20/06/2014 Midlands Today

Lichfield MP Michael Fabric`nt apologises for saying he cotld punch

Hidden away for years ` the secret wine store that could be

Unseen by most of us, little known sights of Birmhngham

High pressure remains in ch`rge Whatever your plans this wedkend, it

will remain fine and dry and pleasantly warm.

A property developer says Britain needs to re`think how it buhlds

houses to deal with the growing shortage of homds.

His company uses pre`fabricated modules.

In fact, they have just built two semis in just three days.

They plan to create 500 jobs, building the modules at

Around five million people hn the UK are currently

Between 2012 and 13, just over 100,000 new homes were

built in England, but, according to the House Builders? Federathon,

we need to build more than double that to meet future demand.

We are bringing house buildhng into the 21st century.

Over the past three days, 30 workmen have added a brick skin

to the steel skeleton, at a former council waste depot in Wals`ll.

Inside, a two`bedroom home fresh from the factory.

Rain doesn't stop us, snow doesn't stop us, cold doesn't stop ts.

The firm says demand is such that it will build these houses

We will be actually producing one modular an hour.

We were going to employ probably up to 500 people over

So, are the sort of homes is the answer to a supply shortage

It is a little bit of a publicity gimmick saying that

With the building regulations, with finding the site,

legal due diligence, it takds you at least six months to actu`lly get

to a stage where you can get onto the ground and start to build.

May was the fifth consecutive month where housing supply has fallen

and it seems that confidencd has fallen somewhat too, becausd just

40% of West Midlands estate agents say there will be increased market

Post`war councils were building tens of thousands of homes

and the pre`fabs were loved and loathed in equal measurd.

Last year, though, excluding those under Housing Association

management, local authoritids built a mere 800 homes and they'rd under

Would you have to look at brownfield sites, that are contaminated,

We have to recycle and regenerate areas where traditionally pdople

In Wolverhampton, this vast factory site, where Sunbeam Motorcycles were

once made, has been derelict for almost 20 years, yet,

this week, permission was granted for more than 100 homes.

So, recovery is not just about a quick fix, but also

Michael Fabricant, the MP for Lichfield, has bdcome

embroiled in a social media storm after tweeting he "...might

end up punching a journalist in the throat", if he appeared

Mr Fabricant has since apologised for the relark

Our reporter Joanne Writtle is outside his constituency

To start this sorry tale, wd need to turn the clock back to Channel four

News last night between the journalist Rod Liddle and the

genderless Yasmin Alibhai`Brown This clearly got under the skin of

the Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant. This morning he tweeted that if he

had to have a discussion with her he would either have a brain

haemorrhage or punch her in the throat. He has since apologhsed He

has also posted a picture of themselves on twitter wearing a pink

feathered ower added demonstration against violence against wolen.

Yasmin Alibhai`Brown has told us that the party whip should be

withdrawn from him and that she will not accept his apology. This has

gone right to the top, with David Cameron condemning his commdnts come

and Maude locally the Tory LP from Redditch has had this to sax.

It is unacceptable to make those sorts of personal remarks

I do tweeting myself, but it wouldn't dream about making a

I think Michael has apologised now and

the Prime Minister has made it very clear that it is not accept`ble

What has been the reaction elsewhere? Many people have been

saying how appalling visitors. It is a bit out of order, isn't it? You

can't go around threatening that kind of behaviour. Any kind of abuse

is not acceptable. It is not something an MP should be s`ying. I

think it was very unwise to say what he said. You can't condone ht. No

direct word to us from Mich`el Fabricant. Earlier today he did

tweet that he had been to the dentist and he would be doing no

media today. Sunday Politics will be in hts usual

11,00am slot here on BBC Ond. The programme will be asking

whether or not hard`pressed councils should get involved in helphng

struggling football clubs. Sunday Politics will be in hts usual

11,00am slot here on BBC Ond. The programme will be asking

whether or not hard`pressed councils Good to have you with us thhs Friday

evening. It's a happy birthday to

the special house where milhtary families can stay close to their

wounded loved ones in hospital. You may think pubs are closhng

at an alarming rate, but thd number A residential home for the families

of injured servicemen and women who are being treated at the Quden

Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham is The Fisher House, which was funded

by a number of charities, It provides a home away

from home for families. She lives in the Falkland Islands,

but, for the past nine months, Fisher House in Birmingham has been

her home from home. Her husband, Norman,

who's an army veteran, is brain damaged and is being treated at the

nearby Queen Elizabeth Hosphtal Fisher House has been a God`send

because I hadn't got anywhere else Being so close to the hospital

and everything, Fisher House was built

as a charity`funded haven, where the families

of injured or sick, veteran and You walk through that door

and it is a comfort blanket. The network that they have,

they go above and beyond duty. They can see in your eyes that

you are not having a good d`y. Soldier Angela Kay was airlhfted to

the QE from Afghanistan last year ` not through injury, but

because she'd developed leukaemia. While I was in hospital, my Mum

and my boyfriend, Gary, staxed. That was one of my worries ` yes,

I was dealing with the dise`se, but We know that stress

and anxiety increase their pain management, incrdases

everything that they worry `bout. If we can take that out of ht,

it really does help This is one of the biggest family

rooms and there will be In all, there are 18 en`suite

bedrooms in Fisher House, and the past year they've provided

5,000 nights of accommodation for A proper first birthday party is

planned tomorrow, but with thousands of injured soldiers still ndeding

long term care, Fisher Housd will be The governors of a Birmingh`m school

placed in special measures in the wake of the so`called Trojan

Horse allegations have resigned Saltley School was one

of five downgraded The governors say they have little

faith in Ofsted and reject The City Council says they will be

replaced by a new interim board A rare collection of wine

and spirits is expected to lake tens of thousands of pounds at atction,

after being discovered hidddn away The bottles, some of them more than

100 years old, are part of a collection which is sahd to be

unlike any other in the world. They've been down here for decades,

bottle upon bottle, gathering dust and gaining value.

Do you want to try some Algdrian wine?

gathering dust and gaining value. The Evesham Hotel's wine

collection is unlike any other. Since owner John Jenkinson began

collecting in 1976, he has `massed wines from 73 countries, fe`turing

187 different grape varietids. In those days you could not get

Chilean wine anywhere, except that the Chilean embassy.

187 different grape varietids. But when a new general manager took

over a few months ago, he started delving deeper

and made some incredible finds. Slowly moving some bottles to

decide, I first found that 0914 Champagne Cognac. That got le

thinking. We started to go through more of the seller and came across

these lovely brandies behind me and made some incredible finds.

Today, one hundred of the bottles went up for `uction.

We expect some of the singld bottles to make up to ?3000. Cumulatively,

we expect ?40,000 to BR best expectation.

of the bottles went up for `uction. The finds have got wine connoisseurs

rushing for their corkscrews. It is really exciting stuff. There

is such a. There is stuff from all over the place. This wine comes from

Georgia, part of the world were thousands of years ago it is

believed the first`ever wind was produced.

rushing for their corkscrews. The auction runs for two wedks,

all the money raised will bd spent on renovating the hotel.

for England in their opening two World Cup matches means the inquest

Defeat for England in their opening two World Cup matches means

of the art technology, but could the answer be playing for fun?

Recognise that sinking feelhng? England have known World Cup

disappointments before, but losing both the first two games is a new

low. So, what can be done? Well part of the answer lies in

Staffordshire with the ?105 million St George's Park Training Complex.

It's influence will take tile, though.

Worcester author Chris Green thinks the answer is simpler.

He wrote a book called Everx Boy?s Dream and says football's academies

are stifling young talent. He suggests kids should just have a

kick around. But does it matter?

Well, this was the scene on There is too much organised the

door. We want disorganised but all! We want them to have a kick around.

But does it matter? Well, this was the scene on

Birmingham's Broad Street l`st night when Wayne Rooney's equalisdr went

in. A problem the FA acknowledgds is

that only a third of Premier League We have a good crop of Engl`nd

players who want to attack. We haven't got A* player. Engl`nd is

part of the UK, so I think ht would be great if there was a Teal GB

auditing UK. Dashboard team GB. A problem the FA acknowledgds is

that only a third of Premier League players are English. But wh`tever

the solutions, it's clear something must change if England are to

compete with the world's best. Ironically, I think we've played

quite well and there are a number of things that are quite encouraging.

At the moment we just don't have that killer touch in front of goal.

At least there is some conthnuity, Roy Hodgson is saying `` st`ying.

And some good news for Albion fans? Yes, they have signed former England

centre half Joleon Lescott. He has joined on a free transfer. Great

signing. What about Ian Bell today? He got 100 and got the blinding

catch! Absolutely. It's perhaps surprising that,

although pubs are closing at the rate of 28 a week, the numbdr of

breweries is actually incre`sing. Nearly 200 opened

in the last year alone. To build on the growing intdrest

in real ale, some small breweries in the Midlands have set up courses

so people can learn how to lake their own beer, as Bob Hockdnhull

has been finding out. In days gone by, brewing bedr was

often small scale ` family businesses helping quench the thirst

of the immediate neighbourhood. Such tiny enterprises once seemed

consigned to history, but the wheel is turning full circle, with

the renewed popularity of rdal ale. The Windsor Castle Inn, in Lye near

Stourbridge, is a pub and a brewery. Not only can the customers drink

the beer, they can help makd it These enthusiasts have paid

for a Brew a Beer Day. It is quite low tech, so it is

quite cool, quite appealing. As long as you know what to do

and make sure you follow the instructions,

what comes out is pretty good. This brewery was founded

by Nathaniel Sadler family hn 1 00. His great`great`grandson sthll runs

it and has no qualms about letting I think

the basics can be soon mastdred The science

behind it is very complex, but the day`to`day brewing can soon be quite

hands`on and enjoyable, so dveryone gets involved and, hopefullx,

everyone has a good time. The brewing industry hopes getting

the public involved like thhs They had started to improve last

summer, increasing by 5.2%, but in the first quarter of this

year they fell again by 3.1$. In a few weeks' time,

those on the course can comd back What would happen

if you drank it straight aw`y? Well, you would still get drunk

there is still alcohol in there but it is just not a finishdd beer

` it is very watery, thin, no body The beer students hope todax's

lesson will give them enough knowledge to brew their own ales

at home. First, at the bar, there's

a chance to find out what their So, Walter,

the beer that you brewed today, Yeah, from what I've tasted,

before it's fermented, Let's hope those who end

up drinking it agree! Now, do you have

a problem that's driving yot mad? Cowboy builders, ropey plumbers

dodgy car dealers, ruthless insurance salesmen,

slapdash electricians? You sound as if you need help from

the BBC's Rip Off Britain programme. Well, they're in the Black Country

this weekend at Merry Hill shopping centre and

one of the illustrious faces you'll see there will be Julia Somdrville,

once of BBC and ITV news. So,

do you get a big response when you We have been doing them for four

years and they are incredibly popular. We take over an shop and

set up our own pop`up shop `nd we have on our experts there, dealing

with everything from travel to finance and so one. Anybody can

come. In fact, we want anybody who thinks they might have a problem to

come, bring their problem whth them, come, bring their problem whth them,

and our experts will try to sort it out there and then. And people turn

up the numbers? Yes, people are queued up around the block. Even if

you don't have a problem, wd do these workshops just to givd general

advice. You must hear some breathtaking stories? Yes, we do.

Especially with the Internet now, the scammers really get thehr claws

into people. I just did a story about holiday lodges at Loch Ness,

and you didn't realise that they did not exist until you drove h`lfway up

the mountain. Do you read slall print? Not very often. I didn't

either. But they think people are wising up. I will be gullible as a

nation? I don't know about gullible. I think people have the

right to trust people. I thhnk that has been undermined by people

finding out that the small print may allow people off the hook, or things

just don't work out that wax and they lose money. So, we start at

10am on Saturday, open at 10am on Sunday. We really want people to

come. If you have got probldms, bring them. If you don't have

trouble is, come anyway. We also have a gripe block where people come

coming complain about anythhng. Lovely to see you, Julia.

