:00:09. > :00:12.Hello, good evening. This is BBC Channel Islands and these are our
:00:12. > :00:15.headlines: Opulent or over-priced? Proof that hotels here are among
:00:15. > :00:19.the costliest in Britain... Plus - bankrupt but determined - Jersey's
:00:19. > :00:29.rocket man vows to fight for justice. And find out how music,
:00:29. > :00:46.
:00:46. > :00:49.modern art and meteorology have Hotel prices in St Helier and St
:00:49. > :00:53.Peter Port are among the most expensive in the British Isles.
:00:53. > :00:56.Statistics for the first half of 2011 show room rates here in the
:00:56. > :01:00.Channel Islands near the top of a list of 43 towns and cities across
:01:00. > :01:03.the UK. St Helier is ranked fifth, but St Peter Port is second, where
:01:03. > :01:08.the price of an average hotel room is not much cheaper than a five
:01:08. > :01:11.star elsewhere. Amy Harris reports. Beyond the doors of the Old
:01:11. > :01:16.Government House hotel is a world of luxury. There's no shortage of
:01:16. > :01:21.sumptuous detail, from the chandeliers inside... To the
:01:21. > :01:31.swimming pool outside. It's Guernsey's only five star hotel and
:01:31. > :01:34.
:01:34. > :01:40.you get what you pay for. Opulence is one of the key words. Comfort is
:01:40. > :01:48.as important to us as everything else. We want the guests to fill
:01:48. > :01:51.looked after and pampered. As you'd expect staying here isn't cheap -
:01:51. > :01:54.prices start at �133 a night. But the average room rate in St Peter
:01:54. > :01:59.Port isn't far behind at �115, making it the second most expensive
:01:59. > :02:02.destination in the British Isles. Meanwhile St Helier is the fifth
:02:02. > :02:06.costliest place to stay out of 43 destinations, with an average room
:02:06. > :02:09.here priced at ?110 pounds a night. The statistics come from a report
:02:09. > :02:19.by the online travel firm hotels.com. It believes the high
:02:19. > :02:20.
:02:20. > :02:23.rankings are a result of higher budget visitors. It is genuinely --
:02:23. > :02:27.generally the upmarket customers, and that is the thing putting the
:02:27. > :02:32.price. Up higher. Tourism bosses here though point out the hotel
:02:32. > :02:36.statistics may be skewed as they don't reflect all hotels. They
:02:36. > :02:43.maintain the Channel Islands offers accommodation for all budgets.
:02:43. > :02:48.is want tour operator's view, and it is a narrow view. They have
:02:48. > :02:53.demonstrated that the amount of bed space they have bought up has been
:02:53. > :02:55.successfully sold. So while not everyone might be able to afford a
:02:55. > :02:59.room here, the message is that despite the latest figures, there
:02:59. > :03:07.is a place to stay for everyone in the Channel Islands, regardless of
:03:07. > :03:10.their budget. It should have been a world record breaking charity event,
:03:10. > :03:12.but four years ago Terry MacDonald decided to call off his firework
:03:12. > :03:15.display after Jersey's Environment department expressed concern. He's
:03:15. > :03:18.since spent four years battling the States and has been left with
:03:18. > :03:20.massive debts after being unable to get rid of the rockets. Now he's
:03:20. > :03:29.been told Jersey Government will not be offering compensation.
:03:29. > :03:37.Edward Sault reports. Making a cup of coffee in the home he may have
:03:37. > :03:47.to sell. Terry Mcdonald says he's now in so much debt the roof over
:03:47. > :03:56.his head may have to go. To live with massive debts, let's not kid
:03:56. > :04:00.ourselves. How much in debt by you? Pushing on for �100,000. Terry
:04:00. > :04:03.wanted to break the world record for the amount of rockets fired at
:04:03. > :04:06.one time back in 2007. It was to be the finale of the Moonlight Battle
:04:06. > :04:10.of Flowers parade but he decided to call off the event after
:04:10. > :04:12.environmental concerns. Now this report has been published it lists
:04:12. > :04:15.all the talks, meetings and letters sent surrounding the incident, what
:04:15. > :04:25.the environmental concerns were and it says the States aren't giving Mr
:04:25. > :04:38.
:04:38. > :04:47.McDonald compensation. Mr McDonald. Mr widow is a very nice man,...
:04:47. > :04:53.Whites carry on? By an a Jersey man. I am a fighter. There is a need
:04:53. > :04:57.within my soul to carry on. Terry leaves for more meetings over
:04:57. > :05:03.what to do next he says he's not giving up or closing the door on
:05:04. > :05:07.this controversy. The Jersey-based online retailer Play.com is being
:05:07. > :05:09.sold for �25 million. Play is one of the biggest online companies in
:05:09. > :05:12.Britain and has 14 million registered users. It was originally
:05:13. > :05:15.set up in Jersey in 1998 and started by selling DVDs and then
:05:15. > :05:18.CDs. The buyer is Japanese e- commerce firm Rakuten. Neither
:05:18. > :05:28.party will comment on whether the business will remain based in
:05:28. > :05:39.
:05:39. > :05:48.Jersey. A group of UK retailers operating trying to close a
:05:48. > :05:52.loophole are... The UK chancellor has already reduced the VAT
:05:52. > :05:57.threshold. The Chancellor has promised to take another look at
:05:57. > :06:03.the issue. A government minister has said that the Channel Islands
:06:03. > :06:10.is not the problem. It is a competitive market. Companies have
:06:11. > :06:20.said that it is harming them, but competitive this from supermarkets
:06:20. > :06:23.is causing more damage than the Channel Islands have a will.
