The Dublin business community is most unhappy about the amount of money it will lose when the 1998 Tour de France cavalcade closes off the city over the next couple of days. Long term, however, it should bring significant benefits for tourism as the tour is one of the biggest and most exciting events in the sporting calendar, with billions of viewers worldwide.
Tomorrow, 4.30 p.m.7 p.m, Network 2 covers the 5.6 km prologue individual time-trial through the streets of the capital starting in Grafton Street and ending in O'Connell Street. Coverage on Sunday is 5.20 p.m.7 p.m.
Tonight TnaG begins a repeat of that excellent documentary series From the Horses Mouth, 8 p.m8.30 p.m., which traces the history of horse racing in Ireland from its humble beginnings to the multimillion industry it is today.
Alvin Hall continues the finance series Investing with Alvin Hall: The Knicker Business, with a look at the underwear business on Monday, BBC 2, 7.30 p.m.8 p.m. Mr Hall gives advice to an all-female club which has invested its savings of £500 in a high-class lingerie business. He also discovers that 80 per cent of Englishmen don't buy their underwear they leave the buying to their partners.
Chat show host, Vanessa Feltz, dons her consumer hat for a new series of Value for Money on Thursday, BBC 1, 7 p.m.8 p.m. This first programme includes an investigation into how long household appliances should last. Manufacturers apparently have a good idea, but should they let their customers know?
Finally, Secret History: Winter of Discontent, Monday, Channel 4, 9 p.m10 p.m., unravels the demise of the Labour Party under James Callaghan 20 years ago.
The government had embarked on the third year of incomes' policy, calling for a 5 per cent ceiling on wage increase and workers answered with their feet and went on strike. The result was two decades in opposition for Labour with Margaret Thatcher taking the helm for Britain.
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