:00:12. > :00:19.Hello and welcome to Inside Out, with stories you need to know about
:00:19. > :00:22.Tonight, protests from Black Country horse keepers, as the
:00:22. > :00:29.bailiffs move in to catch the wild horses of Sandwell and remove
:00:29. > :00:34.tethered horses from council land. They're part of us. If the horse
:00:34. > :00:39.isn't here, there's nothing for us really, cos that's all we've got.
:00:39. > :00:41.Anti-capitalism or anti-government cuts? We go behind the scenes of
:00:41. > :00:48.some new protest movements and meet others who say austerity measures
:00:48. > :00:53.have not gone far enough. Time for us to get real! Let's face up to
:00:53. > :00:59.the truth. Our public finances are in a total shambles. Britain is
:00:59. > :01:02.skint. And Jasper Carrott has the story of
:01:02. > :01:08.a radio legend, as he catches up with the consumer crusader from BBC
:01:08. > :01:18.local radio. That's all coming up on tonight's Inside Out, with me,
:01:18. > :01:29.
:01:29. > :01:33.Horses have been a feature of our landscape for more than two
:01:33. > :01:36.centuries. The origin of the Black Country horse is the need for
:01:36. > :01:41.industry to have some kind of infrastructure, which means haulage
:01:41. > :01:44.and logistics in modern terms. They're a legacy of days gone by,
:01:44. > :01:50.but at one time, these horses were the power behind the Industrial
:01:50. > :01:53.Revolution. All these were carrying goods between pits and forges and
:01:53. > :01:58.foundries and ironworks in the Black Country, and of course moving
:01:58. > :02:01.the finished goods out of the Black Country. But horse-ownership, like
:02:01. > :02:04.the industries they once powered, could soon be a thing of the past,
:02:04. > :02:14.as Sandwell Council has decided that grazing on public land will no
:02:14. > :02:17.
:02:17. > :02:22.longer be tolerated. On public open space, the council will not allow
:02:22. > :02:25.any horses to be tethered or loose. And so the horse owners of Sandwell
:02:25. > :02:31.have become locked in battle with the council, as they fight to
:02:31. > :02:34.preserve their way of life. The sight of horses tethered and
:02:34. > :02:44.grazing on open spaces in parts of Sandwell is a common feature of the
:02:44. > :02:46.
:02:46. > :02:50.landscape. They're part of us. If the horse isn't here, there's
:02:50. > :02:55.nothing for us really, cos that's all we've got. Horses have been in
:02:55. > :03:03.Malcolm's family for generations. He grew up with horses as a young
:03:03. > :03:07.boy. It's something he hopes his children will also be able to do.
:03:07. > :03:11.can remember my grandad giving me a horse when I was younger, and he
:03:11. > :03:16.said, "This is your horse". I basically worked myself up. Now
:03:16. > :03:21.I've got six horses, so I've done it all myself. They're my life to
:03:21. > :03:28.me, to be honest. That's all I work for, all I live for. My family and
:03:28. > :03:31.my horses. The horses are more than an old tradition. They represent
:03:31. > :03:37.quality family time. It's a commitment and responsibility they
:03:37. > :03:40.learn at a young age. If my mate's saying, "Do you want to come out to
:03:40. > :03:44.play?", and my dad asks me if I want to ride the horse, I'd rather
:03:44. > :03:48.ride my horse, basically. All these kids here being in trouble, playing
:03:48. > :03:52.out too late. I'm missing that, getting out of trouble, keeping out
:03:52. > :03:55.of trouble. I want my children to have what I've had. Cos I've been
:03:55. > :03:59.brought up with horses the old- fashioned way, I've learnt a lot of
:03:59. > :04:06.respect for people and animals. So I want my children to be brought up
:04:06. > :04:10.exactly the same way as me. Put them in the stable. Good lad.
:04:10. > :04:13.while some horses are tethered, others have been set loose. Locals
:04:13. > :04:17.told us they were dumped years ago and have been roaming free and
:04:17. > :04:27.breeding ever since. They say the tethered horses are not the problem.
:04:27. > :04:31.But the council disagrees. We've been using this land for... It's
:04:31. > :04:34.been over 60, 70 years, the land's been used for horses. Horses was
:04:34. > :04:38.around here before the councillor was even born, I suppose, and
:04:38. > :04:43.houses was built. So I don't agree with trying to change the way it is
:04:43. > :04:49.in the Black Country. That's all we do. Horses, horses, day and night,
:04:49. > :04:58.that's all we do. Mix with the horses. We don't drink, we don't go
:04:58. > :05:01.out. But the horses are not a welcome sight for everyone. Many of
:05:01. > :05:05.the residents in this area believe they pose a danger and a nuisance
:05:05. > :05:07.to the community, and want the council to act. On the grounds of
:05:07. > :05:12.public safety, earlier this year, Sandwell Council introduced a
:05:12. > :05:15.strict no-grazing policy across all of its parks and green spaces.
:05:15. > :05:20.They've employed the services of a horse bailiff to issue notices and
:05:20. > :05:22.remove illegally tethered or roaming horses. Malcolm's father
:05:22. > :05:32.Philip says they understand the council's safety concerns, but
:05:32. > :05:35.
:05:35. > :05:44.argue that the problem is not with their horses. I agree with the
:05:44. > :05:49.loose horses. They are dangerous, yeah. I totally agree with the
:05:49. > :05:53.loose horses. But our horses are never, never loose. If they're
:05:53. > :05:58.loose, they're tied up within two or three minutes. There's somebody
:05:58. > :06:01.always here to put them back on the tethers. They've never had hassle
:06:01. > :06:06.with us on the city, never. They've never caused no accidents or
:06:06. > :06:08.nothing, our horses have. We've had them all our lives. Since early
:06:08. > :06:11.this year, the council has introduced bailiffs to enforce
:06:11. > :06:14.their policy and seize horses illegally grazing on council land,
:06:14. > :06:22.whether loose or tethered. But the horse owners have serious concerns
:06:22. > :06:25.over the practice of the bailiffs and told us: The bailiffs are
:06:25. > :06:30.targeting tethered horses are failing to tackle the horses
:06:30. > :06:32.roaming loose. The bailiffs are removing tethered horses without
:06:32. > :06:35.giving owners the required notice or opportunity to move the animals
:06:35. > :06:37.themselves. And the bailiffs are impounding horses at night,
:06:37. > :06:40.something the owners believe is unnecessary and causes great
:06:40. > :06:44.distress to their animals. This footage was given to us by one
:06:44. > :06:48.horse owner. She didn't want to be identified, as she was afraid her
:06:48. > :06:51.horse would be taken again. We're unable to verify its authenticity,
:06:51. > :06:54.but she claims it shows the bailiffs taking her horse at night,
:06:54. > :07:01.breaching government and industry guidelines. It got taken of the
:07:01. > :07:09.night time. The bailiffs came and take him at 11.30pm at night.
:07:10. > :07:14.you have any warning? No. They said they warned us but I know for a
:07:14. > :07:18.fact that they never cos I went over there every day. How much did
:07:18. > :07:24.you have to pay? It was about �4 short of �2,000. Nearly �2,000?
:07:24. > :07:27.Yeah, definitely. Rossendales refused to take part in the
:07:27. > :07:31.programme, but in a statement told us: The Local Authority tells
:07:31. > :07:34.Rossendale's which sites to attend and loose horses are removed first.
:07:34. > :07:38.Notice is always given, but if ignored, there is no alternative
:07:38. > :07:41.but to remove them. Of 14 animals taken, only one was reclaimed.
:07:41. > :07:45.Horses taken at night are handled by qualified officers who treat
:07:45. > :07:48.them with the utmost care. residents we spoke to tell us
:07:48. > :07:52.they're willing to help deal with the stray horses, and simply want
:07:52. > :07:56.somewhere safe to graze their animals. The council keep saying
:07:56. > :08:03.they've got no money and then want to get rid of pieces of land. We're
:08:03. > :08:13.willing to pay for pieces of land. We're willing to pay for this over
:08:13. > :08:19.here to keep our horses on. Today, the horse owners are taking their
:08:19. > :08:23.battle to the Council House, in the hope of speaking to someone. We've
:08:23. > :08:27.emailed them, we've been up there, we've phoned them. We've done
:08:27. > :08:30.everything and nobody wants to speak to us. We handed a petition
:08:30. > :08:33.in with about 350 signatures, and still nobody has come back saying
:08:33. > :08:37.what's happened to the petition or if anybody's going to do anything
:08:37. > :08:41.about it. If it comes to it, I'll do them every week until the
:08:41. > :08:51.council talk to us and sort something out. So how did you get
:08:51. > :08:53.
