Browse content similar to 23/01/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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If next half hour, fighting for answer. The County Durham women | :00:04. | :00:11. | |
living with fear, after the breast implant scandal. These implants | :00:12. | :00:15. | |
have completely and utterly ruined the last two-and-a-half years of my | :00:15. | :00:22. | |
life. At loggerheads, the Newcastle College whose A star reputation is | :00:22. | :00:26. | |
under fire. It is the systems and procedure nas are wrong and until | :00:26. | :00:29. | |
they are put right, this type of bullying and harassment will carry | :00:29. | :00:36. | |
on. And going for gold. Teesside's Chris Tomlinson on the price of | :00:36. | :00:42. | |
loping for success at the London Olympics. Taking it one step at a | :00:42. | :00:46. | |
time. I have a chance and ultimately a medal is a medal. | :00:46. | :00:49. | |
Story from the heart of the North East and Cumbria. This is Inside | :00:49. | :00:59. | |
:00:59. | :01:07. | ||
It is an anxious time for the thousands of women who have had | :01:07. | :01:11. | |
breast implants. But we have discovered one trust in our region | :01:11. | :01:17. | |
has carried out over a fifth of all NHS operations, using the | :01:17. | :01:20. | |
controversial PIP implant. And a surgeon at the same trust raised | :01:20. | :01:24. | |
the alarm about these products five years ago. But the women at the | :01:24. | :01:31. | |
heart of this story weren't told. They are fews you. Health fear | :01:31. | :01:35. | |
overs tens of thousands of breast implants found to have a risk of | :01:35. | :01:40. | |
rupturing. Will I feel sick when I think about t. It was scary. I | :01:40. | :01:45. | |
wanted them to listen. Having these implants have completely and | :01:45. | :01:49. | |
utterly ruined the last two-and-a- half years of my life. Three women | :01:49. | :01:53. | |
whose lives have been ripped apart by something that was supposed to | :01:53. | :01:58. | |
make them feel good about themselves. They have all had PIP | :01:58. | :02:01. | |
breast implants, 40,000 women nationally have had the implants | :02:01. | :02:05. | |
fitted, 95% of them in private clinics. What is clear from | :02:05. | :02:10. | |
speaking to these women, is the sheer anguish. They feel violated | :02:10. | :02:15. | |
that they are a victim of crime. And then is the fear of the unknown. | :02:15. | :02:20. | |
Are they being poisoned? Cumbrian land lady Claire got a loan tout | :02:20. | :02:26. | |
have a breast enhancement at a private medical clinic in 2006. | :02:26. | :02:32. | |
was just such a confidence boost. I can now, I can wear nice clothes | :02:32. | :02:37. | |
and not hide under the paingy T- shirts and sweatshirts, which I | :02:37. | :02:40. | |
used to. Like thousands of other women Claire found out she had been | :02:40. | :02:44. | |
fitted with PIP implant, which were banned when they were found to | :02:44. | :02:48. | |
contain industrial grade silicon once the scandal broke out over | :02:48. | :02:52. | |
Christmas. France agrees to pay thousands of women to have breast | :02:52. | :02:54. | |
implants removed. Though the Government here insists they are | :02:54. | :02:59. | |
safe. To find out that I've got this, this silicon that is supposed | :02:59. | :03:08. | |
to be used in mattress, it is an outrage. You can't imagine what it | :03:08. | :03:12. | |
feels like to know that this stuff is in your body, and it is not | :03:12. | :03:17. | |
supposed to be there. Claire has been left in limbo by his private | :03:17. | :03:21. | |
provider. Conversely all NHS patients, about 2,000 women in all, | :03:21. | :03:26. | |
have been told they can have their implants removed for free, and if | :03:26. | :03:32. | |
clinically necessary, replaced. But some feel equally let down. One | :03:32. | :03:36. | |
woman I spoke to said during a consultation a surgeon demonstrated | :03:36. | :03:40. | |
the safety of the implants by repeatedly jabbing it with a pen. | :03:40. | :03:44. | |
He was so confident he said, in fact, if ever she was stabbed, it | :03:44. | :03:50. | |
could save her life. Imagine how she feels now. Fay from County | :03:50. | :03:54. | |
Durham was unhappy the appearance of her breast after having two | :03:54. | :03:59. | |
children. I didn't like the shape of my breast, it didn't look like a | :03:59. | :04:04. | |
boob. They looked empty. I wanted it to look like a boob, and I went | :04:04. | :04:08. | |
to the doctor and asked and he said I'll send you to a plastic surgeon. | :04:09. | :04:13. | |
I went to one and he said I will give you a new set. About 14 months | :04:13. | :04:19. | |
after the operation on the NHS in Durham, Fay was worried one of her | :04:20. | :04:23. | |
implants had split. I was looking at my breasts at the time. I | :04:23. | :04:27. | |
noticed it did have a tiny bleb underneath. I went to my doctors | :04:27. | :04:33. | |
and said, do you think I could have, it could have ruptured. They tried | :04:33. | :04:37. | |
to put her mind at ease. There is no way they will rupture. They are | :04:37. | :04:42. | |
like a Turkish delight. If you cut them in half, they can't fall apart. | :04:42. | :04:47. | |
It solid gel. I think they thought I was a nut e I was mad. They | :04:47. | :04:52. | |
thought she is neurotic. They said I was reading into things too much. | :04:52. | :04:57. | |
Then I was starting to think am I? I thought I was going round the | :04:57. | :05:02. | |
bend. It was scary. I just wanted them to listen. What Fay didn't | :05:02. | :05:06. | |
know, was that the surgeon who carried out the original operation, | :05:06. | :05:14. | |
pictured here, had written a letter, published in the plastic surgery | :05:14. | :05:21. | |
journal, flagging up concerns. Brook Berry reported how a woman | :05:21. | :05:27. | |
was referred to him with a lump in her right armpit. An exploration of | :05:27. | :05:31. | |
the right breast, I found there was a huge tear in the shell of the | :05:31. | :05:41. | |
:05:41. | :05:58. | ||
He is retired but a colleague believes the regulator should have | :05:58. | :06:02. | |
investigated further. The correct scientific way of pursuing this | :06:02. | :06:06. | |
would be to make the authorities aware and if there were any more | :06:06. | :06:10. | |
incidents to collect the patient load and to investigate that | :06:10. | :06:13. | |
further. In other words, proper analysis of all the medical data, | :06:13. | :06:18. | |
to establish if there was a wider problem. But the implants weren't | :06:18. | :06:24. | |
banned under 2010. Three years later. And only after the alarm was | :06:24. | :06:29. | |
raised in France. This surgeon stopped using them in 2008. | :06:29. | :06:33. | |
Berry and I had a separate discussion regarding this as we | :06:33. | :06:37. | |
were colleague, on the back of his unsatisfactory experience with the | :06:37. | :06:42. | |
implant, this is one of the reasons that led me to stop using them, | :06:42. | :06:46. | |
among other factors as well. A new implant manufacture had released a | :06:46. | :06:52. | |
very good quality implant with a lifelong guarantee, plus it had a | :06:52. | :06:56. | |
different feel quality which was more attractive and more appealing | :06:56. | :07:01. | |
to patients. But that did and help past patients like Fay, whose worst | :07:01. | :07:06. | |
fears were coming true. I did get an MRI, I had to wait, and I got an | :07:06. | :07:11. | |
MRI and got the results back and the left implant had ruptured. They | :07:11. | :07:16. | |
found I had two lumps underneath. September 2008, less than two years | :07:16. | :07:21. | |
having the implant, Fay had them removed. Bs So when they removed | :07:21. | :07:26. | |
them, what did they find? A mess. That's what the doctor said, a mess. | :07:26. | :07:32. | |
And two golf ball sized limp nodes, full of this silicon. So they said | :07:32. | :07:38. | |
they used two litres of saline to wash it out or clean it out. Fay is | :07:38. | :07:44. | |
one of 412 women who had their PIP implants fitted by surgeons on the | :07:44. | :07:50. | |
NHS in County Durham, between 2001 and 2007. With a total of 2000 | :07:50. | :07:54. | |
patients across the country having PIP implants on the NHS, that puts | :07:54. | :07:59. | |
Durham near the top of list, according to the latest data. | :07:59. | :08:02. | |
County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust turned down our | :08:02. | :08:06. | |
request to appear on Inside Out. In a statement it told us that PIP | :08:06. | :08:10. | |
implants were selected by their predecessors because of their | :08:10. | :08:15. | |
