:00:09. > :00:14.Good evening and welcome to the BBC in the Channel Islands. Friday's
:00:14. > :00:21.headlines: The sound of enervation - Guernsey trials breakthrough
:00:21. > :00:25.technology to help babies' hearing. Also tonight, going for gold - a
:00:25. > :00:30.day in the life of Jersey's special gymnasts.
:00:30. > :00:40.As and stay tuned to find out why I am standing high above a quarry in
:00:40. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:46.Guernsey. Good evening. Guernsey is one of
:00:46. > :00:51.the first places to benefit from break through equipment which will
:00:51. > :00:55.allow deafness in children to be detected earlier. The machine picks
:00:55. > :00:59.up the brain's responses to sound and can be used on babies as young
:00:59. > :01:03.as one day old. The actual receiving centre is
:01:03. > :01:10.getting the signals as well so it is like a double check. That is
:01:10. > :01:17.good. Sarah's son, John, is one of the first babies to benefit from
:01:17. > :01:21.new equipment. Born prematurely, he is more at risk of being born deaf.
:01:21. > :01:26.He had his first hearing test at just two days old. Without the new
:01:26. > :01:30.piece of kit it would not have been possible. It is always stressful
:01:30. > :01:37.when you have a baby, regardless, because you want them to be as
:01:37. > :01:42.perfect as you hope, 10 fingers and 10 toes. You are worried about
:01:42. > :01:46.every aspect. To have a hearing test and a positive result from
:01:46. > :01:51.that is fantastic. It is such a relief, one less thing to worry
:01:51. > :01:56.about. It takes a lot of weight off your already worried mind.
:01:56. > :02:00.machine works by sending a click into be in my ear to make sure it
:02:00. > :02:07.is working. Electrodes pick up brainwaves to see how the brain is
:02:07. > :02:11.responding to it. It works quickly. Jane is an audiologist and tests 60
:02:11. > :02:15.babies the year. She can detect problems in the hospital which
:02:15. > :02:20.means they are picked up sooner. Hearing loss can hinder a child's
:02:20. > :02:25.development. If you have a hearing problem as a baby, your speech may
:02:25. > :02:28.not develop well and your quality of life can be impacted. If you
:02:28. > :02:32.cannot hear your parents, your siblings and what is going on
:02:32. > :02:39.around you. Guernsey is one of the first places to get this equipment
:02:39. > :02:43.and cost �7,000. It was paid for by a local charity. At the grand old
:02:43. > :02:49.age of five weeks old, John is doing well and gaining weight. His
:02:49. > :02:53.hearing is one less thing for his mother to worry about.
:02:53. > :02:57.A sex offenders' register could soon be introduced in Guernsey. In
:02:57. > :03:03.plans released today, the Home Department says there is a need to
:03:03. > :03:07.modernise and reform sex offences laws, some of which date back 100
:03:07. > :03:11.years. Proposals include a system to record sex offenders and
:03:11. > :03:16.produced -- reduce risks too vulnerable people.
:03:16. > :03:21.Guernsey's next election will be on 18th April next year, if plans are
:03:21. > :03:24.approved. There was an attempt to move the vote was Saturday but 10
:03:24. > :03:33.out of 12 of the island's Douzaines were opposed.
:03:33. > :03:38.Inflation is expected to go up to more than 5% in Joseph. -- Jersey.
:03:38. > :03:41.There is a warning that Jersey's economy could suffer if people ask
:03:41. > :03:45.for pay rises in line with the predicted rise.
:03:46. > :03:49.UK government is threatening a crackdown on people who live in the
:03:49. > :03:53.Channel Islands for tax reasons. They want to introduce a test for
:03:53. > :03:56.so-called "non doms". They are launching two consultations. Tax
:03:56. > :04:03.bosses here say it does not necessarily mean bad news for the
:04:03. > :04:09.Channel Islands. The second consultation which applies to
:04:09. > :04:14.resident none domiciled people in the UK, applies to companies. The
:04:14. > :04:19.consultation, if adopted, will provide the opportunity for funds
:04:19. > :04:24.for investment to be made back into the UK. This will lead to more
:04:24. > :04:29.transactions for these companies. The Royal Yacht Hotel in jerseys as
:04:29. > :04:33.a reason breach of security was not within the hotel, nor was it in
:04:33. > :04:38.anyway due to have -- hotel staff or procedures. Lastly, the phone
:04:38. > :04:41.lines were re-directed to a mobile phone in the UK. The hotel so they
:04:41. > :04:46.have contacted all the people who called during that time and give
:04:46. > :04:49.them a chance to check their bank accounts and cancel credit cards if
:04:49. > :04:53.necessary. The Special Olympics world summer
:04:53. > :04:57.games for athletes with learning difficulties will get under way in
:04:57. > :05:02.Greece next week and three athletes from Jersey will be among those in
:05:02. > :05:10.Team GB. We spent the day with one of them, 18-year-old Alex Buesnel
:05:10. > :05:18.to see how he copes balancing sport with the rest of his teenage life.
:05:18. > :05:22.By day, he is a college student. What did you think was good?
:05:22. > :05:27.research some information on the website. Alex Buesnel has learning
:05:27. > :05:33.difficulties but that does not stop him studying hard in the field that
:05:33. > :05:36.is his passion. Sport. In these lessons that Highlands College, he
:05:36. > :05:44.is gaining qualifications which he hopes will lead to a coaching
:05:44. > :05:49.career. I want to become a coach assistant and I need to get some
:05:49. > :05:55.qualifications to become one and when in the next year, I might find
:05:55. > :05:59.employment. After college, any normal student would go home, but
:05:59. > :06:04.not Alex. By night, this gymnast is training hard for one of the
:06:04. > :06:08.biggest events of his life - the Special Olympics world summer games.
:06:08. > :06:12.I have been training for the last seven years but this will be my
:06:12. > :06:18.first time this year to complete -- compete in the World Games. I
:06:18. > :06:22.really cannot wait. It makes me feel I am a hero. This session is
:06:22. > :06:29.one of four a week, a massive 12 hours of sport. Alex is not the
:06:29. > :06:36.only one training hard. Two of his fellow gymnasts are also off to
:06:36. > :06:40.Greece to show their talent. Very proud. I think it is a credit to
:06:40. > :06:44.the club, it is a credit or the other gymnasts who are working
:06:44. > :06:48.incredibly hard. They could have gone and they would have done
:06:48. > :06:53.equally well. But these three were chosen. They are the three who are
:06:53. > :06:58.going this time. For Alex, the long day is finally over. As his dad,
:06:58. > :07:02.Gary, picks him up to head home. While it might be training --
:07:02. > :07:07.tiring balancing work and training, it is his passion which drives him
:07:07. > :07:12.and his passion which he hopes will win him gold.
:07:12. > :07:15.Best of luck to Alex. We will let you know how he gets on.
:07:15. > :07:19.And other international sports event with Channel Islands
:07:19. > :07:24.connections is the Island Games. It has been confirmed that Lord Coe
:07:24. > :07:31.will open the competition in the Isle of Wight next Saturday. Seb
:07:31. > :07:35.Coe is chairman of the London 2012 Olympics. We will be there and BBC
:07:35. > :07:39.Channel Islands will have full coverage of the games on TV, on
:07:39. > :07:43.radio and online. Now it is time for our Free Friday
:07:43. > :07:49.feature where we showcase things to do in the Channel Islands which
:07:49. > :07:55.cost very little or are free. We have sent Edward Sault to a quarry.
:07:55. > :08:01.Not because we do not like him, but way you can gain a rare insult into
:08:01. > :08:11.-- rare insight into Guernsey's Ronez quarry quarry. You can play
:08:11. > :08:12.
:08:12. > :08:17.with diggers and guess the weight It is not every day you get sent to
:08:18. > :08:22.a quarry in this job, but today I have put my hard hat on and my
:08:22. > :08:28.high-visibility jacket and this weekend it you can also have a look
:08:28. > :08:33.round Ronez quarry. Tell me why you are having the open day this year.
:08:34. > :08:38.A basically, we want to show people what we are doing. We ran a similar
:08:38. > :08:43.thing five years ago. It was way beyond our expectations, the number
:08:44. > :08:48.of people who attended. It is the 50th anniversary of having a
:08:48. > :08:52.presence in Guernsey. What can people do this weekend? There is a
:08:52. > :08:56.whole host of things. The main thing is to concentrate on the
:08:57. > :09:00.quarry. We will have tours which will take you round the whole
:09:00. > :09:05.operation and explain the various aspects of what we are doing. The
:09:05. > :09:09.quarry will be working at that time. Everything will be running. There
:09:09. > :09:14.will be a static display of vehicles, dump trucks and loaders
:09:14. > :09:18.which people can get up close to and get inside and have a good look.
:09:18. > :09:22.There will be a host of other things for the kids to did, things
:09:22. > :09:28.like face painting and other competitions and guess the weight
:09:28. > :09:32.of the bolder. Various aspect. It is an all-round family day out.
:09:32. > :09:36.was completely struck by the size of the quarry. It is huge. How will
:09:36. > :09:42.you convince people to spend the day at a quarry because it may not
:09:42. > :09:46.be at the top of everyone's weekend to do list. We were amazed at the
:09:46. > :09:49.interest shown last time. I'm sure we will get people coming back who
:09:49. > :09:53.were here last time. There were definitely people who were
:09:53. > :10:01.disappointed they did not get the opportunity. So it is a case of
:10:01. > :10:07.miss out -- miss it, miss out? Absolutely. You can come down until
:10:07. > :10:11.5 o'clock tomorrow. Thanks to high winds on the way,
:10:11. > :10:21.the entire island race is postponed and tomorrow it is the round Jersey
:10:21. > :10:25.walked so let's get the weather Good evening. We have a blustery
:10:25. > :10:29.night to come tonight. Further showers are possible through the
:10:29. > :10:34.day tomorrow, one or two could be quite heavy. The trend into the
:10:34. > :10:37.second half of the weekend is for things to quieten down. This area
:10:37. > :10:41.of low pressure and this weather front is moving away from us
:10:41. > :10:45.overnight tonight. That will improve things. We keep a strong
:10:45. > :10:52.westerly breeze. A line of showers will come around the middle of the
:10:52. > :10:57.day tomorrow. Once that goes out of the way, we see a ridge of high
:10:57. > :11:04.pressure and Monday is a mainly in fine story. Overnight tonight, we
:11:04. > :11:08.continue with some sharp showers. Blustery conditions as well. 11 or
:11:08. > :11:13.12 degrees, the minimum temperature. A scattering of showers through the
:11:13. > :11:18.day tomorrow. They do become more isolated in the afternoon. They
:11:18. > :11:24.will fade away by the end of the day. Perhaps some late sunshine. It
:11:24. > :11:28.will also feel quite chilly because of that brisk, occasionally strong
:11:28. > :11:35.to gale-force south-westerly breeze. If you are heading for the round
:11:35. > :11:45.Ireland Walk, take your waterproof. There will be no heat wave -- round
:11:45. > :12:00.
:12:00. > :12:05.Sunday will be a bright, dry des. Decent spells of sunshine. Monday,
:12:06. > :12:15.the wet weather returns. It becomes windy again. Tuesday it is all
:12:16. > :12:21.
:12:21. > :12:27.In around seven hours time, hundreds of walkers, me included,
:12:27. > :12:32.will be getting up hideously early to walk 48 miles around Jersey. We
:12:32. > :12:37.will not be the only ones getting up early. Simon Jupp and Murray
:12:37. > :12:41.Norton will be broadcasting on BBC Radio Jersey from 2:30am keeping
:12:41. > :12:45.you up to date with the round Ireland walk every step of the way.
:12:45. > :12:49.There are thousands of people taking part in this walk from 3
:12:49. > :12:53.o'clock in the morning which is incredible. We will be live
:12:53. > :12:59.capturing the spirit of the event. Murray Norton will be following
:12:59. > :13:06.walkers a boss freed progress. We will be playing music to keep you