Blue Peter - 1978-1979 (1978)

Hollywood, Houston, New Orleans and Washington are all on the itinerary of Blue Peter's whistle-stop tour of the USA. Today Lesley and Simon join in the New Orleans 4 July Independence Day celebrations, complete with a dazzling fireworks display. The human members of the team look pretty much the same. but Goldie, TV's most famous golden retriever, has trebled her size since she last appeared on the programme! Blue Peter film cameras were down on the farm at Dethick, in Derbyshire, to record Simon's reactions to his monster pup on his return from the USA.

' He flies through the air with the greatest of ease.... the daring young man on the water skis.' Expert Christopher Wenner has been ski-ing on and over water since he was a 14-year-old in Central America's El Salvador. Effortless as it looks, a great deal of skill is involved, as LESLEY and SIMON discover when they have their very first water-ski lesson.

"Way down yonder in New Orleans..." Lesley and Simon explore the birthplace of jazz, ride a steam-boat on the mighty Mississippi and sample a Po'boy.

'Everything in the garden's lovely...' when Percy Thrower's around to lend a hand. He will be giving tips for the autumn. And Jack and Jill meet some fish they can't eat!

Including the first TV showing of the prototype of a new British electronic control system for model rail layouts. This exciting invention makes it possible to control four locos simultaneously with only two wires between the control panel and the track.

Break One Nine! Are there any smokies in the area? Double Dutch? No - just the language of CB (Citizen Band) Radio in Texas. Simon discovers how this new form of radio communication has been a life saver. And in Houston - America's Space Age City - he takes his life in his hands on the "Greezed Lightnin" - an incredible roller-coaster ride that loops the loop!

On 16 October Blue Peter will be 20 years old! You can join in the celebrations with a Birthday Quiz - watch today to discover how to enter and what special birthday prizes you can win by sending your answers on a postcard to: Blue Peter Birthday Quiz, [address removed].

with Lesley Judd, Simon Groom, Christopher Wenner and Clare Francis who returns to the studio with an exciting account of her 27,000-mile sail around the world on ADC Accutrac.

The 20th Birthday Celebrations: Join in with guests Leila Williams, Christopher Trace, Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves. Watch out for the nationwide Birthday Balloon Launch from Aberdeen, Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester and the roof of Television Centre in London. If a balloon lands near you, put the label in the post and win a special Birthday Badge.

"England expects..." must be the most famous signal in naval history. Today's programme includes two personal mementoes worn by Admiral Lord Nelson on HMS Victory when he was struck down by a French marksman at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Simon takes his life in his hands on a Texan mechanical bucking bull, and at the NASA Space Centre boards the experimental Shuttle - the world's first re-usable space craft.

Make your bear the chief of your tribe, complete with feathered headdress and tomahawk plus a Teddy-sized tee-pee and camp fire. When the clocks go back next Sunday and the long, dark winter evenings begin, there'll be plenty of time to transform Britain's favourite toy!

Scaling giant walls and leaping water jumps are just a couple of the obstacles tackled by Simon and Chris when they attempt the assault course at Aldershot.

12-year-old authoress Lindsay Brown whose 39,000-word adventure story The Treasure of Dubarry Castle is published today.

And the results of the Goldie Limerick Competition Find out today whether your limerick has won a top prize.

Only 39 days to go until Christmas so now's the time to get ahead with cards and presents! Lesley shows some ideas for cards that cost only a few pence to make.

"Somebody, Somewhere Needs Your Help." Find out how you can join in with Blue Peter's 1978 Appeal and have a paper and pencil handy for the depot address.

A behind-the-scenes look at the final auditions for the young princes and princesses who will star with Yul Brynner in The King and I.

Meet eight purrfect winners from the National Cat Club Show and see them compete for the Blue Peter Supreme Championship.

Don't miss today's stop-press news about the Medi-Bike Appeal and see the latest figures on the Totaliser.

How does a puppet come to life? All will be revealed today when the visual effects experts from the new "Pinocchio" series stage a special demonstration in the Blue Peter studio.

A behind-the-scenes look at the filming for this year's All Star Record Breakers - in Blue Peter's Italian sunken garden!

With the third candle lit on the Advent Crown, there are only 151 hours to go to the great day! But there's still time to make a last-minute all-purpose decoration and send your stamps and coins to the Medi-Bike Appeal. Lorries are ready and waiting to carry your parcels free-of-charge - check the branch nearest to you in the phone book. In Trafalgar Square crowds are flocking to see the massive Norwegian Christmas Tree - a present from the people of Oslo. Simon and Christopher follow its journey from the Forest of Nordmarka and prepare for the grand Switch-on Ceremony.

Join in 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.

Re-live Blue Peter 's highlights of 1978 as Simon rides the Tower Bridge Death Slide, Christopher takes to the skies-on water-skis, and Lesley has a cuddle with Frankenstein's monster! Join ANNI-FRID, BJORN, AGNETHA and BENNY in the Blue Peter studio, float in space with Skylab Astronaut Owen Garriot and flex your lips with the Fuoptimists as they give their unique 'trim-phone' seminar.

Has the Medi-Bike Appeal hit the jackpot? Find out today if your old stamps and coins have reached the target of 400 Medi-Bikes.

Did you get a diary for Christmas? More than 300 years ago a young man started a ten-year diary written in secret code. Lesley and Christopher tell the story of Samuel Pepys and the diary that became one of the most important books in the English language.

Knotty Problem? Knot when Dr Edward Hunters around! The famous inventor of Hunter's Bend shows how knot can be carved from wood.

Post Haste!: The first-ever showing of Britain's new stamps for 1979's International Year of the Child. Find out how you could become the designer of the official Post Office First Day Cover.

On 17 January. 1912 Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition reached the South Pole - only to find a Norwegian flag planted there! Chris investigates the dramatic story of Roald Amundsen - the first man at the South Pole.

All Bird Spotters! Details of how you can help the RSPB's great Garden Bird Count to be launched this Saturday.

Silver Tabbies Jack and Jill share their third birthday celebrations with Britain's newest breed of cat, Fearless Tipper.

Fifteen years after discovering the South Pole, Norwegian explorer ROALD AMUNDSEN attempted the world's first airship flight over the North Pole. Christopher tells the story of this hazardous flight which includes rarely-seen archive film of Amundsen in action in his dirigible, the Norge.

Including the first-ever TV showing of scenes from The Exile, Britain's newest space fantasy filmed by schoolboys Robert Poole and Nigel Brown from Wiltshire.

Has your design been chosen for the official Post Office First Day Cover for the International Year of the Child stamps? Find out today as the competition results are announced.

A Bright New Elvis!: The first television appearance of 14-year-old Robert Bright, who takes over the part of the young Elvis Presley in the hit West End musical next week. Plus the results of the RSPB's nationwide survey of garden birds including reports of some unusual sightings.

Do you have a garden, a back yard or a window box? Join Percy Thrower in the Blue Peter garden with tips for planting flowers and veg.

Val travels to Amsterdam to visit the house where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis for two years, whilst back in the studio, a miniature fairground has been constructed, complete with tiny organ.