25/01/2012 Spotlight


25/01/2012

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Bucking the high street trend - the local businesses showing strength

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as the economy weakens. At the moment it is look reasonable, but

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all businesses have to move forward. Good evening. So are we on the road

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to recovery or half way to a double dip recession? Full analysis in a

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moment. Also on Spotlight tonight: The plans to charge free bus pass

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holders in Cornwall. Would you pay 50p a journey to keep rural

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services running? Honestly I would rather pay full fare and have a bus

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than lose a bus. And people power in North Devon, a company says it

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will review its plans for a massive wind farm to deal with concerns.

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News that the UK economy shrank in the last quarter has been greeted

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defiantly by business people across the region tonight. The reduction

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of 0.2% could mean we're half-way to a double-dip recession, or it

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could just be a pause on the road to the recovery. We'll talk to a

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local economist about that in a moment, but one way or the other,

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for many working people, today was definitely about business as usual,

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as our correspondent Neil Gallacher found out. You don't have to look

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hard to spot sign of economic stress, places where demand refuses

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to keep up with supply. But if the economy has gone into reverse, so

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far the down turn is slight. For most businesses, today is little

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different from three or six months ago. This fewton manufacturer moved

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from Cambridge and are they now regretting their investment?

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Apparently not. It has been good this year. It is difficult to see

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thousand year pans out. There is a slight confidence to how this year

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will pan out. At the moment it is reasonable. But all businesses have

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to move forward. At a neighbouring business, lunch arrives, sandwiches

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from this man's restaurant. Have you noticed an economy that is

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shrinking? It is much the same. I like to think the Green Door is

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growing. We have had a cracking January so far. So all good.

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guessy small business owner worry about their business, are you more

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worried than a year ago. I try not to worry. I have done too much of

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that, I think positive and get more things done. Service industries are

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still a huge chunk of the economy, even if Tesco have reported a fall

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in sales. In Plymouth we found another man known to Spotlight

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viewers. We first met Ashley Len he was freshly redundant from a local

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factory. He had grown up knowing nothing of recession. We followed

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his struggle to find work. At one stage he thought his future was in

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the navy. Life has turned out to be very different. I enjoy working for

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Tesco and like I said, money comingy month, it is better than 60

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quid on the dole. Across Devon and Cornwall unemployment's growing

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more strongly than in the UK as a whole. But today one of Cornwall's

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biggest employers, Sam worth brothers said sales were holding up.

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Another employer is fits Gerald lighting. It was nearly killed off

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in 2008. But the new verse of factory has a good year and now

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employ nearly 100 and pefbgt further growth. These are

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challenging times, but in 2012 that is no longer the novelty it used to

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be. Well joining me now is economist Peter Gripaios. We posed

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the question are we half way to a double dip she rigs or in a pause

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on the way to recovery. Which is it? I don't think we know. The

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general expectation is we will flat line for some months and possibly

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another year. The problem is all governments are trying to find the

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same solution by cutting expenditure. But then we're in a

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race to the bottom, because nobody can sell to anybody else. The

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expectation is not that there will be a major upturn soon. We heard

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the national figures that theically is shrinking, we do we fit into

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that? This part of the country is doing well. The recession is

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affecting us, but there is no evidence that we're doing worse

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than anywhere else. And certainly I think given that Plymouth's lost

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800 military jobs sh has held up well. We heard from some businesses

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in the report, an upbeat picture. Does -- does it depend what sector

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you're in? It it depend on which sector and your particular niche in

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that. You will find that ones who have moved up market with the

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quality end are doing well. Others are struggling. You said at the

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moment you think short-term flat lining continuing, when do row

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expect any upturn? Tinge general expectation is we will have -- I

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think the general pepbgtation is we will have another six months or a

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year. Kftd will be low. But recessions do end and this will be

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be like the others. -- confidence is low. There is another problem

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and that is the standing of Britain in the world and the western world

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compared to India and China. That will take longer to solve.

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Political Editor, Martyn Oates, is in Downing Street and joins us now.

