14/03/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

Good evening. BBC News at Six so it's goodbye

Good evening. No more competition between Aurigny

and Blue Islands, but questions remain about strike action and price

rises. Joining forces: Why Jersey's Army

Reserves are recruiting in Guernsey for the first time.

Plus ` why playing dress ups is keeping children out of hospital.

And after all of the visibility problems of the last couple of days,

this weekend that Mr will clear and hopefully we will get some sunshine.

Two airlines which compete on the Jersey and Guernsey route start

sharing an aircraft this weekend. Blue Islands and Aurigny will

"codeshare", which means they sell places on the same passenger plane.

The move has led to possible strike action over working conditions for

ground staff. Jen Smith reports. For years, Blue Islands and Aurigny

have competed against each other on the Jersey`Guernsey route, but now

they've agreed it'll be better to work together to cut costs. Blue

Islands' planes will be used, but Aurigny will also sell tickets for

the flights under what's called a "codeshare". The deal means fewer

flights but bigger planes. But as competition on the route is removed,

how do passengers know they'll be no price hikes?

There won't be any price collusion. We have our cost of operation and we

will try and sell of `` all of our seats and we achieve that with a

blend of cheap fears and higher`priced theirs. It will lead

to a better deal. The deal hasn't been without

problems. Baggage handlers in Jersey have recently threatened strike

action after seeing their hours cut when Blue Islands moved to using

Aurigny's workers. Today, the Blue Islands boss said that's not up to

him. That is something you will need to ask Servisair. We are looking at

our own company. That is a question for those guys.

The union Unite told the BBC today it's in new talks with its members

after hearing back from Servisair ` the company which employs the

baggage handlers. Both airlines are keen to stress the new codeshare

won't cause disruption for passengers. But neither could

guarantee flights prices won't rise. Meanwhile, it also means the end of

an era for Channel Islands Aviation after over 40 years. The last

scheduled Trislander aeroplane will fly between Guernsey and Jersey

tomorrow ` fog permitting. Edward Sault has been to meet some of those

who spent their careers working on the iconic island aircraft. If you

live in the Channel Islands you will recognise these evil planes. Today

some of the pilots who worked on them gathered in Jersey to reminisce

about times gone by. This plane was so solidly built and typically

British. It was an ingenious design. It has been part of building the

Channel Islands into what they are today. It was like flying a small

aircraft but it was an airline. It could do things that some of the

bigger airlines could not do. This was St Ouen's beach in Jersey

in 1998 when a Trislander, on its way to Guernsey, was forced to make

an emergency landing much to the amazement to those on the ground.

The man at the controls that day was Chris Winch. He says the aeroplane

was very trustworthy. Some things it would land and you would not even

realise one of the tyres had burst. The passengers could not visit and

they would tell us, do you know that higher has burst. Whilst it may be

the end of a neighbour for flights between Jersey and Guernsey

tomorrow, it is not the end of the story. The flights will continue for

the foreseeable future until a replacement can be found. This site

will be less familiar in the skies of the islands as well as that all

too familiar sound. For the first time ever, Jersey is

looking to Guernsey to help swell its ranks in the Army Reserve. It

used to be known as the Territorial Army, now the Jersey Field Squadron

is recruiting on new territory, as Mike Wilkins reports.

The Channel Islands have a long tradition of serving in the British

Armed Forces. The Jersey Field Squadron is the local Army Reserve

Unit in the Channel Islands. And for the first time, it's been recruiting

here, in Guernsey, this week. It's mainly because the unit's

undermanned, but it also sees Guernsey as an untapped resource.

Yes, that is not about the Jersey Field Squadron. It is the Army

recruiting and the Channel Islands. The Field Squadron as the local

reserve unit and the Channel Islands. We are telling young men

and women to join the Army Reserve if they live here.

None of the potential soldiers of tomorrow wanted to talk on camera

today, they were far more interested in getting their little hands on the

weapons, including rifles and grenade launchers. So how would a

Guernseyman take to serving in a Jersey unit? Well, there are already

some who told me the old enemy isn't all that bad. I have been accepted

well into the Jersey Field Squadron. The arrival some people believe

exists does not happen in Jersey. They are a great bunch of guys and

everyone So, as the Army Reserve looks for more recruits, men and

women from Jersey and Guernsey could soon be serving together.

Seems to gel as a team. The head of the Channel Islands'

competition regulator is stepping down after two years in the role.

Andrew Riseley will be replaced on first April by Michael Byrne until a

permanent chief executive is chosen. Mr Riseley says he wants to relocate

closer to his home in Australia. Next ` could this be the answer to

keeping your child safe around dogs? After a special campaign in schools

to teach children how to behave around the animals, the number of

youngsters turning up at Jersey Hospital's Emergency Department with

dog bites has fallen. From a four`year average of 21 admissions,

just eight were seen last year. Louise Walter reports. Can anyone

think about anyway that a dog may You don't have to be Doctor Dolittle

to understand animals ` at least that's the message of this lesson

teaching children how to read dogs' body language and then how to

respond. Try to speak to us?

And it involves a little role play from this Year one class ` an age

crucial to target. We know from is this the sticks and research that

children regularly mess the signals that dogs give off. The seagulls

baring their teeth and they think they are smiling. It seems an

obvious campaign to roll out to them at this stage to keep the children

say. Not to hold them. Lessons that should be remembered at

home, not just when meeting new dogs. That is according to animal

behaviour used Rosie Barclay. Animal behaviourist Rosie Barclay

says the majority of dog bites come from family pets where children

might be naturally cautious of a strange dog. A lot of it is down to

fear. Because children cannot read the signals they do not understand.

We forced the dogs into having to bite us. It's hoped these lessons

will help create a dog`savvy generation of children in the

island. Jersey's rugby club has transformed

due to the success of its first team and that's encouraged more and more

boys to take up the sport from as young as ten. And for one or two

from each age group, success at the Hampshire County trials is the first

step to following their heroes to professional level. So how much

training, support and money does it take to become an elite rugby

player? Emma Chambers has been finding out.

Even in dense fog they train. Hours on the pitch, pushing to become the

best player they can be. And it's paying off. Will ` seen here wearing

the blue scrum cap ` has beaten hundreds to be selected in the

Hampshire County squad. Nearly every weekend he goes over and trains with

them, but at just 15 years old, and studying for his GCSEs, how does he

manage it? A lot of late nights, to be honest, that is most of it. Just

rugby and straight home, two hours of homework and then go to sleep.

Every day as a standard. Is it worth it? Yes, definitely.

Will wouldn't be able to pursue his dream without the support of his

school and his family. His dad has spent about ?1000 on travel costs.

Every weekend, every time they go to train and play, it means one is of

the parents accompanies the boys to go across, so logistically it is not

easy. The club are very supportive. Especially financially but it does

not cover the whole cost of the weekend when we are away.

The club provides some sponsorship to enable academy players the

opportunity of playing with and against UK teams. On flights alone

we spend around ?212,000. The parents contribute quite a lot to

that as well. It is a huge amount of money.

With more high`level training on the horizon for Will, his path to a

professional career could become a lot more clear. Some really ghostly

scenes there, wasn't there? Foe is affected travel and the Channel

Islands for the second day running. Flights were again delayed and

cancelled at Jersey and Guernsey Airports because of the weather. It

follows a day of disruption yesterday. There's a backlog of

passengers waiting to get in and out of the island, and Jersey Airport

says delays could continue into the weekend. Time for the weather

update. You are quite correct. That Ford has

lifted quite a bit. That process will continue overnight tonight. We

will not have too many problems with mist and fog over the weekend but

there could be that bad `` backlog continuing. The weather is much

better, there is much better visibility. Some brief Mr tomorrow

morning but nothing as bad as what we have seen recently. All courtesy

of this area of high pressure. That will move around a little bit over

the next couple of days but it will dominate the weather over the

weekend. It has not changed much by the middle of the day on Sunday

either. North West winds which are strong enough to prevent too much

missed or fog developing and also allowing some sunshine every now and

again. There will be some missed tonight, however. The winds are from

the North`Westerly direction and that will bring down the daytime

temperatures. Night`time temperatures around seven or eight

Celsius. Remember, the sea temperature is only about nine or 10

degrees. The sun will return tomorrow afternoon with a top

temperature of 12 or 13 degrees. That is the forecast for the coastal

waters, the winds are North`Westerly. Times of high

water: Pretty good for Sunday, not a lot of

change in that pattern. We will continue with fine weather. More

cloud next week and it turns more settled for the middle of next week

but until then it is fine and dry with sunshine for the weekend. Here

are some pictures of when the circus came to town today to Jersey.

