Browse content similar to 04/04/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Good evening and welcome to BBC Points West. The headlines tonight: | :00:11. | :00:15. | |
On track for the 21st century. A huge improvement begins on Brunel's | :00:15. | :00:18. | |
Great Western Railway - it should lead to faster trains and a | :00:18. | :00:23. | |
smoother ride. If it ain't broke, don't fix it - | :00:23. | :00:26. | |
the No campaign starts its fight against an elected Mayor for | :00:26. | :00:30. | |
Bristol. The mother and father of foster | :00:30. | :00:34. | |
parents - MBEs for the couple who have cared for dozens and dozens of | :00:34. | :00:39. | |
children. Every time I go home it's so warm | :00:39. | :00:45. | |
and welcoming. It's amazing and I'm proud to call them Mum and Dad. | :00:45. | :00:48. | |
And Bath rugby says goodbye to the coach they once described as one of | :00:48. | :00:58. | |
:00:58. | :01:00. | ||
Good evening. The railway that was built by Brunel and the Victorians | :01:00. | :01:03. | |
embarked on a project which should see it become a service fit for | :01:03. | :01:08. | |
modern times. Work began today on a �350 million scheme to upgrade the | :01:08. | :01:14. | |
old fashioned signalling system. It's the first step towards the | :01:14. | :01:17. | |
electrificiation of the line between Bristol and London and a | :01:17. | :01:20. | |
new era of railway travel - which hopefully will mean faster trains | :01:20. | :01:27. | |
and less overcrowding. Here's Sabet It's the brains behind the Rail | :01:27. | :01:31. | |
network between Oxford and Bath. The signalling operation here at | :01:31. | :01:38. | |
Swindon keeps the trains running smoothly and safely. But this is | :01:38. | :01:41. | |
now an aging and outdated system which can breakdown and cause | :01:41. | :01:49. | |
delays. This controls the Great Western main line all the way from | :01:49. | :01:54. | |
Uffington over there in Oxford to down here at the box tunnel near | :01:54. | :01:58. | |
Bath. We actually control trains when | :01:58. | :02:04. | |
they come in to us and where we want when to go to. We turn the | :02:04. | :02:08. | |
switch and press a button to where they need to go. | :02:09. | :02:12. | |
So that's why an investment of �350 million is hoping to bring the all | :02:12. | :02:21. | |
of this into the 21st century. And this is what it will look like. A | :02:21. | :02:23. | |
little less colourful maybe but according to Network Rail, it'll | :02:23. | :02:28. | |
certainly be more reliable. The new system is up and running in Didcot | :02:28. | :02:31. | |
and once the four year roll out is completed, the whole of the regions | :02:31. | :02:41. | |
signalling operations will move here. It increases the capacity to | :02:41. | :02:45. | |
the network which means that in future, we can make changes in a | :02:45. | :02:51. | |
faster way which causes less destruction in the meantime. | :02:51. | :02:54. | |
Network Rail say replacing the signals will improve their service. | :02:54. | :02:57. | |
Catering for more people using the trains over the next 10 years. They | :02:57. | :03:00. | |
also say the investment will prepare the way for electric trains. | :03:00. | :03:10. | |
But most importantly it's expected to cut down on delays by 50%. | :03:10. | :03:14. | |
Signalling causes a lot of problems for passengers. It is 40 years out | :03:14. | :03:19. | |
of date. It was put in line went the railway was contracting. We are | :03:19. | :03:23. | |
expanding but more passengers prevents more trains coming on to | :03:23. | :03:28. | |
parts of the system and prevent extra services being run. It's also | :03:28. | :03:34. | |
a problem because the old system is prone to breaking down so problems | :03:34. | :03:40. | |
are also caused by a breakdowns. For now this technology will | :03:40. | :03:43. | |
continue to keep the trains on the Great Western line running before | :03:43. | :03:44. | |
eventually being consigned to history. | :03:44. | :03:48. | |
The driver of a school bus who knocked over and killed a six year- | :03:48. | :03:51. | |
old boy has had his sentenced reduced. Adrian Shearing mixed up | :03:51. | :03:54. | |
the brake and accelerator after he dropped off children at Woodbrough | :03:54. | :03:58. | |