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Very inconvenient news for the Government? Yes David Cameron said

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the disappointing figures were not surprising and of course his

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neighbour at No 11 a few weeks ago had taken a deep breath and

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acknowledged the economy in a worst state than he predicted. That means

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even if we don't end up in a recession, there will be more pain

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and job losses. The Prime Minister today again pointed the finger at

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the crisis in the eurozone, higher fuel and food price and the deficit

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which the coalition inherited from Labour. But the Government said

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sticking to its programme is the best way to turn the economy around,

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even if that process ends up being longer than we had been promised.

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What has the reaction been from Labour?: since the coalition

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unveiled its policy, Labour has said that its cutting too much and

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too quickly and said that risked tipping the country into a double

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dip recession and it has continued say that today. And it jump on

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comments by the head of International Monetary Fund who

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said Britain may have to slow its cuts. Thank you. Later in the

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programme we'll be hearing from businesses in the Devon town of

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Bampton in a first of a new series about the economy. People in

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Cornwall who get a free bus pass may in the future be asked to pay

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50 pence a journey. Cornwall Council says it would be one way of

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raising enough money to keep vulnerable rural bus routes going.

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They want the Government to allow Cornwall to test the idea as a

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pilot scheme. Eleanor Parkinson reports. Not many things in this

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life are guaranteed, but there is up with thing you can be sure of.

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When you collect your pension you also get one of these - a free bus

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pass. Cornwall council says although pensioners are entitled to

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free bus travel, the Government has cut the funding that pays for

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concessionary fares and they say this puts 95 vulnerable rural

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routes at risk. The council said if everyone with a free pass paid 50

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pence they could keep the routes going. They came from the people of

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Cornwall. People said, we'd rather make a contribution than lose the

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service. We are taking those ideas and we will approach and lobby

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government and hopefully with the support of our MPs, we can bring

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about change in the legislation. you think the Government will let

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you do this? I think you know we're in a different territory, we're in

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a financial crisis and it makes business sense. They haven't got

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money to throw away. Nor have we. These pensioners all use their free

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bus passes each day and those we spoke to told us they would be

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happy to pay a small fare. I would rather pay than end up with no bus

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service, or a less frequent bus service. I would rather pay full

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fare and have a bus than lose a bus. If the services were reduced, would

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that affect you? Yes. I no longer drive. So I need the buses to be

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able to come in and out of town. Does it help with the neighbours? A

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lot of people from the area will get the bus into Plymouth for the

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day, they may pay 50 pence, but going back Plymouth have to pay the

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cost. So if they keep that at a a free fare will cost Plymouth and

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what will their attitude be to Cornwall. Cornwall council said

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they will keep vulnerable routes safe for two years, but after that

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they can't make any guarantees. They say the scheme could solve

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many problems. Thank you for all of your e-mails on this topic. Jan

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said: What would people rather have a small fee or reduced services?

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Mary said, I would say pay the charge and use it less often,

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rather than risk losing it. Catherine, I think it is a great

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idea and it will stop the abuse of the cards, where people ride around

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on the bus all day. And Alfred said, I think a better idea would be to

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scrap the bus pass and have a county pass that was free for

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residents. Thank you for all your comments. The company wanting to

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set up a massive wind farm off the coast of North Devon says it is

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reviewing its plans after consulting with local people. RWE

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Npower Renewables says there'll be a second round of public

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consultation in the summer. Our Environment Correspondent, Adrian

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Campbell, has the latest. The gov Government is committed to wind

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farms and big xaepbts are needed to deliver this. -- xaepbts. Npower

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plan a giant wind farm. There has been an initial public consultation

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by the developers. The results of the consultation showed most people

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were concerned about the visual impact of the turbines as seen from

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the land. But they were concerned about the potential impact on birds,

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and marine mammals and the effects on local tourism. We're that visual

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impact a -- is a concern and we're reviewing our plans to see whether

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we can make any changes to reduce the impact of the project. Many

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environmentalists see benefits in offshore wind farms, but they have

