91Èȱ¬

For this week's Inside Out (91Èȱ¬ One, Monday, 30 January 2012, 19:30 GMT) we turn the camera around to focus on him and his incredible work with a medium most of us never think twice about: pure sound.

His life as a natural history sound recordist can be traced to an inspired gift by his parents.

They bought him a tape recorder and so he wired up the bird table in the back garden of their home in Sheffield to see what it might pick up.

He recreated this experiment for Inside Out and it was amazing to hear starlings up close in a feeding frenzy.

It was a trick he used as a professional many years later with vultures.

Below you can hear his recording and watch a bonus clip of him talking about it.

Listen to the sound file here first

He also managed to get up close to one of the wildest cats around. Much closer than any human would dare with their own ears.

So if you've ever wondered what the contented purr of a cheetah is like - have a listen!

Chris loves sound in all its forms. As a student he became a founder member of experimental electronic music band .

He co-wrote their songs and played "keyboard and tape-recorder" as he likes to put it. He had a great time performing on tour, but it was never quite enough for him.

He moved into television proper and a job as a sound recordist at . Once he came to Newcastle he settled.

His love of nature meant he applied for a job at the and TTTV were noble enough to let him work there on secondment for two years!

Now he combines nature and TV with long running projects such as the 91Èȱ¬'s Frozen Planet. Whenever you see , you can be sure Chris Watson is lurking behind the camera.

He also goes out to record the specific sounds needed to help create the amazing TV series.

You can still see him as a composer in special commissions such as that from who wanted him to create a soundscape for one of their masterpieces.

In effect so 21st Century visitors who are plagued by noise pollution could immerse themselves in the same sounds that the great artist would have heard as he painted the charming rural scene of 1826.

No wonder his craftsmanship with sound has earned him many awards including a coveted .

You'd think as one of the very few people to have stood at both poles of the planet he might show off a bit.

Not a chance.

He knows just how privileged he's been.

He loves his work and is happy to inspire others to really appreciate sound.

Imagine if his parents had bought him a drum kit instead of a tape recorder!

I haven't been able to post my regular blog on our latest episode of Inside Out that aired a couple of minutes ago (91Èȱ¬ One Monday, 23 January 2012, 19:30 GMT) as I have been out on shooting assignments all day.

However emails have already been coming in about the show in which we covered PIP implants in County Durham, Newcastle College, and Middlesbrough long-jumper Chris Tomlinson and his Olympic dream.

So if you'd like to get in touch about any of these stories then you can either leave a comment here, or email me in confidence chrisjackson@bbc.co.uk

PS: The County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust's breast implant hotline number is 0800 7835774.

Apologies my blogging has not been up to its usual fulsome standards but I promise that normal service will be resumed by next week.

With three different stories each week we often have to go from the extremely serious to the more uplifting. That is all part of life's rich tapestry and this week we certainly reflect that.

Our lead is an exclusive. We reveal that sources claim police officers wanted to refuse Horden murderer Michael Atherton's application for gun licences but were overruled by more senior colleagues at .

The is investigating the case in which Atherton killed his partner, her sister and niece at his home on New Year's Day. Because of the ongoing official investigation Durham Constabulary have declined to comment on the claims made in tonight's programme.

We've raised the question, many will be waiting to see if the IPCC will provide the answer.

But we also shine the light on the inspirational side of life. In fact you could say we are bringing a little sunshine into these dark winter days with our other two stories.

I doubt there will be a dry eye in the house when you see an amazing reunion that brings to a close a 43 year search on Teesside.

A son who lost his dad when he was just a year old has been trying to track down his songs.

Alan Ludley was lead singer with Rivers Invitation who recorded "Seasons in the Sun" but Alan was killed in a road accident before it was released.

The song later became a global hit when . Alan's son had tried in vain for four decades to see if the original recording still existed.

91Èȱ¬ Tees presenter John Foster turned musical sleuth and you can see the results on tonight's show (91Èȱ¬ One, Monday, 16 January 2012 at 19:30 GMT).

We stay with the sunny theme and in our final film we follow students at as they try to race a car across Australia using only the sun's rays to power them.

The is held every two years, but this is the first time Durham have entered and pitted themselves against the very best teams in the World.

We gave the team cameras to document their trek through the outback and they did a remarkable job to make it all the way from Darwin to Adelaide in one piece.

Today's solar cars have the latest in efficient batteries, solar panels and the like, but our intrepid scientists in Durham are following in a fine tradition of those looking to harness the sun's power.

When I was researching this story I came across two lovely pieces of archive. I didn't have time to include them in the film so here they are for you to enjoy.

The first was shot in America in the 1960's. It appears to be an attempt to power the world's first commercial car, a Model-T Ford by solar power rather than the combustion engine it was designed to have. I can't be sure as both these archive clips are mute.

The next clip was a film made for kid's TV in the 1950's. Again it's mute but it looks like some kind of solar convention. it's a shame the portable solar barbeque never took off! You could have used the same dish for satellite TV during your camping trip as well!

It's a hangover you can't get rid off with pill or potion. The cost to the NHS of people rolling up to casualty because they've had one to many is astronomic.

Add to that policing costs and as tax payers we're the ones with the sore head. Just look at the bill for every man woman and child in the two communities we feature:

• £467 per person in Sunderland
• £650 per person in Middlesbrough

The human cost is astronomic too. The drinking culture in this part of the country means that the North East has the highest number of hospital admissions because of alcohol (we're 40% higher than the South East) and we also have the dubious honour of the highest number of under 18's ending up in hospital because of drink.

says the youngest person who he's seen with fatal cirrhosis of the liver was just 19.

It's pretty sobering to realise that we have the highest alcohol related death rate in England as well.

It's bad enough if you are harming just yourself.

It's rarely that simple. A family suffers too, as I know only too well.

Both my parents were alcoholics. It's difficult within the home when they are alive. Devastating when, as in my dad's case, he died from it when I was still a teenager.

Not that it has put me off drinking. I enjoy a pint or glass of wine as much as anyone else.

I still like to think though that it will never get a hold on me as it did my folks.

They say "drink responsibly" but what if you're pregnant?

Expectant mum investigated this burning question for us.

She looked into FAS - which shows how only a couple of drinks a week could leave a child with brain damage at birth.

Shockingly she and other mums-to-be said they received next to no medical advice on what is safe or not when you're carrying a child

The advice we found was the only way to be sure you don't harm your baby is not to drink alcohol at all. As one NHS expert put it. if you can't go nine months without a drink, then you do have an acolhol problem.

The men don't get away scot free in this week's show. We challenged 91Èȱ¬ Tees presenter Mike Parr to go for just one month without a drink passing his lips. Admittedly the month of abstinence in question was December!

Would he survive the festive period without a tipple? You'll have to watch the show (Monday, 9 Jan 2012 91Èȱ¬ One 19:30hrs GMT) to find out!

If you have a view on any of the stories this week then just add you comments to this blog.

We've also created a special advice page for information and support on alcohol issues and FAS.