:00:05. > :00:12.Hello and welcome to Inside Out, with stories you need to know about
:00:12. > :00:15.Tonight, protests from Black Country horse keepers, as the
:00:15. > :00:22.bailiffs move in to catch the wild horses of Sandwell and remove
:00:22. > :00:27.tethered horses from council land. They're part of us. If the horse
:00:27. > :00:32.isn't here, there's nothing for us really, cos that's all we've got.
:00:32. > :00:34.Anti-capitalism or anti-government cuts? We go behind the scenes of
:00:34. > :00:41.some new protest movements and meet others who say austerity measures
:00:41. > :00:46.have not gone far enough. Time for us to get real! Let's face up to
:00:46. > :00:52.the truth. Our public finances are in a total shambles. Britain is
:00:52. > :00:55.skint. And Jasper Carrott has the story of
:00:55. > :01:01.a radio legend, as he catches up with the consumer crusader from BBC
:01:01. > :01:11.local radio. That's all coming up on tonight's Inside Out, with me,
:01:11. > :01:22.
:01:22. > :01:26.Horses have been a feature of our landscape for more than two
:01:26. > :01:29.centuries. The origin of the Black Country horse is the need for
:01:29. > :01:34.industry to have some kind of infrastructure, which means haulage
:01:34. > :01:37.and logistics in modern terms. They're a legacy of days gone by,
:01:37. > :01:43.but at one time, these horses were the power behind the Industrial
:01:43. > :01:46.Revolution. All these were carrying goods between pits and forges and
:01:46. > :01:51.foundries and ironworks in the Black Country, and of course moving
:01:51. > :01:54.the finished goods out of the Black Country. But horse-ownership, like
:01:54. > :01:57.the industries they once powered, could soon be a thing of the past,
:01:57. > :02:07.as Sandwell Council has decided that grazing on public land will no
:02:07. > :02:10.
:02:10. > :02:15.longer be tolerated. On public open space, the council will not allow
:02:15. > :02:18.any horses to be tethered or loose. And so the horse owners of Sandwell
:02:18. > :02:24.have become locked in battle with the council, as they fight to
:02:24. > :02:27.preserve their way of life. The sight of horses tethered and
:02:27. > :02:37.grazing on open spaces in parts of Sandwell is a common feature of the
:02:37. > :02:39.
:02:39. > :02:43.landscape. They're part of us. If the horse isn't here, there's
:02:43. > :02:48.nothing for us really, cos that's all we've got. Horses have been in
:02:48. > :02:56.Malcolm's family for generations. He grew up with horses as a young
:02:56. > :03:00.boy. It's something he hopes his children will also be able to do.
:03:00. > :03:04.can remember my grandad giving me a horse when I was younger, and he
:03:04. > :03:09.said, "This is your horse". I basically worked myself up. Now
:03:09. > :03:14.I've got six horses, so I've done it all myself. They're my life to
:03:14. > :03:21.me, to be honest. That's all I work for, all I live for. My family and
:03:21. > :03:24.my horses. The horses are more than an old tradition. They represent
:03:24. > :03:30.quality family time. It's a commitment and responsibility they
:03:30. > :03:33.learn at a young age. If my mate's saying, "Do you want to come out to
:03:33. > :03:37.play?", and my dad asks me if I want to ride the horse, I'd rather
:03:37. > :03:41.ride my horse, basically. All these kids here being in trouble, playing
:03:41. > :03:45.out too late. I'm missing that, getting out of trouble, keeping out
:03:45. > :03:48.of trouble. I want my children to have what I've had. Cos I've been
:03:48. > :03:52.brought up with horses the old- fashioned way, I've learnt a lot of
:03:52. > :03:59.respect for people and animals. So I want my children to be brought up
:03:59. > :04:03.exactly the same way as me. Put them in the stable. Good lad.
:04:03. > :04:06.while some horses are tethered, others have been set loose. Locals
:04:06. > :04:10.told us they were dumped years ago and have been roaming free and
:04:10. > :04:20.breeding ever since. They say the tethered horses are not the problem.
:04:20. > :04:24.But the council disagrees. We've been using this land for... It's
:04:24. > :04:27.been over 60, 70 years, the land's been used for horses. Horses was
:04:27. > :04:31.around here before the councillor was even born, I suppose, and
:04:31. > :04:36.houses was built. So I don't agree with trying to change the way it is
:04:36. > :04:42.in the Black Country. That's all we do. Horses, horses, day and night,
:04:42. > :04:51.that's all we do. Mix with the horses. We don't drink, we don't go
:04:51. > :04:54.out. But the horses are not a welcome sight for everyone. Many of
:04:54. > :04:58.the residents in this area believe they pose a danger and a nuisance
:04:58. > :05:00.to the community, and want the council to act. On the grounds of
:05:00. > :05:05.public safety, earlier this year, Sandwell Council introduced a
:05:05. > :05:08.strict no-grazing policy across all of its parks and green spaces.
:05:08. > :05:13.They've employed the services of a horse bailiff to issue notices and
:05:13. > :05:15.remove illegally tethered or roaming horses. Malcolm's father
:05:15. > :05:25.Philip says they understand the council's safety concerns, but
:05:25. > :05:28.
:05:28. > :05:37.argue that the problem is not with their horses. I agree with the
:05:37. > :05:42.loose horses. They are dangerous, yeah. I totally agree with the
:05:42. > :05:46.loose horses. But our horses are never, never loose. If they're
:05:46. > :05:51.loose, they're tied up within two or three minutes. There's somebody
:05:51. > :05:54.always here to put them back on the tethers. They've never had hassle
:05:54. > :05:59.with us on the city, never. They've never caused no accidents or
:05:59. > :06:01.nothing, our horses have. We've had them all our lives. Since early
:06:01. > :06:04.this year, the council has introduced bailiffs to enforce
:06:04. > :06:07.their policy and seize horses illegally grazing on council land,
:06:07. > :06:15.whether loose or tethered. But the horse owners have serious concerns
:06:15. > :06:18.over the practice of the bailiffs and told us: The bailiffs are
:06:18. > :06:23.targeting tethered horses are failing to tackle the horses
:06:23. > :06:25.roaming loose. The bailiffs are removing tethered horses without
:06:25. > :06:28.giving owners the required notice or opportunity to move the animals
:06:28. > :06:30.themselves. And the bailiffs are impounding horses at night,
:06:30. > :06:33.something the owners believe is unnecessary and causes great
:06:33. > :06:37.distress to their animals. This footage was given to us by one
:06:37. > :06:41.horse owner. She didn't want to be identified, as she was afraid her
:06:41. > :06:44.horse would be taken again. We're unable to verify its authenticity,
:06:44. > :06:47.but she claims it shows the bailiffs taking her horse at night,
:06:47. > :06:54.breaching government and industry guidelines. It got taken of the
:06:54. > :07:02.night time. The bailiffs came and take him at 11.30pm at night.
:07:03. > :07:07.you have any warning? No. They said they warned us but I know for a
:07:07. > :07:11.fact that they never cos I went over there every day. How much did
:07:11. > :07:17.you have to pay? It was about �4 short of �2,000. Nearly �2,000?
:07:17. > :07:20.Yeah, definitely. Rossendales refused to take part in the
:07:20. > :07:24.programme, but in a statement told us: The Local Authority tells
:07:24. > :07:27.Rossendale's which sites to attend and loose horses are removed first.
:07:27. > :07:31.Notice is always given, but if ignored, there is no alternative
:07:31. > :07:34.but to remove them. Of 14 animals taken, only one was reclaimed.
:07:34. > :07:38.Horses taken at night are handled by qualified officers who treat
:07:38. > :07:41.them with the utmost care. residents we spoke to tell us
:07:41. > :07:45.they're willing to help deal with the stray horses, and simply want
:07:45. > :07:49.somewhere safe to graze their animals. The council keep saying
:07:49. > :07:56.they've got no money and then want to get rid of pieces of land. We're
:07:56. > :08:06.willing to pay for pieces of land. We're willing to pay for this over
:08:06. > :08:12.here to keep our horses on. Today, the horse owners are taking their
:08:12. > :08:16.battle to the Council House, in the hope of speaking to someone. We've
:08:16. > :08:20.emailed them, we've been up there, we've phoned them. We've done
:08:20. > :08:23.everything and nobody wants to speak to us. We handed a petition
:08:23. > :08:26.in with about 350 signatures, and still nobody has come back saying
:08:26. > :08:30.what's happened to the petition or if anybody's going to do anything
:08:30. > :08:34.about it. If it comes to it, I'll do them every week until the
:08:34. > :08:44.council talk to us and sort something out. So how did you get
:08:44. > :08:46.
:08:46. > :08:55.on? No reply. Just been to the council, asked them if somebody
:08:55. > :09:05.could come out and talk to us. And he's just said straight, point
:09:05. > :09:06.
:09:06. > :09:12.blank, no. Nobody's coming out to see us, point blank. What do you do
:09:12. > :09:16.now? Just keep doing these till something gets sorted out.
:09:16. > :09:20.Somebody's got to talk to us. They've got to compromise halfway
:09:20. > :09:22.somewhere along the line. But later on that afternoon, there was
:09:22. > :09:25.someone available to talk to us. Councillor Ian Jones started by
:09:25. > :09:28.explaining the council's position. They are breaking the law. We have
:09:28. > :09:31.employed bailiffs, which all the horse owners know, because they've
:09:31. > :09:35.petitioned. They are fully aware that on public open space, the
:09:35. > :09:37.council will not allow any horses to be tethered or loose. Resident
:09:37. > :09:42.and horse owners say the council ignore their complaints if the
:09:42. > :09:46.stray horses are on private land. You will see horses on private land.
:09:46. > :09:50.And on private land, the council is not responsible for those horses.
:09:50. > :09:53.So it is these loose horses that are causing the problem, and yet
:09:53. > :09:56.the majority that have been taken by the bailiffs are the tethered
:09:56. > :10:00.ones, and I appreciate what you're saying, that it's a safety issue...
:10:00. > :10:04.Well, no, no. It's the loose horses that are causing the problems.
:10:04. > :10:07.They're the ones that should be taken? We should do both. One of
:10:07. > :10:10.the issues with the tethered horses, as I've said, and the government
:10:10. > :10:12.regulations from DEFRA about no tethered horses around rights of
:10:12. > :10:16.way and other public footpaths means that they are breaking the
:10:16. > :10:21.law. So how many of the stray and roaming horses have the council
:10:21. > :10:27.taken? I think it's about three or four at the moment. How many of the
:10:27. > :10:30.tethered horses? About 12. owners have been in touch with the
:10:30. > :10:35.bailiffs and the bailiffs have said, "There will be a charge to return
:10:35. > :10:38.your horse". The owner pays the �2,000, gets their horse back.
:10:39. > :10:43.You're back to square one? that's where responsibility comes.
:10:43. > :10:47.If the horse is back on the land, you haven't solved the problem?
:10:47. > :10:50.don't have to solve the problem. The council does have grazing land
:10:50. > :10:53.that horse owners can hire at Sandwell Valley Country Park. But
:10:54. > :10:56.it's full and there's a five-year waiting list for places. So with no
:10:56. > :10:59.alternative sites available, and both the horse owners and council
:11:00. > :11:03.refusing to back down, this is one battle that could take a long time
:11:03. > :11:06.to resolve. We had a very rich family life but the horses are all
:11:06. > :11:09.we've got and the tethering's all we've got as well. We won't stop
:11:09. > :11:16.having them. They'll never, never stop it. Never. They can do what
:11:16. > :11:19.they want. We'll never stop. So what do you think? Is it fair to
:11:19. > :11:29.tether horses, and what can the council do to round up the ones
:11:29. > :11:31.
:11:31. > :11:33.Now, they've been camping out in cities across the world. Anti-
:11:33. > :11:36.capitalist and anti-cuts protesters outside St Paul's Cathedral in
:11:36. > :11:39.London were mirrored by smaller tented protests, including one here
:11:39. > :11:42.in Birmingham. Earlier this year, Tony started filming some of the
:11:42. > :11:52.new protest movements which have sprung up in response to the
:11:52. > :11:54.
:11:54. > :11:59.economic crisis. Here's his report. CHANTING: Topshop! Pay your tax!
:11:59. > :12:06.Whose money? Our money! They call themselves UK Uncut. Cut back!
:12:06. > :12:08.Fight back! Cut, cut, cut back! Fight, fight, fight back! For a
:12:08. > :12:13.year now they've been arranging to meet through Twitter, Facebook and
:12:13. > :12:17.old-fashioned word-of-mouth. Their mission is to disrupt and protest,
:12:17. > :12:21.to make a point about the cuts being imposed. They say cut back!
:12:21. > :12:29.We say fight back! Their concern is the people who don't normally have
:12:29. > :12:35.a voice as loud as theirs. Miss Selfridge! Pay your tax! I feel
:12:35. > :12:39.like I'm a nothing. That I don't count anywhere in this world.
:12:39. > :12:42.embarking on some very bleak, sad times. You probably hadn't heard of
:12:43. > :12:45.UK Uncut until these disturbances in London in March. The violence
:12:45. > :12:50.and vandalism made the headlines at an anti-cuts protest involving half
:12:50. > :12:54.a million people. Most of those arrested that day were the 145 who
:12:54. > :12:57.held a peaceful sit-in at the luxury food store, Fortnum & Mason.
:12:57. > :13:01.They were protesting over alleged tax avoidance by the business's
:13:01. > :13:04.owners. So we decided to follow the activities of UK Uncut over the
:13:05. > :13:09.summer. We'd also get the alternative view from those who
:13:09. > :13:19.believe a policy of cuts is right. Indeed, there are those who think
:13:19. > :13:22.
:13:23. > :13:25.the cuts should be deeper. It is about time that government started
:13:25. > :13:29.to stand up for hard-pressed British taxpayers. It looked like
:13:29. > :13:35.we were heading for a summer of discontent. April - a warm day in
:13:35. > :13:45.Nottingham. UK Uncut supporters gather on a street corner dressed
:13:45. > :13:49.as nurses and hospital workers. It's a busy Saturday morning. They
:13:49. > :13:54.have a list of targets but the police don't know where they are.
:13:54. > :14:00.All of a sudden, there's a quick march to a bank. Lloyds TSB, a
:14:00. > :14:07.bailed-out bank, which is 41% owned by taxpayers. This government is
:14:07. > :14:11.taking the NHS and, in effect, privatising it. They go in to
:14:12. > :14:18.protest at news the banks made �2 billion profit and paid no tax. And
:14:18. > :14:28.spent 200 million on staff bonuses. We wanted to know what motivates
:14:28. > :14:40.
:14:40. > :14:43.someone to get involved in action Can mummy help colour? On that one.
:14:43. > :14:49.Sam Dixon has lost her job because of the cuts, but says that's not
:14:49. > :14:52.why she has decided to give up part of her weekend to protest. I'm more
:14:52. > :14:56.outraged that people are losing services and people's lives are
:14:56. > :15:06.going to be put at risk. I'm going to be able to find another job and
:15:06. > :15:11.These are the people Sam means. Those helped by a programme called
:15:11. > :15:13.Supporting People. It's upset me regarding what's happening to sort
:15:13. > :15:16.of frontline services, because these people are either going to
:15:16. > :15:26.end up sort of dying, or needing some severe statutory intervention,
:15:26. > :15:29.
:15:29. > :15:33.which I find is a complete and utter false economy. May, a rainy
:15:33. > :15:37.day in Lincoln. Sam and the UK Uncut protestors from Nottingham
:15:38. > :15:42.are on a day trip gathering new supporters. This time they're
:15:42. > :15:52.dressed as bankers. We are here to facilitate your peaceful protest,
:15:52. > :15:55.OK? First time I come across this, but it's very worthwhile. I think
:15:55. > :15:59.it's a good thing they're doing it. Hopefully some people will listen
:15:59. > :16:03.and something will change. Once more, it's a peaceful march around
:16:03. > :16:11.the city. The police keep a watchful eye, but not everyone is
:16:11. > :16:14.happy with the demonstrations. They're wasting tax payers' money.
:16:14. > :16:19.Wasting police time as well. If they paid taxes, they'd have an
:16:19. > :16:25.argument, wouldn't they. They don't pay taxes, they're all students.
:16:25. > :16:28.Idiots. They're not all students though. They are. I can tell from
:16:29. > :16:33.here. How can you tell someone's a student by looking at them? I can
:16:33. > :16:37.tell. It's a week later on a sunny Saturday morning in Loughborough.
:16:37. > :16:41.Jago Pearson is up early for a student. He's off to London, to a
:16:41. > :16:48.demonstration in favour of cuts. It's organised by the Taxpayers'
:16:48. > :16:53.Alliance. There are people here who believe the cuts don't go far
:16:53. > :16:56.enough. We're not even going to start paying back this debt until
:16:56. > :16:59.five years' time, at the current rate. And the interest payment is
:16:59. > :17:03.going to get bigger and bigger and that's money we can't spend on
:17:03. > :17:10.anything else. What they want are deeper cuts to public services, to
:17:10. > :17:15.get the economy back on track. is time for us to get real. Let's
:17:15. > :17:23.face up to the truth. Our public finances are in a total shambles.
:17:23. > :17:26.Britain is skint. I'm not a public schoolboy. State educated. We've
:17:26. > :17:30.got to accept that everyone's going to get hit in various different
:17:30. > :17:33.ways by any cuts that are happening or any further cuts maybe we are
:17:33. > :17:37.calling for, but the fact is that we can't let our vested interest
:17:37. > :17:40.get in the way of what's good for the country and what's good for,
:17:40. > :17:45.say, our grandchildren in 50, 60 years' time and for the future of
:17:45. > :17:48.the country. June. Nottingham, and around the country the teachers are
:17:48. > :17:58.on strike over pensions, and UK Uncut are supporting them on a
:17:58. > :17:59.
:17:59. > :18:02.March. This is another example of the mess the bankers have left us
:18:02. > :18:06.in, and the Government are expecting the taxpayer to foot the
:18:06. > :18:10.bill. But a decision has been taken to save money on the public sector
:18:10. > :18:17.pension bill. And for people like Jago Pearson that's the right thing
:18:17. > :18:20.to do. There are people out there who do believe the cuts are right,
:18:20. > :18:23.and we could be going further in some cases. Take away the
:18:23. > :18:26.bureaucracy, and of course the most important thing, the European Union,
:18:26. > :18:36.we spend billions of pounds every year on the European Union. It's
:18:36. > :18:36.
:18:36. > :18:40.just about time that stops. August. Riots in London. Disturbances and
:18:40. > :18:43.arrests in Nottingham. While there's injustices and inequalities
:18:43. > :18:49.taking place on that scale then I'll be taking part in whatever
:18:49. > :18:54.actions I can get to. October. Westminster. UK Uncut from
:18:54. > :18:58.Nottingham join in. And now they occupy the Old Market Place in
:18:59. > :19:08.Nottingham. A movement of outrage, which isn't showing any signs of
:19:09. > :19:09.
:19:09. > :19:13.going away. Finally tonight, we pay tribute to a BBC local radio legend
:19:13. > :19:16.who's giving up his daily consumer show on Radio WM, and just like Sir
:19:16. > :19:26.Terry Wogan severely cutting back on his broadcasting hours. This is
:19:26. > :19:26.
:19:26. > :19:33.the story of Ed Doolan, brought to you by Jasper Carrott. It's 11.50
:19:33. > :19:37.and Ed Doolan is getting ready to go live on air. He's done this more
:19:37. > :19:46.than 9,000 times. But today, for the first time in four decades,
:19:46. > :19:49.he's nervous. He's hiding it, but he is quite upset about today. I
:19:49. > :19:52.think there'll be a few moments later on in the programme. Ed is
:19:52. > :19:55.one of the longest serving radio presenters in the world. He's
:19:55. > :20:00.interviewed the grandest and the greatest. But this is his last show
:20:00. > :20:07.before going into semi-retirement. There's a certain nervousness which
:20:07. > :20:10.I'm not used to, because I don't get nervous. I used to. For 40
:20:10. > :20:13.years Ed has used his microphone to stick up for Brummies and challenge
:20:13. > :20:20.authorities. When he gets on to you, you're going to get a tough time.
:20:20. > :20:25.We had some fearsome rows. I was scared stiff. Ed is our voice. He's
:20:25. > :20:28.fearless. He was even named one of history's 100 famous Brummies, but
:20:28. > :20:38.what few realise is that Ed isn't from Birmingham at all. He's
:20:38. > :20:46.
:20:46. > :20:51.Australian. G'day. So, how come a complete outsider from Down Under
:20:51. > :20:58.became one of this city's most famous adopted sons? Let's find out.
:20:58. > :21:01.We're going to be having our usual consumer phone-ins. I'm itching to
:21:01. > :21:06.know why Ed ended up in Brum in the first place, leaving Sydney's sun-
:21:07. > :21:10.drenched harbour behind. So why would a snotty nosed kid from the
:21:10. > :21:14.suburbs of Sydney want to come to Birmingham and do local radio for
:21:14. > :21:22.the BBC? Well, what I wanted to do was to do radio. I was obsessed
:21:22. > :21:25.with radio from about the age of four or five. A typical evening in
:21:25. > :21:27.the Doolan household was to sit down and watch my mother doing the
:21:27. > :21:35.ironing, and listen to the transcription service, the BBC
:21:35. > :21:38.transcription service that they were sending through. And they'd be
:21:38. > :21:48.broadcasting people like Frankie Howerd, The Goons and Take It From
:21:48. > :21:49.
:21:49. > :21:55.Here and Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh. I loved it. For the ninth time this
:21:55. > :21:58.season, Much-Binding takes the air. Inspired by a notion that British
:21:58. > :22:01.radio was the place to be, a fresh- faced Ed Doolan journeyed to our
:22:01. > :22:04.shores. Soon he got his chance on Birmingham's brand-new commercial
:22:04. > :22:14.station, BRMB. BRMB, playing Birmingham's best mix of the 80s,
:22:14. > :22:20.
:22:20. > :22:24.90s and today. I've brought Ed back to see how things have changed.
:22:24. > :22:27.Gone are the pictures of David Essex and ABBA. In those early days,
:22:27. > :22:34.Ed was an outsider and desperately needed to get Brummies on his side.
:22:34. > :22:37.He told friends he had a plan. remember Ed telling me he heard a
:22:37. > :22:40.show in Australia on radio that changed his life. It was somebody
:22:40. > :22:43.trying to get social justice and trying to change things and make a
:22:43. > :22:46.difference to people by a radio show. Ed thought "I would like do
:22:46. > :22:56.that, I would like to have my programmes make a difference to
:22:56. > :22:58.
:22:58. > :23:07.people." Across the West Midlands, on 95.6FM, Lunch with Ed Doolan on
:23:07. > :23:10.BBC WM. Ed's programme certainly made a difference to listener Sam.
:23:10. > :23:14.I've been listening Ed Doolan for nearly 30 years and one day he
:23:14. > :23:18.saved my life. Sam heard Ed talking on air about a rare health
:23:18. > :23:27.condition called abdominal aortic aneurysm. Concerned, he booked a
:23:27. > :23:30.scan. The scan showed up that I had a large aneurysm and I needed to be
:23:30. > :23:35.dealt with immediately, and the next two days I was with the
:23:35. > :23:37.consultant at Heartlands Hospital. But Ed really made a name for
:23:37. > :23:46.himself when he started helping listeners with their consumer
:23:46. > :23:51.problems. Back then it was pioneering stuff. Hello, this is
:23:51. > :23:57.the city's engineers department. Thank you for calling to report a
:23:57. > :24:01.defect. Hello. This is the Ed Doolan Show, on Radio WM. Mr Day
:24:01. > :24:04.from Edgbaston would like to record a message. Yes. There is a blocked
:24:04. > :24:07.drain blocked up by the Severn Trent Water authority. For three
:24:07. > :24:11.months. For three months. If you don't know what the hell's going on
:24:11. > :24:14.in your own city, there's no help for you. You've got some work to do
:24:14. > :24:18.with the customers. We have indeed. If there's a problem, he says let's
:24:18. > :24:22.find the person who can sort that problem out, and he's on the phone,
:24:22. > :24:25."Get me the phone number for Fred," whoever it is at the Town Hall. And
:24:25. > :24:28.he's on the phone. "Fred, it's Ed Doolan here, a lot of people have
:24:28. > :24:38.been worried about..." and you think he just jumps in with all
:24:38. > :24:41.four feet, you know. So becoming a consumer champion may have made Ed
:24:41. > :24:44.popular with Brummies, but it put him on headbutting terms with some
:24:44. > :24:47.of the most powerful leaders in the region. Isn't that so? Are you
:24:47. > :24:51.saying there are people working for Birmingham Council who are
:24:51. > :24:58.frightened that if they say what is going on, that they will be sacked?
:24:58. > :25:03.That's exactly what I'm saying. it was with Midlands Transport
:25:03. > :25:07.Chief Phil Bateman that Ed had his most notorious battles. So come on
:25:07. > :25:11.Phil, how volatile were those early sets to with Ed? Oh, they were
:25:11. > :25:16.pretty volatile. They were pretty blood and guts - usually my blood,
:25:16. > :25:20.my guts. I didn't like him at first, that's the truth of the matter. I
:25:20. > :25:25.felt he was aggressive. Overly aggressive at times. What were the
:25:25. > :25:28.arguments about? You name it, he'd have an argument with you about it.
:25:28. > :25:31.He'd be very nice to start with. He'd engage you in conversation,
:25:32. > :25:34.and then the next minute, your mics went on, the red light went on and
:25:34. > :25:39.he changed, turned into the Tasmanian devil! Of course Ed
:25:39. > :25:42.normally came out on top. You ever wondered why you can catch a bus on
:25:42. > :25:46.Boxing Day? That's one of Ed's many victories, but in 1989 an
:25:46. > :25:50.extraordinary case came along that really tested the Aussie mettle.
:25:50. > :25:53.Here a prisoner who absconded from staff at jail gave himself up while
:25:54. > :26:00.taking part in a radio phone-in. made national headlines when he
:26:00. > :26:03.took a call from a prisoner on the run. Casting BBC health and safety
:26:03. > :26:08.rules to the wind, he agreed to escort Steven Winnery into custody
:26:08. > :26:17.safely. Winnery agreed to be picked up, provided no police were
:26:17. > :26:22.involved. He also agreed to the presence of cameras. Supposing you
:26:22. > :26:27.had found a gun, what would you have done? I never thought of that.
:26:27. > :26:31.I never thought I would. When we got in the car, he thanked me and
:26:31. > :26:34.said "I don't want to go to the prison. I want to go the nearest
:26:34. > :26:40.police station." And I said "Well, I don't know where the nearest
:26:40. > :26:44.police station is." He said, "I'll show you the way." You know, Ed
:26:44. > :26:49.didn't just help the man in the street, he also helped the man on
:26:49. > :26:55.the stage. $$NEWLINE# When I get my moped out on the road $$NEWLINE#
:26:55. > :26:58.I'm going to ride, ride, ride. # When I released Funky Moped in 1975,
:26:58. > :27:03.few people outside Birmingham knew who I was, but an appearance on Top
:27:03. > :27:13.of the Pops changed everything. That was thanks to Ed, who had been
:27:13. > :27:13.
:27:13. > :27:18.promoting the record for weeks. It was my big break. Isn't that nice.
:27:18. > :27:21.Ed's not retiring completely. Oh no. New shows on Fridays and Sundays
:27:21. > :27:24.will keep him busy in Brum. But his last daily consumer prog, the show
:27:25. > :27:28.that made his name, is almost over. It's been an emotional two hours,
:27:28. > :27:31.so will he be able to stick to his script? The problem is when the
:27:31. > :27:34.emotions get involved he often discards it and speaks from the
:27:35. > :27:40.heart. I don't know whether he'll be able to stick to that, to be
:27:40. > :27:46.honest. As the clock creeps towards the hour, Ed delivers those parting
:27:46. > :27:51.words. I'll be back live, next Friday, at 12 noon. But now, until
:27:51. > :27:55.next we meet, thanks for listening. A professional to the end, Ed stuck
:27:55. > :27:58.to his script, word-for-word. After nearly 40 years of sticking up for
:27:58. > :28:01.the people of Birmingham, it's little wonder that we Brummies have
:28:02. > :28:05.made Ed Doolan one of our own. What an honour we have bestowed upon him.
:28:05. > :28:15.However, Birmingham and the Black Country have a lot to thank him for.
:28:15. > :28:27.
:28:27. > :28:30.I know I have. Well, that's all for tonight. Join me again next Monday.