:08:53. > :09:02.on? No reply. Just been to the council, asked them if somebody
:09:02. > :09:12.could come out and talk to us. And he's just said straight, point
:09:12. > :09:13.
:09:13. > :09:19.blank, no. Nobody's coming out to see us, point blank. What do you do
:09:19. > :09:23.now? Just keep doing these till something gets sorted out.
:09:23. > :09:27.Somebody's got to talk to us. They've got to compromise halfway
:09:27. > :09:29.somewhere along the line. But later on that afternoon, there was
:09:29. > :09:32.someone available to talk to us. Councillor Ian Jones started by
:09:32. > :09:35.explaining the council's position. They are breaking the law. We have
:09:35. > :09:38.employed bailiffs, which all the horse owners know, because they've
:09:38. > :09:42.petitioned. They are fully aware that on public open space, the
:09:42. > :09:44.council will not allow any horses to be tethered or loose. Resident
:09:44. > :09:49.and horse owners say the council ignore their complaints if the
:09:49. > :09:53.stray horses are on private land. You will see horses on private land.
:09:53. > :09:57.And on private land, the council is not responsible for those horses.
:09:57. > :10:00.So it is these loose horses that are causing the problem, and yet
:10:00. > :10:03.the majority that have been taken by the bailiffs are the tethered
:10:03. > :10:07.ones, and I appreciate what you're saying, that it's a safety issue...
:10:07. > :10:11.Well, no, no. It's the loose horses that are causing the problems.
:10:11. > :10:14.They're the ones that should be taken? We should do both. One of
:10:14. > :10:17.the issues with the tethered horses, as I've said, and the government
:10:17. > :10:19.regulations from DEFRA about no tethered horses around rights of
:10:19. > :10:23.way and other public footpaths means that they are breaking the
:10:23. > :10:28.law. So how many of the stray and roaming horses have the council
:10:28. > :10:34.taken? I think it's about three or four at the moment. How many of the
:10:34. > :10:37.tethered horses? About 12. owners have been in touch with the
:10:37. > :10:42.bailiffs and the bailiffs have said, "There will be a charge to return
:10:42. > :10:45.your horse". The owner pays the �2,000, gets their horse back.
:10:46. > :10:50.You're back to square one? that's where responsibility comes.
:10:50. > :10:54.If the horse is back on the land, you haven't solved the problem?
:10:54. > :10:57.don't have to solve the problem. The council does have grazing land
:10:57. > :11:00.that horse owners can hire at Sandwell Valley Country Park. But
:11:01. > :11:03.it's full and there's a five-year waiting list for places. So with no
:11:03. > :11:06.alternative sites available, and both the horse owners and council
:11:07. > :11:10.refusing to back down, this is one battle that could take a long time
:11:10. > :11:13.to resolve. We had a very rich family life but the horses are all
:11:13. > :11:16.we've got and the tethering's all we've got as well. We won't stop
:11:16. > :11:23.having them. They'll never, never stop it. Never. They can do what
:11:23. > :11:26.they want. We'll never stop. So what do you think? Is it fair to
:11:26. > :11:36.tether horses, and what can the council do to round up the ones
:11:36. > :11:38.
:11:38. > :11:40.Now, they've been camping out in cities across the world. Anti-
:11:40. > :11:43.capitalist and anti-cuts protesters outside St Paul's Cathedral in
:11:43. > :11:46.London were mirrored by smaller tented protests, including one here
:11:46. > :11:49.in Birmingham. Earlier this year, Tony started filming some of the
:11:49. > :11:59.new protest movements which have sprung up in response to the
:11:59. > :12:01.
:12:01. > :12:06.economic crisis. Here's his report. CHANTING: Topshop! Pay your tax!
:12:06. > :12:13.Whose money? Our money! They call themselves UK Uncut. Cut back!
:12:13. > :12:15.Fight back! Cut, cut, cut back! Fight, fight, fight back! For a
:12:15. > :12:20.year now they've been arranging to meet through Twitter, Facebook and
:12:20. > :12:24.old-fashioned word-of-mouth. Their mission is to disrupt and protest,
:12:24. > :12:28.to make a point about the cuts being imposed. They say cut back!
:12:28. > :12:36.We say fight back! Their concern is the people who don't normally have
:12:36. > :12:42.a voice as loud as theirs. Miss Selfridge! Pay your tax! I feel
:12:42. > :12:46.like I'm a nothing. That I don't count anywhere in this world.
:12:46. > :12:49.embarking on some very bleak, sad times. You probably hadn't heard of
:12:50. > :12:52.UK Uncut until these disturbances in London in March. The violence
:12:52. > :12:57.and vandalism made the headlines at an anti-cuts protest involving half
:12:57. > :13:01.a million people. Most of those arrested that day were the 145 who
:13:01. > :13:04.held a peaceful sit-in at the luxury food store, Fortnum & Mason.
:13:04. > :13:08.They were protesting over alleged tax avoidance by the business's
:13:08. > :13:11.owners. So we decided to follow the activities of UK Uncut over the
:13:12. > :13:16.summer. We'd also get the alternative view from those who
:13:16. > :13:26.believe a policy of cuts is right. Indeed, there are those who think
:13:26. > :13:29.
:13:30. > :13:32.the cuts should be deeper. It is about time that government started
:13:32. > :13:36.to stand up for hard-pressed British taxpayers. It looked like
:13:36. > :13:42.we were heading for a summer of discontent. April - a warm day in
:13:42. > :13:52.Nottingham. UK Uncut supporters gather on a street corner dressed
:13:52. > :13:56.as nurses and hospital workers. It's a busy Saturday morning. They
:13:56. > :14:01.have a list of targets but the police don't know where they are.
:14:01. > :14:07.All of a sudden, there's a quick march to a bank. Lloyds TSB, a
:14:07. > :14:14.bailed-out bank, which is 41% owned by taxpayers. This government is
:14:14. > :14:18.taking the NHS and, in effect, privatising it. They go in to
:14:19. > :14:25.protest at news the banks made �2 billion profit and paid no tax. And
:14:25. > :14:35.spent 200 million on staff bonuses. We wanted to know what motivates
:14:35. > :14:47.
:14:47. > :14:50.someone to get involved in action Can mummy help colour? On that one.
:14:50. > :14:56.Sam Dixon has lost her job because of the cuts, but says that's not
:14:56. > :14:59.why she has decided to give up part of her weekend to protest. I'm more
:14:59. > :15:03.outraged that people are losing services and people's lives are
:15:03. > :15:13.going to be put at risk. I'm going to be able to find another job and
:15:13. > :15:18.These are the people Sam means. Those helped by a programme called
:15:18. > :15:20.Supporting People. It's upset me regarding what's happening to sort
:15:20. > :15:23.of frontline services, because these people are either going to
:15:23. > :15:33.end up sort of dying, or needing some severe statutory intervention,
:15:33. > :15:36.
:15:36. > :15:40.which I find is a complete and utter false economy. May, a rainy
:15:40. > :15:44.day in Lincoln. Sam and the UK Uncut protestors from Nottingham
:15:45. > :15:49.are on a day trip gathering new supporters. This time they're
:15:49. > :15:59.dressed as bankers. We are here to facilitate your peaceful protest,
:15:59. > :16:02.OK? First time I come across this, but it's very worthwhile. I think
:16:02. > :16:06.it's a good thing they're doing it. Hopefully some people will listen
:16:06. > :16:10.and something will change. Once more, it's a peaceful march around
:16:10. > :16:18.the city. The police keep a watchful eye, but not everyone is
:16:18. > :16:21.happy with the demonstrations. They're wasting tax payers' money.
:16:21. > :16:26.Wasting police time as well. If they paid taxes, they'd have an
:16:26. > :16:32.argument, wouldn't they. They don't pay taxes, they're all students.
:16:32. > :16:35.Idiots. They're not all students though. They are. I can tell from
:16:36. > :16:40.here. How can you tell someone's a student by looking at them? I can
:16:40. > :16:44.tell. It's a week later on a sunny Saturday morning in Loughborough.
