23/01/2012 Inside Out North East and Cumbria


23/01/2012

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 23/01/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

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.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS