24/10/2011

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0:00:00 > 0:00:08On tonight's Inside Out, the true cost of university. Moneyman, Alvin

0:00:08 > 0:00:12Hall, as the ultimate guide to the new fees. �75,000. Is that just the

0:00:12 > 0:00:18one person? That is just for one person. And he has got some handy

0:00:18 > 0:00:21tips on how to avoid them. Record producer Pete Waterman

0:00:21 > 0:00:25argues youngsters should think again before taking on university

0:00:25 > 0:00:33debt. But can he be convinced of the value of a university

0:00:33 > 0:00:37education? They did not say to him, do you have a university degrees?

0:00:37 > 0:00:44But he would not have had big business in the first place!

0:00:44 > 0:00:49did not make the film! What happens when eight when it dies. The adults

0:00:49 > 0:00:55are still struggling to cope it years later -- went a twin dies.

0:00:55 > 0:01:05it is like losing half of yourself. I am Mary Rhodes and this is Inside

0:01:05 > 0:01:11

0:01:11 > 0:01:15More than 80% of students studying for A-levels in the Midlands say

0:01:15 > 0:01:19they are worried about the level of debt they will face if they go to

0:01:19 > 0:01:26university. And they believe it is wrong to ask young people to pay

0:01:26 > 0:01:30more for their education. But a survey commissioned by ComRes for

0:01:30 > 0:01:34its Inside Out so that most are still believe the benefits outweigh

0:01:34 > 0:01:41the costs. Are they right? Not according to Coventry born record

0:01:41 > 0:01:44producer Pete Waterman. Music mogul Pete Waterman is a

0:01:44 > 0:01:49self-made man. He left school in Coventry without any qualifications.

0:01:49 > 0:01:54He went on to make millions managing acts like Kylie and Jason.

0:01:54 > 0:02:00Today, for one day only, he is going to university. What were you

0:02:00 > 0:02:06doing last night? Where you out clubbing? No. I thought students

0:02:06 > 0:02:09went out clubbing every night! things courses like this one at

0:02:09 > 0:02:14Staffordshire University in Stoke are a waste of money and claims to

0:02:14 > 0:02:16have statistics to prove it. think that some universities are

0:02:16 > 0:02:21completely ripping off students with the ridiculous courses that

0:02:21 > 0:02:27they have to pay far and there is no future for that cause or that

0:02:27 > 0:02:32job. Is it in the public's interest in everything... But Professor

0:02:32 > 0:02:36Cashmore disagrees. Despite the imminent hike in fees to nearly

0:02:36 > 0:02:41�9,000 the year, he believes young people should go to university. He

0:02:41 > 0:02:46believes he can convince Pete to change his mind. I know a lot of

0:02:46 > 0:02:52people think the �30,000 pot a university education and you end up

0:02:52 > 0:02:56better off? You do it end up a it lot better off. I am going to try

0:02:56 > 0:03:03to persuade Pete Waterman that it is worth it. After the lecture, the

0:03:03 > 0:03:07two men meet and Professor Cashmore reveals he has a plan. Look at,

0:03:07 > 0:03:11Pete. I know you are a sceptic about university education. Today I

0:03:11 > 0:03:16am going to introduce you to a few people who I think might change

0:03:16 > 0:03:20your mind. I am never too old to change my mind. I think we have

0:03:20 > 0:03:26come to believe that universities are right for everyone but quite

0:03:26 > 0:03:30plainly they are not. Therefore, it is slightly over sold. I have no

0:03:30 > 0:03:36problem with studying, I have no problem that doctors and people

0:03:36 > 0:03:40like that need a higher education. But some of the degrees now order

0:03:40 > 0:03:45on the ridiculous. I am telling you that university education does pay.