:16:44. > :16:48.Jago Pearson is up early for a student. He's off to London, to a
:16:48. > :16:55.demonstration in favour of cuts. It's organised by the Taxpayers'
:16:55. > :17:00.Alliance. There are people here who believe the cuts don't go far
:17:00. > :17:03.enough. We're not even going to start paying back this debt until
:17:03. > :17:06.five years' time, at the current rate. And the interest payment is
:17:06. > :17:10.going to get bigger and bigger and that's money we can't spend on
:17:10. > :17:17.anything else. What they want are deeper cuts to public services, to
:17:17. > :17:22.get the economy back on track. is time for us to get real. Let's
:17:22. > :17:30.face up to the truth. Our public finances are in a total shambles.
:17:30. > :17:33.Britain is skint. I'm not a public schoolboy. State educated. We've
:17:33. > :17:37.got to accept that everyone's going to get hit in various different
:17:37. > :17:40.ways by any cuts that are happening or any further cuts maybe we are
:17:40. > :17:43.calling for, but the fact is that we can't let our vested interest
:17:44. > :17:47.get in the way of what's good for the country and what's good for,
:17:47. > :17:52.say, our grandchildren in 50, 60 years' time and for the future of
:17:52. > :17:55.the country. June. Nottingham, and around the country the teachers are
:17:55. > :18:05.on strike over pensions, and UK Uncut are supporting them on a
:18:05. > :18:06.
:18:06. > :18:09.March. This is another example of the mess the bankers have left us
:18:09. > :18:13.in, and the Government are expecting the taxpayer to foot the
:18:13. > :18:17.bill. But a decision has been taken to save money on the public sector
:18:17. > :18:24.pension bill. And for people like Jago Pearson that's the right thing
:18:24. > :18:27.to do. There are people out there who do believe the cuts are right,
:18:27. > :18:30.and we could be going further in some cases. Take away the
:18:30. > :18:33.bureaucracy, and of course the most important thing, the European Union,
:18:33. > :18:43.we spend billions of pounds every year on the European Union. It's
:18:43. > :18:43.
:18:43. > :18:47.just about time that stops. August. Riots in London. Disturbances and
:18:47. > :18:50.arrests in Nottingham. While there's injustices and inequalities
:18:50. > :18:56.taking place on that scale then I'll be taking part in whatever
:18:56. > :19:01.actions I can get to. October. Westminster. UK Uncut from
:19:01. > :19:05.Nottingham join in. And now they occupy the Old Market Place in
:19:06. > :19:15.Nottingham. A movement of outrage, which isn't showing any signs of
:19:16. > :19:16.
:19:16. > :19:20.going away. Finally tonight, we pay tribute to a BBC local radio legend
:19:20. > :19:23.who's giving up his daily consumer show on Radio WM, and just like Sir
:19:23. > :19:33.Terry Wogan severely cutting back on his broadcasting hours. This is
:19:33. > :19:33.
:19:33. > :19:40.the story of Ed Doolan, brought to you by Jasper Carrott. It's 11.50
:19:40. > :19:44.and Ed Doolan is getting ready to go live on air. He's done this more
:19:44. > :19:53.than 9,000 times. But today, for the first time in four decades,
:19:53. > :19:56.he's nervous. He's hiding it, but he is quite upset about today. I
:19:56. > :19:59.think there'll be a few moments later on in the programme. Ed is
:19:59. > :20:02.one of the longest serving radio presenters in the world. He's
:20:02. > :20:07.interviewed the grandest and the greatest. But this is his last show
:20:07. > :20:14.before going into semi-retirement. There's a certain nervousness which
:20:14. > :20:17.I'm not used to, because I don't get nervous. I used to. For 40
:20:17. > :20:20.years Ed has used his microphone to stick up for Brummies and challenge
:20:20. > :20:27.authorities. When he gets on to you, you're going to get a tough time.
:20:27. > :20:32.We had some fearsome rows. I was scared stiff. Ed is our voice. He's
:20:32. > :20:35.fearless. He was even named one of history's 100 famous Brummies, but
:20:35. > :20:45.what few realise is that Ed isn't from Birmingham at all. He's
:20:45. > :20:53.
:20:53. > :20:58.Australian. G'day. So, how come a complete outsider from Down Under
:20:58. > :21:05.became one of this city's most famous adopted sons? Let's find out.
:21:05. > :21:08.We're going to be having our usual consumer phone-ins. I'm itching to
:21:08. > :21:13.know why Ed ended up in Brum in the first place, leaving Sydney's sun-
:21:13. > :21:17.drenched harbour behind. So why would a snotty nosed kid from the
:21:17. > :21:21.suburbs of Sydney want to come to Birmingham and do local radio for
:21:21. > :21:29.the BBC? Well, what I wanted to do was to do radio. I was obsessed
:21:29. > :21:32.with radio from about the age of four or five. A typical evening in
:21:32. > :21:34.the Doolan household was to sit down and watch my mother doing the
:21:34. > :21:42.ironing, and listen to the transcription service, the BBC
:21:42. > :21:45.transcription service that they were sending through. And they'd be
:21:45. > :21:55.broadcasting people like Frankie Howerd, The Goons and Take It From
:21:55. > :21:56.
:21:56. > :22:02.Here and Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh. I loved it. For the ninth time this
:22:02. > :22:05.season, Much-Binding takes the air. Inspired by a notion that British
:22:05. > :22:08.radio was the place to be, a fresh- faced Ed Doolan journeyed to our
:22:08. > :22:11.shores. Soon he got his chance on Birmingham's brand-new commercial
:22:11. > :22:21.station, BRMB. BRMB, playing Birmingham's best mix of the 80s,
:22:21. > :22:27.
:22:27. > :22:31.90s and today. I've brought Ed back to see how things have changed.
:22:31. > :22:34.Gone are the pictures of David Essex and ABBA. In those early days,
:22:34. > :22:41.Ed was an outsider and desperately needed to get Brummies on his side.
:22:41. > :22:44.He told friends he had a plan. remember Ed telling me he heard a
:22:44. > :22:47.show in Australia on radio that changed his life. It was somebody
:22:47. > :22:50.trying to get social justice and trying to change things and make a
:22:50. > :22:53.difference to people by a radio show. Ed thought "I would like do
:22:53. > :23:03.that, I would like to have my programmes make a difference to
:23:03. > :23:05.
:23:05. > :23:14.people." Across the West Midlands, on 95.6FM, Lunch with Ed Doolan on
:23:14. > :23:17.BBC WM. Ed's programme certainly made a difference to listener Sam.
:23:17. > :23:21.I've been listening Ed Doolan for nearly 30 years and one day he
:23:21. > :23:25.saved my life. Sam heard Ed talking on air about a rare health
:23:25. > :23:34.condition called abdominal aortic aneurysm. Concerned, he booked a
:23:34. > :23:37.scan. The scan showed up that I had a large aneurysm and I needed to be
:23:37. > :23:42.dealt with immediately, and the next two days I was with the
:23:42. > :23:44.consultant at Heartlands Hospital. But Ed really made a name for
:23:44. > :23:53.himself when he started helping listeners with their consumer
:23:53. > :23:58.problems. Back then it was pioneering stuff. Hello, this is
:23:58. > :24:04.the city's engineers department. Thank you for calling to report a
:24:04. > :24:08.defect. Hello. This is the Ed Doolan Show, on Radio WM. Mr Day
:24:08. > :24:11.from Edgbaston would like to record a message. Yes. There is a blocked
:24:11. > :24:14.drain blocked up by the Severn Trent Water authority. For three
:24:14. > :24:18.months. For three months. If you don't know what the hell's going on
:24:18. > :24:21.in your own city, there's no help for you. You've got some work to do
:24:21. > :24:25.with the customers. We have indeed. If there's a problem, he says let's
:24:25. > :24:28.find the person who can sort that problem out, and he's on the phone,
:24:29. > :24:32."Get me the phone number for Fred," whoever it is at the Town Hall. And
:24:32. > :24:35.he's on the phone. "Fred, it's Ed Doolan here, a lot of people have
:24:35. > :24:45.been worried about..." and you think he just jumps in with all
:24:45. > :24:48.four feet, you know. So becoming a consumer champion may have made Ed
:24:48. > :24:51.popular with Brummies, but it put him on headbutting terms with some
:24:51. > :24:54.of the most powerful leaders in the region. Isn't that so? Are you
:24:54. > :24:58.saying there are people working for Birmingham Council who are
:24:58. > :25:05.frightened that if they say what is going on, that they will be sacked?
