17/12/2012 Inside Out North West

Hello, welcome to it inside out northwest and for a last programme

of the year we are in it Cheshire, it is very festive and we will get

in the Christmas but it. On Inside Out tonight, we meet the woman

whose life has been taken over by the sound of music. I went out the

back door and the front door to see if there was music being played.

Where is it coming from? We are finding out the price we pay as

council cuts begin to bite. Every day it is a constant battle between

you and the authorities. And we report on the former prisoner who

has moved on to become a pastor. By rights I should be dead. A I should

not be here so I treat every day as And So it's the time of year when

we can't escape Christmas songs they're played over and over in

shops and on the radio. But what if you really couldn't get rid of a

song in your head? That's what's happened to a woman in Liverpool -

Cath Gamester hears Silent Night, among other tunes, on a constant

loop in her head. Shelagh Fogarty went to meet her to find out more

about Musical Ear Syndrome. I went to bed and when I woke up at

8 o'clock and I heard music and it was God Save Our Gracious Queen and

I thought to myself it must be next door he must be playing a record

cos it was going on and on and on. I went out the backdoor, I went out

the front door, I went out to see if there was any music being played

everywhere I was thinking where is it coming from?

It just goes on and on and on - one song after another and it's a tenor

it's a man's voice and it's a nice voice very strong, very loud and

there's like a background of music. Cath Gamester has an extremely rare

condition called Musical Ear Syndrome where the patient hears a

series of half a dozen songs which constantly repeat in their head.

What can you hear now? You'll Never Walk Alone. I hate telling people

people think I'm daft. The condition mainly affects the

elderly it's estimated one in 10,000 may get it each year and is

due to a problem in the brain not the ear. Its causes leaves

sufferers and their doctors mystified. First of all it isn't

tinnitus tinnitus is what people get that does come from your ear

and that's like a ringing or a buzzing sound and that can drive

you bonkers and can be really distressing but you know that it's

coming from your ear and you know that it's not particularly musical

and it's not the same as just having a tune in your head that

goes round and round and round and annoys you which I get most of my

life "Downtown" by Petula Clarke for example was going round and

round for no clear reason but you know that it's just going round and

round and that it's not really being played, I know that Petula

Clarke isn't in the room singing to me but when you get a musical

hallucination or musical ear syndrome then it feels as if it's

real it feels as if there's a record player playing it or the

artist is in the room or in the next door room and as far as you're

concerned probably everyone else ought to be able to hear it as well

so it's very very real. So Cath, I've got a list of the songs you

hear all the time. Silent Night, Abide with me, Happy Birthday

you've just said you can hear that, there's no place like home, You'll

never walk alone good scouse lady and land of hope and glory as well.

I know Silent night is one of the songs is that just at Christmas

time? No it's all the year round, that starts the round again it's

like a circle nothing to do with Christmas time> nothing to do with

any time it's like happy Birthday, every few minutes I'm wishing

someone happy Birthday. I hate that one. It is a bit of a drone. Dr

Nick Warner is a psychiatrist specialising in the elderly. When

he was practising in Wales he kept notes of the patients he saw with

musical ear syndrome and found that many of them were hearing the same

songs. What we found is there were an awful lot of people who heard

hymns and Christmas carols came up regularly. But in particular the

hymn Abide with me which came up time and time again. There was

about a 50% chance that you would hear Abide with me if you were

going to hear musical hallucinations of hymns. Quite a

reassuring sort of hymn it may not be reassuring when you are hearing

it and you don't want to be hearing it and when you think there's a

male voice choir practising in the little bungalow next door to you

that are doing this very distressing. But you have to wonder

as a psychiatrist if there is something that is generating this

need for reassurance. As you are getting older and that you are not

alone and that you are safe and secure and that there is somebody

with you. Are you a religious woman? No, I wouldn't have those

songs in the house I like my Dean Martin and all those.

Musical Hallucinations aren't anything new - the Composer Robert

Schumann claimed to have heard a tune in his head which he used to

compose the Ghost Variations. What's interesting about this tune

is its similarity to Abide With Me. And the former Beirut hostage Brian

Keenan told me in a radio interview that he too had experienced musical

hallucinations when he was blindfolded and held in an

underground cell. It wasn't a tune out of memory. It

was this kind of kaleidoscope with such eloquent and exquisite harmony

and it was if it had all come into this tiny black hole under the

earth that I was locked in and was playing just for me and it was very

moving, it was very enriching and then it became very frightening

because I knew it didn't exist but the power or it was bigger than my

capacity to resist it" Cath believes the songs in her head

were triggered by a course of anti depressants she was prescribed

following the death of her sister. She stopped taking the tablets but

the tunes remain. So you said to me sometimes you put the hoover on to

drown it out, sing at the top of your voice or put music on very

loudly and sometimes you tell it off, don't you? Tell me about that.

I tell it to shut up and be quiet, I've had enough of it. I just get

really angry with it, I say "shut up and leave me alone will you give

me a bit of peace." While there is no cure, Nick Warner

believes there are steps people can take to make the condition more

bearable. I think talking about it to other

people probably helps, I hope that's helped Cath, distracting

yourself, doing as much as you possibly can, getting yourself

involved in other activities, listening to other music - some

people have found that putting on other music enables that other

music to take over from the musical hallucinations, some people with

hearing impairment it's a good idea to try and make sure your hearing

aid's in good working order. People who live alone it may not be the

best thing to live alone. It might be better to get out and see other

people or get people to come and see you. And I did find that in

some people medication did help - that would be low doses of

antipsychotic drugs. You've told me you don't like

telling people but you do know that by going on the telly you're

telling a lot of people. That is a good thing.

Well, I would say to these poor people out there who are like me

don't let it worry you too much, get on with life and enjoy yourself

as much as you can and be happy. I've worked out the fact that I

should be glad it's not a serious illness well. I hope it isn't. So I

just get on with everything and try to live my life as I can. Still to

come the former drug dealer who has gone from prison to being at

Pastore. Some of us like to tear up our household budgets at this time

of year. Little chance of that for councils across the North. But

councils want to raise revenues. As our reporter has found out, that

can mean that the cost of the same services can differ widely

depending on where you live. Times are tough in the town halls across

the north as our local councils feel the financial squeeze. As cuts

start to bite, they have to make sure they're making money wherever

they can. You probably think you are already paying enough for your

council services, but I will find out which are charging the most and

least. They us is where the rats came through and colder round here,

and it ended up on this debt. weeks ago Olive who lives in North

Tyneside had some unwelcome visitorsrats. They come down the

path and run all over. They are everywhere. You are frightened to

open the door. Nearby building work meant these

rats were looking for a new home in the sheds and houses nearby. But

there was more unwelcome news when Olive phoned her council to get

some help. North Tyneside Council introduced the �20 charge in April

as part of it's budget and has offered to give Olive advice on her

rat problem. I would pay for it, but I think this is something

different, this is dirty. It is not nice. Maybe Olive should move.

Northumberland, Hull the Wirral, Doncaster and Stockton will all

sort out your rat problem for free. If it is free for them, why

shouldn't it be free for everyone? Olive becomes the first person to

receive a prestigious certificate from Inside Out - the coveted "Hard

Times" award. Amongst the 10 councils facing the

biggest cuts across the country are Burnley, Barrow and Preston.

Councils across the country say they have little choice but to hike

up some of their charges. And it seems no council service is off

limits Merseyside Undertaker David

Barrington is seriously unimpressed with Sefton Council's plans to hike

up cremation fees from �600 to �750. Here, the dead need to be dead rich.

It should be a service to the bereaved, it is not a commercial

business. Making it one of the most expensive in the country

So what about other areas? believe it is a tax on the dead.

The Revenue is not being reinvested in their crematorium service. It is

going into a black hole in the council. What should they do?

think they can make cuts elsewhere. I do not think to maximise the

revenue from one particular service is the way to go. Do not take the

money just because you can. understand the anxiety of people. I

would not want to be in a position either. But for the council, we

have to try and make savings. We have to increase charges and that

is one of the many charges which is being increased. What about other

regions? Well, Copeland Council in Cumbria is proposing up to a 15 %

rise in fees. And the cheapest? Cheshire West and Chester, St

Helens and Durham are financially some of the best places to die. So

you are going to get an inside-out hard times a ward.

And in these hard times if you thought you could save a few

pennies by growing your own - I'm I appreciate they have to do some

savings, but 170 % is a phenomenal rise. Sheffield council disputes

that had elations and says that Government cuts and protecting

services have forced it to raise fees. It is an easy way for the

council to raise money. If you've got green fingers Sunderland is a

good place to live - one of the cheapest allotments in the north

for just over a tenner. But in Bury a medium size plot will set you

back well over �100. I think that is an excellent price. Phil

reluctantly accepts the Inside Out Hard Times award. So we're being

hit in the pocket- and some people think councils should be looking

hard at their payroll before they put up their charges. We talk about

middle-managers being paid �1,000 a year plus. They need to cut back on

this bureaucracy. They do not need to make people redundancy for the

sake of it, but at the same time, they are not imply much exchangers,

they are there for essential public services and they have to cut the

cloth to suit their needs. Councils point to tens of thousands of job

losses, but maybe not amongst this lot. Where to start? Probably the

over-zealous us of the parking wardens. Tony who runs a music shop

in Bolton believes this is how the council is making up some of it's

short fall. Every day is a constant battle, it fears that it is us and

them. Is it about the money? sure it is about the money. I am

afraid you get are hard times award. Thank you. Were making money from

parking enforcement and parking fines and that is reinvested road

safety schemes and highway maintenance to improve the highways

for every one that uses them. you're not raising more money under

the guise of getting tough with parking? No, not us all. Some tough

times and choices ahead, but as I have seen, the difference in

charges is stark. Why? And is it fair? It is not unfair. Local

authorities have their own priorities and making their own

budgets and their own financial decisions and of course they are on

different local context. Each local authority has to cut its cloth

accordingly and that is the essence of it. If people feel it is unfair

there are various mechanisms through which you can participate,

not only the ballot box, but having the citizens' panels and other

community partnerships in local authorities around the country.

balancing the books is going to be tough for Northern councils, and

some would say that they need to make money where they can. But as

we cannot choose what we get our services, it is no wonder that we

look enviously at those paying a whole lot less than other areas.

From many of us, Christmas is a time when we see our local vicar in

action. But the Minister who delivered the Christmas message at

a church in Runcorn yesterday is a bit different. He has served five

years in prison for armed robbery and drug offences. We have his

The Christmas service at the Hope Corner Community Church in Runcorn

is always a little bit different and the minister giving yesterday's

sermon certainly is. Pop quiz question, how many wise men were

there? Shout it out of! As a teenager, Darrell Tunningley was

sentenced to five years in prison for armed robbery and a string of

drug offences. But he found God in jail and his life has been turned

on its head ever since. By Iraq its, I should be dead. I have been shot

at, I should be dead. By overdose. I should not be. He's now co-

minister at Hope Corner with special responsibility for youth

and inclusion projects. A far cry from his violent and drug-fuelled

past. It is easy to give knowledge to these young people, it is even

more her useful when you have personal experience and it has made

a massive difference. Darrell grew up on this estate in Knottingley

near Pontefract in Yorkshire. He had a loving family and lots of

talents but he seemed hell-bent on going off the rails. As a young

child, I was full of mischief and then I became victim to the drugs

and drug dealing and car theft. And so do progress done and done. It

was my drug use that escalated, and the drug dealers' taking, I was

selling. That got worse and I got into harder and heavier drugs and

selling harder and heavier drugs. You get so deep in, you cannot get

out. What drugs did you take? started with cannabis, Algol landed

progress to Ecstasy, cocaine, LSD. Then I took heroin and I started

having serious problems. My parents raised me well, and then to see me

sliding down that route was difficult for them, very hard for

them. Hello, mum. A allow! Darrell and his parents are now closer than

they've ever been a far cry from his lost teenage years. He was

aggressive. Not physically, but for her belief. He couldn't really, you

could not really talked to him. You could not get through to him.

you questioned him about anything, he would not wanted. He was

intelligent, so he was very cunning, very good at covering his tracks.

did not realise, but he had been hiding drugs in the house. Did you

ever feel responsible? You wanted to say sorry to every one of those

people that was affected through my son. And I am sorry. That people

that Tarrel stole from or harmed, people like that, they were not the

only victims, we were the victims Darrell's choices eventually led

him to prison. Darrell's lifestyle eventually caught up with him. He

was arrested after taking part in an armed robbery and, when the

judge took a string of drug offences into account, he was

jailed for five years. He was just 17. I carried a reputation in with

me, but I had to cement that reputation which meant that the

gloves were off. Whatever was necessary. I would react, go from

zero to 100, no build up, just react violently with a pool war or

a fist, do whatever it took on tell people were very wary of how they

would approach me. But while he was in HMP Wolds on Humberside his life

changed forever. Darrell went to the prison chapel to take part in

an Alpha course. For him it was a skive free tea and biscuits instead

of being locked up in his cell. But he was caught off guard by the

people running the course. By Naze said to me that there was someone

out there willing, Jesus was willing to offer me not just a

clean slate, but to incinerate the Old Slade what so ever, there

wasn't even a Shadow of a memory in existence any more, and give UN new

start. That was something I had ever heard before. That night in

his cell he picked up the bible they'd given him and read it for

the first time. While reading that, I read an Old Testament story about

Job that had everything and lost everything, but would not shake his

faith in God, and I thought what was good for him? And I sat and

said the first prayer I ever said, but they cannot repeated, because

there were swear words in it, but I was repeating what was happening in

my heart and head. There was no thunderbolt, no lightening flash -

but the next morning Darrell woke up a new man. When I looked in

America next morning, I did not recognise my own reflection. I was

beaming, glowing, the anger and they paid and the bitterness and

the resentment, everything that was leading the way, it just wasn't

there. He made an urgent appointment with the prison

chaplain. I said the man standing in front of me here is not the same

as the man that was here yesterday. He said, you worry new creation.

And then we both started crying. And I realised then that everything

would be different. Darrell renounced drugs and violence and

his faith grew over the last 18 months of his sentence. In his last

prison Buckley Hall in Rochdale, fate intervened once more when he

took part in an Easter Passion Play. The first sign I had of them as I

walked through the doors was him on a 10 ft cross-dressed as Jesus,

acting in the Passion Play. I had been given some information by the

chaplain to say there has been a massive change in his life. When I

met him, I was not let down. I will tell them it was me! So moving

inside me said that this guy can really help us and we can really

have Pym as well. For the last 12 years Darrell has thrown himself

into his mission at Hope Corner. His first-hand knowledge of drugs

and the problems facing disaffected teenagers has proved invaluable.

Everyone who has been there has had behavioural difficulties are went

to stress and violence at home. Darryl went through a similar thing

so everyone wants to be like him. When I came here first, I was very

aggressive, kicking off on everyone I saw, I did not care about anyone,

but with Darryl, he has taught me to stay calm and not lose my rag

whenever someone is annoying me. was not in any education, size

finding other ways to do stuff, drinking, smoking, doing things

they should not be doing, but since I met Daryl, my life has totally

changed and I stopped doing the things there was doing. He's also a

regular visitor to prisons where his experience resonates with

inmates. Hello, how area. On a recent trip to Wetherby, where he

spent 12 months as a teenager, he bumped into someone who remembered

the old Darrell. How are you? Expats very good! He had a bad

reputation, he broke someone's jaw, but we had to do something with him

when we took him on and be achieved that. If I said to someone, I am

breaking your jaw! Darryl is a living example of what is possible

for those that see that life has turned around. He has got the

experience of the other side of the fence. Of living on the inside of

the fence, of living behind the bars and the steel door. And did a

good will of the window just see myself, so I know which you can

become, regardless of what anyone has told you last. Darrell

Tunningley is born again. With a beautiful family and a calling

which gives him total fulfilment, he pinches himself every day. But

he never has, and never will, forget his past. All of those

people I sold drugs to, are only dead because of me. And families

are destroyed. That is the lasting legacy. What is the damage I have

caused? Through the things I did. I came Torpoint ferry realised that I

cannot do anything about what I have done it and I have paid the

price that society demanded for what I have done. Now, it is time

to stop as many people as possible from getting there. Banda is a

future that is far greater than you dare to dream. For your life. You

just need to let them unhappy. -- let someone help you. Bad is it