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concerns. We're into the idea of renewable energy and wind farms,

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but they have to be put in the right place. At the moment we

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cannot say whether this is in the right place, because we don't have

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the data or the evidence to say this is the right place or not the

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right place. Some question the effectiveness of wind energy, but

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the company says we must develop alternatives. I'm concerned about

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being reliant on sources of fos Silverstone fuel and Russian gas

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and from -- fos il fuel and Russian gas and the idea of making use of

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our resources make sense. Whatever the results of consultation,

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developing a wind farm here won't be easy. Deep waters will challenge

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Coming up: A few from the High Street as we follow the fortunes of

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one Devon town. The deployment of staff -- south-west troops in

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Afghanistan seen from a different It is not just today's statistics

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about growth that give us an idea about how the economy is doing.

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Through the year, we will track the fortunes of one street in Devon.

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Spotlight's Andrew Ormesby has been to Bampton in the first of a hint

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series of reports. Steeped in history, the small rural

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town of Banton lies on the edge of the moors. Surrounded by large

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shopping centres on every side, old Bampton really should be vulnerable.

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In reality, it thrives. This is bustling Bampton with honesty boxes

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in the car-park and customer loyalty strong enough to see most

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businesses through these tough times. Broad Street lies at its

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heart and has about every shop you could need -- Brook Street. We have

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a couple of little stores that provide all the items we need.

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Budget took over the business a year-and-a-half ago.

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We are local farmers about three miles away and we decided it was

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the next logical step to get close to our customers. January and

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February are quiet and John have some concerns of -- concerns

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regarding how to compete. Some costs have gone up a lot. Things

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like the cost of pastry because of the wheat price and the cost of

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fuel for deliveries. Some things have gone up out of our control.

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Waste disposal is a rising cost through having to pay for the

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disposal of bones and waste. employs four members of staff who

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turnover around up to �5,000 a week, although more at Christmas and

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Easter. As long as we watch our costs and look after our customers

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they will hope leaky coming in week after week. Lunchtime over the road

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at the bistro. This is the owner's first business and very different

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from their last job -- as they were both police officers in London. It

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has not been easy. We have made some major changes to how we will

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run up business for 2012. To make the business viable, they have kept

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staff costs to the minimum. But that has taken its toll and two

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years ago they decided to sell up. In these difficult economic times,

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there have been no buyers and now Katrina and Julia have decided to

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stay but to make some changes to help their work and life balance.

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We are concentrating on keeping the daytime business the same as it has

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been for four and a half years. We do cough these, lunches and

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afternoon teas. In the evening, we were doing every weekend evening

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meals but we have adapted that. Despite taking over as the economy

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lurched into trouble, the business here is excess all. The secret is

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to give good service and good food. Our turnover has gone up very

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steadily most two years, even when we reduced the hours. We hope that

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will continue. To help, they are planning to diversify, making more

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use of space upstairs. Businesses in Bampton say that they are

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bucking the High Street End, by and large. One reason they give is easy

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parking with no yellow lines, no metres and no double parking.

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And we'll be back in Bampton throughout this year, following the

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fortunes of the Butcher, the bistro and Brook Street as a whole.

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It's hoped an exhibition of paintings and pictures in Plymouth

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will raise thousands of pounds to help troops and families affected

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by the conflict in Afghanistan. The artwork, which documents 3 Commando

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Brigade's six-month tour of duty last year, is about to go on public

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display. Spotlight's Simon Painting a picture of life in a

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war-zone, Devon artist Andrew Millar has drawn on his experience

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in Afghanistan to give a glimpse of military life on the front line. He

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spent weeks documenting the lives of men and women of 3 Commando

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Brigade on their recent tour of Helmand province. It is a great

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honour to be asked to do this. Very few people get to see what goes on

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out there so I guess I have been fortunate to have a close look at

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what Marines do when they go to work. Andrew Miller's work is

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included in an exhibition which features revealing images captured

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by the brigades photographers and journalists. It tells the story of

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bravery, courage and determination in the face of adversity often.