:25:05. > :25:10.That's exactly what I'm saying. it was with Midlands Transport
:25:10. > :25:14.Chief Phil Bateman that Ed had his most notorious battles. So come on
:25:14. > :25:18.Phil, how volatile were those early sets to with Ed? Oh, they were
:25:18. > :25:23.pretty volatile. They were pretty blood and guts - usually my blood,
:25:23. > :25:27.my guts. I didn't like him at first, that's the truth of the matter. I
:25:27. > :25:32.felt he was aggressive. Overly aggressive at times. What were the
:25:32. > :25:35.arguments about? You name it, he'd have an argument with you about it.
:25:35. > :25:38.He'd be very nice to start with. He'd engage you in conversation,
:25:39. > :25:41.and then the next minute, your mics went on, the red light went on and
:25:41. > :25:46.he changed, turned into the Tasmanian devil! Of course Ed
:25:46. > :25:49.normally came out on top. You ever wondered why you can catch a bus on
:25:49. > :25:53.Boxing Day? That's one of Ed's many victories, but in 1989 an
:25:53. > :25:57.extraordinary case came along that really tested the Aussie mettle.
:25:57. > :26:00.Here a prisoner who absconded from staff at jail gave himself up while
:26:01. > :26:07.taking part in a radio phone-in. made national headlines when he
:26:07. > :26:10.took a call from a prisoner on the run. Casting BBC health and safety
:26:10. > :26:15.rules to the wind, he agreed to escort Steven Winnery into custody
:26:15. > :26:24.safely. Winnery agreed to be picked up, provided no police were
:26:24. > :26:29.involved. He also agreed to the presence of cameras. Supposing you
:26:29. > :26:34.had found a gun, what would you have done? I never thought of that.
:26:34. > :26:38.I never thought I would. When we got in the car, he thanked me and
:26:38. > :26:41.said "I don't want to go to the prison. I want to go the nearest
:26:41. > :26:47.police station." And I said "Well, I don't know where the nearest
:26:47. > :26:51.police station is." He said, "I'll show you the way." You know, Ed
:26:51. > :26:56.didn't just help the man in the street, he also helped the man on
:26:56. > :27:02.the stage. $$NEWLINE# When I get my moped out on the road $$NEWLINE#
:27:02. > :27:05.I'm going to ride, ride, ride. # When I released Funky Moped in 1975,
:27:05. > :27:10.few people outside Birmingham knew who I was, but an appearance on Top
:27:10. > :27:20.of the Pops changed everything. That was thanks to Ed, who had been
:27:20. > :27:20.
:27:20. > :27:25.promoting the record for weeks. It was my big break. Isn't that nice.
:27:25. > :27:28.Ed's not retiring completely. Oh no. New shows on Fridays and Sundays
:27:28. > :27:31.will keep him busy in Brum. But his last daily consumer prog, the show
:27:32. > :27:35.that made his name, is almost over. It's been an emotional two hours,
:27:35. > :27:38.so will he be able to stick to his script? The problem is when the
:27:38. > :27:41.emotions get involved he often discards it and speaks from the
:27:42. > :27:47.heart. I don't know whether he'll be able to stick to that, to be
:27:47. > :27:53.honest. As the clock creeps towards the hour, Ed delivers those parting
:27:53. > :27:58.words. I'll be back live, next Friday, at 12 noon. But now, until
:27:58. > :28:02.next we meet, thanks for listening. A professional to the end, Ed stuck
:28:02. > :28:05.to his script, word-for-word. After nearly 40 years of sticking up for
:28:05. > :28:08.the people of Birmingham, it's little wonder that we Brummies have
:28:09. > :28:12.made Ed Doolan one of our own. What an honour we have bestowed upon him.
:28:12. > :28:22.However, Birmingham and the Black Country have a lot to thank him for.
:28:22. > :28:34.
:28:34. > :28:37.I know I have. Well, that's all for tonight. Join me again next Monday.