School near Pewsey in Wiltshire. Finlay Connor was killed and his | :03:58. | :04:02. | |
mother badly injured. Today the Appeal Court cut his sentence by a | :04:02. | :04:06. | |
third to 18 months. The judges said his actions "straddled the border | :04:06. | :04:13. | |
between dangerous driving and 230 jobs are under threat in | :04:13. | :04:19. | |
Taunton. Staff at Debenham's call centre in the town were told this | :04:19. | :04:22. | |
afternoon the retailer wants to close the site, and move posts to | :04:22. | :04:31. | |
Yorkshire. A 90-day consultation into the plans has now begun. The | :04:31. | :04:37. | |
retailer says 1,500 posts in Taunton will be unaffected. A | :04:37. | :04:40. | |
conman who stole the identities of people in Somerset has been | :04:40. | :04:43. | |
sentenced to four years in prison. 46-year-old Kevin Castle who lived | :04:43. | :04:45. | |
in West Buckland targeted residents with unsecured letterboxes then | :04:45. | :04:53. | |
stole their personal details. He admitted 27 charges of fraud and | :04:53. | :05:01. | |
one of money laundering. If you live in Bristol you should | :05:01. | :05:04. | |
by now have had a polling card delivered for the referendum on | :05:04. | :05:10. | |
whether the city should have an elected mayor. But would Bristol be | :05:10. | :05:14. | |
better off with a Boris Johnson style leader? Some city mayors have | :05:14. | :05:19. | |
proved popular. But in Doncaster they're voting to get rid of theirs. | :05:19. | :05:23. | |
So how would it work if there were an elected mayor for Bristol? | :05:23. | :05:30. | |
The idea is to have a directly elected city supreme, maybe a | :05:30. | :05:33. | |
politician or maybe like in Hartlepool it could be the football | :05:33. | :05:40. | |
club's mascot that gets the job. Really. Either way, the point is | :05:40. | :05:43. | |
that the mayor is chosen by the city's voters instead of a council | :05:43. | :05:48. | |
leader chosen by local councillors. A Bristol Mayor would serve a four | :05:48. | :05:51. | |
year term, and after appointing a cabinet would have overall control | :05:51. | :05:58. | |
of the city's �370 million budget. The campaign in favour began three | :05:58. | :06:00. | |
weeks ago, with some of the city's most senior business figures | :06:00. | :06:05. | |
backing the idea. They argue that an elected mayor can take longer | :06:05. | :06:10. | |
term strategic decisions. They say the city would have more financial | :06:10. | :06:13. | |
clout in dealing with central government and that an elected | :06:13. | :06:19. | |
mayor would be a clear and very visible leader. Today the No | :06:19. | :06:22. | |
campaign launched its bid to persuade voters that things are | :06:22. | :06:32. | |
:06:32. | :06:32. | ||
best left as they are. We don't need one. We are | :06:32. | :06:37. | |
effectively well governed. We have a council leader, a cabinet. We | :06:37. | :06:42. | |
have expertise. We just don't need It is undemocratic. It concentrates | :06:42. | :06:49. | |
the power in one person's hands. The No campaigners say it puts too | :06:49. | :06:51. | |
much power in the hands of one individual - they argue that the | :06:51. | :06:54. | |
cost wouldn't be justified and say it would be almost impossible to | :06:54. | :06:58. | |
remove the city mayor early, if the person elected turned out to be no | :06:58. | :07:06. | |
good. An elected mayor could bring in as | :07:06. | :07:09. | |
many paid advisers as they like and there is nothing counsellors can do | :07:09. | :07:16. | |
about that. The elected mayor's budget can be carried by 24 | :07:16. | :07:20. | |
councillors so they don't even need a majority to force through their | :07:20. | :07:24. | |
policies or budget and that's not democratic either. Four more weeks | :07:24. | :07:27. | |
campaigning to go until more than 300,000 people get the chance to | :07:27. | :07:34. | |
vote on May 3rd. We will be covering that story very | :07:34. | :07:38. | |
thoroughly over the next few weeks. You're watching Points West with | :07:38. | :07:42. | |
Alex and David on this chilly April night. | :07:42. | :07:46. | |
I'm Sir Benjamin Slade. Come and find out how I'm keeping Maunsel | :07:46. | :07:56. | |
:07:56. | :07:59. | ||
