:00:24. > :00:27.Welcome to a Birmingham's Frankfurt Christmas market, a symbol of the
:00:27. > :00:31.city's celebration of different cultures. But it was not always
:00:31. > :00:35.like this. Later in the programme, we will be finding out what it was
:00:35. > :00:41.like to be amongst the first wave of Jamaican immigrants to arrive in
:00:41. > :00:46.the city. Also... There are more than 300,000
:00:47. > :00:50.on our roads, but just how safe are mobility scooters? We must be very
:00:50. > :00:54.careful that we do not introduce laws that would prevent people from
:00:54. > :01:02.using them, because then they end up housebound. Rather than
:01:02. > :01:06.legislation, it is about education. But first, the decider of London
:01:06. > :01:11.Midland trains, and nearly 1000 cancelled services since mid-
:01:11. > :01:15.October. Fed up commuters were told that the launch of the new
:01:15. > :01:25.timetable eight days ago would make a difference. So, is everything
:01:25. > :01:27.
:01:27. > :01:33.If you were a train commuter, the chances are you have been having a
:01:33. > :01:41.bad time recently if you have been using London Midland strings. --
:01:41. > :01:46.trains. Beat Alex. He takes the train at university. True inns are
:01:47. > :01:50.often delayed. Sometimes cancelled. This can often lead to a lot of
:01:50. > :01:56.people being on the platforms. This builds up and then more trains are
:01:57. > :02:02.delayed and cancelled. It means that a lot of very angry, cold
:02:02. > :02:07.people have to squeeze on to three a four carriages on a train. Then
:02:07. > :02:10.there is then. He also takes London Midland. There has been no way of
:02:10. > :02:17.knowing one day to the next what will be happening. That makes me
:02:17. > :02:21.feel powerless, like them worthless, and I don't matter to the country.
:02:21. > :02:29.I am just a revenue line on a spreadsheet somewhere that no one
:02:29. > :02:33.really pays attention to it. Judging by the opinions of these
:02:33. > :02:38.other passengers, Alex and Ben are not the only ones to have an issue
:02:38. > :02:44.with the train companies. We're like sardines. It was an accident
:02:44. > :02:48.waiting to happen. It is only a 10 minute journey, but it takes ages
:02:48. > :02:52.most of the time. I don't mind paying, but I am not getting value
:02:52. > :02:57.for money. The problem is caused by a shortage of drivers, which meant
:02:57. > :03:03.cancelled trains. In October, it cancelled or altered more than five
:03:03. > :03:08.hundreds journeys. In an attempt to sort out the mess and get back on
:03:08. > :03:15.track, London Midland trains have set itself a deadline of December
:03:15. > :03:19.ninth to resolve the problem. We thought we would take them at their
:03:19. > :03:24.word. We followed two London Midland commuters over one week to
:03:24. > :03:30.see if the service had improved. Remember Ben? Is 45 minute commute
:03:30. > :03:33.from Wellington to Birmingham. Riding the inner city service is
:03:34. > :03:38.Alex. It can take him over 60 minutes between Selly Oak and Perry
:03:38. > :03:44.Barr. But we're not just relying on that these two. We're turning to
:03:45. > :03:50.the internet. Nowhere is commuter frustration were evident than in
:03:50. > :03:58.comments on a social networking site. We have also asked them to
:03:58. > :04:01.message just about out there London Midland commuters: over the week.
:04:01. > :04:05.Let's start at the beginning. Day one of the improved service and I
:04:05. > :04:08.am with them in Shropshire. The magic wand has been waved over the
:04:08. > :04:14.London Midland service and everything is fixed. Unfortunately,
:04:14. > :04:19.today, not so fixed. There is a train crew on availability,
:04:19. > :04:23.unexpected, Cat Plan for that. It seems that London Midland cannot
:04:23. > :04:26.cope with their staff being ill, so they have had to cancel my train
:04:26. > :04:33.this morning. The next train I will catch will be even more crowded
:04:33. > :04:39.than it usually is. With Ben's cancelled train and forced to get
:04:40. > :04:46.on the next available on. High usual is this? This is fairly
:04:46. > :04:50.regular. For this particular service, anyway. Passengers have to
:04:50. > :04:54.cram on. There is no legal upper limit for the number of passengers
:04:54. > :05:00.you can fit onto a train. Just keep cramming the men and sack him high
:05:00. > :05:04.and take their money. Alex's heading into university. To his
:05:04. > :05:09.relief, there were no cancellations but there were lots of delays on
:05:09. > :05:14.his route. Good to see that delays are smaller, but they're still
:05:14. > :05:19.delays. I'm don't think that should be happening with the frequency
:05:19. > :05:26.that be seen to be happening at. Day 1 Soc Dem and Alex clock up
:05:26. > :05:30.four journeys. But only one passed without incident. But on day two,
:05:30. > :05:38.Alex's face with a whole lot of new commuter problems. There is massive
:05:38. > :05:43.destruction on part of the network. The East will be interesting. So,
:05:43. > :05:48.they have just announced that there was quite possible there be more or
:05:48. > :05:55.delays and possibly cancellations the loo, which is an ideal. There
:05:55. > :05:58.remain electoral supply problems, which is not entirely clear. It's
:05:58. > :06:04.something developed as Lee, one of which are what relation to the to
:06:04. > :06:07.layers. As went round find about someone and a moment. They also on
:06:07. > :06:15.Wednesday using National Express buses does this and for some
:06:15. > :06:19.services. Am hoping my services are not going to be one. The in the end,
:06:19. > :06:21.Alex did not have to catch the bus until the London Midland cannot be
:06:21. > :06:26.blamed for our problems, their services elsewhere were hit by a
:06:27. > :06:31.crew issues. Have we through the week, as are commuters continue to
:06:31. > :06:36.redress the newsroom service, we were hearing from other passengers.
:06:36. > :06:45.During my makeshift HQ, we have been muttering the day's train
:06:45. > :06:49.delays as well as commuters these centres via the internet. Does rise
:06:49. > :06:55.of just road and have to say I'm very happy the journey today. Has
:06:55. > :06:58.been quick and efficient. And of that up on a stake, but we have
:06:58. > :07:05.arrived here any five minutes late. That was day one of the supposedly
:07:05. > :07:11.improved so was, with the new timetable and new drivers. Two
:07:12. > :07:14.trains, two out of two late. I have just finished a journey for the day
:07:14. > :07:17.and it is over all improvements on the train, others not good enough
:07:17. > :07:21.because of the demise in the freezing cold and that of Les
:07:21. > :07:25.stations having a more lighting and heating. Hopefully, there will be
:07:25. > :07:34.no Toulouse tomorrow. By Thursday, it was improving for been on Alex's
:07:34. > :07:37.still finding his trains delayed. This is my third journey in hand of
:07:37. > :07:43.one yet there was an any such a delay. Some of them seem minimal by
:07:43. > :07:49.five minutes over all. But I still have not have a train which has not
:07:49. > :07:53.a many end of delay, which is crazy, really. Friday, and the final day
:07:53. > :07:58.of testing the surface. Then's Mead goes smoothly in a marked
:07:58. > :08:03.improvement from day one. But Alex still having problems and his
:08:03. > :08:07.trains delayed once more. Because the strain so late, they're not
:08:07. > :08:13.stopping my stubborn in words and when have to get off and wait for a
:08:13. > :08:17.latrine, which means am going to be even later. Over the week, we have
:08:17. > :08:21.been on nine journeys, of which are my three have gone smoothly. We
:08:21. > :08:26.have also heard by Twitter from over 25 people, who will feel
:08:26. > :08:29.disappointed that the service. We want to speak to London Midland to
:08:29. > :08:35.sell them what we have seen and heard, but they declined, writing
:08:35. > :08:38.to us instead to tailless... recent timetable changes no blasted
:08:38. > :08:41.into via a number of operational efficiencies. This process has
:08:41. > :08:46.enabled us to address the temporary driver short ball and we apologise
:08:46. > :08:49.to anyone has been impacted by recent problems. The resolution of
:08:49. > :08:53.our driver Short for coincided with a challenging period network
:08:53. > :08:57.infrastructure issues, which impacted on its services. Will be
:08:57. > :09:04.working closely with the propria Park has to pursue improvements for
:09:04. > :09:06.its customers. Only, we feared that some people happy with the news
:09:06. > :09:14.there was and is clear disruptions and that the level there were few
:09:14. > :09:18.months ago. But the last large really go to an expert commuters.
:09:18. > :09:22.My reading this we, bearing in mind because timetable changes and
:09:22. > :09:29.bedding a new timetable and, I would give it five out of 10. Could
:09:29. > :09:34.do better. Wallace and done that run the past. I'm really
:09:35. > :09:41.frustrating it has taken this long sets to begin to fix the system.
:09:41. > :09:44.then remain sceptical. And Alex? Today, the worst train had been on
:09:44. > :09:48.so far this week, were it was delayed for nearly 15 minutes and
:09:48. > :09:52.so we'll have to get off the platform before long wanted to get
:09:52. > :09:57.to, because then it's on a train that alone was not going to stop
:09:57. > :10:03.the area more. That was a frustrating and as low but of a
:10:03. > :10:06.panic. So it's a must try harder from our expert commuters. In the
:10:06. > :10:12.meantime, the keeper close Simon the London Midland deliver and the
:10:12. > :10:17.promise of a better service. You can talk to his right
:10:17. > :10:21.Manchester using has time inside out. If you have cover story from
:10:21. > :10:27.richer and the West Midlands that we think we should be covering, and
:10:28. > :10:31.the drumming e-mail from stop by addresses below.
:10:32. > :10:38.Still to come tonight, there is, get the low-down and what it was
:10:38. > :10:45.like to be a Jamaican living I cannot remember any welcome at all,
:10:45. > :10:50.to be quite honest. Of thing was so strange. Next up,
:10:50. > :10:54.there are more than 300,000 ability scooters on Britain's roads,
:10:54. > :10:59.providing a lifeline for the elderly and disabled. But after a
:10:59. > :11:08.spiv of accidents, just a Sephardic and she chooses the forced to
:11:08. > :11:12.undergo compulsory training? I are sitting in the back of a son
:11:12. > :11:16.work and are just her but at a thud. By heard all the commotion, staff
:11:16. > :11:22.say is been hit. I will automatically fall was a car. Of
:11:22. > :11:26.repair and's worst nightmare. in October, Karen's son was not
:11:26. > :11:30.found its that the shopper she was work. But a sharp retreat and a
:11:31. > :11:35.surprise when she discovered it was not a car that it had a son. It was
:11:36. > :11:39.a mobility scooter. It was off order saved it was quite relieved
:11:39. > :11:42.of was mobility scooter. Thank Christ it wasn't a car. When I
:11:42. > :11:46.looked at his injuries, thought there was not much different in the
:11:46. > :11:52.coroner mobility scooter, really. Isaac as breeze and badly shaken.
:11:52. > :11:54.Pieces she did not see the scooter coming. As a came across the road
:11:55. > :12:03.and just came out of nowhere, Slough went in the side of the
:12:03. > :12:13.window and then went over. It hurt? Yes. Amman and scooter apologise
:12:13. > :12:16.
:12:17. > :12:20.that it was an accident. But they I was shocked by every person I
:12:20. > :12:24.spoke to that knew somebody who had been injured by a mobility scooter
:12:24. > :12:34.and how many have been hit by them and nothing is getting done about
:12:34. > :12:39.it. Last year almost 20 incidents involving scooters were reported to
:12:39. > :12:43.police in the west Midlands. Most were collisions with pedestrians or
:12:43. > :12:51.road accidents. But they're the ones we know about. It is thought
:12:51. > :12:59.many could go unreported. What is behind the problem? It could be
:13:00. > :13:03.down to the number of scooters - 300,000. They're lifeline for many
:13:03. > :13:09.and while most ride them responsibly, they're not always
:13:09. > :13:19.used in the rate way. But the bottom line is more scooters mean
:13:19. > :13:19.
:13:19. > :13:26.more chance of accidents and sometimes they can be nasty. I went
:13:26. > :13:33.for a loaf and as I stepped out, I got hit. It was a mobility scooter.
:13:33. > :13:39.St scoot were which hit Graham left him semi conscious and with several
:13:39. > :13:47.brebgn bones. It -- broken bones. I broke me left hip and me left
:13:48. > :13:54.shoulder. I have had an operation on both. Graham may haved that
:13:54. > :13:58.injuries, but scooter driver was shaken by the accident. She sat in
:13:58. > :14:04.shock. I felt sorry for her, she didn't leave the house to hurt
:14:04. > :14:08.somebody, did she? And I didn't leave the house to get hurt either.
:14:08. > :14:11.It was a lose/lose situation for both of us sm of course, with the
:14:11. > :14:16.police being involved, I believe, she would have been traumatised to
:14:16. > :14:21.a degree Rie as well. The police didn't take any action. But it is
:14:21. > :14:24.not just incidents like Graham's, scooters are also involved in road
:14:24. > :14:29.accidents. People have been seriously injured, like in this
:14:29. > :14:33.case and killed. And in fact last year on average there are more than
:14:33. > :14:41.four accidents a week on Britain's roads. But it wasn't always the
:14:41. > :14:45.scooter riders who were to blame. It is a lifeline. I can't leave the
:14:45. > :14:50.flat without it. Scott would be lost without his scooter. He has
:14:50. > :14:54.had one for eight years and hasn't had an accident. But if he wants to
:14:54. > :15:02.go above four miles an hour tsh highway code said he must take it
:15:02. > :15:08.on the road and that pringes its own challenges. I use a bus lane or
:15:08. > :15:12.cycle path. If you go more than eight mile an hour you got to go on
:15:12. > :15:19.the road. You have the sieblg path and the bus lane and then the cars
:15:19. > :15:29.and you them honking at you, "Get off the bloody road!" what do you
:15:29. > :15:30.
:15:30. > :15:32.do? Fed pedians at riders -- pedestrians riders are at risk. The
:15:32. > :15:37.law says you have to have a disability or injury which means
:15:37. > :15:41.you can't walk to use a scooter. But the problem is there are no
:15:41. > :15:46.restrictions on who can buy them. You don't need a licence or
:15:46. > :15:52.training. And that means in theory anyone can pick one up, perhaps
:15:52. > :15:56.from a site like this, and go straight on to the streets. So if
:15:56. > :16:01.it is possible for no-one ride mobility scooter without any safety
:16:01. > :16:07.checks, isn't it similar play case of changing the law? -- simply a
:16:07. > :16:11.case of changing the law. We don't want to introduce laws that prevent
:16:11. > :16:19.people from using scooters. We think it is more about education.
:16:19. > :16:22.Who should be responsible? There isn't a responsibility for who pro
:16:22. > :16:28.vieds training. Some local authorities may do so and occasion
:16:28. > :16:33.lay police force. But generally it is the retailer. So there is a
:16:33. > :16:38.variety and whether it is available and what sorts of training.
:16:38. > :16:43.yellow one is a boot scooter. Kit be taken apart and put into the --
:16:43. > :16:48.it can be taken apart and put into the car. Charlie runs a mobility
:16:48. > :16:54.scooter shop in Birmingham and has been in business for year and sold
:16:54. > :16:58.loads of machines. Nine times out of ten it is a little old lady or a
:16:58. > :17:03.little old gentleman and they want the freedom. That is why I enJi my
:17:03. > :17:07.job, it does give them freedom. As long as they're happy and safe I
:17:07. > :17:11.don't mind selling them. That is the thing, when somebody said, want
:17:11. > :17:16.one, what is the process you go through to make sure if they buy
:17:16. > :17:26.one, they are safe? Before they get on it, I will start asking them
:17:26. > :17:28.
:17:28. > :17:34.questions, what do they want to do to find the right machine. And with
:17:34. > :17:37.perfect timing there is a chance to see how Charlie checks his
:17:37. > :17:43.customers out. Patricia needs a skooteder for her partner. But
:17:43. > :17:49.tkharl wants to meet him. If you want me to keep it, I need to make
:17:49. > :17:56.sure he is safe on it if you want me to keep it for a few days, I
:17:56. > :18:03.will. The deal is almost done. While Charlie will meet her partner,
:18:03. > :18:09.he thinks there should be a driving test for all new riders. A little
:18:09. > :18:13.course, a simple test. We are on about operating the machine safely.
:18:13. > :18:20.A test could be the answer then. But the Department for Transport
:18:20. > :18:25.said it is looking into this and that would plees Karen. Dfl.
:18:25. > :18:30.Because my boy... She has started a petition calling for improved
:18:30. > :18:36.scooter safety and to ensure irresponsible riders are take on
:18:36. > :18:41.the task. I need 100,000 people to sign the petition there. Should be
:18:41. > :18:45.a law put place and to identify the mobility scooters, because I have
:18:45. > :18:49.got loads of e-mails where they have hit by a scooter, but they
:18:49. > :18:55.can't identify that person. I think also we should be aware there is a
:18:55. > :19:00.lot of these about and be more vigilant on the pavements and on
:19:00. > :19:04.the streets. So we all need to be a little more vigilant. But with an
:19:04. > :19:10.ageing population, it is likely there will be more scooters on our
:19:10. > :19:19.roads and pavements. Campaigners just hope something is done to help
:19:19. > :19:23.stop more accident like the one which happened to Karen's son.
:19:23. > :19:27.You're watching Inside Out, we are enjoying the atmosphere of
:19:27. > :19:33.Birmingham's Christmas market. But the welcome here has not always
:19:33. > :19:43.been so warm. To mark the 50th anniversary of Jamaica's
:19:43. > :19:47.
:19:48. > :19:53.independence we have been on a voyage of discovery. 1.99 that is
:19:53. > :19:58.more than my price tag. Birmingham in 20 12 is a city with more an a
:19:58. > :20:07.million people. A third are non- white. It is a city that celebrates
:20:07. > :20:11.its culture. I have come to the Soho Road to start a journey that
:20:11. > :20:19.will take me back to my family's home in jamai California I want to
:20:19. > :20:26.find out what it -- in Jamaica and to find out what United it was like.
:20:26. > :20:32.I -- what it was like. I can't remember any welcome. It was so
:20:32. > :20:38.strange. I want if find them what drove them to leave for a new life.
:20:38. > :20:43.A lot of the people who left were black of urban work class
:20:43. > :20:53.background and they were the tar get, or the victims of anti- black
:20:53. > :20:55.
:20:55. > :20:59.discrimination. June 1958 and the empire wind rush arrives in Essex.
:20:59. > :21:04.On board, 493 passengers from Jamaica, armed with suitcases and
:21:04. > :21:09.dreams. Over the next 20 years, families like mine made a similar
:21:09. > :21:15.journey, lured to the Midlands by the promise of work and prosperity.
:21:15. > :21:19.Yes, there were jobs,, but there was resentment. Many had to endure
:21:19. > :21:26.prejudice and extreme racism. There was a lot of tension. Difficult to
:21:26. > :21:35.get work. And I had some difficulty in get eight come daigs also. Which
:21:35. > :21:41.-- Acomb daigs also. I have seen newspaper Klims cla said Jamaicans
:21:41. > :21:50.-- clips that said Jamaican said Birmingham was the most
:21:50. > :22:00.inhospitable city they had been in. I'm meeting Techno Elders here in
:22:00. > :22:04.hands worth. Sonia. May advice. -- Mavis and murtle. They have used
:22:04. > :22:09.their new-found web skills to record their memories for the
:22:09. > :22:15.connecting histories web-site. Over some traditional Caribbean cuisine
:22:15. > :22:20.it becomes clear that life here was certainly very difficult to now.
:22:20. > :22:24.Neighbours didn't speak to you and we are used to neighbours speaking
:22:24. > :22:29.us to. And children in school were isolating themselves from us. And
:22:29. > :22:35.looking at us as if we were funny. Or strange. And because we speak
:22:35. > :22:40.with a Carr bean accent as well, that didn't help. People would be
:22:40. > :22:46.saying pardon to to you, even before you start speaking, because
:22:46. > :22:50.they tell themselves they can't understand you. Coming over, I have
:22:50. > :22:56.never worked before. The fact I was in uniform now and I was a nurse,
:22:57. > :23:01.because they call you nurse, to me that was something exciting. So in
:23:01. > :23:07.all the excitement, a lot of thing may have gone over me head. Didn't
:23:08. > :23:13.notice that people were strange. is clear that for these ladies, pi.
:23:13. > :23:23.- o' Birmingham is home. But like me, they have family members back
:23:23. > :23:33.in Jay ma ka, who were not swayed by the lure of the UK. -- Jamaica.
:23:33. > :23:36.
:23:36. > :23:42.So I I'm off to find some answers. I arrive day after Hurricane Sandy
:23:43. > :23:52.brought devastation to my mum's homeland. My first port of call is
:23:52. > :23:58.the place where my mum was born and raised. It has been a ten hour
:23:58. > :24:04.flight and a long drive and this is the house where my mum grew up. It
:24:05. > :24:14.is a long way from a James Bond beach, this is what I call the real
:24:15. > :24:16.
:24:16. > :24:24.Jamaica and guess what? It's raining! There to meet me is her
:24:24. > :24:31.cousin Val, who decided to stay and make a living from farming. This is
:24:31. > :24:37.you when you war babe y. This is when my mum went to England. When
:24:37. > :24:40.people were leaving, was there any jealousy? Well some people, some
:24:40. > :24:45.husband may feel the wife is not going to come back. Wife feel their
:24:45. > :24:51.husband is not coming back. There was a jealousy in between. Did it
:24:51. > :24:56.split marriages up? Of course, because people go to the UK and
:24:56. > :25:00.them find a better life and them, they know some don't remember their
:25:00. > :25:05.immediate family and start a new relationship and carry on with
:25:05. > :25:10.their life and some here have to move on. Are people still laefring?
:25:10. > :25:16.Yes feel are -- leaving. People are still leaving. Some educated people
:25:16. > :25:26.leave. And they never come back. was a tough niem? Yes it was. -
:25:26. > :25:26.
:25:26. > :25:33.time. Until 1962 Jamaica was under British rule and bridge diswas not
:25:33. > :25:38.just in the UK. What was going on that made people want the leave? --
:25:38. > :25:42.prejudice. There was some social problem. A lot who left were black
:25:42. > :25:46.of urban work class, upper work class background and they were the
:25:46. > :25:52.target, or victims of anti-black discrimination and opportunitiess
:25:53. > :25:58.were not available to them. And that coincided with the pull factor.
:25:58. > :26:02.Jamaica was nearly 300 years under British rule. They had been
:26:02. > :26:07.socialised to believe themselves to be subjects of British Empire and
:26:07. > :26:13.belonging to it. They were like inundated with the idea of the
:26:13. > :26:19.evenration of the British monarchy and nay read books about Big Ben
:26:19. > :26:23.and back pal, all these things were very alive to them. O'O'Buckingham
:26:23. > :26:28.Palace. It seemed to them they were going home to them. The dream was
:26:28. > :26:38.to go to England, make a life and come back. Did many people aspire
:26:38. > :26:42.to that? A significant number did. Towards the end of my trip I find a
:26:42. > :26:48.former postman from the Midlands who moved back after 40 years. When
:26:48. > :26:54.you came back, did the Jamaicans treat you differently? People rip
:26:54. > :27:00.you off, coming from abroad, quicker than local people. It is
:27:00. > :27:05.almost like a reverse prejudice? Yes it could be. You could look at
:27:05. > :27:09.it as prejudice in reverse. moved to England to make better
:27:09. > :27:15.prospects for yourself and you have come back. Would you say you have
:27:16. > :27:22.lived the dream most people do? I went there I made a living. And I
:27:22. > :27:29.came back here. And I'm living comfortably. I wonder if the lady
:27:29. > :27:33.at home were ever tempted by a return. My sister went back and
:27:33. > :27:39.settled in nicely. But I think you have to want to. If you're forced
:27:39. > :27:42.to go, you won't do well. You have got to want to go. I don't want to
:27:42. > :27:49.go back. I have my family and friends here. You go back and
:27:49. > :27:57.you're a stranger. How do you class yourself? British. Yes British.
:27:57. > :28:02.I have not forgotten my backgrounds. If you go wack -- back, how would
:28:02. > :28:07.they class you? Foreigners. There you go, get stuck into that.
:28:07. > :28:17.Listening to the ladies, you get a sense of Birmingham has come a long
:28:17. > :28:23.way since that city headline back in 1948. That is it for tonight and
:28:23. > :28:27.for this series. But you can find more information about any of the
:28:27. > :28:37.films on the programme on our Facebook page. From Birmingham,
:28:37. > :28:41.