15/03/2017 South Today

Welcome to South Today. The headlines tonight:

Cooking for one - The widowers who have been left behind

but are now learning new life skills and finding new friends.

I'm from a generation that lived with mother until I married

and then married and had a lady to look after me.

Carry on cruising - the number of people taking a cruise

is up and the average age is coming down.

Showing off their skills, but should skateboarders be banned

It's been one of the warmest days of the year so far.

I hope you enjoy the sunshine because it's not set to last.

More men are facing loneliness and isolation in old age,

especially after the death of a wife or partner.

Researchers have found that men over the age of 65

There's about 600,000 men who are now living alone,

That figure is expected to increase by 65% over the next 14 years.

Bereaved older men are most affected by loneliness,

and have less contact with family and friends than

But a small scheme in the New Forest is helping them

to look after themselves - and talk about their feelings.

And it's all based around the kitchen.

Our health correspondent David Fenton reports from Lymington.

Some people feel at home in the kitchen but not these men.

I'm from a generation that lived with mother until I married

and then married and had a lady to look after me.

Many had never cooked a proper meal before.

Now they're having to learn because their wives have died.

That's Janet and myself, taken in 1955.

62 years and suddenly all gone, but that's life, isn't it?

Many of these men lost wives after a lifetime of marriage.

Ted and Eileen had been together 53 years.

When it happens, it's a very big change.

There's nobody to do anything for you,

I can remember my wife saying every day they must be browned off.

John D'Arcy is making his first ever lasagne.

We're putting the last there of them meal on,

the meat you saw cooking with the tomatoes and cheese

and everything, and now we put the top there.

The class is run by volunteers at Oak Haven Hospice in Lymington.

Lasagne is next, strips and then the cheese sauce all over

While we cook people open up, chat about what's happened to them,

the funerals, the bereavement and it's just a really good tool

for people to open up and chat about what's happened to them.

When John's wife Catherine died, he barely went out.

The cookery club called him three times before he finally accepted.

I looked in the fridge on the third occasion of them ringing me

and all that was in the fridge was one can of John Smith's and half

a crunchie and I thought it's time to do something about this.

It's time for the lasagne to come out.

Everyone makes something, then the men sit down

Good old penny. I didn't see you helping her there, David.

It's a simple idea, teaching these men to cook,

Absolutely, and that's what many of these men are not good at.

and it was a pound of lard and a pack of sausages for lunch,

These men went from mother to wife and they were looked after by

When they lost them, they really struggled.

One man there got a call from his GP because

But I think the cookery is just a way of getting them together,

getting them out of their homes and talking about

The volunteers are mostly women. Each man has a volunteer next to him

to talk if he wants to talk and this is quite it has been so successful,

there was not a lot of money spent on it, when it started nobody wanted

to do with and now it's full. Hampshire Police have questioned

a 64-year-old man from Southampton as part of an investigation

into historical abuse in football. The man who cannot be

named for legal reasons has been interviewed

by officers under caution. Our reporter Anjana Gadgil

has more details. Hampshire Police confirmed

it was investigating historical abuse in football

in November last year. Now the force says it has questioned

a 64-year-old man from Southampton. The man, who attended voluntarily

for questioning earlier this week, has been interviewed under caution

in a police custody suite. In a statement today the force said

this was part of a significant and complex investigation

being undertaken by specialist officers from Hampshire's

major crime team. Since last year, forces

across the country have launched investigations into historical abuse

in football and hundreds of alleged Hampshire Police says

it is still encouraging victims of any abuse to contact the force

or the NSPCC. The number of people taking cruise

holidays is up again. The key trend is towards taking

holidays that set sail from this country, rather than what's

known as fly-cruising. Let's join our transport

correspondent Paul Clifton, Our love affair with

cruise ships is thriving. The British cruise industry has

grown by 50% in ten years. The last new ships were P's

flagship Britannia, named by the Queen, and the latest

offering from Royal Caribbean, which brings one of the world's

biggest ships for the summer season. But the number of people who choose

to start their holidays from a British port,

usually Southampton, is rising three times faster

than the number who fly off Almost two million British

holiday-makers And the average age

is getting a little younger - Royal Caribbean in particular has

spent billions on ships that Southampton-based P Cruises

has done much the same. The travel industry thought

the Brexit decision, and the drop in the value

of the pound, would mean more I think we are seeing some holiday

decisions being made around I think we're seeing people

who might travel to Europe maybe trading down in the length of time

they would go for for so they will still spend the same amount

of money on their holiday. What a cruise allows people

to do is budget ahead, they know exactly what they will pay

for their holiday, they can prepay for all the items they might want,

so their shore excursions, drinks if they want to,

so they can budget carefully Paul, does that explain why

more people are choosing to start their holidays in the UK

instead of heading We're taking more foreign

holidays as a whole. Partly cruising is about paying

for your holiday in sterling. No need to worry

about currency changes. Partly it's about avoiding the fight

through increasingly A cruise costs typically

?70 to ?90 a day. That's about the same

as a mid-price hotel on land, but you get meals and

entertainment included. In May, Reading's Caribbean

community will host a carnival The once annual event began 40

years ago, but it hasn't been run since 2014,

due to a lack of money Now a new team has been

awarded financial support from the National Lottery

to bring it back. The unmistakable colour

and sound of Carnival. This was, until a few years ago,

a popular annual event in Reading. It's not been held for the past two

years, a lack of organisation and money to blame, but it's back

this year, with new organisers hoping to draw on the event's past

as they shape its future. There's a lot of history stored

in Reading and there's a lot of passion and feeling that's

attached to Carnival. It's something that belongs

to our communities that we're inviting everybody

into and opening out. So we're really proud

to be hosting it. Artist Philbert Herman will help

children make costumes this year. He helped organise the carnivals

in the early days and has fond memories of 1977,

the first one. It rained and the people

still came out. There were a lot of street

parties to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee

and the West Indians were out there, dancing with the bin liners

and the brollies They came out and celebrated

with the whole community. Our diversity in Reading

particularly is our strength and the fact that we have people

from all over world living We want to celebrate that

and we want to invite people from other communities to celebrate

that as well. ?10,000 of lottery money has

been awarded this year. Organisers say they still need more,

but crucially, they want support. Keep the last Bank Holiday Monday

in May free - it's Carnival Day. A new deal to end the dispute

by train drivers has been agreed by Southern Railway

and the Aslef union. The drivers will now be

balloted over the proposal, The drivers rejected a previous

deal between their union Police have released images

of a petrol station attendant in Dorset being threatened

by robbers with a knife Two men stole cash from

the Esso Service Station on Charminster Road in Bournemouth

late on Monday night. They've just missed out but three

students from Reading still have a chance to send

their invention into space, The issue of slow economic growth

on the Isle of Wight has been raised in today's Prime Ministers

Questions. The island's Conservative

MP Andrew Turner said he was disappointed that the Isle

of Wight was lagging The Prime Minister called

on the business community and council on the island to push

for economic growth. Will my Right Honourable friend to

ensure that more growth funding is targeted at rural areas like the

island, with many small and micro businesses, to deliver a country

that works for all? We have already been able to support the island's

economy through the local growers deal for the Solent and the local

enterprise partnerships, supporting the SME programme, he referred to

rural funding and I want to make sure we make the best of the diverse

strengths of Allbritton's cities, regions and Islands.

The leader of a Hampshire Council has unexpectedly announced

Ferris Cowper says he'll leave his role as leader of East

He also says he won't stand for re-election as a councillor

It was designed to be the dynamic and cultural heart of the city.

But to the horror of some people, it has become a skateboarding mecca.

Southampton's ?50 million cultural quarter complete

with the landmark Guildhall Square.

Aficionados of the sport - which'll feature at the next Olympics -

say the square is better than many purpose built skateparks.

But the City Council is looking at drawing up a Code of Conduct

On a warm sunny day there's a constant stream of skateboarders

doing their flicks and tricks in Southampton's Guildhall Square.

While some people are happy to see and hear

We don't hear it, the windows are good enough.

I don't know where else the kids have got to go.

