci, but all those fragile historic works don't look after themselves. we sent keith wallace for a peek behind the scenes at one of the world's most important art restoration labs. sometimes on warm summer afternoons, it feels like half of europe has come to florence. here, here's the view. and why not? the whole city centre is a giant open air art gallery. this is what happens when you've got a really lovely bridge, it's full of lots of people taking selfies. and here's one of its stars, the ponte vecchio,

built in the 13th century. it's not exactly off the beaten track though. so this is the historic centre. it's all unesco world heritage listed. firstly, because it's incredibly beautiful, and secondly because the museums and galleries down there have some of the most important and famous works of art the world's ever seen basically. but you'll notice there's a river cutting right the way through it. as you can imagine, it's very important to make sure that never breaks its banks. but tragically, in 1966, it did. 10! people died and it's estimated around “i, 000 artworks were damaged, ma ny lost forever. the fantastic high flood mark is graphically shown by the wrecked jewellers and art shops on the ponte vecchio bridge. whoa! so this is the high watermark from the flood,

which is almost five metres. and just over there, you can see the santa croce basilica, which is stuffed with all sorts of artworks and relics, so you can see that might have caused quite a problem. it's ta ken half a century to restore some of the art inside. only two years ago, work finished on one of the most important masterpieces, giorgio vasari's depiction of the last supper. the damage was so profound that for a0 years, nobody dared touch it. so instead the 0pificio delle pietre dure, now one of the world's foremost restoration labs. at the beginning, i was scared, very scared, because many colleagues told me that you are totally crazy, it's impossible to do something, but i trust in my people and with a long, long work, we found the way. the 0pificio still deals with the aftermath of disasters.

it's currently looking after works damaged in italy's recent run of damaging earthquakes. this is an interesting canvas painting coming from emilia. of course, it remained under the bricks of the church that collapsed. it was made in the beginning of the 17th century. each artwork can have a big meaning for the local community, because if it is the main altar of the church of that little town. so these were by bricks and stone and — i mean it looks lucky that they didn't go right through the painting. it must have happened to a lot of other paintings. yes, the mechanical damage is the most common during an earthquake. it's a painstaking business. as each artwork arrives, the damage is thoroughly assessed and the structure secured.

so the back, this is what the back of a renaissance artwork looks like. a lot of the restoration happens here first. the behaviour of the planks was the first cause of damage, because the radiation of the moisture of the environment, then we have an hydroponic system to measure the micromovements of the planks. considering you've got high—tech in there, you've got someone putting glue onward and poking it it into the painting. yeah, there is high technology and traditional good working technology, because the original, the colours of the front comes from the back. i see. 0oh, don't fall into it. it's only after the back is sorted out that the process of replacing each minuscule brushstroke can begin. caterina here has been working on this 15th century altarpiece since 2012.

what's surprising me is that you seem to be mixing the colours by hand. is that hard? will you have a big party when it's over? the 0pificio isn't normally open

to tourists but you can catch their work all around florence, and of course you can see their highest profile success, the last supper, hanging in the santa croce basilica. well, that's all we've got time for this week. join us next week when... ade heads to cairo to discover the new music craze that's taking the city by storm. i'm about to meet a band who has had a hit that has had 125 million youtube views. and in the meantime, if you want to find out where we are in the world and share your travels, you can find us on social media. but until next time, from all of us here in thailand, it's goodbye. hello.

if your saturday has got off to a cloudy and damp start, it will probably brighten up by the end of the day although there will still be a few showers around. this is a picture from norfolk and it is across east anglia and the south—east, holding onto the cloudy skies for longest today, and a bit cooler compared to yesterday. tomorrow it will be cloudy across much of the uk but where you have had some rain today, likely to be a bit drier. taking a look at the big picture for the start of the weekend, you will notice low pressure close by and the closer you are to it,

the heavier the rain. heavy showers in northern ireland and scotland and parts of northern england. all of this is gradually pushing through but in scotland it will hang around for some time, just in the west and south later in the day the sunshine coming back. not much rain in the far north and northern isles. if you catch some rain, it could be heavy with a rumble of thunder. for northern ireland, sunny spells and scattered showers, some heavy and possibly thundery and similar in northern england. for wales, the midlands and south west england, brighter skies arriving but still a few showers. east anglia and the south—east, cloudy skies and although mainly dry until later, it is this evening when it might brighten up that there will be some showers moving through. eventually this evening showers clear from eastern parts and we're left with drier weather for the bulk of the night. cloud increasing in the west later. where it stays clear for longest in eastern scotland and north east england, temperatures dipping into single figures, 4 or 5 degrees at the lowest. for many of us, we are staying around 10—12d.

tomorrow morning, some inviting sunny spells in north—east scotland and the eastern side of england for a time but cloud increasing across all parts. it is in the east you are likely to stay dry and continue with a few bright and sunny spells. a lot of cloud in the west, limited breaks in it and from that some patchy rain at times. parts of wales, south—west england and northern ireland and maybe the western fringes of scotland but it should not amount to much but it could be damp at times and temperatures fairly similar. maybe a degree or two higher here or there but quite breezy. this is how the start of the new week is shaping up. a north—south split. the further north you are, the cloudy up and at times wetter and breezy it will be. the further south you are, drier, brighter and warmer. goodbye. this is bbc news. the headlines at eleven. one of scotland's architectural landmarks, the glasgow school

of art, goes up in flames for the second time in four years. the government says it will help. we don't know what the structural damage is, the damage to the stonework, so i think it is too early to say what is going to be required but what i can say absolutely, is we will be there to help. the mother of 12—year—old billy caldwell who wants to use cannabis oil to treat him says he is in a life threatening condition. "disappointment" from the prime minister as a conservative mp blocks legislation to make upskirting a criminal offence. also in the next hour. a crucial game for england's rugby players, and a stunning goal from ronaldo in the 2018 world cup. he's done it!