Browse content similar to 27/07/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Good evening and welcome to Wednesday's Midlands Today from the | :00:03. | :00:13. | |
:00:13. | :00:14. | ||
BBC. Tonight: 14 years' jail for a former foster carer who abuse | :00:14. | :00:17. | |
children as young as five. vulnerable children were preyed on | :00:17. | :00:21. | |
by him and they did not know who would believe them at that time. | :00:21. | :00:24. | |
Fury over bus routes and the Black Country, some people cannot get to | :00:24. | :00:30. | |
work. We have no transport whatsoever, the just stuck. | :00:30. | :00:34. | |
Creating stars of the future, the region's first Academy for the | :00:34. | :00:38. | |
Performing Arts prepares to open its doors. And what stories they | :00:38. | :00:48. | |
:00:48. | :00:57. | ||
could tell - archaeologists find Good evening. He took away their | :00:57. | :01:03. | |
childhood, leaving indelible psychological scars. Those were the | :01:03. | :01:07. | |
words of a judge as he sentenced a former foster carer and parish | :01:07. | :01:10. | |
councillor to 14 years in jail for child abuse. William Barber was | :01:10. | :01:13. | |
found guilty of sexually abusing eight children over a 12-year | :01:13. | :01:18. | |
period. Some of his victims were as young as five years old. Police | :01:18. | :01:20. | |
described him as a predatory paedophile who used his seemingly | :01:20. | :01:24. | |
respectable image as a cover. As Sarah Falkland reports, he | :01:24. | :01:33. | |
maintained his innocence from the outset. From what you have said, | :01:34. | :01:37. | |
you deny the allegations? Absolutely. He claimed he'd never | :01:37. | :01:40. | |
touched a single child. But he was lying. Barber used his position as | :01:40. | :01:43. | |
a foster parent and councilor to assure couples he could look after | :01:43. | :01:47. | |
their children. The 60 year-old from Gloucester assaulted them at | :01:47. | :01:51. | |
his home and in a caravan in the Forest of Dean. My mum used to go | :01:51. | :01:55. | |
round for a cup of tea with his wife. I was four or five when it | :01:55. | :01:59. | |
started. I knew not to say anything. It was instilled in you. It was | :01:59. | :02:02. | |
unspoken that it was a special thing between us which I was not to | :02:02. | :02:09. | |
mention. Julie was just one of Barber's eight known victims. | :02:09. | :02:13. | |
William Barber portrayed himself as a pillar of the community, he was a | :02:13. | :02:17. | |
foster carer and in charge of the Tennis Association and on the | :02:17. | :02:22. | |
parish council. Everybody trusted him and held in high regard. The | :02:22. | :02:26. | |
vulnerable children were preyed upon by him. And they did not know | :02:26. | :02:30. | |
who would believe them at that time. Gloucestershire County Council have | :02:30. | :02:32. | |
made it clear that none of Barber's victims were children he'd fostered. | :02:32. | :02:35. | |
And they've pointed out that checks on potential carers are now much | :02:35. | :02:39. | |
stricter since the times of Barber's crimes. Judge James Tabor | :02:39. | :02:43. | |
told victims it had been a terrible ordeal for them and that he was | :02:43. | :02:46. | |
very impressed with the dignity shown by those who gave evidence. | :02:46. | :02:49. | |
Passing sentence on Barber, he said: You have not shown one | :02:49. | :02:56. | |
scintilla of concern for your victims, only for yourself. One of | :02:56. | :02:59. | |
Barber's victims, who was abused from the age of six, gave her | :02:59. | :03:02. | |
reaction to his sentence. I went for several years thinking he'd got | :03:02. | :03:06. | |
away with it but nothing will be good enough for what he put me and | :03:06. | :03:09. | |
the other victims through. Although the fact that he's been found | :03:09. | :03:13. | |
guilty and sent to prison means I can now try and move on and get | :03:13. | :03:16. | |
some closure. Barber will serve seven years before he's considered | :03:16. | :03:22. | |
for release. He'll remain on the sex offenders register for life. | :03:22. | :03:27. | |
And you can read more on that on the BBC Gloucestershire website. | :03:27. | :03:30. | |
Later in tonight's programme: They're treating patients on a | :03:30. | :03:40. | |
:03:40. | :03:43. | ||
virtual hospital ward before being unleashed on the real thing. It was | :03:43. | :03:46. | |
billed as a �22 million state-of- the-art bus station right at the | :03:46. | :03:49. | |
heart of a modern, integrated transport hub. It was hoped it | :03:49. | :03:52. | |
would prove to be the catalyst to encourage more people using public | :03:52. | :03:55. | |
transport. But 10 days after the new facility opened and a series of | :03:55. | :03:57. | |
new routes were also introduced, thousands of people in | :03:57. | :04:05. | |
Wolverhampton are complaining. Bob Hockenhull has been investigating. | :04:05. | :04:07. | |
Wolverhampton's new bus station has been described by some as a | :04:07. | :04:11. | |
facility that people need and deserve. But the opening has | :04:11. | :04:14. | |
coincided with new routes and timetables, and that has angered | :04:14. | :04:21. | |
many. I normally have the 79, it has gotten worse. Turn it back to | :04:21. | :04:25. | |
normal because it is confusing. Residents like Pat Fullwood say | :04:25. | :04:30. | |
services they use have been either merged, diverted and reduced. | :04:30. | :04:36. | |
are just totally cut off and have no transport. We're just stuck. | :04:37. | :04:40. | |
Thank you. In nearby Wednesfield, the local councilor's already | :04:40. | :04:42. | |
collected 2000 signatures from angry passengers who claim they | :04:42. | :04:50. | |
can't get to the shops. It is no good having first class or world- | :04:50. | :04:54. | |
class facilities when residents that I represent have no provision | :04:54. | :04:59. | |
for a bus service to get them into the High Street. To do their | :04:59. | :05:03. | |
shopping, pay bills and do their banking. They will probably never | :05:03. | :05:12. | |
get to see that bus station. Traders are worried, too. The old | :05:12. | :05:15. | |
generation, from the outside, they are struggling to get to the centre, | :05:15. | :05:20. | |
now. This is seen as embarrassing and disappointing for those who see | :05:20. | :05:25. | |
the station as a world-class facility. The centre of a transport | :05:25. | :05:30. | |
hub linking bus, train and trams and at a time when more people want | :05:30. | :05:33. | |
to use public transport because of high petrol prices. Transport | :05:33. | :05:35. | |
managers say the new timetable would have been brought in whether | :05:35. | :05:42. | |
there was a new bus station or not. I don't want us to quickly react | :05:42. | :05:46. | |
and do something which potentially helps solve one difficulty and cost | :05:46. | :05:49. | |
is another so we're still looking at those issues and talking with | :05:49. | :05:52. | |
the councillors. We have a petition that was received and we're looking | :05:52. | :05:56. | |
at options to see what we can do. It's hoped the controversy won't | :05:56. | :05:59. | |
detract from the city's hopes to make the bus station a spur for | :05:59. | :06:06. | |
economic regeneration. Our transport correspondent, Peter | :06:06. | :06:12. | |
Plisner, is at the bus depot now. This is a bit of a PR disaster - is | :06:12. | :06:21. | |
the new bus station really to blame for this? Nothing to do with the | :06:21. | :06:24. | |
new bus station, these changes were happening anyway and they were | :06:24. | :06:29. | |
introduced at roughly the same time. The company says these changes | :06:29. | :06:32. | |
happen after a major consultation and there were hundreds of | :06:32. | :06:35. | |
responses but the bottom line is there is less money around and | :06:35. | :06:41. | |
private companies like National Express are making best use of | :06:41. | :06:45. | |
existing resources. Obviously, these changes are not popular, | :06:45. | :06:50. | |
hence that petition. With petrol prices rising, people who might | :06:50. | :06:52. | |
consider abandoning their cars could be put off by things like | :06:53. | :07:01. | |
this? There is evidence of something called a modal shift were | :07:01. | :07:05. | |
people shift from the car to the train and also buses because of | :07:05. | :07:09. | |
higher prices and the effects of the recession but what people want | :07:09. | :07:13. | |
is a decent alternative with a local connection and that is where | :07:13. | :07:16. | |
the bus scores. But we're heading in the opposite direction with | :07:16. | :07:23. | |
these changes, like the changes. Can these problems be overcome? | :07:23. | :07:26. | |
company says they're listening to complaints and they have lodged a | :07:26. | :07:29. | |
major review which should report within the next week or two and | :07:29. | :07:33. | |
that might mean more changes, may be additional bus services as a | :07:33. | :07:37. | |
result of more funding but these are not isolated cases. We have | :07:37. | :07:41. | |
been contacted from people elsewhere in the City and they seem | :07:41. | :07:50. | |
to be equally as unpopular. Thank you. The other news, now... A | :07:50. | :07:53. | |
senior police officer in Coventry has been suspended following | :07:53. | :07:55. | |
allegations that he accessed inappropriate material on the | :07:55. | :07:57. | |
internet. West Midlands Police are investigating. The officer is | :07:57. | :07:59. | |
understood to be 48 year-old Inspector Brian Hornsby. He was | :07:59. | :08:03. | |
arrested last month at an address in Bedworth. The engineering | :08:03. | :08:07. | |
company GKN has recorded a 14% rise in profits for the first half of | :08:07. | :08:12. | |
this year. Sales at GKN Driveline, which has bases in Redditch and | :08:12. | :08:15. | |
Birmingham, were up by 12%. Driveline make components for the | :08:15. | :08:19. | |
car industry. The company's share price has risen as profits were | :08:19. | :08:26. | |
bigger than expected. Safety checks are to be carried out on part of | :08:26. | :08:29. | |
Spaghetti Junction at a cost of �2.5 million pounds. Experts will | :08:29. | :08:31. | |
be inspecting the Tame Valley Viaduct, which carries the Aston | :08:31. | :08:35. | |
Expressway onto the M6 in Birmingham. They say the money's | :08:35. | :08:38. | |
needed so repairs can be planned before problems on the 40 year-old | :08:38. | :08:47. | |
road-link become too severe. The Midlands' first academy school for | :08:47. | :08:50. | |
the performing arts is due to open its doors to students next month. | :08:50. | :08:53. | |
It's modelled on the success of the BRIT school in London, which has | :08:53. | :08:56. | |
helped pop singers like Adele launch their careers. Eventually it | :08:56. | :09:05. | |
could take up to 1000 pupils. Jackie Kabler reports. This is | :09:05. | :09:08. | |
Julie Fitzgerald, a 16 year-old singer-songwriter from Lichfield | :09:08. | :09:13. | |
and this is the almost finished Birmingham Academy, the school | :09:13. | :09:17. | |
which it's hoped what turned students by Ken into the stars of | :09:17. | :09:24. | |
the future. We were not aware of the school, I had applied for | :09:24. | :09:27. | |
colleges and as soon as I checked it out, it was definitely the place | :09:27. | :09:32. | |
to be. Partnered with the famous BRIT School in London and a TV | :09:32. | :09:35. | |
company, the academy's due to open in September. This is what it | :09:35. | :09:38. | |
should look like then. Initially with 325 students and creating 100 | :09:38. | :09:47. | |
new jobs. It has been five years in the making and I have been involved | :09:47. | :09:53. | |
for the majority of that time so to see this actually here, it is a | :09:53. | :09:59. | |
privilege to be involved. And to see it happening is quite special. | :09:59. | :10:02. | |
When finished, there will be a huge screen up their showing the | :10:02. | :10:06. | |
students' work to the outside world. This is one of 37 specialist | :10:06. | :10:10. | |
academies in the West Midlands, of those, 10 specialise in business | :10:11. | :10:15. | |
and enterprise, six in manse, three in technology and two of them in | :10:15. | :10:18. | |
languages. At partners Maverick TV, staff are hoping their involvement | :10:19. | :10:21. | |
will help shape the stars and success stories of tomorrow. The | :10:21. | :10:24. | |
new academy is still a school, teaching all the usual subjects, | :10:24. | :10:33. | |
just with a bit of showbiz sparkle. If you look at a lot of the | :10:33. | :10:35. | |
successful people in the creative industries, they have done things | :10:35. | :10:39. | |
when they were 15 and 16 and they want to get out and do that and the | :10:39. | :10:43. | |
Academy can encourage that for all the talent in Birmingham. That will | :10:43. | :10:50. | |
be a wonderful thing. Have you ever felt like there is no where else... | :10:50. | :10:53. | |
Students of the creative, digital and performing arts, your new | :10:53. | :11:03. | |
:11:03. | :11:06. | ||
academy awaits. One to watch out for! I know... Good luck. Nearly | :11:06. | :11:09. | |
six in ten independent retailers suffered a fall in business over | :11:09. | :11:12. | |
the last three months. The figures are revealed in a new survey from | :11:12. | :11:15. | |
the British Independent Retail Association, which also shows a | :11:15. | :11:18. | |
decline in sales in the Midlands so far this year. The downturn is | :11:18. | :11:21. | |
being blamed on job insecurity and higher food and fuel prices, | :11:21. | :11:28. | |
leaving consumers with less to spend. This report from Ben Sidwell. | :11:28. | :11:32. | |
Step inside and it's like going back in time. But much has changed | :11:32. | :11:39. | |
since the shop first opened in 1880. 131 years later, it is still owned | :11:39. | :11:44. | |
and run by members of the same family. There are no family | :11:44. | :11:48. | |
business has left. I think people still like a traditional shop. They | :11:48. | :11:52. | |
can go into any shop which is basically every shop, there are the | :11:52. | :11:57. | |
same. All four members of staff have worked here for over 40 years. | :11:57. | :12:02. | |
The business has been their life. But things and retail have changed. | :12:02. | :12:05. | |
It is one of those other functions of how people's lifestyles are | :12:05. | :12:10. | |
changing and people do not by as much time as they used to. In the | :12:10. | :12:15. | |
City, they are not alone. This is Russell and draw, another family | :12:15. | :12:18. | |
owned business that has been in the city since the 1800s. That was | :12:18. | :12:26. | |
until last month, when they closed for the last time. It isn't just in | :12:26. | :12:29. | |
Worcester that independent shops struggle. According to figures by | :12:29. | :12:32. | |
the Birmingham based British independent retailers Association, | :12:32. | :12:36. | |
in the Midlands, they have seen their overall average performance | :12:36. | :12:42. | |
dropping by 3.9% compared to the same period last year. And many | :12:42. | :12:46. | |
have been hit even harder. When asked how confident they felt about | :12:46. | :12:53. | |
the Red Ed, only 4% said they were confident about 61% were anxious. | :12:53. | :12:58. | |
Back here, it seems many people are taking the chance to relive | :12:58. | :13:03. | |
shopping days of the past. It is a shame, it has been for it here for | :13:03. | :13:08. | |
so long. It is a tragedy for the area. The family still have not | :13:08. | :13:13. | |
received an offer for the building. When they do, this chapter of | :13:13. | :13:22. | |
Wester's retail history welcome to an end. Joining us now is Michael | :13:22. | :13:25. | |
Weedon from the British Independent Retail Association. We heard about | :13:25. | :13:28. | |
two businesses in Worcester there. What's the picture like across the | :13:28. | :13:31. | |
rest of the region? Across the region it is interesting because | :13:31. | :13:36. | |
the Midlands is in the middle of the scale. From falls of 12%, some | :13:36. | :13:43. | |
places are better than others. What London has been bad, West Midlands | :13:43. | :13:47. | |
is in the middle. Six out of 10 independent retailers tell us that | :13:47. | :13:51. | |
business is down in the last quarter against last year. At the | :13:51. | :13:55. | |
same time, things were good before that but on balance not a great | :13:55. | :13:59. | |
place to be. We have an e-mail from Harry who owns a shop, he says the | :13:59. | :14:04. | |
problem is very high business rates in muster. Is that a common | :14:04. | :14:09. | |
problem? Our councils to agree? Somebody has to pay so business | :14:09. | :14:12. | |
rates have to be there for a purpose. Business rates are a | :14:12. | :14:16. | |
problem across the country and retailers began small will be | :14:16. | :14:23. | |
hurting. Also rent. Rising rent is a big problem. That is a real | :14:23. | :14:25. | |
difficulty for retailers and of business falls but the rents only | :14:25. | :14:30. | |
go up, you get squeezed. Everybody likes shopping in a place where | :14:30. | :14:34. | |
there are lots of independent retailers. Are we seeing the slow | :14:34. | :14:38. | |
death of that? It might be difficult to believe, but the | :14:38. | :14:40. | |
Palace on the high streets across the country over the last three | :14:40. | :14:45. | |
years has swung in favour of independent shops because chains | :14:45. | :14:48. | |
have been shutting their doors more quickly than that the independent | :14:48. | :14:52. | |
shops and this year, research shows that as many independents have | :14:52. | :14:58. | |
opened as have closed. That is bizarre. With the growth of | :14:58. | :15:00. | |
superstores and online shopping, you would have thought it was the | :15:00. | :15:05. | |
opposite? We're talking about the High Street, these become available, | :15:05. | :15:10. | |
people who have dreamt of running a shop and many are redundant or are | :15:10. | :15:14. | |
just dreamers, possibly mad, they see this opportunity and they take | :15:14. | :15:17. | |
it. These people will open shops and they can save the High Street. | :15:17. | :15:26. | |
If they are allowed to. Thank you. It's technology more usually used | :15:26. | :15:34. | |
by companies like Jaguar. But now Keele University is using cutting- | :15:34. | :15:36. | |
edge virtual reality to put pharmacology students through their | :15:36. | :15:39. | |
paces. They're treating patients on a virtual hospital ward before | :15:39. | :15:41. | |
being unleashed on the real thing. And, as our science correspondent, | :15:41. | :15:44. | |
David Gregory, discovered, the new technology is opening up all sorts | :15:44. | :15:48. | |
of possibilities. I'm stepping into a virtual hospital ward and then | :15:48. | :15:51. | |
using a 3 D glasses. The effect is extraordinary although you will not | :15:52. | :15:56. | |
get quite the same effect at home on the television. The system | :15:56. | :16:00. | |
tracks for I am looking, patience even react. It is an important tool | :16:00. | :16:06. | |
for students. How to operate in a busy ward? You might just be | :16:06. | :16:09. | |
talking to one patient but there are lots of other things going on. | :16:09. | :16:13. | |
If it really prepares you. In 2009 we reported on Keele University's | :16:13. | :16:19. | |
virtual patients. The virtual ward takes things even further. | :16:19. | :16:22. | |
Pharmacology students can check notes, and monitors. But there are | :16:22. | :16:28. | |
plenty of other clues to a patient's health to watch out for. | :16:28. | :16:32. | |
Perhaps look at the colour of the skin and the colour of their eyes, | :16:32. | :16:36. | |
if there is any slight tremor in the hand, things like this can give | :16:36. | :16:39. | |
the student the clue as to what is wrong. This technology is more | :16:39. | :16:43. | |
usually found in the car industry. And the team don't just use it for | :16:43. | :16:47. | |
hospital wards. The biggest challenge with students is getting | :16:47. | :16:51. | |
them back out once they have started working! It can take | :16:51. | :16:58. | |
students inside molecules or inside the human body. In fact, it may | :16:58. | :17:04. | |
well have uses beyond teaching. This Israel patient data. You can | :17:04. | :17:09. | |
go in here with colleagues and examine and plan how to do things | :17:09. | :17:13. | |
in 3 D. In the meantime, what do was learn in the virtual world | :17:13. | :17:20. | |
makes them better prepared for the real thing. You can read much more | :17:20. | :17:24. | |
about that research on David's blog at bbc.co.uk/davidgregory. Still to | :17:24. | :17:28. | |
come in tonight's programme: Dreaming the dream - can our | :17:28. | :17:34. | |
rhythmic gymnasts strike gold at London 2012? Meanwhile, it looks | :17:34. | :17:38. | |
like the dream is over for us. The weather has hit its peak but what | :17:38. | :17:48. | |
:17:48. | :17:51. | ||
comes next? I'll have the full details for you later. Try not to | :17:51. | :17:54. | |
be alarmed but more than 20 skeletons have been dug up in the | :17:54. | :17:57. | |
Worcestershire village of Kempsey. It's a relief to know they date | :17:57. | :17:59. | |
back around 1000 years. Archaeologists say what they're | :17:59. | :18:02. | |
unearthing suggests the village may once have been an important | :18:02. | :18:05. | |
administrative centre to rival nearby Worcester. Andy Newman | :18:05. | :18:15. | |
reports. Scratching at the human remains from the distant past. | :18:15. | :18:20. | |
Former residents of the village who last trod the feels of Foster Show | :18:20. | :18:23. | |
around 1000 years ago. Next to St Mary's Church in the village, | :18:23. | :18:26. | |
archaeologists have found a medieval extension to the present | :18:26. | :18:28. | |
graveyard where 23 skeletons have so far been discovered. More are | :18:28. | :18:37. | |
almost certain to follow. clearly shows that this was an | :18:37. | :18:42. | |
important ecclesiastical centre. There is building material within | :18:42. | :18:48. | |
the soil that we are excavating and it appears to indicate there was a | :18:48. | :18:52. | |
pretty substantial medieval building here on the site. | :18:52. | :18:55. | |
particularly interesting find is in his grave when there are two | :18:55. | :18:58. | |
schools, one on top of the other and that does not mean to people | :18:58. | :19:02. | |
were buried together, it illustrates that burials were | :19:02. | :19:06. | |
haphazard and one grave has disturbed another and the Richhill | :19:06. | :19:09. | |
skull has simply been placed on top. Other evidence adds weight to the | :19:09. | :19:13. | |
theory that next to the church there once stood at Bishop's Palace, | :19:13. | :19:16. | |
where kings and queens would have been entertained. It means that | :19:16. | :19:19. | |
what is now a sleepy village was once an important administrative | :19:20. | :19:25. | |
centre. I find it absolutely incredible that we were made aware | :19:25. | :19:32. | |
of this. Been brought up in the area, I never even knew about this. | :19:32. | :19:36. | |
It will be interesting to know what really happened to these people. To | :19:36. | :19:41. | |
get the evidence of when it was and why they died and get some proper | :19:41. | :19:45. | |
forensic evidence, that would be exciting. That evidence is being | :19:45. | :19:48. | |
gathered as the finds are taken away for exact dating and other | :19:48. | :19:53. | |
tests to find out more about these distant ancestors and the life they | :19:53. | :20:01. | |
lived in the important village of Campsie. Fascinating stuff. | :20:01. | :20:11. | |
Slightly spooky! It is, sadly! We might find out in a few months. You | :20:11. | :20:16. | |
have specialist knowledge?! The first-ever performance by a brand | :20:16. | :20:20. | |
new orchestra took place here in the Midlands this afternoon. The | :20:20. | :20:23. | |
National Orchestra For All is made up exclusively of talented young | :20:23. | :20:28. | |
people from economically deprived areas. It's inspired by a similar | :20:28. | :20:31. | |
project in Venezuela. Kevin Reide went to see them perform. The | :20:31. | :20:33. | |
newly-formed National Orchestra for All in rehearsals this afternoon at | :20:33. | :20:40. | |
the University of Warwick. Later they'll be performing to an | :20:40. | :20:46. | |
audience of more than 700. It's made up of children who might not | :20:46. | :20:52. | |
otherwise get the chance. There are lots of August is out there. They | :20:52. | :20:55. | |
tend to be for the elite and what the National Orchestra for all does | :20:55. | :21:01. | |
it opens up the doors to children for all standards and stages. | :21:01. | :21:04. | |
youngsters have only been together since Sunday but they're enjoying | :21:04. | :21:12. | |
the so far. It is amazing, the opportunities, it is just amazing. | :21:12. | :21:16. | |
I have been talking to people and they have come out of their shell. | :21:16. | :21:21. | |
It has really improved my confidence. It has got me to make | :21:21. | :21:25. | |
friends easier. I was never good at that. I have talked to a lot more | :21:25. | :21:30. | |
people. It helps you understand other people. They have that | :21:30. | :21:34. | |
different accents, it is due to last, it helps you with that. | :21:34. | :21:36. | |
Orchestra's been inspired by a revolutionary social experiment in | :21:36. | :21:40. | |
Venezuela which began in the mid '70s. It aimed to create social | :21:40. | :21:49. | |
change by giving poverty-stricken children free access to music. 30 | :21:49. | :21:59. | |
:21:59. | :21:59. | ||
years on, as this is what -- and this is one of the results. | :21:59. | :22:02. | |
enthusiasm that the young Venezuelan people feel for | :22:02. | :22:06. | |
classical music, and they have been working hard on how to perform | :22:06. | :22:09. | |
something in an exciting way, it's not just about playing the notes, | :22:09. | :22:13. | |
it is about putting your heart and soul into what to do. This is what | :22:13. | :22:18. | |
we're trying to achieve. National Youth Orchestra is still | :22:18. | :22:22. | |
recruiting. The long-term ambition is to have numerous orchestras | :22:23. | :22:32. | |
:22:33. | :22:34. | ||
representing each region. Fabulous! It's not often that Venezuela gets | :22:34. | :22:43. | |
mentioned on the programme to! Staying with exotic news... | :22:43. | :22:46. | |
Football and Stoke City have arrived in Croatia for tomorrow's | :22:46. | :22:48. | |
Europa League qualifier against Hajduk Split. The Potters won the | :22:48. | :22:51. | |
home leg 1-0, thanks to an early goal from Jonathan Walters. Around | :22:51. | :22:55. | |
1000 Stoke fans are expected to travel to the game. But if you're | :22:55. | :22:58. | |
not going, BBC Radio Stoke has the whole game live from 5.45pm | :22:58. | :23:03. | |
tomorrow evening. You don't miss the trip. Five years ago, teenager | :23:03. | :23:06. | |
Frankie Jones decided Birmingham was the best place to be if she was | :23:06. | :23:10. | |
to compete at London 2012. The city had the best coach and the best | :23:10. | :23:12. | |
facilities. Today, Frankie is the British champion in rhythmic | :23:12. | :23:15. | |
gymnastics. Her Olympic dream is still very much alive, as Ian | :23:15. | :23:17. | |
Winter reports. Frankie Jones, shopping for flowers on New Street, | :23:17. | :23:25. | |
Birmingham. A rare chance to relax away from her rigorous training | :23:25. | :23:27. | |
regime. You see, Frankie has precious little time to sit back | :23:27. | :23:30. | |
and smell the roses, because every waking hour is focused on rhythmic | :23:30. | :23:40. | |
:23:40. | :23:43. | ||
gymnastics. As long as I am confident, I can hopefully perform | :23:43. | :23:47. | |
to my best. Warning - don't try this at home. If Frankie's warm-up | :23:47. | :23:50. | |
routine brings tears to the eyes, don't forget that for the past five | :23:50. | :23:53. | |
years, she's been traveling three hours a day to train five hours a | :23:54. | :23:58. | |
day with coach Lisa Higgins in top- notch facilities at the GMAC Centre. | :23:58. | :24:01. | |
And it's paying dividends. Because Frankie, the Commonwealth silver | :24:01. | :24:07. | |
medalist, is also the British champion. She needs a good | :24:07. | :24:09. | |
performance at the World Championships next month to secure | :24:09. | :24:17. | |
her place at London 2012. Bracci does thrive under pressure. We have | :24:17. | :24:22. | |
known this since the beginning of the year. This is a stepping stone. | :24:22. | :24:26. | |
Hopefully she is confident and we are confident she can achieve | :24:26. | :24:31. | |
number one. I have to stay off the floor and keep moving. Otherwise | :24:31. | :24:35. | |
you get deductions. She's not only really good with the ribbon, she's | :24:35. | :24:38. | |
also red-hot with the hoop, brilliant with the ball, and if she | :24:38. | :24:42. | |
fancies a really wild night out, Frankie loves clubbing. Four | :24:42. | :24:44. | |
difficult disciplines, one dedicated gymnast heading for | :24:44. | :24:51. | |
London 2012. It's always in the back of your mind. I want to work | :24:51. | :24:57. | |
extra hard because you know that it's coming. Little goals, big | :24:58. | :25:04. | |
dreams. Frankie Jones could be in for quite a year. And on Midlands | :25:04. | :25:07. | |
Today tomorrow we'll be looking at the Olympic Dreams of a 19 year-old | :25:07. | :25:17. | |
:25:17. | :25:18. | ||
canoeist from Staffordshire. And, of course, the BBC is the official | :25:18. | :25:20. | |
Olympic broadcaster. For all the very latest news on London 2012, | :25:20. | :25:30. | |
:25:30. | :25:32. | ||
log onto the website. Indeed. Here's Shefali with the weather. It | :25:32. | :25:38. | |
has been a scorcher. We exceeded expectations. In the end, we did | :25:38. | :25:45. | |
pretty well. The hottest place in For us, the hottest part of the | :25:45. | :25:50. | |
region was Warwickshire with Church Lawford reaching 28 Celsius. It | :25:50. | :25:57. | |
probably felt even more. And there are changes on the way but tonight | :25:57. | :26:05. | |
they won't be immediately apparent. The cloud is going to thicken up | :26:05. | :26:09. | |
from the west to begin with and then the rain begins to come | :26:09. | :26:16. | |
through during the early hours. 16, 17 in places, it's a very | :26:16. | :26:21. | |
uncomfortable night. Warm and humid. The rain starts to perk up tomorrow, | :26:21. | :26:25. | |
beefing up in the south. We are looking at this becoming quite | :26:25. | :26:28. | |
heavy in parts of Gloucestershire and South Warwickshire and | :26:28. | :26:34. | |
temperatures -- 10 - 15 mm. That clears off to the east, hopefully | :26:34. | :26:38. | |
towards the West we can see some late sunshine and while we're in | :26:38. | :26:41. | |
that rain, it will still be quite humoured so although temperatures | :26:42. | :26:48. | |
rise, it might still feel quite warm and fresher towards the West. | :26:48. | :26:53. | |
Then the changes occur. That's from tomorrow night into Friday. Mr to | :26:53. | :26:58. | |
see a quieter spell of weather, the rain clearing, better skies and for | :26:58. | :27:01. | |
Friday it is cooler and fresher with house of 21 degrees. There | :27:01. | :27:05. | |
will be a good deal of sunshine around and as we head into the | :27:05. | :27:09. | |
weekend, Saturday, isolated showers and heavy showers for Sunday. Thank | :27:10. | :27:14. | |
you. A look at tonight's main headlines: The former Egyptian | :27:14. | :27:17. | |
President, Hosni Mubarak, appears in court on a hospital stretcher | :27:17. | :27:20. | |
charged with ordering the killing of protesters. And a former foster | :27:20. | :27:23. | |
carer has been jailed for 14 years for abusing children as young as | :27:23. | :27:29. | |
five. That's all from us this evening, but on tomorrow's Midlands | :27:29. | :27:33. |