22/12/2016 Spotlight

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me,

Tonight, future proofing our rail network this Christmas.

This is all about getting a 21st-century railway in this region.

Great Western Railway, we are seeing the biggest upgrade in a generation,

and to do that properly, Network Rail has got to do this work.

Network Rail warns passengers to plan ahead as major London hubs

close down for essential work over the holidays.

Also tonight, the goal which could be worth more than ?500,000.

Plymouth Argyle secure a lucrative FA Cup tie against Liverpool.

We'll have ticket details for the big match.

Are squirrels really to blame for this?

We're in Cornwall where hedgerows have had to be hacked.

And the next stop in our festive journey across the region.

South West rail passengers are being warned to plan ahead

as London stations Paddington and Waterloo face

Network Rail is carrying out its biggest ever

programme of maintenance from Christmas Eve onwards.

It says it's confident it can avoid a repeat of the chaos two years ago.

So what does it mean for travellers over the Christmas period?

Well, Scott Bingham is live at Plymouth Railway Station

Yes, the annual Christmas journey. The nightmare when commuting trips

for last-minute shopping and to see relatives all combine in the last

couple of days before the break. Add to that the prospect of rail

closures, and busy road and air routes, and it is difficult to see

how bad things will get this year. And whether they will be worse than

usual. Network Rail has warned train

passengers they face a crescendo of train maintenance over

the festive season, as it undertakes its biggest

programme of works ever. 24,000 staff from its orange army,

who famously repaired the track at Dawlish,

will be laying new track and signals at 200 projects across the country,

mainly for Crossrail They will be anxious to avoid

a repeat of the Christmas chaos two years ago,

when work overran at But they say lessons have

been learned since then. Passengers are now being advised

to plan their journeys The advice is, firstly,

where possible, to travel early. So get those tickets

from tomorrow if you can. If you cannot do that,

then London Paddington is closed from Christmas Eve

to the 29th of December. Trains will travel in and out

of London from Ealing Broadway, from where there is access to

London Underground. Or, as there is no step free

access at Ealing Broadway, an easier route for people

with disabilities or with bags and luggage maybe to change

at Reading for Waterloo. But what is also closed

on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and there are reduced services

on the 24th and 27. Many passengers and their families

we spoke to today said they had I'm not sure what exactly

they've had to do, but I know they're aware of it,

and doesn't bother them, so they've obviously found

some way or another, I've rented a car and I will

drop it at Heathrow. What about alternative

modes of travel? Well, motoring organisations see

tomorrow and Saturday are likely And Exeter Airport says they expect

to handle 20,000 passengers over So what do the train

operators have to say? Well, our Transport Correspondent,

Paul Clifton has been talking to somebody

at Great Western Railways They are looking at the overall

travel picture ahead of the festive period.

Is this going to be worse than usual? If it was a panto production,

we would all be shouting back, oh, yes it will! On the road, the people

who monitor traffic jams cannot work out whether tomorrow will be the

busiest day of the entire year, or whether it will be Saturday, and one

of the Saturn Avenue companies calls it karma get in. At least we know

what is going to happen on the railways. Why close your main

station? This is a key opportunity

for Network Rail to do It effectively will allow us to run

the brand-new trains And there's big work

for Crossrail going on as well? Crossrail work is happening,

but the big impact on Plymouth are the new trains that we're

going to be delivering there. And what is actually

important is that customers, for the majority of services,

will have no problems at all. It's just if you're travelling

directly into London. Now, when you did this two years

ago, the work overran. The contractors did not tell

Network Rail, Network Rail did not tell you, you could not tell

passengers, and tens of thousands I can't say for definitely

it won't happen again, but things have certainly

got considerably better. We have not seen an overrun

like that since, and I think everyone is very vigilant to make

sure that doesn't happen. Thank you very much indeed. On the

roads, we are told that 12 million cars will be running on Saturday.

That is one third more than normal. The usual bottlenecks, the M5, the

A303. I hate to be the harbinger of Doom And Gloom, but you have been

warned. The advice again is to plan ahead

where possible, but it would seem, if you have to get away over

Christmas and New Year, there really is no escape. It makes me glad I'm

spending Christmas at home this year!