:06:23. > :06:25.Jersey's independent auditor is to look into the failed attempt to buy
:06:26. > :06:28.Lime Grove House as a new Police headquarters. The Home Affairs
:06:28. > :06:31.department announced they were buying the building in Green Street,
:06:31. > :06:33.but the deal fell through after the Treasury department attempted to
:06:33. > :06:36.get the price reduced. Politicians investigating why the deal failed
:06:36. > :06:39.said they had serious concerns about the way it was handled. The
:06:39. > :06:44.Comptroller and Auditor General will review the matter - but has
:06:44. > :06:47.warned it could take some time. You're watching the BBC in the
:06:47. > :06:50.Channel Islands. Later in Spotlight with Justin and Victoria... The
:06:50. > :06:53.fire-breathing Dragon that's landed some local artists in a spot of
:06:53. > :06:56.bother. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Jersey's Branchage
:06:56. > :06:59.Film Festival was just about the visual medium of film. And usually,
:06:59. > :07:02.movies are the main event. But this year's festival which starts today,
:07:02. > :07:05.features an audio installation at one of Jersey's best known
:07:05. > :07:15.landmarks. And it's fully reliant on the weather. Chris Harrison has
:07:15. > :07:19.
:07:19. > :07:27.This installation atop of Elizabeth Castle translates weather
:07:27. > :07:36.conditions into musical patterns! Yes, music! It marks the start of
:07:36. > :07:40.the 2011 Branchage festival. started through conversations we
:07:40. > :07:45.were having about the kind of structure the you do not think
:07:45. > :07:52.about so much, and turning that into something creative. We turned
:07:52. > :07:58.it into music. It seems very fitting for the work we are doing
:07:58. > :08:04.to show it here alongside a showcase of young film-makers, and
:08:04. > :08:06.interesting documentary films. musical manipulation of meterology!
:08:06. > :08:14.The outside weather is interpreted into music via computers. It is
:08:14. > :08:21.truly an experience to hear it for yourself. It is perfect for us,
:08:21. > :08:30.because it needs whether to work, and it is a great way to use the
:08:30. > :08:34.Jersey Heritage location, but also, it is something really exciting and
:08:34. > :08:39.experimental and new, and taking place in a beautiful, historic
:08:39. > :08:49.location. In true Branchage fashion, the creativity is high, and is a
:08:49. > :09:03.
:09:03. > :09:05.great start from this fantastic, You can listen to the music on
:09:05. > :09:15.Radio Jersey's 1026 Medium Wave frequency from 1:15pm tomorrow
:09:15. > :09:16.
:09:16. > :09:19.afternoon. How have you been getting around today? By bike, bus
:09:19. > :09:22.or even walking? If so, you must have known it was Green Travel Day.
:09:22. > :09:25.It's Jersey States' attempt to get islanders to leave their cars at
:09:25. > :09:29.home - and be more eco-friendly. But just how successful has it
:09:29. > :09:34.been? Beckie Williams has been finding out. Cars coming in and
:09:34. > :09:43.cars going out. This is supposed to be Green Travel Day - an initiative
:09:43. > :09:46.that's cost the States 5 thousand pounds. But has it actually worked?
:09:46. > :09:54.It is a slight disappointment. A lot of effort has gone into it, a
:09:54. > :09:59.lot of people were providing prices. I do cycle anyway. If I had Newt --
:09:59. > :10:02.known about it, I would have done something. The day's been organised
:10:02. > :10:05.by Transport and Technical Services. Here they're making a big effort.
:10:05. > :10:08.Strictly no vehicles in the car park - which has been turned into a
:10:08. > :10:15.petanque terrain. And even the minister in charge has got in the
:10:15. > :10:21.green spirit by cycling to work. Not so people would say it hasn't
:10:21. > :10:27.were. My feeling is that it has. I have seen lots of people cycling
:10:27. > :10:30.and walking, and we have reduced car park usage. Connex say they put
:10:30. > :10:39.on some extra buses in case there's more demand, and tonight some
:10:39. > :10:41.islanders will make tracks for one final push home. If you want to
:10:41. > :10:47.final push home. If you want to ride a bike to work tomorrow, you
:10:47. > :10:53.will want to know what the weather is like. Good evening. Some warm
:10:53. > :11:03.weather heading our wait for the Channel Islands. 22 Celsius, 68
:11:03. > :11:04.
:11:04. > :11:10.Perhaps into Saturday Night and Sunday, we will see some more
:11:10. > :11:14.showers. This is the reason, high pressure pushing through during the
:11:14. > :11:22.latter part of the evening and overnight. It is going to give us a
:11:22. > :11:27.lot of settled weather. There is a chance of a few showers in the far
:11:27. > :11:31.west of the region. The low- pressure is coming in from the
:11:31. > :11:39.Atlantic, but by the time he gets to us, it is going to be a fairly
:11:39. > :11:45.weak affair. We meet -- we may see temperatures down to 12 degrees
:11:45. > :11:49.tonight. After the mist has cleared, it is going to be fine and dry
:11:49. > :11:56.sunshine developing. Temperatures will get up to 18 or 19 degrees. A
:11:56. > :12:02.few showers passing to the west of us. Quite a warm feel to the day. A
:12:02. > :12:12.south-easterly breeze. This is the coastal waters forecast. