The great drought of 1976 has been talked of repeatedly in past weeks as Britain's water reserves dwindle in the sun. That year a plague of ladybirds heralded a season of extraordinary phenomena: rivers turned green, trees withered and alien plants appeared overnight.
For some wildlife it was a year of disaster but, as this film reveals, only we were found really wanting. Eight years later it is a story that rings as true as ever.
Narrated and produced by Barry Paine