It's difficult because they ought to provide somewhere for them to do

it, but on the other hand it shouldn't be here.

Skateboarders say the super-smooth Guildhall Square is

The only thing we've harmed is the ?10,000 benches they've done,

which they could invest into a skate park.

I've been skateboarding at Guildhall for five years now,

it's a real important place to me, it's like a second home but I would

Today the City Council has been discussing what should be done.

Ultimately we do need to make sure the square can be used by everyone

coming to Southampton, but hopefully it won't get

to draconian measures, we can do things with consent

A few minutes walk from Guildhall Square is Hoglund's Park,

the skating facility that most agree is well overdue a makeover.

Skaters say it would be used far more if it was upgraded.

Certainly, there would be more people coming down

I don't want to disturb someone else's day so a better

park would be better for everyone, really.

The City Council could use its powers to ban skateboarding

For now it's looking at collaboration

Earlier, I spoke to Iain Borden, who is a Professor of

I began by asking if he thought skateboarders should be

Skateboarders have as much right to use public space as any other

urban citizens and banning skateboarders because of their

activity seems to me to be highly undesirable.

And yet why not use purpose-built areas?

Because some argue that they are spoiling the space and damaging it.

Purpose-built areas like skate parks are great and many skateboarders

like using skate parks as well but they're not really a substitute

Skateboarders like to use urban squares because they are public,

dynamic, there are other people around and to ask skaters to move

into solely purpose-built skate parks would be like telling members

of the public, you can walk but you can only walk around

You advise councils on urban architecture, so what do you suggest

councils do when it comes to public spaces that everyone can use?

There are some places where you don't want skateboarders.

You don't want them on public train platforms or busy roads,

so a certain amount of sensible approach is required,

but generally speaking there's no reason why skateboarders can't exist

alongside people cycling or walking or running or pogoing or playing

music or any of the other things people do in public space.

It's not an innately dangerous or risky or damaging activity.

You're a skateboarder yourself - do you use public spaces?

I tend to use skate parks a lot more.

Some of the people I skate with use skate parks and public spaces.

Professor Iain Borden, thank you very much.

was him there, that bit of skateboarding footage. Let's get on

to the sport. Some good fortune for Pompey last night.

Yes, word getting to march were some of the league to futures will be

decided. In last night's football,

Portsmouth maintained their charge for promotion in League Two,

with their third win in a week. For the rest of the South's

teams though, it was We kick off our round-up

at Fratton Park. It was effectively all over by half

time for Portsmouth, who had fought for the second game in a row. They

had an early lead against Grimsby, but that advantage was doubled when

Danny Rose made at two. Pompey added another on the stroke of the break

when Kyle Baker fired home, and it was for after the interval, when a

rebound fell for Kal Naismith. They now have a 7-point cushion in the

automatic spots. Oxford's hopes took a knock after they went down at all

time. They had drawn level through Chris Knight wire's penalty but the

second half winner came from Lee are one. That woman plunged Swindon

deeper into trouble after they lost to Sheffield United Swindon were

already 2-0 down, then this strike levelled matters at 2-2. A moment

for keeper will Henry to regret. And in the battle of the dons old and

new, Wimbledon prevailed against MK Dons. The second AFC goal came from

former Bournemouth striker Lyle Tate.

Southampton Football Club's latest set of financial figures show

a post-tax profit of almost five million pounds.

Turnover increased by around ten million, to 124 million,

while commercial turnover was up by 21 per cent.

In a four-year period, Saints also published details

of ?175 million in player sales, while spending

With wages added on top, Saints' net investment in the squad

Two Southampton footballers have signed on to support an appeal

to raise funds for a new children's emergency department

James Ward-Prowse and Sam McQueen added their names to a bus which has

the signatures of prominent local people on it.