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Troops from the Brigade which has its headquarters in Plymouth served

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from April to October last year. Over 20 soldiers lost their lives

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and many of the images have not been seen before. Emotion is a

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difficult thing to capture on film. Certainly in still photography but

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if the events are severe enough or whatever has led up to that point,

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people's facial expressions and there trainee nurse or the

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condition of that - might they kicked builds the emotion. This

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gives a powerful account of military life and it is hoped the

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images will give a greater understanding of what British

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Youngsters at nine schools implement have been learning some

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new moves this term. A project run by Plymouth dance has helped

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children boost their confidence and Learning through dance. 20 minute

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classes, moving to music, apparently can help them improve

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all kinds of skill levels from communication took maths. Every

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child likes to bop around with a brush pretending they are a pop

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star. Their self-esteem and self- awareness raises so they are not

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that shy a child in the corner. Suddenly, they can say that they

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can stand on stage with able-bodied kids and do the same thing. They

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have been granted �300,000 by the Lottery to use on their project. In

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their three years, the University of Plymouth is studying the effects

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the dance classes have one children. The children all want to come to

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dance, they enjoy it. It is a way of playing without conflict, they

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have exercise which is an Sport and we have seen an improvement in

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their behaviour because they want to come to dance so they need to

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earn it to come here. What is your favourite thing? The skateboarding

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way you jump side to star I'd like you Ronnie real skateboard.

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rope. You can do all different dances. Having fun. The dance

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Worksop is now a popular class in nine schools in Plymouth and the

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outcome of the research will be In sport, Torquay United continued

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their impressive form last night with another win, this time against

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Dagenham and Redbridge. And Plymouth Argyle have appointed a

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Director of Football at Home Park. Spotlight's Dave Gibbins has all

:21:59.:22:09.
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Torquay United are going great guns. The 9th goal of the season was

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enough to ward off a stubborn Daborn and -- Dagenham and rate

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breach at Plainmoor. It was their We put ourselves in a position

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where with one more win we are safe from relegation. Obviously that has

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changed but if we keep winning we will be talked about. 54 year-old

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John Deehan has been appointed as director of football at Home Park.

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He was successful with Norwich City as a manager and as a player. He is

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in their hall of fame which recognises his goalscoring record.

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He will work alongside pilgrims boss, cull Fletcher. He deals with

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play it transfers in and out and negotiates the finer points of

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their contract. The director of football at Es -- Exeter City and

:23:17.:23:27.
:23:27.:23:34.

Now let us see what the weather has Good evening. If you have not yet

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used your winter coat, you will have to dig it out this evening.

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There will be a drop in temperatures which have been

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relatively mild so far this week. Wet and windy weather around this

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evening. Temperatures will be down to three degrees Celsius by the

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morning. The stripe of cloud across Ireland is a main bearing clout.

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For a couple of hours tonight, there will be an angry and heavy

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band of rain with strong winds. They will they're westerly and

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tomorrow we have a mix of sunshine and blustery showers. Wintry

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flurries over the tops of the mauls. Less breezy on Friday but the risk

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of showers and still cold. The brighter colours approaching

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Ireland is the rain Bank. Ahead of that, splashes of rain or drizzle

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and earlier today, our cameraman was down on the Exe estuary. The

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avocets have been enjoying peaceful conditions on the estuary. That is

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all has been off and on throughout the day right across the south-west

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and low cloud is causing some problems with mist and fog. Tonight,

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a heavy rain crosses as tonight and behind that we will see Calder air.

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Slightly milder around the coastline. Tomorrow promises some

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sunshine and better visibility. At the same time, you will need to

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wrap up warm. One or two of the showers above 1200 ft will fall as

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sleet or snow. Between the showers, all of us will see some sunshine.

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Not very warm in a brisk westerly Quite a breezy day for the Isles of

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Scilly. Much improved visibility Friday will see a frosty start and

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a few passing showers on Saturday. They get loud arriving and patchy

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rain. The best of any brightness in the east. We haven't got any idea

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:27:34.:27:35.

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