clinical suitability. Quality, and cost. The implants had a European | :08:15. | :08:18. | |
quality mark. O surgeons at the trust have used different implants | :08:18. | :08:26. | |
since 2008. Angela is another of Durham's patients. She beat breast | :08:26. | :08:31. | |
cancer twice and had implants fitted. She recovered, but started | :08:31. | :08:35. | |
feeling ill two years ago. I'm -- my health was going down and down. | :08:35. | :08:41. | |
At that stage I was off work for six months, because I couldn't walk | :08:42. | :08:48. | |
from the living room to the kitchen. I just had difficulty doing. I | :08:48. | :08:52. | |
decided, because I was having difficulty getting up the stair, I | :08:52. | :08:57. | |
would have to sell my house. I handled the breast cancer, it was | :08:57. | :09:02. | |
not a problem to me. But that was far easier to cope with than what | :09:02. | :09:06. | |
I've gone through the last two-and- a-half years. Laing is convinced | :09:06. | :09:10. | |
the implants are to blame for her poor health. She found out last | :09:10. | :09:15. | |
year, one implant had split, and saw a plastic surgeon in Durham in | :09:15. | :09:22. | |
December. He put me on a six month waiting list. I asked if the | :09:22. | :09:29. | |
silicon could seep into my system and he said no. So, I accepted that. | :09:29. | :09:33. | |
Didn't worry, no problem. Until four days later in a national | :09:33. | :09:37. | |
newspaper, I read the first article I had read about these implants, | :09:38. | :09:44. | |
then I started to worry. We showed her Mr Berry's letter published in | :09:44. | :09:49. | |
a medical journal four-and-a-half years ago. I had no idea about this | :09:49. | :09:55. | |
report by Mr Berry, in 2007. I am just astounded. Astounded that | :09:55. | :10:01. | |
nothing has been done. I'm angry, very angry. Everyone who had these | :10:01. | :10:05. | |
implants should have been contacted, and offered to have an ultrasound | :10:05. | :10:11. | |
scan, to check the implants and to make certain they were THE fine. | :10:11. | :10:15. | |
Angela is now at the top of the waiting list to have her leaking | :10:15. | :10:20. | |
implant taken out. The trust told us its surgeons monitor rupture | :10:20. | :10:24. | |
rates and this isolated case reported by Mr Berry did not give | :10:24. | :10:28. | |
rise to patient safety concerns within the trust. It added the | :10:28. | :10:32. | |
rupture rate is extremely low. The trust says it has written the all | :10:32. | :10:38. | |
women with PIP implant, and has set up an advice line. Fay has had five | :10:38. | :10:43. | |
lymph nodes loaded with discharged silicon removed. But she still has | :10:43. | :10:47. | |
silicon in her body. You have had the implants out now, but this | :10:47. | :10:53. | |
isn't over for you, is it? I have aching pains under my arges I have | :10:53. | :10:59. | |
pains that go down like nerve pains in my arms, I have pains in my | :10:59. | :11:03. | |
bones. I get really bad headache, comes on and my glands will all | :11:03. | :11:08. | |
come up in my neck. I want to know how much silicon is still left in | :11:08. | :11:11. | |
my body. I want answers now and I think I deserve them. The trust | :11:11. | :11:16. | |
accepts it is a worrying time for patient, but insist there's is no | :11:16. | :11:19. | |
clear evidence to suggest women with PIP implants need urgent | :11:19. | :11:23. | |
treatment. And referrals to see a plastic surgeon are being treated | :11:23. | :11:27. | |
as routine. For the women we have talked to, that may not be enough | :11:27. | :11:32. | |
to put their minds at rest. And if you have been caught up in the | :11:32. | :11:35. | |
breast implant debate it will be good to hear from you. You can e- | :11:35. | :11:45. | |
:11:45. | :11:46. | ||
mail me in confidence. It is one of the largest and most successful | :11:46. | :11:51. | |
colleges in the UK. With an outstanding reputation for academic | :11:51. | :11:55. | |
excellence. So, why do so many of Newcastle College Groups critics | :11:55. | :11:59. | |
say it has little time for those that stand in its way. And, a | :11:59. | :12:04. | |
problem with bullying. The college says they are biased and are | :12:04. | :12:14. | |
:12:14. | :12:16. | ||
reputation for quality service, which is backed by a prized Ofsted | :12:16. | :12:20. | |
grade one inspection. It is the centrepiece of Newcastle College | :12:20. | :12:24. | |
group, or NCG. It is one of the largest education and training | :12:24. | :12:29. | |
organisations in the UK. But it is claimed what the ads don't say is | :12:29. | :12:34. | |
that at as it is has grown so has the critic. These people seem to | :12:34. | :12:40. | |
just think they are ride rough shod over anybody that could come in, | :12:40. | :12:44. | |
disregard people's view, I think it is systems and procedures that are | :12:44. | :12:49. | |
wrong. Until they are put right, this type of bullying and | :12:49. | :12:53. | |
harassment will carry on. We have spoken to large numbers of staff, | :12:53. | :12:56. | |
student, past and present and politician, who say it has lost | :12:56. | :13:00. | |
sight of its role as a local college, providing education for | :13:00. | :13:05. | |
kids in this region. They say its single minded in pursuing the | :13:05. | :13:09. | |
business goals. And despite being a publicly funded body. It won't | :13:09. | :13:14. | |
tolerate opposition. Newcastle College was formed in the 1970, | :13:14. | :13:21. | |
from a number of institutions in the city. Some dating back to 1894. | :13:21. | :13:25. | |
But NCG has.Ment -- ambition. I wanted to grow from its Newcastle | :13:25. | :13:30. | |
roots. It expanded into the north- west, taking over the Skelmersdale | :13:30. | :13:34. | |
and Ormskirk College and in 2008, it took over the failing training | :13:34. | :13:39. | |
company Carter and cart e to establish intrain, which gets | :13:39. | :13:44. | |
unemployed people back to work. But its claimed some of the money from | :13:44. | :13:51. | |
Newcastle is being diverted to subsidise -- e-- other parts of NCG. | :13:51. | :13:54. | |
Intrain -- intraining is losing money. So Newcastle College is | :13:54. | :13:58. | |
picking up the tab. Money that should be spent on the people of | :13:58. | :14:06. | |
Tyneside, is going elsewhere. declined to be interviewed but said | :14:06. | :14:09. | |
that suggestion wholly inaccurate and misleading. It said intraining | :14:09. | :14:13. | |
is paying significant return, allowing investment over �60 | :14:13. | :14:18. | |
million in the North East, over the next four years. Despite this, | :14:18. | :14:21. | |
critics argue this and other financial pressures are the reasons | :14:21. | :14:28. | |
why it has pushed through pay cuts of 30% for some staff, leaving them | :14:28. | :14:35. | |
�10,000 a year worse off. Last year there was a strike over 170 job | :14:35. | :14:39. | |
losses. Vanessa Maughan was made redundant. The former union | :14:39. | :14:43. | |
secretary is one of a number of people taking the college to an | :14:43. | :14:46. | |
employment tribunal. Year or year, the staff costs have been going | :14:46. | :14:51. | |
down, that says a lot about how the particularly the teaching staff are | :14:51. | :14:56. | |
valued. They have lot a lot of very very highly skilled, valuable well | :14:56. | :15:01. | |
qualified staff. Students say they have noticed a change. The size of | :15:01. | :15:11. | |
:15:11. | :15:18. | ||
students satisfaction levels are exceptionally high and a recent | :15:18. | :15:20. | |
accreditation showed there were high levels of confidence. The | :15:20. | :15:25. | |
staff at Newcastle College claim the management style has hardened. | :15:25. | :15:28. | |
Rob Scott says he was bullied and he is taking the college to an | :15:28. | :15:31. | |
employment tribunal. He says out of the blue, just over a year ago, a | :15:31. | :15:38. | |
manager told him in front of junior staff, that he wasn't working hard | :15:38. | :15:43. | |
enough. No-one at any time had said that they weren't happy with my | :15:43. | :15:47. | |
performance, I got a bonus, for performance related pay, | :15:47. | :15:52. | |
congratulating us because I had met all of my targets. Rob complained, | :15:52. | :15:57. | |
management said the comment was a joke and told him he was being too | :15:57. | :16:01. | |
sensitive. But unbe known to Rob a private e-mail to the chief | :16:01. | :16:10. | |
executive said. It was only after Rob put in a Freedom of Information | :16:10. | :16:14. | |
request that he discovered this. A note writ on the e-mail after, | :16:15. | :16:20. | |
admitting they had got it wrong. His performance hadn't been | :16:20. | :16:23. | |
discussed. By that stage an investigation has been launched and | :16:23. | :16:27. | |
dropped. His health suffered and he had been selected for redundancy. | :16:27. | :16:31. | |
It is is always felt it was happening to someone else. It has | :16:31. | :16:36. | |
felt a bit surreal, in the fact that I wake up in the morning | :16:36. | :16:39. | |
thinking it can't be me. I haven't done anything wrong. They don't | :16:40. | :16:44. | |
like their methods to be questioned. I think that is one of the problems | :16:44. | :16:51. | |
that I found myself in. Newcastle College could not comment on Rob's | :16:51. | :16:56. | |
case. I get more complaints of bullying Newcastle College than I | :16:56. | :17:02. | |
do in any of the other 20 colleges or six universities on my patch | :17:02. | :17:06. | |
combined. Junior manager who feel under immense pressure basically | :17:06. | :17:13. | |
take it out on lower staff, and I give you Cowenless instances of | :17:13. | :17:18. | |
where that has happen. Where members complain nothing has been | :17:18. | :17:22. | |
done to investigate. Inside Out has spoken to a large number of past | :17:22. | :17:27. | |
and present staff, who did not wish to appear on camera. Actor, speak a | :17:27. | :17:33. | |
selection of their statements. -- actors. They want people easy to | :17:33. | :17:40. | |
turn over. I was singled out. targeted. Everything became a | :17:40. | :17:43. | |
disciplinary. We have seen e-mails and statements appearing to back | :17:43. | :17:47. | |
the complaint bs. A junior manager says a resignation was greeted with | :17:47. | :17:52. | |
the words, yes, another one gone. A manager's e-mail says an employee | :17:52. | :17:57. | |
returning from sick leave is to get real performance management. | :17:57. | :18:02. | |
Newcastle College-style. So, is there a problem with bullying at | :18:02. | :18:08. | |
the college? NGNCG told us it takes bullying seriously and had a clear | :18:08. | :18:17. | |
process for dealing with staff and dealt with appropriately. On | :18:17. | :18:20. | |
the face of it you could say this is just a dispute between an | :18:21. | :18:24. | |
employer and its worker, but one of the region's other colleges has | :18:24. | :18:34. | |
:18:34. | :18:38. | ||
The group hoped to continue its expansion by merging with | :18:38. | :18:40. | |
Northumberland College. Last autumn, the merger collapsed. We have seen | :18:40. | :18:43. | |
a confidential report prepared by Northumberland College. The report | :18:43. | :18:46. | |
says NCG was planning to sell off two of Northumberland's campuses, | :18:46. | :18:49. | |
something which the college here seemed to know little about. The | :18:49. | :18:53. | |
news caused outrage. They were after getting the property, selling | :18:53. | :18:59. | |
it off and having the students for themselves. I think Newcastle | :18:59. | :19:01. | |
College have acted appallingly and have misled Northumberland College | :19:01. | :19:04. | |
and the people of Northumberland. The Northumberland College report | :19:04. | :19:13. | |
also said that NCG do not have the readership capacity they expected. | :19:13. | :19:16. | |
The merger was badly managed, communication was poor and it said | :19:16. | :19:20. | |
this could be as a direct result of dealing with a number of | :19:20. | :19:21. | |
construction projects, in training performance and financial | :19:21. | :19:29. | |
challenges. NCG says claims it misled Northumberland are | :19:29. | :19:37. | |
completely untrue. Both colleges had worked closely during the | :19:37. | :19:39. | |
merger discussions and Northumberland College was fully | :19:39. | :19:43. | |
informed and actively involved. The criticisms of NCG were wholly | :19:43. | :19:45. | |
inaccurate and lacked integrity, reflecting the personal views of | :19:45. | :19:50. | |
someone opposed to the merger. It also claimed that NCG does not | :19:50. | :19:53. | |
regard itself as accountable to people in their region or their | :19:53. | :20:00. | |
elected representatives. consultation was done on whether | :20:00. | :20:06. | |
people wanted this merger. Between 60 and 70 per cent suggested that | :20:06. | :20:11. | |
they did not want the merger to take place. Totally ignored that. I | :20:12. | :20:15. | |
am really concerned about the way in which they operate and feel that | :20:15. | :20:19. | |
they can do anything they want, any time they want. NCG says this is | :20:19. | :20:25. | |
wholly unfounded. It serves every local authority in England and has | :20:25. | :20:27. | |
premises across the country and is accountable to all customers and | :20:27. | :20:30. | |
stakeholders and its board is made up of prominent members of the | :20:30. | :20:40. | |
:20:40. | :20:53. | ||
The Northumberland setback has not blunted NCG's ambition. Its ads | :20:53. | :20:55. | |
continue to trumpet its list of academies and developments. It is | :20:55. | :20:58. | |
believed that the group is looking at other mergers and expansion. It | :20:58. | :21:02. | |
is one of the reasons why the chief executive was paid around �240,000 | :21:02. | :21:06. | |
in 2010, including a bonus and retention payment of �54,000. That | :21:06. | :21:14. | |
was controversial and there are now calls for action to be taken. | :21:14. | :21:20. | |
not right in any way when staff at the college are receiving pay cuts. | :21:20. | :21:23. | |
The Government needs to have a look at how they are spending money, how | :21:23. | :21:26. | |
they are conducting their business and how it is impacting and | :21:26. | :21:33. | |
affecting other people in and around higher education. | :21:33. | :21:35. | |
NCG told us that Dame Jackie Fisher's salary is comparable to | :21:35. | :21:39. | |
other senior posts in the sector and the extra payment in 2010 was | :21:39. | :21:45. | |
one to provide stability at a time of rapid expansion. Claim and | :21:45. | :21:52. | |
counter-claim. What is clear is that it is not just students here | :21:52. | :21:55. | |
at this college who are facing testing times. Questions are also | :21:56. | :21:59. | |
being asked about NCG itself. A lot of people in the North East will be | :21:59. | :22:09. | |
:22:09. | :22:18. | ||
There are just 186 days to go until the start of the London Olympics. | :22:18. | :22:22. | |
Almost all our top athletes have had to move from the North to train | :22:22. | :22:25. | |
at Team GB bases in other parts of the country as part of their | :22:25. | :22:28. | |
preparations for the 2012 Games. Among them the long jumper Chris | :22:28. | :22:31. | |
Tomlinson, the man considered the region's best hope of a medal in | :22:31. | :22:35. | |
the athletics arena. But staying away from home is just one | :22:35. | :22:39. | |
sacrifice he has made in his quest to be the best. | :22:39. | :22:41. | |
Chris Tomlinson, the man from Middlesbrough who jumps into a | :22:41. | :22:44. | |
sandpit for a living. He has competed at the last two Olympics | :22:44. | :22:48. | |
and is currently ranked 5th in the World. I am a Boro lad, born and | :22:48. | :22:54. | |
bred. My wife is from Linthorpe, I'm from Nunthorpe. Chris now lives | :22:54. | :22:57. | |
down south with his wife, the West End actress, Lucia Rovardi, so he | :22:57. | :23:04. | |
can train here at the elite facilities in North London. It's a | :23:04. | :23:07. | |
big sacrifice for a couple who are Northerners to their core. I think | :23:07. | :23:11. | |
the way of life that we have in the north-east is so much better. It is | :23:11. | :23:15. | |
just a matter of time before me and my wife go back up there. It is the | :23:15. | :23:19. | |
best place on earth. This is the size of a flat in London. This is | :23:19. | :23:28. | |
what you get. If he wins Olympic gold, he will be able to buy a much | :23:28. | :23:38. | |
:23:38. | :23:40. | ||
bigger home of. But last September, his hopes took a big setback. Just | :23:40. | :23:43. | |
before the World Championships, my knee started playing up a bit I | :23:43. | :23:47. | |
still made it to final, but my knee wasn't up to scratch. I needed an | :23:47. | :23:57. | |
:23:57. | :23:58. | ||
operation. Every time the knee travelled forwards, it would give | :23:58. | :24:01. | |
me a lot of pain Below the knee cap, you have got the tendons and the | :24:01. | :24:07. | |
tendon was inflamed and had a lot of blood in there. Chris is lucky. | :24:07. | :24:10. | |
As one of Team GB's elite athletes, he receives support worth more than | :24:10. | :24:13. | |
�50,000 a year to pay for the best coaches, sports science and medical | :24:13. | :24:16. | |