Organisers hope the VIP bus, which will travel around the city,

will help raise two million pounds for the facility which could treat

It's great to be done here with Sam to help raise awareness for a great

charity, to create the emergency and trauma units at Southampton

Hospital. It's a great initiative to be involved with by using our

profiles to help raise awareness. And the Brighton Hove Albion

manager Chris Hughton is to take a brief break from chasing promotion

to the Premier League next month. The Seagulls boss has been announced

as the official race starter of next He'll set off more than 8,000

runners from Preston Park It was another winning

day for Berkshire-based trainer Nicky Henderson

at the Cheltenham Festival, as he secured a 1-2

in the RSA Novices Chase. 7-2 favourite Might Bite battled

to hold off his stablemate Meanwhile, there was a narrow second

place for Dorset trainer Colin Tizzard in the big race,

the Queen Mother Champion Chase. His horse Fox Norton in the red cap

just failed to catch A couple of thrilling finishes at

the festival. That was an outsider.

Yes, building up to the big one on Friday.

I'm sorry that Thistle Crack is not racing, that would have been a

perfect race. Three students from Reading invented

a device that could one day allow humans to breathe in habitation pods

on the moon. We featured them a few weeks ago

as they took their design all the way to India as part

of an international competition which would see the winner become

part of the first ever Today, they were told they'd

come in third place - but they could still have a spot

on the rocket - at a price, The Moon is still in reach for the

lunar dome team but there is a catch. They will have to pay and the

song is astronomical. $750,000. But it is going to the moon, that's not

cheap. And when you think what it's doing, it's not surprising.

Everything to do with space cost millions. They have come third out

of 3000 teams who were hoping to be on that first commercial craft to

land on the moon. Lunar dome is designed to control their pressure

on the lunar surface, theoretically allowing people to breathe, but only

the two winners from Italy and India will now get free passage on the

team in this rocket. It's a lot of money but we will do everything we

can to support them to secure that funding through whatever means

necessary. Team Indus is locked in the corporate space race of its own

but it says if the money is found, team lunar dome can go on the rover.

I wouldn't see them as having missed something, they got close and if you

can get a British philanthropist to fund them, they govern. But the

chance of a moonshot is fading. Funding needs to be secured by the

end of the month. Obviously were over the moon at our experiment

potentially going to the myth that there is stress on us because we now

have to secure this quickly. So the hopes of the lunar dome team have

not yet been brought fully to earth. That will be a big piggybank,

?650,000, but good luck, guys. Onto the weather. Alexis is here. It was

gorgeous, you were on the golf course. I was not playing like Tony

but we were doing a piece with Scott Gregory. Highs of 16 Celsius,

glorious day but not everyone had the sunshine. We have some lovely

weather pictures to show you, from the weather Watchers, where you can

upload your photos. Today we saw blue skies in West Sussex and clear

skies also for those in Berkshire, glorious day to be had that not

everyone saw the sunshine, spare a thought for those on the south coast

and the Isle of Wight, this fog played the south coast through much

of today and the fog is increasing in many places under clear skies

tonight but we are looking at increasing cloud so by dawn there

will be more cloud and temperatures will rise, so the lowest

temperatures will be at the start of the night, but once the cloud

arrives a low of 6-7. Quite a murky start to tomorrow, after I might

have closed in the morning, but things will brighten up in places.

Generally cloudy, the odd spot of rain for western areas, temperatures

will reach a high of 11. Tomorrow night we will have to weather

fronts, one moving through and then another one, they that second front

there will be cooler air so temperatures will fall to four or

five, a chilly start to Friday but plenty of sunshine first thing.

Through the morning the cloud will thicken from the West and we will

see further cloud through the day ahead of this weather front which

will arrive on Friday afternoon, bringing pulses of rain which may be

heavy at times through the evening and overnight into Saturday. Looking

ahead, a lot of cloud in the next few days, the odd spot of drizzle

tomorrow but mainly dry with one or two bright spells. Friday will have

a good deal of cloud, a bright start in places but clouding over with

rain expected in the afternoon and evening, and over the weekend, the

breeze will increase through Friday and into the weekend, a windy

weekend with spells of rain and temperatures will reach a height of

12 Celsius, so a fresher feeling two days ahead, especially over the

weekend with the rainfall and the brisk winds, which will take the

edge off temperatures. You give with one hand, you take with another!

That could be a bit of high pressure middle of next week.

That is it from us. We will be back with the headlines at 8pm and then

at 10:30pm. Goodbye.