Shoppers in St Helier were treated to a glance of the show and they

were clowning around at the precinct. Goodbye.

Exeter Chiefs and an economic boost for the area.

Plus: An MBE for the historian who's spent 30 years delving into Devon's

past. And a happy ending to the tale of

the puppies adopted by a new mum. Time for the sport now and it'll be

all eyes on Sandy Park this weekend as the Exeter Chiefs get ready for

the biggest game in their history. Andy Birkett has been there today to

soak up the pre`match atmosphere. Here I am at Sandy Park. The Chiefs

are hosting and starring in their first`ever major final. Exeter have

been building towards this day for a while and although the scoreboard

may have the team 's starting equal, home advantage could give

them the edge. The skipper will lead the team out and it will be a packed

house. These opportunities don't come along too often. There has also

been a period of achievement in recent years yet nothing to show

from that in terms of silverware. This opportunity doesn't come often.

We are excited. They go into the match full of confidence. Really

looking forward to this spectacle and enjoying the atmosphere and the

occasion and hopefully, we will get what we want out of the game. The

opposition have only beaten Northampton once. We know how good

they are and they have international across`the`board. When the teams met

last month, it was the leaders who snatched a late win. We don't have

any worries about beating Northampton. With the final

preparations underway, the message is clear: Go out and enjoy your day

in the sun. I am joined now by a former Exeter Chiefs. You have seen

both sides of it. How big an event is this? Massive. You look all the

premiership clubs which are in the mix. International final hosted on

our home ground. Sold out on the first half of Monday morning. Where

is your money at the weekend? Obviously, on the Chiefs, but

looking at it, we play Bath in the semifinal, we beat them, we are at

home, Northampton beat us by less than appoint a month ago. We will

find out on Sunday. The Chiefs rise is not just good news for the

country, it is good news for rugby fans as a whole. This final and the

Rugby World Cup next year should provide local businesses with a

massive boost. Rugby is becoming big business in

Exeter. These posts promote next year's World Cup and many firms are

following in the successful slipstream. This pub is little more

than a drop kick from Sandy Park. Its bedrooms are booked for matched

is well in advance and for this weekend, it has had to turn away 100

potential bookings. We are busy throughout the year and especially

rugby matches, but this weekend, we have got a waiting list for tables.

Reservations are high. This is a crucial delivery: 5000 pints of

Devon brewed beer have been brought in for Sunday's final. They will

taste it here. They will say, what a great day they had out in Exeter.

Fantastic beer. All part of the experience. It raises the profile.

No one is sure how much money is brought into the local economy by

the Rugby club here but conservative estimates reckon it can be

?15`20,000,000. It all brings business into the city. We have got

the science park out there. We are looking at the world, not just the

UK, and the more we can for Exeter on the map, the better it is for

business. Work on improving the ground will pause on Sunday as the

Chiefs hope to match success of the field with success on it.

Looking at this weekend's football and in the Championship, Yeovil Town

will have their work cut out at promotion`chasing QPR as they look

to climb out of the bottom three. In League Two, Plymouth Argyle's recent

form has seen them shoot up the table but they face a tough trip to

second`placed Scunthorpe. At the other end of the table, Torquay

United head to Cheltenham, buoyed by their midweek win over Rochdale, but

still seven points from safety. Exeter City's slump in form has seen

them slip into the relegation mix. They meet Newport on Sunday.

And finally, the first round of the British Motocross Championship is

taking place in Cornwall this Sunday. The best riders from all

over Europe will be taking part at the MotoPark in Landrake.

Well done to the Plymouth diver down. Good luck to Tom Daley who

gets his campaign underway on Sunday.

A historian from Devon has today received an MBE for his lifelong

passion for the county's past. Though American by birth, Doctor

Todd Gray, as he's usually known, has spent the last 30 years bringing

history to life in the South West. He was awarded his medal by Prince

Charles at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace this morning. Before the

ceremony, John Henderson went to meet Dr Grey to find out why he's

devoted to Devon's history. This hardly needs any explaining. A

little bit of history repeating because 160 years ago, the same

thing happened. If you are a Victorian historian, you know the

1850s collapse. They didn't have their health and safety concerns we

do. Everybody got out, walked around the train track and off they went.

We have got wonderful images of that time but seldom is there anything

new in history. If anyone knows anything about Devon's history, it

is Doctor Gray. Since arriving from the States, he has written 45 books

on the county. From fascism and early vegetarianism to the carvings

on church benches, he has been inspired by Devon's diverse

typography and its seam of documents and archives. You end up with a

history which is so different from Somerset or Yorkshire or Berks and

although I love Cornwall, Devon has a diversity which I think is

extraordinary. It also helps that the past can still make its presence

felt. The war memorial is a particular favourite. For figures

standing on top of the Demon of war. It reminds me of how important that

war was to people and at the time, they said this huge darkness fell

across England and we want to leave something behind suit you know what

we went through and you know it shouldn't happen again. He has given

3000 lectures on history but now, he is making it by receiving an MBE for

his voluntary services to Devon Heritage. There are probably 1000

Devon historians. Everyone is working quietly away. This is nice,

the Devon history is recognised. And now for a sad story with a happy

ending. A litter of orphan puppies have been saved by a surrogate

mother who lost her own litter just a week earlier. What makes this

story so remarkable is that the surrogate mum is a Hungarian Vizla,

just like the orphan puppies, and they live only 20 miles apart.

The new mum for the pups and new pups for the ma'am. Clara had been

expecting five puppies of her own but tragically, they all died. It

was unable `` it was an awful experience to go through. We were

relieved that we still had Clara, though. She has been searching the

house. She was looking for the puppies. I had her upstairs in bed

with me that night and she spent the entire night crying. A week later,

and 20 miles away, another Sizzler was giving birth but the mother died

and six of her ten pups also died. Did she have any milk for the

survivors? Yes, she did. It was a perfect ending. It has been

fantastic for Clara. It's like she has got her babies back. It has been

fantastic for the puppies. We don't know whether they would have

survived without her. It seems, in life, some things are just meant to

be. They are gorgeous! My heart has

melted. We lose all this mist and fog we

have been getting used to over the last few days and we gain a bit more

of a breeze and better visibility, both out at sea and inland. It is

less misty, brighter and more of a breeze. That is not to say we might

see a few mist patches overnight, but already, the cloud base is

coming up in the main problem will be hill fog. There is still a big

area of high pressure on our doorstep which doesn't move very far

away from us. By the middle of the day tomorrow, it is pretty much in

the same position. It will dominate the weather through this weekend. By

the middle of the day on Sunday, hardly any change. We do have

north`west winds which will feed in a fair amount of cloud but the dryer

story continues through Saturday and Sunday. Already, some of the low

cloud has lifted and clear spots, but very quickly, the cloud will

fill in the gaps. Winds are north`westerly. They will be

moderate overnight tonight. Overnight temperatures no lower than

six or seven. For tomorrow, after a cloudy start, the sunshine will

break through that cloud and particularly in the afternoon,

lengthy spells of sunshine to enjoy. Along the north coast, low cloud

still, so here not quite so fine, but for the rest of us, in that

sunshine, it will feel pleasant with 14 or 15 Celsius the top

temperature. On the coast, the sea temperatures will be nine degrees.

For the Isles of Scilly, bright and dry but cloudy. Much better

visibility in general. For our servers, bigger waves then we have

seen. The sea has been all winter, really. Tomorrow, more for our

servers. Still quite chilly. Better visibility. The sea state will be

moderate. Still dry story next week. On Sunday, more cloud than we

like. Brief lyrics `` breaks in that cloud. A big change from Wednesday

onwards. It becomes more unsettled, so make the best of the next four

days.