Me too, thank you, Scott. Details of Plymouth Argyle's big

match coming up, first a brief look Two men have appeared

at Exeter Crown court charged with the murder of 30-year-old

James Woodhouse. His body was was found

in a wheelie bin last month. Brett Edwards of Okehampton Road

pleaded not guilty. Thomas Killen of North Lawn Court

didn't enter a plea. Their trial will take

place next summer. The 89-year-old pensioner from Devon

who put an ad in his local paper looking for a job has just completed

two full weeks work at a restaurant. Joe Bartley from Paignton said

he was dying from boredom Last night he celebrated

as the Cantina held People on the beach at Cawsand have

been treated to a festive surprise When their Landing Craft

hit dry land yesterday, the beach was invaded by the armed

forces dressed in Christmas outfits. Plymouth Argyle can look forward

to a very Happy New Year after securing themselves

a lucrative FA Cup tie with The Pilgrims beat Newport

in a replay to make it to the third round -

a game which could be worth That's more than twice

Argyle's operating profit Natalie's been at Home Park to find

out about plans for the big match. Yes, I'm in the boardroom here

at Home Park, where it is looking very festive indeed,

and it is true to say that Christmas came early

for Plymouth Argyle last night, when they beat Newport

1-0 after extra time. As that scoreline implies,

it was a very tense game, not pretty, but with a stunning

reward right at the end of it. In a minute, we're going to find out

all the details of how fans can get to Anfield,

but first our reporter looks back Argyle started with a bang, and came

close to taking an early lead. Suddenly, Craig Taylor's

header picked out the Plymouth's star man also

had an early sighter. This time, though, his shot drifted

the wrong side of the post. Newport rarely threatened, and even

Father Christmas seemed unimpressed We all know it is not the time

of year to upset him! Into the second half,

and with a trip to Anfield within touching distance,

nerves were starting to creep in. Jordan Slew just could

not take his chance. Argyle could have won it in normal

time, another effort well saved, A Newport handball gave the visitors

the opening in extra time. They wanted it, but he

could not make it count. The visitors got a second chance,

and another penalty. This time, Carey was not

going to let anyone else take it, and he made no mistake to send

Argyle into round three. It means a great deal

for the football club, It was not pleasing on the eye,

and the pitch was cutting up, and it was about the grit and grind

of a cup competition. It is to get through, we have been

able to do that tonight, On Sunday January 8th,

the players will reap the reward for that hard work when they head

to Anfield to take on Liverpool. And the question everyone

is asking is how can fans Well, the Chief Executive

of Plymouth Argyle can tell us. Martin, you have had a series

of meetings today about it. Give us the details,

if you could, please. Yeah, I mean, we had a conversation

obviously first thing this They have allocated us just over

8100 tickets for the game. Clearly there is going to be

substantial amount of these tickets, but we're under obligation to allow

members to have first We will be doing that over

the Christmas weekend, we will be putting some

of the tickets online, and then on Boxing Day

we are planning to open at 9am so that members can come along

and get their tickets Are you expecting it

to be very busy? We will be very busy on Boxing Day

and beyond, I'm sure. The game against Wycombe,

followed by the game against Crawley,

there is going to be a lot ?500,000 this match is supposed

to be worth four Plymouth Argyle. What are you going to do

with that sort of money? It is certainly going

to be a lucrative match. I'm not sure exactly how much money

will be forthcoming, but we have got a lot of projects

that we're working on here at the club, not least

of which is trying to get promotion out of this division,

so we will be discussing as a board how we're going to allocate

the money as we go forward. It is an incredible

windfall, you nearly Last night's game was touch and go,

missed penalties and the like. Well, it was certainly very tense,

and it looked for a while as though it was going to go to a penalty

shoot out, but thankfully David Goodwillie managed to draw

the foul from the Newport defender. And Graham Carey put

the second penalty away, It was a very tense game

but I was always confident Exeter drew against Liverpool

the same time last year. Do you think Argyle can do

the same thing and bring Well, I think Derek and the team go

into every game with confidence that they are going to get a result,

and I've got no reason to think Tactically we will be spot-on,

and if we can get them back Absolutely delighted,

it's going to be one of the biggest games in the club's history,

let's face it, so you can't fail OK, Martin, thank you very much

indeed, and that's it It's pantomime time at theatres

across the South West, Lesley Joseph and Duncan James talk

about Snow White and the seven dwarfs.

And as the Spotlight Santa Express steams on to Bodmin we'll find out

how the railway brought benefits to a famous country estate.

Squirrels have been blamed for the devastation of a mile-long

stretch of trees on the A38 between Dobwalls and Bodmin.

The Boconnoc Estate, which owns the land,

says the overgrown beech hedging along the Glynn valley had to be

chopped down because branches were dropping onto the road.

The richly verdant Glynn Valley near Bodmin stimulates the senses

of any motorist travelling along the A38.

That was until, during overnight closures of the arterial route,

saw a swathe of beech trees of more than a mile long cut

Obviously, to have done them as it should have been done,

cutting out the larger ones and allowing smaller ones to grow

so that over the years they are coppiced,

The estate who owns this land says they cut the trees

because of squirrel damage and the danger of branches falling

Wildlife experts say squirrel populations are so vast

here that the amount of damage to trees with them ripping off

the bark to get to the sap below is a real problem.

Nationally, squirrel damage to forests is costing more

This, on top of larch disease, ash dieback and sudden oak death,

causes poses a real threat to our green and pleasant land.

The Forestry Commission says it supports what it

describes as a coordinated, targeted and locally

delivered control of what is increasingly seen as a pest.

Baking has become a favourite past time for many after the huge success

But in one village in Dorset volunteers have decided to combine

learning how to make bread with helping others.

The project based in Sutton Poyntz near Weymouth gives people a chance

to practise their kneading and cooking, and the end products

are handed over to charities who are supporting the homeless

Our Dorset reporter Simon Clemison has been meet

Right, ladies and gentlemen, today is our last meeting before

Christmas, and we're going make a centrepiece is mystery lunch. --

Christmas tree. It must be particularly lonely at

Christmas, being on the street and on your own. It must be great to

feel people care about you. Are you making bread?

You concentrate on meeting the dough. The smack needing the dough.

We have at least one day where we bake in our kitchens and take them

down somewhere where homeless people need food.

You have busily been baking bread on a larger scale, but is it the

simplicity of baking for someone else that draws so many people in?

Yes, these bakers love to make bread in their own homes. They want it to

be a special craft that they have learned, and they are passing it on

to someone who really needs it. This is just a white loaf, it has

been put into a Platt. Hopefully today it will go off to

one of the charities, and one hopes that they will get to eat it.

Right, marvellous! It shows people that they are being

thought of. To those who do not always appreciate and respect the

nature of some of the people that use our service.

We have got to say thank you to the bakers at some point.

Snow White, seven Devon cream tea eating dwarves

Plymouth's Theatre Royal's pantomime is well underway and believe you me,

It's a family tradition for many at Christmas so Victoria took

to the stage to speak to two of the stars who are thrilled

Well, being a Christmas baby, I went to pantomime every year

I absolutely loved it, but shows certainly have changed

if you're going to meet any dragon, this is the one to meet.

What do you think of the show so far, Dillon?

Let's go and meet some of the characters in this pantomime.

Lesley Joseph, Duncan James, thank you for doing this for us.

If you look at the set, which is absolutely glorious,

but as an audience you see wonderful dancing, you see real comedy,

you see magic happening, you get dragons going out

of the audience, and as an artist you can pull the audience and,

you can let them laugh, you can make them cry.

And it is a wonderful theatrical experience,

It must have had to change over the last so many years, though,

because it has to become more relevant for people.

There is so much on television, so much to do these days.

But ours is quite traditional, isn't it?

But what is really lovely also is some of the first time kids have

actually had an opportunity to come out of the house and actually

We are consumed their television programmes, in front

of the television, it's very difficult, especially, to drag kids

So for a lot of them, this is their first

And you know an awful lot about Devon.

I grew up and did all my schooling down here, so I'm a local boy,

I got all my school friends coming to see me during this run.

Quite nice to be here? It is nice to be here, I'm spending

Christmas where I used to live, and we are staying on the beautiful

Plymouth Hoe. It is so stunning and beautiful here. We went out last

night. We went to the Dolphin. Love all that.

It was great to be among all the locals and felt really special.

I have to ask you both, tricky question, being in Devon, jam or

cream? Absolutely, cream and then jam.

I'm the other way round. Jam first and then the cream.

The Spotlight viewers will go mad. I'm not sure now. I'm nervous unless

I said the wrong thing. Thank you so much for talking to us,

we really appreciated. Fancy starting the cream tea debate

all over again! Now for the latest in our series of

visits on the steam train. Now it's time to take your seat

on the Spotlight Express once more as we visit another of the region's

festive steam trains. We're back in Cornwall

tonight on the Bodmin The branch line was built

in the late 1800s and runs close to the Lanhydrock Estate

which is celebrating All aboard the Spotlight estate! --

express! We have been running this now for

about 30 years, so in fact, you have got generations coming along,

because I used to bring my children, and last Sunday my children brought

their children. The rail line skirts the Lanhydrock

estate, whose Victorian owners benefited when it was built. When it

was determined that Boston Parkway was going to be the station, it

effectively cut the town of -- Bodmin. And it wasn't until the

branch line was established between Ottoman Parkway and Baldwin town, --

Bodmin Parkway and Bodmin town. He was financially compensated because

he lost money, but he also had the extension to his private drive taken

up to Bodmin Parkway, which was paid for by the great Western Railway.

