14/01/2013 Inside Out South West

Hello and welcome to Inside Out South West, stories and

investigations from where you live a. Tonight: The misery of whooping

cough, as the South West deals with its worst outbreak in decades.

are used to the word a vaccine on these little vials of tablets and

it is fundamentally misleading. Also tonight: The Devon craftsmen

who is turning back to the Victorian art of sign writing.

get into around 60 or 70 hours, that is when it gets scary. And the

cutting edge of culinary taste. We meet the man who thinks that

seaweed is a delicacy. Garlic and This is inside out -- Inside Out

The South West has been exceeding the biggest outbreak in a

generation of whooping cough, and a government campaign is trying to

increase rates of inoculation. But some parents are wary of

vaccination and try to find other ways to protect their children. We

have been investigating an alternative on offer, which experts

say could be dangerous and to no good at all. Summer fun in Cornwall.

But unvaccinated Ravi O'Sullivan's holiday was cut short by a whooping

cough. I started coughing all day, it easily every 30 seconds. I had

bad coughing fits, to the point where I was throwing up at night.

His mother did not take him to the doctor. Instead, she consulted an

expert with an unconventional look at how care. She was a homeopath

and she gave him remedies. The argument about whether it is useful

or not, I do not actually need a scientific study to tell me that it

works, because I have seen it in action. It is an experience and

something I know. In South Devon, Rachel Price is not fully

vaccinated either. Her mother is trained as a homeopath, and is

using what she believes is an effective alternative. I decided to

get my daughter a homeopathic vaccination. I had no idea how

inefficient it is, because she did not get whooping cough. Who knows

whether she would have anyway, but it has got to help. Sue says she

does not push her ideas on clients, but what are homeopathic vaccines,

and is her own faith in them justified? A quick search of the

internet, and we found a large number of homeopathic products

labelled as vaccines are with the name of a child and illness. Some

of those illnesses are potentially serious, but rare. Others are now

making a comeback. You have to go back to the 80s to find an outbreak

of whooping cough as bad as today's. The South West has seen an

eightfold rise in cases this year, and in 2012, 13 babies died in the

UK. There is also concern about the number of parents in the region

rejecting vaccination. In Totnes, a town famous for embracing

alternative lifestyles, three out of 10 children are not fully

inoculated. The local health authority has launched a campaign

to encourage uptake, but you will not find homeopathic vaccines

featuring in it. A but this online. It is called a rubella vaccine. --

I bought this our mind. You can get around 50 little white tablets. It

is more appealing than a jab in your baby's ormer. But what good

scientific evidence is there that these will protect against

infectious diseases? The answer, shockingly, it is none. And

homeopathy, and the active ingredient is diluted so many times,

that the final delusion, drip onto a -- dilution, dripped onto a sugar

pill, or have nothing left. Professor Ed Zardersnt has embedded

-- investigated these claims, and he says that the evidence does not

support them. Pete typical homeopathic -- and the typical

homeopathic pill has nothing in it that will have an effect. Some

people say that some energy will stimulate the body to heal itself.

That is a very nice theory but it is not supported by evidence.

it did he make of the pills that we bought? Why and of these products

is made to protect or -- one of these products is made to protect

against a fatal disease. This can be life threatening. A view shared

by this leading vaccine expert. Adam Finn has seen a big rise in

cases of children being hospitalised with one's rare

infectious diseases. I am concerned -- where infectious diseases that

were once a rare. I am concerned, because the use of the word of

vaccine on these wiles of tablets is fundamentally misleading,

because not all meet doctors, but also parents understand something

quite clear when they used the word a vaccine. So what kind of company

labels their projects as vaccines? This shop him London has some

extraordinarily extinct -- distinguished customers. This

Pharmacy boasts no less than three royal warrants, because they are

suppliers of homeopathic products to no less than the Queen and

Prince Charles, and they were to the late Queen Mother. And this is

the man in charge. Tony Pinkus, a pharmacist. Filmed in 2009 claiming

the merits of homoeopathy. As we progressively diluted and shake,

you can improve the effectiveness of the remedy and take away the

side effects. But you cannot win them all. The next year, Ainsworths

was investigated by Newsnight for selling products, this time for

malaria. An investigator body let him off, saying that he had taken

remedial action, but that seems to have been short-lived. Selling

unproven products is one thing, but recommending them to children --

parents for their children as an alternative to vaccination is quite

another. We have evidence that Mr Pinkus is prepared to do just that.

He says that his pills are in no sense pharmaceutical drugs and he

told us that he does not promote them as prevent its for childhood

illnesses. But I e-mailed him, posing as an alternative Barack

Obama parent looking for an alternative to the whooping cough -

- but I e-mailed him, posing as an parent looking for an alternative

to whooping cough. He said that he made sure that he gave this to his

own children, but he also added that he could not make a claim for

its success. Quite right. But he does not stop there. He said that

typically, Pertussin is used in prevention, and two other remedies

in treatment. He helpfully directed me to his website, where I can buy

them. When I asked if my child should be vaccinated, he said it

was a decision I had to make, but that he would use Pertussin with

his own children. He described the vaccination as a compromise and

said that his remedies would offset the side-effects. Experts have told

us that there is evidence that they can do this, or that homoeopathy

can prevent or treat any kind of infection in the way that Mr Pinkus

suggests. To mislead people, not just in the sense of taking money

off of them, but giving them a sense of security they should not

have, that is fundamentally wrong. The saw is not alone. We found two

other -- Ainsworths is not alone. We found two other companies with

the same claims. Helios claims to have an alternative to the

vaccination for -- Homeoforce claims to have alternative to the

vaccination for whooping cough. At this point, you might be wondering

how any company can get away with selling products labelled as

vaccinations which are not. It is a good question. Homeopathy is

regulated by the Government's Medicine at watchdog, and we have

learned that there have been complaints going on for over a year

against Ainsworths. I showed our evidence to Totnes MP Sarah

Wollaston, who is concerned about vaccination intake locally. I do

not think that any product for which there is no evidence

whatsoever that can convert any benefit should be labelled --

labelled a vaccine. There is no excuse for that. As a result of our

investigation, the Government medicine watchdog has taken action

against the three companies we have highlighted, and Ainsworths has

removed several of its products from its website. Available to

anyone, he still wants to take a chance on the -- there are still

plenty of these products available, available to anyone who still want

Every where you shop, you're surrounded by signs advertising one

brand o'er another. But there is nothing new this this. We have been

on the trail of a man reinventing on the trail of a man reinventing

an old Victorian craft. From Torbay to Tinseltown. David Smith's at

work on the latest project to emerge from his Torquay studio. 100

years ago, this job would have taken a whole bunch of skilled

tradesmen. You have to cut the panels. Everything is done by a

team of five or six people. I'm trying to bring it together, but

it's just me. Dave's talents have made him one of the most sought

after sign artists in the world. He's currently working on three

decorated glass panels for the wall of a museum in London's Portobello

Road. Here owner Jake Burger invites punters to evolve - with

much happy sampling - their own recipe for gin. When we were

putting the place together, the museum room, we wanted that to be a

kind of modern day replica of the gin palaces of the 19th cent which

which churned it out on an industrial basis. Now Davis the

last person doing it. We have seen pictures of the progress from afar,

which Dave has E mailed us, but to see the actual thing will be

amazing. It should look spectacular and really pull the room together.

The process starts with Dave sketching out designs for the

finished work. This is a rough drawing and not a finished drawing.

But the centre panel will be here and this, there would be acid-

etched and painted in a vibrant Victorian pink colour. With gilded

texts. There would be no cut glass here, but there would be other

treatments. The centre panel would be silvered and gilded to

complement the two other panels to finish off the Victorian look.

this is the centre panel. He works with a range of grindstones, each

capable of a different cut for a different pattern. Theer who wheel

gives you circles. This one gives you a nice edge cut and a much

sharper look to the cut itself. job require great precision and a

delicate touch. I'm up to around about sort of four to five hours

already. So if it goes right at this stage, it's not too bad. It is

when you're into 70 hours, that is when it gets a bit more scary.

It'll take three days of cutting before the centre panel is ready

for its next stage. Dave's been a sign writer since leaving school.

Ten years later he had his own business, mostly serving clients in

and around Torquay. People would want us to make their signs for

them. Because they were slightly different and more interesting than

the general mundane type of signs. But to take things to the next

level Dave had to look way beyond Torquay - to the United States,

where he studied at the workshop of glass craftsman Rick Lawson.

Probably the number one person to be involved with to develop reverse

glass. Dave first put this new reverse glass technique to use in

the early '90s on his breakthrough project at Torquay's Clocktower pub.

The following decade saw a growing demand for his work from major

clients on both sides of the Atlantic. One project can take

months. He's doing the side panels now, for the Ginstitute.

cutting now these into quarters to take up the area of the clear glass

is going to be gilded. From there I will flood the area with distild

water, which has a small amount of gelatine inside it and I will

afully gold directly to that area. -- apply the gold. Most of Dave's

work is done in mirror image on the back of the glass. The backs of the

panels have always looked messy, you think, this guy doesn't know

what he is doing. Once you turn them around, they give you

different story. Then the work is revealed in all its glory. Glass

isn't all he does. Lately, he's been dabbling in the murky world of

rock and roll. Rock star John Mayer wanted a retro look for his new

album cover. He saw some of Dave's work and called him using the

internet from his California home. Someone said there is this guy in

the UK, his name is David Smith, check out his stuff. OLK let's see.

I clicked it and it was pencil work he had done for a tattoo parlour.

As soon as I saw it, I went, "Here we are!" The album cover Dave ended

up designing just missed out on a nomination for this year's Grammy

awards. Far away from Tinseltown, it's back to work on the finishing

touches for the centre panel of the Ginstitute piece. I tend to use

more of the old period paint, because it contains the lead which

gives it more body than the modern paints, which doesn't contain the

leads that you need the get the It is looking pretty complete now.

I have this red to be blended in and then I will take it to London.

The work won't be over all three panels are safely hanging on the

Ginstitute walls. But before he does that he has a small delivery

to make to one of his other London clients. Then it's across West

London to Portobello Road, where Jake is eagerly awaiting the

finished glasswork. After months of sketching, cutting, polishing and

painting the three panels are finally in place. OK I will stand

back and look at that. Wow, that looks great. I am one satisfied

customer. Amazing job. You truly are a master craftsman.

There it is, hanging on the wall - indisputable truth that Dave Smith

Here in the South West we are lucky to live in a region known for its

great foods, from dairy farms to fish. But we have found a man who

is convinced there is a new potential food this a abundant but

overlooked. In fact, it's right under my feet! Rory Macphee is a

boat builder, furniture maker and former shipping lawyer working out

of Constantine near Falmouth. But lately it's something beneath the

waves that's caught his interest. For many years, I thought the sea

was a two-dimensional thing, it was a playground to put my boats on and

earn sums Ferying people around the Mediterranean. Then I worked at

Cornwall college and became aware that it was three-dimensional. A

student said, Rory, what is this seaweed? I said, I don't know. Then

I thought, why don't I know and I went and found out. From then

seaweed has become his obsession and he's now got the first licence

in England to harvest seaweed to eat. On a spring tide I'm down

there at low water, having a fantastic time, picking seaweed and

in due course selling it. Rory only picks seaweed from below the

watermark where the plants are growing. And when it's a low

jtidelike here at Prisk Cove, he can get to the good stuff. Oh look

at that baby! Lovely! That is some kelp. It's lovely. A very delicate

taste. It is about pick and nibbling and it is a secondary test.

If I fall over with gangrene tonight... Or my nose falls off, I

will know it is the seaweed and I won't put it on the market! Armed

only with a pair of scissors, a glass jar and a wicker basket,

Rory's seaweed picking is very low impact. This is truly sustainable

methods. We want to keep this going. By cutting these two leaves off

there, two thirds of the way up, that will keep that plant alive. In

the old days they would get a tool and chop that off at the ground. We

don't want to do that. The same with the dulse, that is the red

plant there. This grows on other seaweed and this dulse is growing

on the serrated rack. So I just want to take a bit for my tea.

Seaweed's always been valued in Cornwall but not as a food source.

The Victorians harvested large quantities to use as fertilizer

because its packed full of nutrients like nitrogen and iodine.

But for Rory it's a delicious treat that should be gracing our plates,

not just feeding our veg. There we go. Got you! Snip a bit of it. In

she goes. I call that chef's delight. You need a pair of nice

sharp scissors. Sometimes we will do a bit of a... Elevens moment.

Oh! Garlic, onion... Bit of chilli... I can see that on an

avocado pear. There -- And there is a market in Cornwall for seaweed -

Rory's found someone else who shares his vision. Only the most

avant-garde chefs are looking at it and Mick is putting a lot of effort

into developing the Cornish you mammy -- unami. For the Japanese

unami is the holy grail of flavour - a natural form of monosodium

glutamate that comes from boiling seaweed with dried fish into a

dashi or stock. You ends up with this clear liquid. We use this as a

stock base for many things. For crab pasta, to nice broths with

mackerel and mushrooms. The relationship with Rory that we have

started is a long-term one. He has got some very good seaweed over

there and we need the get more of it. -- to get more of it. Mick

wants his chefs to know as much about seaweed as possible. Welcome

to our beach. Welcome to our paradise. So he's brought them to

the beach to meet Rory, pick some seaweed and get some ideas for how

to cook it. Are we cooking? While the chefs are busy picking,

Rory builds a fire and smokes some seaweed ready to cook. I can see

some smoke, what have you got cooking? This is a special for you,

Mick. Some dulse. Which I'm smoking on a mixture of Cornish oak and

Cornish apple. The colour is beautiful. Do you want to taste

some? Yes. This is the one, that flavour. That is dfl that --

definitely that flavour. It might not be nouveau cuisine, but Rory's

got a simple campfire recipe to get Mick inspired: a smoked dulse bread

made out of flour, water and seaweed. There is a seven year

apprenticeship to this game, mate. It's cooked on the fire in a Celtic

pie iron. Come on guys. What have you go. Some dull. Lots of stuff.

Let's have some pepper dulse. These guys are hired. Amazing! OK,

vegetarian hot dogs from Neptune's allotment, flour, water and dulse.

Gorse maybe? A bit of gorse. Why not. There we are boys and girls.

It is very hot. If you hold the bread board. Maybe you should put

truffle oil on. For dessert I have some Caribbean tea. That is seaweed

boiled for 20 minutes, with ginger, lemon, cinnamon and card Eammon.

And it has been put through a sieve. Shot glass. It smells really good.

It beats Lemsip. It is the best hangover cure. I think we need to

be back in the kitchen. No, this is the best play, sea wood, larder,

sun fire. Maybe after ietthoog bread, you have a point. Brilliant.

And the sun it out. Epic day. with Mick and his team full of

ideas it looks like seaweed might become a new Cornish delicacy. But

for Rory, it's not all about hard work and making money. As I get

older and less able to make things in my workshop, why not just be on