House afloat. I'm living off scraps Before that, a couple from Bristol | :07:59. | :08:05. | |
have been honoured after fostering 150 children over the last 30 years. | :08:05. | :08:07. | |
Yesterday Sharon and Clive Cumming from Kingswood, received MBEs from | :08:07. | :08:17. | |
:08:17. | :08:18. | ||
the Queen at Windsor Castle. A heart-warming story. Today they're | :08:18. | :08:21. | |
back home in Bristol, where they're still celebrating. Laura Jones has | :08:21. | :08:25. | |
been to meet them. First steps, first words. The | :08:25. | :08:28. | |
special dates, the big days. Sharon and Clive Cumming have more to | :08:28. | :08:34. | |
remember than most. Over the last 30 years, they've fostered 150 | :08:34. | :08:40. | |
children Across the UK there are more than 45,000 foster families. | :08:40. | :08:43. | |
It is so rewarding. It's what we get up for in the | :08:44. | :08:49. | |
morning. What would we do? Take the dogs out for a walk. We would have | :08:49. | :08:56. | |
a small house. Boring. It's wonderful. We love it. There are | :08:56. | :09:01. | |
lots of downs but there are so many ups. | :09:01. | :09:04. | |
They sometimes look after children who need emergency care for just a | :09:04. | :09:07. | |
night or two but also those who need a longer-term, stable home. | :09:07. | :09:12. | |
The bad news is there's a shortage. Here in the West alone, a further | :09:12. | :09:18. | |
550 families are needed. Yesterday Clive and Sharon were honoured and | :09:18. | :09:20. | |
presented with MBEs for their contribution to family services at | :09:20. | :09:27. | |
a special ceremony at Windsor castle. | :09:27. | :09:32. | |
We were like little children, peering around the corner. | :09:32. | :09:37. | |
She is so beautiful. So beautiful. Genuine. So easy to talk to. I | :09:37. | :09:43. | |
thought I would be tongue-tied but you don't. She asks you something | :09:43. | :09:46. | |
and you answer with sincerity. You really feel comfortable in her | :09:46. | :09:50. | |
presence. So after parenting more than a hundred children, what's the | :09:50. | :09:53. | |
secret to their success? Luke has been with the Cummings for 10 years | :09:53. | :09:59. | |
and loves it here. It's great. We have a good laugh | :09:59. | :10:03. | |
and it's like a family. Everyone is supportive of what everyone does | :10:03. | :10:09. | |
but it's normal really, which makes it really nice. A good environment. | :10:09. | :10:13. | |
Sharon and Clive say it's been a wonderful 30 years with a lot of | :10:13. | :10:16. | |
highs, but obviously some difficult bits too. But despite being in | :10:16. | :10:24. | |
their 60s, they say they have no plans to stop any time soon. | :10:24. | :10:29. | |
Many congratulations. College Green in Bristol has reopened following a | :10:29. | :10:32. | |
major clean-up operation. The green was the centre of the | :10:32. | :10:35. | |
Occupy Bristol movement for more than three months, with protesters | :10:35. | :10:39. | |
eventually leaving in January. Since then the site was fenced off | :10:39. | :10:45. | |
for contaminated soil to be dug out and debris removed. But the green | :10:45. | :10:51. | |
is now back in full public use. The role of apprenticeships is | :10:51. | :10:53. | |
being celebrated tonight at a lavish award ceremony in | :10:53. | :10:57. | |
Gloucestershire. The county claims to have recruited the largest | :10:57. | :11:01. | |
number of apprentices in the region in recent months. Steve Knibbs is | :11:01. | :11:11. | |
:11:11. | :11:13. | ||
at the awards ceremony for us now in Cheltenham. Hello, Steve. | :11:13. | :11:18. | |
I am on the balcony. The guests are having dinner. You are looking at a | :11:18. | :11:22. | |
room in the centre of Gloucestershire business. They | :11:22. | :11:26. | |
include the people at the forefront of the future, the apprentices. | :11:26. | :11:31. | |
Over 4,000 young people on apprenticeships schemes now, more | :11:31. | :11:36. | |
than doubled the number of of a few years ago. We are leading the way | :11:36. | :11:40. | |
in Gloucestershire. There has been a special guest of honour, though | :11:40. | :11:45. | |
her Royal Highness the Princess Royal has been meeting some of | :11:45. | :11:48. | |
those apprentices working for the bigger companies right across the | :11:48. | :11:52. | |
county but also performing the important role of presenting the | :11:52. | :11:59. | |
awards. There are more to come but I can introduce you to Tom Sylvie, | :11:59. | :12:02. | |
a double award winger. Congratulations. Why has being an | :12:02. | :12:07. | |
apprentice work well for you? Because of the practical aspects | :12:07. | :12:12. | |
involved in apprenticeships. I went to A-levels and then be a | :12:12. | :12:15. | |
mechanical engineering good -- degree, which I didn't really get | :12:16. | :12:22. | |
on with because of a lack of a practical aspect. I then went in as | :12:22. | :12:25. | |
an apprentice and enjoyed. It has made a difference to your | :12:26. | :12:29. | |
life? Definitely. As opposed to the | :12:30. | :12:34. | |
academic route, I definitely prefer What would you say to people who | :12:34. | :12:39. | |
want to go to university? It is just a consideration. | :12:39. | :12:44. | |
Apprenticeships are just a great consideration. You can do a degree | :12:44. | :12:50. | |
after a apprenticeship and it gives you a good background in mechanics. | :12:50. | :12:57. | |
Thank you. Why is the apprenticeship scheme working so | :12:57. | :13:01. | |
well for you as a company? We went through a period of growth | :13:01. | :13:07. | |
and maintains that growth. We found a huge skills gap in the market and | :13:07. | :13:11. | |
introduced the apprenticeship scheme to try and fill that void | :13:11. | :13:16. | |
and it has been positive for us. We continue to do that. We've got guys | :13:16. | :13:21. | |
coming out this year, we've taken on new recruits and is really | :13:21. | :13:25. | |
trying to make sure we have the right skills to meet the business | :13:25. | :13:28. | |
needs from eight skills and culture factor. | :13:28. | :13:35. | |
Thank you. You are hosting tonight. And a familiar face from the BBC's | :13:35. | :13:41. | |
apprentice. Are we doing enough to encourage apprentices? | :13:41. | :13:45. | |
I think the government is really behind it. A long time ago, there | :13:45. | :13:50. | |
was a lot of snobbery, saying that smart people went to university but | :13:50. | :13:59. | |
now people are trying to understand that smart people do apprentices. | :13:59. | :14:05. | |
Thus apprenticeships. Behind this is the future of | :14:05. | :14:10. | |
Gloucestershire business. They are lapping it up. | :14:10. | :14:19. | |
Thank you. The real apprentices. You are hired! We are hoping to | :14:19. | :14:23. | |
pick it up one day. To sport, and it's a tough time to | :14:23. | :14:27. | |
follow sport in the city of Bath. Today the rugby club decided to | :14:27. | :14:29. | |
make a change at the top after a disappointing season. | :14:29. | :14:31. | |
And Bath City's relegation was confirmed last night. Here's | :14:31. | :14:39. | |
Alistair. There will be some good news as well, I promise. We'll | :14:39. | :14:43. | |
speak to Bath City manager Adie Britton in a moment, but first to | :14:43. | :14:45. | |
that news from the Rec where Bath confirmed today they won't be | :14:46. | :14:49. | |
extending Sir Ian McGeechan's contract beyond the end of the | :14:49. | :14:51. | |
season. Just last summer owner Bruce Craig described him as one of | :14:51. | :14:55. | |
the best coaches in the world and the man to turn them into the top | :14:55. | :14:57. | |
club in Europe. But they've struggled this season, and their | :14:57. | :15:00. | |
latest league defeat led to the club having to apologise to the | :15:00. | :15:05. | |
He was supposed to be part of Bath's masterplan to recapture | :15:05. | :15:09. | |
their glory days. One of the most highly respected coaches with a | :15:09. | :15:13. | |
record of domestic and international success. Owner Bruce | :15:13. | :15:16. | |
Craig's vision was to blend their brand new training facilities with | :15:16. | :15:26. | |
:15:26. | :15:26. | ||
the best possible staff. He is obviously one of the best | :15:26. | :15:31. | |
coaches in the world. One of his best qualities his man management | :15:31. | :15:40. | |
and getting the best out of every individual in the club. | :15:40. | :15:44. | |
But today a different line, as the club opted not to take up an extra | :15:44. | :15:47. | |
year on his contact. "We would like to thank Geech for his time with | :15:47. | :15:50. | |
the Club and for his assistance in developing the culture at the Club | :15:51. | :15:53. | |
through this transitional period." We might not know what he has done | :15:53. | :15:56. | |
behind the scenes for another season or two. | :15:56. | :16:01. | |
It seems a bit strange. The whole coaching staff may be brushed away | :16:01. | :16:06. | |
and a new set of coaches will come in. That is a new culture again. | :16:06. | :16:14. | |
Three steps forwards, five steps back, it steams -- it seems. So now | :16:14. | :16:18. | |
Bath want a head coach. Could it be Nick Mallett? He was close to | :16:18. | :16:21. | |
landing the England job. Other possibilities are Gary Gold who is | :16:21. | :16:23. | |
leaving Newcastle, or London Irish coach Toby Booth. Or perhaps Andy | :16:23. | :16:28. | |
Robinson? Could he return to the Rec for another spell in charge? | :16:28. | :16:33. | |
They have got to be a little bit radical. It has got a bit static. | :16:33. | :16:38. | |
Somebody needs to mix it up and get the younger guys coming through. | :16:38. | :16:42. | |
I think it's about time we started to use members from within the | :16:42. | :16:45. | |
original club. McGeechan will see out the last | :16:45. | :16:48. | |
three games. As yet the club haven't commented on the future of | :16:48. | :16:53. | |
forwards coach Martin Haag, whose also out of contract. | :16:53. | :16:57. | |
To football and Bath City's battle to avoid the drop has ended in vain. | :16:57. | :17:00. | |
Last night's results confirmed they will be relegated, after just two | :17:00. | :17:04. | |
seasons in non-league football's top division. Manager Adie Britton | :17:04. | :17:14. | |
is here to tell us what the future holds for him and the club. Thank | :17:14. | :17:18. | |
you for coming in. Commiserations. Adie, 10th last year, bottom this | :17:18. | :17:22. | |
year with just five wins - why has it been so much tougher? | :17:22. | :17:27. | |
Everything went right for us last year. We have gone on after a very | :17:27. | :17:32. | |
bad start to the season and gone on to a good run in October, November. | :17:32. | :17:36. | |
From then on, everything went swimmingly. This year it started | :17:36. | :17:44. | |
very, very badly. We lost our best players, some of them to Cheltenham. | :17:44. | :17:48. | |
That has been a big blow and difficult to replace them. | :17:48. | :17:53. | |
It has been said most of the clubs in that division are professional. | :17:53. | :17:58. | |
You guys are still part time. I think that is a massive | :17:58. | :18:02. | |
difficulty for us and I think the biggest difficulty is that I am | :18:02. | :18:08. | |
part time and there is not another part-time manager in the league. | :18:08. | :18:12. | |
That is a massive disadvantage for us but we knew that when we went | :18:12. | :18:18. | |
into it two years ago. You worked so hard to get up into | :18:18. | :18:23. | |
that division. Great scenes of celebration we remember when you | :18:23. | :18:28. | |
won the play-off final. How big a financial blow is it to drop back | :18:28. | :18:33. | |
down a division now? It will be, in sponsorship terms, | :18:33. | :18:38. | |
the Investment we got in the higher league, we won't get any longer. | :18:38. | :18:42. | |
You have to ask yourself. It's interesting, in football teams, | :18:42. | :18:49. | |
what is the effect on gates? When we won the Southern League, we took | :18:49. | :18:55. | |
thousands of pounds of weight to Tibenham. We don't take that many | :18:55. | :18:59. | |
fans await now. If we were to do well in the less said Leakey, we | :18:59. | :19:02. | |
might get the reward through the gates. | :19:02. | :19:07. | |
You have been in the club seven years. When you have another go | :19:07. | :19:10. | |
next year? I believe so. I have enjoyed it | :19:10. | :19:15. | |
very much. We've had a difficult season but what doesn't kill you | :19:15. | :19:19. | |
makes you stronger and hopefully, we'll be there next year having | :19:19. | :19:24. | |
another go. We look forward to that. Thank you | :19:24. | :19:28. | |
for coming in. At the other end of the emotional | :19:29. | :19:31. | |
scale, Swindon manager Paolo Di Canio says his side have promotion | :19:31. | :19:34. | |
in their sights after beating Barnet 2-0 last night. It means | :19:34. | :19:37. | |
they're five points clear at the top of League Two with only seven | :19:37. | :19:40. | |
games to play. Having lost their last three away | :19:40. | :19:43. | |
games, including a Wembley final, this was a test of nerve for the | :19:43. | :19:47. | |
leaders. The best way to settle any anxiety, an early goal. Ronan | :19:47. | :19:54. | |
Murray duly obliged. Barnet were desperate for points at the other | :19:54. | :19:57. | |
end of the table - thankfully their shooting was more of a danger to | :19:57. | :20:03. | |
the cameraman behind the goal. Before half-time a moment of | :20:03. | :20:05. | |
redemption for Swindon's Oliver Risser. His own goal at Wembley | :20:06. | :20:09. | |
nine days before had proved costly, but this strike secured a crucial | :20:09. | :20:16. | |
win. A week of hurt evident in his celebration. So Swindon are almost | :20:16. | :20:19. | |
there. Three teams go up automatically and they're now eight | :20:19. | :20:24. | |
points clear of the side in fourth - Shrewsbury Town. Two good results | :20:24. | :20:29. | |
over the Easter holidays will put them on the brink of promotion. For | :20:29. | :20:32. | |
Paolo Di Canio and his players if looks increasingly like a case of | :20:32. | :20:41. | |
Gloucestershire rower Peter Reed is set to defend his Olympic title in | :20:41. | :20:47. | |
the men's four. He's spent the last three years racing in a pair, but | :20:47. | :20:51. | |
he and his partner failed to beat New Zealand in fourteen races. | :20:51. | :20:54. | |
He'll now be part of a new-look four that also includes another | :20:54. | :21:00. | |
Gloucestershire rower Alex Gregory. Tomorrow night we'll be reporting | :21:00. | :21:03. | |
on what's a vitally important Easter weekend for Bristol City, as | :21:03. | :21:06. | |
they try to stay in the Championship. | :21:06. | :21:15. | |
And it's the first day of the cricket season. Make sure your of | :21:15. | :21:24. | |
wearing your white sport stop. A stately home in Somerset is about | :21:24. | :21:28. | |
to become one the stars of a new TV show. The series aims to show how | :21:28. | :21:31. | |
the aristocracy are adapting to life in credit crunch Britain. | :21:31. | :21:34. | |
Maunsel House near North Petherton is owned by the 7th Baronet, Sir | :21:34. | :21:38. | |
Benjamin Slade and is used mainly as a wedding venue to pay for its | :21:38. | :21:43. | |
upkeep. As Ali Vowles has been finding out, its owner will stop at | :21:43. | :21:46. | |
nothing to pay the bills. Here's a little flavour of what the | :21:46. | :21:56. | |
:21:56. | :21:57. | ||
This is our sacred knife. This is what we cut the kick with. It | :21:57. | :22:01. | |
scares the hell out of everybody. I don't generally let him loose on | :22:01. | :22:08. | |
the wedding party until they've had a few drinks because he is a little | :22:08. | :22:09. | |
bit eccentric and controversial and he might say things that upset them | :22:09. | :22:12. | |
but after a few drinks, nobody minds. | :22:12. | :22:16. | |
I have to warn you that it's happened five times, on the wedding | :22:17. | :22:21. | |
night, this is true, it's not a ghost but we've had five successes | :22:21. | :22:28. | |
with children. The house is full of surprises. | :22:28. | :22:35. | |
Look at the bridal suite. Sir Benjamin Slade comes over as a | :22:35. | :22:43. | |
maverick. It can't be true, can it? Thank God you are here. Next week, | :22:43. | :22:47. | |
I can pay the electricity bill. Today it's all go in the house as a | :22:47. | :22:53. | |
wedding is taking place tomorrow. But plenty of glasses out because | :22:53. | :22:57. | |
it encourages them to drink more. Sir Benjamin likes to get involved, | :22:57. | :23:04. | |
which can be a little trying. You can be a challenge, can't you? | :23:04. | :23:08. | |
It never gets boring so I love it here. | :23:09. | :23:12. | |
But it's the weddings that pay for the upkeep of the historic Norman | :23:12. | :23:16. | |
house - and the whole venue is given over to whoever is getting | :23:16. | :23:19. | |
married. We do everything that is | :23:19. | :23:24. | |