Inside the house, all the trappings of a well-to-do Victorian Christmas.

Christmas was huge, and there are records of the family coming down

from London or from Cambridgeshire to come down to have a proper

Cornish Christmas. Back on the steam train, and these

children have an appointment with the man in red and white.

A robot and low in the dark dinosaurs.

Presents delivered and children happy, this one is redundant branch

line now fully connected to Christmas. -- once redundant.

Well, Christmas is drawing ever closer, tonight is mine and Justin's

last Spotlight together before the big day, so I thought it

would be a good opportunity to catch up on all our seasonal fun.

Knit and Pearl the Robins are here, as is Leigh the Christmas tree.

There have been many fun festive moments over the last few weeks,

including one which nearly caught us out!

Now, you may think you know all there is to know about famous

reindeer at Christmas, the red nose, the sleigh guiding, but you have not

met Bertie from Somerset. With a tide of his ears he delivers

a thank you gift, in the shape of a box of mince pies. There they go

again! Bertie the blue nosed reindeer, he will be in Taunton on

Friday for an event celebrating the work of local charities.

Thank you! Anything else? We laughed at that, didn't we? He

has been working hard for an aged charity in Somerset, and he has been

travelling on the M5ever since the last week. And here he is! In the

studio. I didn't know... !

A bit of a surprise. You go to his back end, because I

have got a Christmas present for you. Do you ready? Are you ready?

There is your Christmas present from me, just in. Merry Christmas.

I genuinely did not know that was coming!

We have been keeping it a secret from you all day. We thought we

would cheer you up this Christmas will stop what do you think? What

wisdom -- what present have you got? A chocolate log! Lord Dear.

Bertie the blue nosed reindeer in the studio.

And thank you and much to everyone who sent business cards and

Christmas gifts -- Christmas cards. Thank you very much for remembering.

Lots of people have written from all over the UK, expat who tune in to

Spotlight from all over the country and Europe. Let's see what the

weather is great belike for the few days.

Looks like we're grey to have a mild and grey Christmas, because there is

all cloud screaming in the Atlantic. Low-pressure arriving tomorrow,

Christmas 2016 likely to be windy and mild. We do have a warning from

the Met Office about the strength of wind for tomorrow. Before we get to

Chris was, we could have costs of up to 50-60 mph. That area of low

pressure has been given a name, it has been cold Barbara. It travels up

towards Scotland and arrives through the day tomorrow. The strongest

winds will be in the northern half of the country, but once this

weather have -- front arrives, it brings heavy rain and lively gusts

of wind. That moves through, and by the time we get to Christmas Eve, a

blustery west, south West wind, relatively mild, briefly some

sunshine, generally cloudy. Chris was day itself, no chance of

anything wintry -- Christmas. We will have an unusually mild crisp as

day. -- Christmas Day. We will see some of the strongest

gusts of wind, but they will ease and become more westerly is that

weather front goes through. The cloud and showers we have seen today

will probably continue this evening and overnight tonight, but in

between the showers we have had an awful lot of fine weather, which is

nice, and some sunshine. Our cameraman enjoying lovely sunshine

at this estuary. It has been quite a pleasant day, a good day to be out

and about enjoying the fine weather. And the sunshine. It will be

different tomorrow because of the strength of wind and the rain coming

in. No chance of seeing those temperatures that could give us any

frost, although temperatures tonight will fall, a lot of the showers will

fade away, we will get clear skies later on tonight, so a touch of

frost briefly by tomorrow morning. Temperatures starting the day

between 2-4 . Briefly some sunshine in the morning, but quite quickly

the clouds streaming in and the weather front arriving. Gusts could

be 30, 40, even 60 mph in that rain band. It clears from the West later

in the day, with a top temperature of 12-13 . There is the forecast for

the Isles of Scilly. Windy with rain for daytime, then turning much drier

as that weather front goes through. The times of high water...

Big waves for surfers, and perhaps the cleanest surf will be along the

north coast, because once the wind gets going, that is likely to be

very messy indeed. The coastal waters forecast

reflecting the strength of wind. Christmas eve is going to be

blustery, rather cloudy, with a few showers, and Christmas Day, mild and

breezy. Have a good evening. Thank you stop I usually know

everything in the running order, but not this evening!

Can't believe I managed to keep it a secret Alde! That all from us today.

Have a wonderful Christmas, look forward to seeing you in the New

Year. Happy Christmas, good night.