0:03:45 > 0:03:54Not simply in terms of money, but in terms of an overall enhancement

0:03:54 > 0:03:58of one's intellect. Pete did not go to university but

0:03:58 > 0:04:03his daughter did. A chip off the old block, she wants to get into

0:04:03 > 0:04:07the music industry. She ignored had bad's advice and did a degree in

0:04:07 > 0:04:11vocal performance and production. She has just graduated with a first

0:04:11 > 0:04:14and is looking for a job. He is very set in his ways and he does

0:04:14 > 0:04:19not see that there might be some benefit in going to university that

0:04:19 > 0:04:23does not include a job at the end of it. Sometimes you get the live

0:04:23 > 0:04:31experience in the three years. He things you get your wife exposed by

0:04:31 > 0:04:39working your way up the ladder. -- life experience. I think it will be

0:04:39 > 0:04:43hard to change his mind. He is a pretty stubborn person. Good luck!

0:04:43 > 0:04:48Back in Stoke, Professor Cashmore has brought Pete to the union bar

0:04:48 > 0:04:53to meet some current students. see it as an investment in my

0:04:53 > 0:04:58future. You learn that so much about yourself and about people

0:04:58 > 0:05:03around do that helps you. Pete has a surprise for these students. He

0:05:03 > 0:05:06has got hold of some of graduate employment statistics. The figures

0:05:06 > 0:05:12come from the government's higher education industry and they are

0:05:12 > 0:05:16alarming. Fewer than half of students in the West Midlands get a

0:05:16 > 0:05:20graduate level job within six months of graduating. I have not

0:05:20 > 0:05:24seen this before but looking at it for the first time, it has not put

0:05:24 > 0:05:28me off. I am confident enough in my own abilities to succeed and

0:05:28 > 0:05:33confident enough in my degree course at what I am going to put in

0:05:33 > 0:05:43to finding a job to know that I will get into employment when I

0:05:43 > 0:05:43

0:05:43 > 0:05:48graduate. I it am glad they are positive. If we could spend �20,000

0:05:48 > 0:05:51and get every kid in the country do have that much optimism, that is a

0:05:51 > 0:05:55great 20 doesn't pounds. But I do not think we have tackled the

0:05:55 > 0:06:02problem yet of what we are training them for, how many jobs that are

0:06:02 > 0:06:07and how the world is going. With Pete still not convinced, Professor

0:06:07 > 0:06:11Cashmore invites him to meet a recent graduate. This man left

0:06:11 > 0:06:14Stafford University three years ago with a degree in Business

0:06:14 > 0:06:19Information Technology. It got him a job at Capula, a company that

0:06:19 > 0:06:25builds computer networks. Was it worth it? A yes, before university,

0:06:25 > 0:06:30I have no idea what I wanted to do. It gave me an idea of what was

0:06:30 > 0:06:34available, when I went to university. You were driven by the

0:06:34 > 0:06:40university and the courses that you went on. It broadened my horizons.

0:06:40 > 0:06:46It is something I would definitely do. Professor Cashmore also wants -

0:06:46 > 0:06:50- Pete to meet his boss who is recruiting 25 new graduates this

0:06:50 > 0:06:54year Vostok I am a firm believer that people going to university

0:06:54 > 0:06:58should be going with a specific goal in mind and I disagree with

0:06:58 > 0:07:02people doing a variety of subjects not knowing what they're going to

0:07:02 > 0:07:07do, particularly as the cost of going to university is increasing,

0:07:08 > 0:07:16you shadow -- should have a very good idea of what you are going to

0:07:16 > 0:07:21do afterwards. Of a man after my own heart. Professor Cashmore's

0:07:21 > 0:07:26plan might have backfired. His trip to Capula has confirmed what Pete

0:07:26 > 0:07:31already believes. A degree that is a job specific is fine, but the

0:07:31 > 0:07:37others are a waste of time. For the charge that has taken the chance,

0:07:37 > 0:07:45seen an opportunity, and that works for them. If all of the

0:07:45 > 0:07:50universities did that, I would pay for it myself. Can a Professor

0:07:50 > 0:07:56Cashmore poll it background with his last visit? This man graduated

0:07:56 > 0:08:04from Staffordshire 11 years ago, with a degree in media technology.

0:08:04 > 0:08:07This is a viral film and cinema commercial. Afterwards, he set up

0:08:07 > 0:08:12his own video production technology and he is convinced he could not

0:08:12 > 0:08:19have done it if he had not gone to university. During the top of his

0:08:19 > 0:08:24officers, the debate heats up. did not say to him, do you have a

0:08:24 > 0:08:31university degree? But he would not have had the business in the first

0:08:32 > 0:08:35place. But you did not make the film?! I can tell you how the

0:08:35 > 0:08:41degree helped me. I will show you the rest of the business first and

0:08:41 > 0:08:45then we can continue the discussions. When I went to

0:08:45 > 0:08:48university, I did a placement which gave me all of the skills I needed

0:08:48 > 0:08:52to start the business and to understand how business works. I

0:08:52 > 0:08:55know for certain that I would not be here and his business would not

0:08:55 > 0:09:00be here if it was not for university. There is no question in

0:09:00 > 0:09:06my mind. He does not know if he has convinced the music mogul but he is

0:09:06 > 0:09:11sure of one thing. He wants Pete's signatures on this album, one of

0:09:11 > 0:09:18his most successful releases. changed your life? It certainly did.

0:09:18 > 0:09:23It changed mine too. Has Professor Cashmore managed to convince Pete

0:09:23 > 0:09:29that it is Europe that -- where the money? Even if it means racking up

0:09:29 > 0:09:33almost �50,000 worth of debt? because what I have seen is exactly

0:09:33 > 0:09:38what I thought. I have no problem at university, let us get that

0:09:38 > 0:09:42straight. I think learning is vitally important and there is not

0:09:42 > 0:09:48enough learning in this country, in fact. What I believe is that we are

0:09:48 > 0:09:55too focused on universities and not focused enough on general education.

0:09:55 > 0:09:58Best of luck. Pete is a guy who sticks stubbornly to his position.

0:09:59 > 0:10:08What can you do? Your present evidence and hope that people

0:10:09 > 0:10:13

0:10:13 > 0:10:16change. When they don't, you think, Is it worth going to university?

0:10:16 > 0:10:21Our survey suggested that well over half the students currently working

0:10:21 > 0:10:25to get their A-levels would consider an apprenticeship rather

0:10:25 > 0:10:30than university if they could gain qualifications. Nearly half are

0:10:30 > 0:10:33beginning to look abroad for cheaper options. We asked moneyman

0:10:34 > 0:10:41Alvin Hall to come up with a guide to the fees and the some sneaky

0:10:41 > 0:10:47ways to avoid them. Young, confused and afraid? This is

0:10:47 > 0:10:57what thousands of teenagers across England fear, a lifetime on the run.

0:10:57 > 0:11:00But what is chasing them? Student debt. But is it really going to be

0:11:00 > 0:11:05the horror-movie that we have been led to believe? Where there you

0:11:05 > 0:11:09think next year's hike in fees is fair or not, it is happening. Young

0:11:09 > 0:11:16people need to know the facts. I am going to show you what a degree can

0:11:16 > 0:11:20really cost and how you can avoid those fees altogether. Next year,

0:11:20 > 0:11:26English universities will charge up to �9,000 the year with living

0:11:26 > 0:11:31costs on top, graduates can face up to debts -- debts of up to �50,000.

0:11:31 > 0:11:35But how much will they actually end up paying back? I have come to meet

0:11:35 > 0:11:40some sixth-formers in Birmingham to show them. I think the number is

0:11:40 > 0:11:43going to shock them. I think that earning interest over such a long

0:11:43 > 0:11:48time paying back the loan really is a number that most people do not

0:11:48 > 0:11:54think about. Let us imagine that you graduate from university with

0:11:54 > 0:11:59�50,000 worth of debt. You get a high-paying job like we expect

0:11:59 > 0:12:05Jacob here will get. How much of that money do you have to pay back?

0:12:05 > 0:12:15I am not quite sure but is it all of it? You have to pay back all of

0:12:15 > 0:12:20

0:12:20 > 0:12:27it and more... Interest! O god. God, that is right. �75,000.

0:12:27 > 0:12:37that just or one person? That is just for one person. Crazy. Is that

0:12:37 > 0:12:40

0:12:40 > 0:12:45for the average degree? Three years, What it their careers don't go as

0:12:45 > 0:12:52planned and they never and more than What -- �21,000 a year? The

0:12:52 > 0:12:57amount you have to pay back his... 0. -- the amount you have to pay

0:12:57 > 0:13:02back his. What is going on? The repayment of the loan works like

0:13:02 > 0:13:08taxes, the more you earn, the more you pay back. If you never earn

0:13:08 > 0:13:13above a certain amount, you never paid back a penny. The new

0:13:13 > 0:13:18independent taskforce on student finance is led by Martyn Lewis.

0:13:18 > 0:13:24biggest confusion is people confusing the price tag, these

0:13:24 > 0:13:28�9,000 fees, totalling �50,000, with the actual cost. This is a

0:13:28 > 0:13:33different type of system. Many people would come close to repaying

0:13:33 > 0:13:36him for what they borrowed and some will not repay anything at all. The

0:13:36 > 0:13:39Goldring fact we are putting people off going to university because

0:13:39 > 0:13:44they are looking at the price tag and not the cost is the biggest

0:13:44 > 0:13:49problem to meet the stop most graduates will face large debt.

0:13:49 > 0:13:54there any way of avoiding the fees? Well, yes. You can study abroad. At

0:13:54 > 0:14:00the recent student World Fair in London, teenagers discover just how

0:14:00 > 0:14:05much they can save. I think everyone would rather go to

0:14:05 > 0:14:09university where they are paying �1,000 cheaper. The seas are

0:14:09 > 0:14:13cheaper which is attractive, so you will not be in so much dead.

0:14:13 > 0:14:18fact, dozens of universities across Europe offer courses taught in

0:14:18 > 0:14:22English. The fees differ from country to country but in

0:14:22 > 0:14:27Scandinavia, tuition is free. Denmark, there is no tuition fee at

0:14:27 > 0:14:32all because the Danish government pays for Danish students and,

0:14:32 > 0:14:36according to EU rules, we have to treat other EU citizens alike.

0:14:36 > 0:14:44Harriet Moore has already taken the plunge. She's off back to uni in

0:14:44 > 0:14:47Slovakia. I am trying to save money on my flight so hand luggage it is!

0:14:47 > 0:14:52Over there, she saves a fortune on living costs spending just �100 a

0:14:52 > 0:14:55month. I caught up with her via webcam. What would be the piece of

0:14:55 > 0:15:00advice that you would give to anyone considering doing what you

0:15:00 > 0:15:04have done? I think if you're even considering it, I think you should

0:15:04 > 0:15:07go for it. Definitely. It's worth doing. You just get on the plane.

0:15:08 > 0:15:17You have to be a bit brave on the first plane journey over but I've

0:15:18 > 0:15:28

0:15:28 > 0:15:33Time's up. I want my money. I want my 50 grand. So, studying overseas

0:15:33 > 0:15:36may be one way to outrun the debt. But there are downsides. If you

0:15:36 > 0:15:41study abroad, the Government here won't make you a loan. Only some of

0:15:41 > 0:15:46the courses are taught in English. And employers might not recognise

0:15:47 > 0:15:51foreign degrees. So you need to do your homework. Another way of

0:15:51 > 0:15:55beating the fees is to get someone else to pay. But who? Well,

0:15:55 > 0:15:59London's financial heartland is a good place to look. Don't be fooled

0:15:59 > 0:16:08by the power suits. Believe it or not, these youngsters are all

0:16:08 > 0:16:11freshers. They're being sponsored by accountancy giant KPMG.

0:16:11 > 0:16:17entire package was a degree, a salary, the tuition fees were paid

0:16:17 > 0:16:23and a job at the end. And you obviously were helped to become a

0:16:23 > 0:16:30qualified chartered accountant. you think there was a catch in it?

0:16:30 > 0:16:33It sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? I haven't seen a catch.

0:16:33 > 0:16:36You know, as with everything in life, you have to work hard and

0:16:36 > 0:16:41that's the only catch, I guess. the man who runs the programme

0:16:41 > 0:16:44tells me KPMG don't offer the stereotypical student experience.

0:16:44 > 0:16:47They've got to work for us, they've got to study for their degree and

0:16:47 > 0:16:52they've also got to obtain their chartered accountant qualification

0:16:52 > 0:16:58in six years. That will require hard work and that's all we really

0:16:58 > 0:17:00ask of the students who are joining us. And then there are bursaries.

0:17:00 > 0:17:09Students from low-income families can get money from various sources

0:17:09 > 0:17:18so it's worth trawling the web. But is there another way of escaping

0:17:18 > 0:17:24the debt? Well, you could pay up front. 16-year-old Safina Adam is

0:17:24 > 0:17:30trying to do just that. As well as studying for her A-levels, she

0:17:30 > 0:17:33sells beauty products on her website. I started my business

0:17:33 > 0:17:36because I wanted to save up for university and my parents said that

0:17:36 > 0:17:46because of the rise in prices of university fees, it would be too

0:17:46 > 0:17:47

0:17:47 > 0:17:51much for them to pay for it. I'm hoping to avoid getting in debt.

0:17:51 > 0:17:55Because I know it takes a while to get out of debt and I don't want to

0:17:55 > 0:17:59be in that place. The Government allows students to pay up front.

0:17:59 > 0:18:01But most will have to take out a loan. But one financial expert

0:18:02 > 0:18:04believes that graduates could end up paying back far more than anyone

0:18:04 > 0:18:10has predicted. Financial journalist William Cullerne Bowne is warning

0:18:10 > 0:18:15students to beware. I think the problem is that the deal is

0:18:15 > 0:18:18actually not a deal. There are all these numbers flying about saying

0:18:18 > 0:18:22that you'll be charged a certain amount of interest on the loan,

0:18:22 > 0:18:25that your repayments will start at �21,000. Over that, you'll be

0:18:25 > 0:18:29paying a certain percentage. But actually none of those parameters

0:18:29 > 0:18:32are in the contract that the student signs up for. And, in fact,

0:18:32 > 0:18:37the Government can change those numbers if it wants to in five

0:18:37 > 0:18:42years time or ten years time, 20 years time... 30 years time. So

0:18:42 > 0:18:47students could end up paying a lot more. But any big changes would

0:18:47 > 0:18:51have to be approved by Parliament. Like many Americans, I graduated

0:18:51 > 0:18:55with the equivalent of tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt.

0:18:55 > 0:19:05It was daunting. But if you know the facts, student debt doesn't

0:19:05 > 0:19:13

0:19:13 > 0:19:17have to be scary. I confronted it. And so can you.

0:19:17 > 0:19:21Alvin Hall with some morale- boosting advise. There are signs

0:19:21 > 0:19:24that some local universities are try to come up with cheap option

0:19:25 > 0:19:33such as Coventry's two-year part- time degree announced last week. If

0:19:33 > 0:19:38you have got any thoughts about the university fees, drop me any male.

0:19:39 > 0:19:43-- drop me an e-mail. For our final story, we venture into the

0:19:43 > 0:19:52fascinating world of twins. And the devastation caused when the twin

0:19:52 > 0:19:57dies. Twins are one of the miracles of

0:19:57 > 0:20:03life. In the case of identical twins, one a creating not just two

0:20:03 > 0:20:09people but a lifelong -- lifelong bond. -- 1 go. Joan Woodward lost

0:20:09 > 0:20:14her twin when she was three years old. Despite her being so young,

0:20:14 > 0:20:17she believes her death had a lasting effect. There is no doubt

0:20:17 > 0:20:24whatsoever that what it produced was extreme levels of anxiety. And

0:20:24 > 0:20:28that I was very lonely. And that, in a way, it is quite well known

0:20:28 > 0:20:32among other lone twins that talk about it, because, after all, I

0:20:32 > 0:20:36have met very many lone twins, the sense that something is missing,

0:20:36 > 0:20:40that something is not there that should be there, the seating of

0:20:40 > 0:20:44closeness. I think one of the hardest bits is you want to find

0:20:44 > 0:20:48that closeness again but it is never available. In the 80s, she

0:20:48 > 0:20:52wrote a book on the subject and interviewed more than 200 lone

0:20:52 > 0:20:57twins. Some had lost their twin in adulthood, some in childhood and

0:20:57 > 0:21:02some at birth. I think other people were surprised to find how much

0:21:02 > 0:21:08twins who had lost their twin at birth was so deeply affected. Of

0:21:08 > 0:21:14course that is because there is a lot of evidence to show that the

0:21:14 > 0:21:20thing that mattered for those twins was the parental response to the

0:21:20 > 0:21:24loss. You know, for mothers to have this agonising experience of giving

0:21:24 > 0:21:29birth to one child who is alive and, at the same time, giving birth to a

0:21:29 > 0:21:35job that is dead, that is a very traumatic experience. Very painful.

0:21:35 > 0:21:39How do you adore one when you're happy and we don't feel terrible --

0:21:39 > 0:21:42terribly sad about the other? been interviewed so many lone twins,

0:21:42 > 0:21:47she decided to set up a support network for them and they need a

0:21:47 > 0:21:51couple of times a year. It is not a therapy group. It is what the twins

0:21:51 > 0:21:57can offer each other in understanding and listening to each

0:21:57 > 0:22:03other. Since the 1980s, the group has grown. Its website is run by

0:22:03 > 0:22:08Nancy Power crew lost her twin, Jane, to suicide when they were 20.

0:22:08 > 0:22:13I didn't know how to cope. I had no idea how to... It was not something

0:22:14 > 0:22:17I was expecting to have to deal with. I expected to deal with my

0:22:17 > 0:22:21parents or other family members dying, but not my sister. Even

0:22:21 > 0:22:27though we were not identical, and still felt we were two halves of

0:22:27 > 0:22:30one hole. I was the shy one, she was the odd going on. I was the

0:22:30 > 0:22:35most tedious one, she was the one that went out fagging it behind the

0:22:35 > 0:22:39bike shed and stayed out late at just was more vivacious and

0:22:39 > 0:22:43outgoing, and I was shy and retiring, getting on with my little

0:22:43 > 0:22:47hobbies. We each had abilities we gave to the other hand I would help

0:22:48 > 0:22:54her out with Bob -- with the more academic things, and because of her,

0:22:54 > 0:22:59I might have got more outgoing. And I needed her to help me with that,

0:22:59 > 0:23:04and she needed me to help her with other things. As soon as that goes,

0:23:05 > 0:23:08it is like I felt so lost, and I didn't know... That is the only way

0:23:08 > 0:23:18to describe it. I felt completely lost, and didn't know how to

0:23:18 > 0:23:21function. It is like... You know, losing half of yourself. Nancy

0:23:21 > 0:23:29joined the Lone Twin Network eight years ago and has drawn huge

0:23:29 > 0:23:34strength from the support of others. I felt I am not a freak. I'm not

0:23:34 > 0:23:38mad for thinking... Because the stuff that goes through your head,

0:23:38 > 0:23:43I was going, right, I am going to say what is in my head, this is my

0:23:43 > 0:23:47way of thinking. And so I said it, and everyone was nodding around the

0:23:47 > 0:23:52group and people saying oh, yes. I have thought that. And I have

0:23:52 > 0:24:00thought that. And I thought, oh, right, I am not completely crazy.

0:24:00 > 0:24:05Which is the good thing. We can all be crazy to get the. This is the

0:24:05 > 0:24:15memorial cloth that I have taken over from other ladies that started

0:24:15 > 0:24:16

0:24:16 > 0:24:20it. It has members names on it with their twins name at the side of it

0:24:20 > 0:24:25as a memorial, something a bit more permanent of their twin. It is good

0:24:25 > 0:24:32for people that have lost their twin at birth and don't have a

0:24:32 > 0:24:38grave to visit or any other kind of memories, or any photographs. There

0:24:38 > 0:24:44is something somewhere that is giving their twin a place in the

0:24:44 > 0:24:49world. Perhaps that is the most difficult aspect for outsiders to

0:24:49 > 0:24:54understand. The grief of those who lost their twin at birth. People

0:24:54 > 0:25:01like Jill Ingham cruised win, Julie, was stillborn. She didn't realise

0:25:01 > 0:25:05the effect of this until she was in her 20s. It was intense insecurity.

0:25:05 > 0:25:09Feeling very frightened about what was going to happen next. I

0:25:09 > 0:25:14remember thinking, I don't know what is going to happen. People

0:25:14 > 0:25:21would ask a, what do you mean? It was great insecurity. Add a sense

0:25:21 > 0:25:26of looking for something. -- and a sense. I spent a lot of time in

0:25:26 > 0:25:30foreign cities studying languages and I found myself wandering around,

0:25:30 > 0:25:36looking for something, and a feeling of unease and not being

0:25:36 > 0:25:40relaxed. That is how it manifested. Like many stillborn children, hurt

0:25:40 > 0:25:44when was buried in a grave of an adult that had died at the same

0:25:44 > 0:25:53time. The lone twin network was able to help her locate her

0:25:53 > 0:26:02unmarked grave. I went along and had a nice plaque made with the

0:26:02 > 0:26:09date on. That was 2003. And a little message to her. And it just

0:26:09 > 0:26:12felt... I had some flowers. And my parents were very surprised that I

0:26:12 > 0:26:19had managed to do all of this through Lone Twin Network, because

0:26:19 > 0:26:23they didn't have a clue how to do it. We all felt better for it.

0:26:23 > 0:26:30Having found peace through the Lone Twin Network, she wants to now help

0:26:30 > 0:26:34others by setting up more regional branches. We have got our first

0:26:34 > 0:26:39meeting on 29th October and details can be found on the Lone Twin

0:26:39 > 0:26:45Network website. So we will have that. It will be for an afternoon,

0:26:45 > 0:26:48with tea and cakes, and that sort of thing. And we go will discuss at

0:26:48 > 0:26:54the end of the session what people want to do, whether they think

0:26:54 > 0:26:58twice a year or it will be what people want it to be. Twins don't

0:26:58 > 0:27:02trust share a birthday it. They share a symbiosis, a special bond,

0:27:02 > 0:27:06impossible to replicate. With the help of others in the same

0:27:06 > 0:27:13situation, lone twins can find a way through their grief and, in

0:27:13 > 0:27:17turn, be of help to others. We did have a very good couple of

0:27:17 > 0:27:25sessions in which lone twins went and met parents who had recently

0:27:25 > 0:27:29lost a baby. And it was full of the motion, but we felt able to say,

0:27:29 > 0:27:33look, we are here, we are interested -- living interesting

0:27:33 > 0:27:41lives. Don't start thinking it is a terrible loss. Try to make the

0:27:41 > 0:27:45person feel alive they have a good life, and make them glad they had a

0:27:45 > 0:27:50twin, and make the most of what they are, because being a lone twin

0:27:50 > 0:27:57is a special person. If you have been affected by the

0:27:57 > 0:28:02item, you can find details of the Support Group on our Facebook page.

0:28:02 > 0:28:06That is all from us for tonight's. On next week's programme, they were

0:28:06 > 0:28:10set -- sent to Canada from children's homes in Birmingham. Now

0:28:10 > 0:28:13their children are back searching for their Midlands roots.

0:28:13 > 0:28:19We are on the road but the Black Country ambulances answering calls