politically incorrect. Weak light candles and fires. We are anti- | :23:24. | :23:28. | |
National Trust. To hire the whole house with its 13 bedrooms and five | :23:28. | :23:32. | |
cottages costs �10,000. With running costs of a million a year - | :23:32. | :23:39. | |
Sir Benjamin feels he can never take his eye off the ball. | :23:39. | :23:44. | |
Aristocrats like cold houses and they just wear more clothes but for | :23:44. | :23:49. | |
about middle-class accountants, lawyers and doctors, they come from | :23:49. | :23:53. | |
warm homes so we have to heat the place. During the filming of the | :23:53. | :23:56. | |
series Sir Benjamin's partner of 15 years left him for the handyman so | :23:56. | :24:00. | |
undeterred, today he's put an ad on his Facebook page looking for a new | :24:00. | :24:07. | |
Lady of the house, but there are conditions! Must have a shotgun | :24:07. | :24:12. | |
certificate, driving licence and able to breed two sons. But don't | :24:12. | :24:18. | |
mind if she has bred before and is proven. Guardian readers and people | :24:19. | :24:23. | |
who don't wear overcoats in the winter it need not apply. | :24:23. | :24:29. | |
You are advertising for a wife? No. Lady of the house. The last one | :24:29. | :24:34. | |
run off with a handyman so I am looking for a handyman as well. | :24:34. | :24:37. | |
The series will certainly give a unique perspective on a slice of | :24:37. | :24:40. | |
life that most of us will never experience. With the series being | :24:40. | :24:43. | |
shown to millions around the world, the house is guaranteed a lot of | :24:43. | :24:50. | |
publicity. So eccentric Sir Ben might be but he's certainly no fool. | :24:50. | :24:56. | |
If you want to apply, applied directly to Sir Benjamin Slade. | :24:56. | :25:02. | |
I fancy the role of handyman! Talking of aristocracy, here is the | :25:02. | :25:11. | |
I am applying for that job. That house is awesome. I'm up on the | :25:11. | :25:15. | |
roof with my coat on because it's cold out there. This time last week, | :25:15. | :25:22. | |
we were looking at temperatures of 19 and 20 degrees. Today | :25:22. | :25:26. | |
temperatures of six and seven Celsius. One reason has been the | :25:26. | :25:31. | |
strong north-easterly wind. We have had gusts today, the strongest | :25:31. | :25:35. | |
recorded in Bristol. The further you went, the stronger you felt the | :25:35. | :25:42. | |
breeze. Wintry showers continuing. Tomorrow is an improving picture | :25:43. | :25:48. | |
but a chilly start. It pokes up through the day. Some showers quite | :25:48. | :25:57. | |
wintry. Sleet and snow reported in wicker chair. -- in Wiltshire. We | :25:57. | :26:02. | |
are still tracking an area of low and a couple of France which will | :26:02. | :26:07. | |
bring further showers this evening and tonight. -- front. It begins to | :26:07. | :26:13. | |
ease a little by the time we get to Good Friday so better news is on | :26:13. | :26:19. | |
the break. This evening and tonight will be chilly and cold. It is the | :26:19. | :26:23. | |
same pattern with the showers. They may come as something wintry the | :26:23. | :26:29. | |
higher you go. Pieces of slate and snow but the ground warm enough to | :26:29. | :26:36. | |
melt. Urban temperatures struggling to get much above freezing and it | :26:36. | :26:39. | |
will be a cold start as we go into tomorrow morning with the odd | :26:39. | :26:44. | |
shower or two. A brighter picture tomorrow and by the afternoon, we | :26:44. | :26:49. | |
should be seeing decent amounts of sunshine. 10 Celsius is possible | :26:49. | :26:54. | |
but the breeze is still with us so it will feel cooler. Tomorrow night | :26:54. | :26:59. | |
is another cold one. The cloud breaking to bring us some frost in | :26:59. | :27:05. | |
the air as we go into Good Friday. The general trend is to stay cloudy | :27:05. | :27:11. | |
over the weekend but it gets milder. A bit dumper at times. We are | :27:11. | :27:16. | |
looking at periods of wet weather Saturday-night into Easter Sunday | :27:16. | :27:21. | |
and Easter Sunday night into Monday. The rain will linger, giving us a | :27:22. | :27:30. | |
traditional bank holiday Monday. She should keep her coat on because | :27:30. | :27:35. |