27/05/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

Paying the price for bad service. it's

Why Guernsey's bus company has been fined thousands of pounds.

It hurts when you get fined, but it makes you focus, it helps you to

deliver a better service. Fears a child`parent contact

centre could close. We look back at a century of surf

culture here in the Channel Islands. Not providing a good enough service

has cost Guernsey's bus operator When it misses targets,

the States can penalise the company And in the past year,

it has done so every month bar one. Because the same can't be s`id

for all of the past year. Last summer was really

the low point for CT Plus. When so many services didn't run,

the States started to penalhse them Something that's happened

for 11 out of the last 12 months. To be fair to CT Plus,

the rules were tough. Unless 100% of services ran,

the Environment Department was able to issue service credits,

essentially reducing Last June,

when they only operated 92.4% of But with just 99.86% of services

running from July to Decembdr, and 99.96 this year, it still has

cost them more than ?7,000. With the total for the year coming

to ?76,679, or nearly 4% of They completely accepted it was

entirely down to them to correct problems, they took the pen`lties on

the chin, and now the service for the amount of money we have is

reasonable. How close were due to saying enough is enough? Very close

indeed. Had it not improved, I would have terminated the contract.

Most of that money has been reinvested into the buses,

but Environment get to say what it's spent on, rather than CT Plus.

It hurts when you get fined, but it makes you focus and helps you

deliver a better service. Now into the next year

of its contract, the slate's essentially been wiped

clean, and the threat of financial But the pressure to maintain a good,

reliable service will remain. A 23`year`old man

from Guernsey has been charged with assaulting a police officer,

using or threatening violence and escaping custody after an incident

on the Bridge on Saturday nhght Nathan Terry Thomson

of the Vale was remanded in custody and will appear at the Magistrates

Court again on Thursday. Two other people were arrested

after the incident. A service dedicated to helphng

separated Jersey families is to Milli's Child Contact Centrd

provides a place for children to meet

the parent they don't live with But a change of location me`ns

several volunteers can't continue. James travels from London to Jersey

just for the opportunity to spend He comes to Milli's as it's

a neutral ground for familids likes I would not have had a chance to see

my children, it was my last attempt to see them, because every other

type of contact had been blocked. It offered a lifeline, a chancd to

spend time with my boys. Milli's was set up in 2000 `nd on

average helps 60 families a year. Every Sunday, they're based here

at Bel Royal School, but thd planned move to Springfield School

in four weeks may not happen. Those in charge don't have dnough

staff to carry on, Unfortunately, it has two shot. When

you are dealing with childrdn, you have got to go through the training,

have the correct number of staff to ensure their well`being and safety.

We cannot operate. Denise was awarded an MBE in 20 0

for voluntary service to chhldren. Not only does the charity

desperately need volunteers and relevant training, but `lso

some funds for equipment storage. Jersey's Health and

Social Services Department say. . For parents like James,

the work begins on trying to find a new neutral ground where he can

see his children. Guernsey tennis star Heather Watson

has won her first`round match at the She'll now play

world number four Simona Halep at She'll now play world number four

Simona Halep at Roland Garros. Over 100 artists descended

on Alderney this weekend for this year's Alderney Festival

of Performing Arts. The event is only

in its second year, It is a big event for a small

island. Over 100 artists performing in over a dozen locations, plenty to

see and do. Something that we have noticed this

weekend, there is an event for everybody, there is folk, chamber

music, singer songwriters, `nd really good food as well. The whole

thing is unique, you do not get this mix of food and fun and mushc at

this level, everything is great something for everyone. For many

people, the highlight was a stunning performance by the internathonally

acclaimed choir. Surfers are a regular sight

in Channel Islands seas. But did you know we've been doing it

for around 100 years, and it's now one of our most

successful sporting exports? All week,

we're looking at the impact The rolling waves surged up the

sounds and provide a good spot for surf riding.

The surfing scene in Jersey is bigger than it's ever

been, with scores of people in the water on a good day.

In the UK, it's estimated a million people took

to the waves last year, and in Jersey the sport's seen incredible

Quite a difference to where it all began.

The discovery of surfing in 195 , we were youngsters, it was a great

feeling, the vibe was fantastic and it was a progressive vibe, things

were changing so quickly. There is nothing but the rollers between us

and America. Modern surfing started in the island

after three South Africans saw this They became lifeguards and hnspired

local youngsters into the w`ves The founder of the UK's Musdum

of British Surfing says the Channel Islands' contribution to

surfing has been significant. People worldwide are recognhsing

this really deep history of Jersey and the Channel Islands surfing that

goes back the best part of ` century. It has always been a real

focal point for internation`l competition.

The Jersey Surfboard Club, the biggest in the island,

It's also the oldest surf club in Europe.

But current JSC president and photographer Dave Ferguson's

We are known around Europe. Jersey always punches above its wehght as

far as surfing goes. Everybody is so delighted for us to compete.

Some believe surfing is now part of island life.

Whatever the answer, it's certainly made an impact.

Tomorrow, we will see what hmpact it has had on the economy of the

Channel Islands. Plenty mord on the BBC radio Jersey breakfast show

everyday. Have the surface got an event to?

It is looking flat at the moment, but for the rest of us, it hs not

looking too bad. Some cloud at times, but also some sunshine. It is

often a dry picture, though not always. A stream of cloud rtnning

through the UK and into France, and we have just been sitting rhght on

the edge of that. All of thd cloud is thanks to a low pressure system

over the continent. It does not change a great deal through

tomorrow, so we continue to seek cloud seeding across Oz. Sole

uncertainty about the detail of the rain. We are sitting right on the

edge of this shower through tomorrow, but it is

largely a dry picture. For our coastal waters...

For the surface, the waves `re not especially big through tomorrow

A pop`up in `` a pop`up musdum in Plymouth today brought history to

life to celebrate a massive lottery award of nearly ?13 million.

Fantastic. It is the best p`rt of the job when you can see, in such a

competitive environment, yot can see the best projects getting through.

For Plymouth, an area with ` fantastic heritage but it does not

always managed to showcase ht as well as it can, it will now have the

opportunity to really be able to do that. The money will create a we

have boots from a woman who is the most travelled woman in the 19th

century and we have the earliest written recipe for a pasty. As well

as showcasing existing colldctions there will be material from an image

bank with more than 1 million negatives. Our earliest images from

the 1860s and we have a few wonderful collections that run right

up until 2002. One of them hn particular is a news archivd with a

lot of deposits from local photographers dating around from the

1920s and also from the 1890s. It is hoped it will double the nulber of

visitors to the museum to 200,0 0 a year. It is a lot of money but it is

good to know about history. It is really good because I take history

at A`level and I think it is an important thing so I am defhnitely

up for money being spent on that. 95% of objects that the reghon owns

will be on display for the first time. Ian Cooper is with us from the

television archive, has this safeguarded your future? It

absolutely has. We had amazhng news this morning from the Herit`ge

Lottery Fund. As a small nonprofit charitable organisation historically

we have always been consciots about the need to secure long`terl future

but we have never found the means to do that. This history Centrd really

does do that for us. It enables us to really get our material out into

the public domain to be celdbrated which is what it is therefore. It

gives you a home, doesn't it? Absolutely right. We are currently

about to move to central offices in the heart of Plymouth as a temporary

measure but then going into the new history Centre in five years time,

we will have a brand`new facility with our key partners, Plymouth City

Council, Southwest image bank, to really champion Plymouth and the

region's amazing history and heritage. Obviously the history and

heritage is so important, you have brought some footage and today which

I think is from 1912 of Plylouth town centre. Yes, Plymouth town

centre before the three towns became one in November 1914. This hs around

about two years prior to th`t and you are looking at early street

scenes of Plymouth. It is in and around union Street and over towards

what is now Royal Parade. You will notice it looks remarkably different

to now. Yes, it has been colpletely transformed. We will listen to

another clip which is from the 0s and has a bit of the Beatles. You?

Fine thank you. What do you think of Plymouth? It is OK, we haven't seen

much of it. We just drove in. That was a tiny crowd out there. It

doesn't worry us. It is not worrying me, isn't worrying you? I think it

will be bigger when we go ott. Yes. People will be able to come in and

the interactive with archivd like that when it is setup. Yes, the

cornerstone of the history bid was to make it use a lead for the

general public to come in and enjoyed this new interactivd

facility. It will really unlock our heritage and throw open the doors

and make it something that we are all clearly proud of but now we can

really get our hands on it `nd interact with it in a way that just

has not been achievable prior to this. Congratulations and thank you

The organisers of the Devon County Show say they didn t

have a Plan B for the torrential rain that forced the cancellation

who had tickets will be offdred a refund but it's not clear

whether traders who lost money will get compensation.

Pastis and pies, this busindss expected to sell up to 2000 of them

on Saturday alone at the Devon County Show. Extra staff were

brought in to sell it but it was all for nothing because the show was

cancelled. It is our biggest payday of the year so to be completely

thumped and dropped has been a pretty bad bird. It is not just the

lack of trade, it is also the stock that we had ready that we h`ve not

been able to use, it is all a fresh product. This was the reason. The

car parks were mud baths. Even a plan to lay stone paths on Friday to

be abandoned. It was like the Battle of the Somme out here, it w`s

absolutely unbelievable. Thd stone will be used and we will put tracks

in, using the stone that is here, but it is too early to make any more

decisions on what we can do. The Met Office says that on the day before

the event and the first day of the show sites nearby soared 20

millimetres of rain. The Max average in England is 58 millimetres of rain

for the entire month. Over 30,0 0 cars park around the show and

organisers say that the park and ride service could not have coped on

Saturday but they hope that more people will use park and ride in

future. To actually deal with this and make it an exhibition vdnue Park

would cost millions. It is just not practical. In the meantime

businesses are left counting the cost of Saturday's lost show and

waiting to hear if they will get compensation.

There's concern in a south Devon village that it could changd

forever, now that the beautx spot has has been put up for sald.

Bantham near Kingsbridge is being sold for ?11 million by it's

Our South Devon reporter John Ayres has more.

Stunning sea views, a sort `fter location that comes with rental

income. Let us not for get the golf course and some farms as well.

Bantham is quite a place if you have ?11 million to spare. The s`le of

the village is worrying for local people who have got used to how the

estate company has looked after the area. They have done a wonddrful job

of looking after the estate since the 1920s. It will be tragic if

anybody takes it over and tries to develop it commercially. I grew up

just up the road. I virtually learned to swim on this beach and I

hope that it remains undeveloped. One would hope that whoever comes

around would look at what is here now and say, let us take thd best of

that, and if there is anythhng better, build on it. Not cole along

and think we can make a mint out of the surfing down here or solething

like that. There was a policy of renting cottages to local pdople so

this is not a wash with second homes and some of the families who live

here have done so before more than 50 years. Ideally Bantham whll be

sold as a whole although thd estate agent is marketing it in sm`ller

chunks to insure they get the interest. They are insisting that

existing relevance `` residdnts will be protected. There are a ntmber of

secure tenants so the village are worried about who the buyer will be

but our job is to find someone who will protect the estate and look

after it as our clients havd done over the last 100 years. Thdre has

been interest from as far away as Australia and Singapore and the

estate agents think it will take a few months to find the right buyer.

A fox cub which was found sick and badly injured by a walkdr

in Cornwall has made a remarkable recovery thanks to

The seven week old cub which has been named Forrest Stump

after losing his tail, is bding cared for at a wildlife retreat

Eleanor Parkinson reports on an unusual relationship.

When Forrest Stump was brought in a month ago he was weak and h`d had

his tail amputated after a serious injury and the Ranger did not think

he would survive but he credits his recovery to a special friendship

with a family dog. He was so frail that he needed something to give him

a bit of a boost. The minutd you left him he would start cryhng.

Barney lives at home with us and he was unfortunately dumped on us and

dumped in our barn a couple of years ago so he was a rescue dog himself

and he was very friendly so soon as he heard the fox cub wanted to get

involved. Because Forrest Stump has been hand reared he cannot be

released into the wild so hd will join the other hand reared foxes on

the farm. He will be in good company. This is also home to attain

Crow and a blind hedgehog. The job now is to get the fox cub fht and

teaching canine social skills. The main thing we cannot give hhm is

teaching him dog and fox ethquette and building up muscle and bone

strength. Lots of really vigorous activity is good for him and that is

where Barney comes in. Barndy has done such a good job with Forrest

Stump that they hope to introduce into the adult foxes in the next few

weeks where he will get a ndw home and a new family.

He looks so sweet. They have got them all therd!

I did not think dogs and foxes got on, might hate them, they go mad.

We have seen it all. And now Holly is here. Hello, Holly. He w`s

gorgeous, wasn't he. We havd seen some bright skies so far today that

cloud has been building as we move through tomorrow we will st`rt to

see more cloud around. Therd will still be sunny spells coming through

and we have a risk of showery rain. We have a swathe of cloud rtnning

through central and eastern parts of the country and out to the West as

well there is a bit more cloud around but we are sitting in the

middle and you can see we are sitting between weather systems On

Wednesday not a great deal of change and we will see cloud feeding across

us but on Thursday that front. To move that bit closer and we are

likely to see some outbreaks of rain. On Friday we see the rain

flowing through and the high pressure starts to build behind and

that is good news for Saturday. Back to the here and now. In the central

and east of the UK there has been a lot of cloud and rain. We h`ve

showers speeding through Dorset and Somerset and they will push into the

east of Devon and further wdst we will see sunshine. This evening we

will continue to see sharp showers will continue to see sharp showers

but they tend to ease down `nd it is a mostly dry night with somd clear

spells. Staying mild as we head through the early hours. Thdre is

brightness around in places tomorrow with sunny spells coming through but

cloud is thickening up from the east and it is likely to bring p`tchy

rain the further east you are but the further west you are thd longer

we you are likely to hang on to hang onto dry and bright weather with

some sunshine. Highs for tolorrow generally around the mid`tedns. Now

we take a look at the Isles of Scilly and a decent day in store

here. It is a bit further wdst and sunshine is coming through. It

should be a dry day. If we take a look at the waves for

our surfers... Now the coastal waters forecast

Thereafter, on Thursday we can expect outbreaks of rain whhch could

turn heavy at times. Friday is brighter but still with the risk of

showers. Saturday should be a dry day with sunshine coming through and

temperatures creeping that bit higher.

Thank you very much. That is it and I will be back at 10pm tonight. Join

me then if you can. We will be back tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.. Goodbye.