treatment. Money that comes mainly from us via the National Lottery. | :24:16. | :24:21. | |
I have a sideline. I have a few houses in the North East that I | :24:21. | :24:25. | |
bought when I was younger and I have to ensure the rent gets paid. | :24:25. | :24:29. | |
Middlesbrough, there is a few nice flats. We don't get footballers | :24:29. | :24:35. | |
wages by any stretch. He also collects prize money and appearance | :24:35. | :24:37. | |
fees from various athletics meetings. There are various | :24:37. | :24:47. | |
:24:47. | :24:51. | ||
sponsorship deals. And then there's Strike Gold at London 2012 and | :24:51. | :24:54. | |
Chris could reasonably expect a big leap in his earnings. And then | :24:54. | :25:04. | |
:25:04. | :25:04. | ||
there is the media interest which is already high. I did a few | :25:04. | :25:11. | |
interviews recently in a few of the papers. Kind of embarrassing too. | :25:11. | :25:14. | |
On the back page, it has me wearing sunglasses. One of those stupid | :25:14. | :25:17. | |
pictures, they always go for the silly, gimp pictures. Basically | :25:17. | :25:20. | |
saying about drugs cheats costing me medals and what my standpoint is | :25:20. | :25:25. | |
on it. Chris is 30. Realistically, this is his last shot at Olympic | :25:25. | :25:28. | |
glory. There is a lot hanging on his ability to stay fit over the | :25:28. | :25:37. | |
next eight months. I don't like weight training. I find it boring. | :25:37. | :25:47. | |
:25:47. | :25:54. | ||
It's a means to an end. It is 9.10 on 25 November. I have a day off - | :25:54. | :26:01. | |
whoopee! The knee is coming on well. I've just spoken to my agent about | :26:01. | :26:04. | |
going to Moscow on 5th February. I need to get back into shape as soon | :26:05. | :26:10. | |
as possible. My priority is to perform well at the Olympic Games. | :26:10. | :26:20. | |
:26:20. | :26:23. | ||
But two days later, a setback. a great day. I was training well, | :26:23. | :26:27. | |
but me knee just started to hurt. The doctor scanned it but take it | :26:27. | :26:30. | |
on symptoms, train today, making sure that I look after this knee. | :26:30. | :26:33. | |
But Chris believes he has the right strategy to ensure that he can | :26:33. | :26:40. | |
overcome his injury. It is about taking one step at the time. The | :26:40. | :26:44. | |
only way to get there is to take it one day at a time. Of course people | :26:44. | :26:47. | |
are talking about 2012, but I am thinking about today's training | :26:47. | :26:55. | |
session. So who wears the trousers in this house? Not me! He has | :26:55. | :27:04. | |
turned into a diva last few months! I keep having to tell him off! | :27:04. | :27:07. | |
is going to be a big year for Chris - regardless of the Olympics. It | :27:07. | :27:11. | |
means an extra financial burden, but he's still jumping for joy. | :27:11. | :27:20. | |
Really excited about baby I am! We were trying for a while, so it was | :27:20. | :27:24. | |
nice to finally get one past the keeper so to speak! When are you | :27:24. | :27:33. | |
due? March 17th. The world championships are in Turkey on 10th | :27:33. | :27:38. | |
March. If it comes early, Chris might not be here. My main priority | :27:38. | :27:42. | |
is being here for the birth. If it was the Olympics, it would be | :27:42. | :27:51. | |
different but it is the world A little more than seven months | :27:52. | :27:55. | |
until the Olympics. It's no big leap of imagination to say this is | :27:55. | :27:58. | |
the year that Chris could really hit the big time and the financial | :27:58. | :28:01. | |
rewards that come with it. But there is something much more | :28:01. | :28:03. | |
important on his mind than money, something that would really have | :28:04. | :28:07. | |
him jumping for joy. And that is the simple glory of winning Gold in | :28:07. | :28:11. | |
the sport he loves. In my event I am very fortunate, in that I'm not | :28:11. | :28:15. | |
going up against a world record holder. I am going up against very | :28:16. | :28:21. | |
good athletes, but not necessarily the world's greatest ever. I have | :28:21. | :28:29. | |
got to take great heart from that. A medal is a medal. Fingers crossed | :28:29. | :28:35. | |
for him at the summer. You can follow me on Facebook and | :28:35. | :28:42. |