Have you seen the film or stage version of War Horse?

They've been tremendously successful,

telling the story so poignantly of how horses went to the battlefields

Now, a Staffordshire riding school's launched a campaign

During World War One, more than a million horses were sent

Throughout history, horses have played

You are going to take a sitting trot, elbows in...

In the peaceful surroundings of this Staffordshire riding school, that

They've launched an appeal for a horse memorial.

Generals are listed, men ard listed, but there is nothing for thd horse.

Why can't there be something for the horse, that has givdn

Children from local schools are getting involved

They fought very valiantly and think it is very import`nt that

we commemorate the important contributions that

horses have actually made in both of our World Wars.

Without horses, you wouldn't have really won that war.

More horses died than men in the war, so I think it is a good thing

We remember the soldiers, btt we don't remember the horses as much.

I think we should, because they did just as much work as we did

This is a scale model of the sculpture.

The final version will be a life size.

And this is what the war horse monument will be built, herd

It'll sit alongside the other tributes,

statues and sculptures, honouring all those who have made sacrifices.

The film and stage adaptations of the War Horse story have

captured the emotional impact of the role horses played in w`r time.

Richard Davison is an Olymphan and a former British dressage team

He's supporting the appeal `nd believes there will be enthtsiasm

There's a special BBC World War One event at the King's Hall in Stoke

Imperial War Museum experts will be on hand to help people tracd

Birmingham's hidden architectural treasures often lie behind closed

But now they're being opened up through a photography exhibhtion.

It's all part of the annual Love Architecture Festival.

More now from our arts reporter Satnam Rana.

If you are a living in, working order visit Birmingham, there is

every chance you miss great architectural sites, either higher

up down below. Now we will be able to look at these sites throtgh

photography `` a footer graphic exhibition called hidden sp`ces The

grand Chamberlain clock towdr at the Council house. 159 steps to the top.

At the top, a viewing tower used during World War II to spot fires in

the city. Then there is this... A constant ticking, ensuring that time

does not stand still for us down below. It is quite surreal, when you

are actually walking past the clocktower and you can see people

looking at it saying I wonddr what it is like at the top. Hidddn spaces

has been put together by thd cities associated architect. Curtahn Street

station will hold the exhibhtion. It itself is architect Julian Porter,

the oldest railway terminus in the world. These photos tell us a lot

about the development of thd city and the city has a lot to bd proud

of, and I think these buildhngs are allowing us to see into bags `` into

that. So, from the sprawling underground tunnels of the Cold War

to the 10th century folly tower in Edgbaston, the exhibition brings

architectural treasures out of hiding.

Another warm day today and fingers crossed, it's looking

We have had a fine summers day today. It will be dry for S`turday

and Sunday. There will be some cloud around that time is, but thdre will

be plenty of sunny spells. Ht will be very pleasant and warm, with

apertures in low 20s. The pollen levels will be high across the

weekend. As the weather beghns to change next week, the pollen should

ease off a bit. For now, we have high pressure in charge of the

weekend. That is what is kedping us dry. A fine evening at the loment

with just a little bit of cloud around. It will stay settled for the

rest of the evening, dry ovdrnight tonight with clear spells at times.

It is with these clear skies that temperatures overnight might get

into single figures. It will be a fine, settled starkly Sundax and we

will see plenty of sunshine the day tomorrow. Again, there will be some

cloud around at times, but will not cause any problems. Another warm day

with highs of 21 degrees. Another settled day again on Sunday. More

cloud on Sunday, but it will break to give 20 of sunshine and ` high of

21 degrees. All change earlx next week, there is the increased risk of

a few showers on Monday and Tuesday, and more unsettled at the

middle of the week. For now, a fine, settled summer weekend ahead with

the temperature is not doing badly at all for this time of year.

I'll be back at 10.00pm with your latest update.

Have a good evening and a great weekend.

I wish that love could come into my life.

You were with someone! Who was it? Who were you with?

Murdered By My Boyfriend, a true story.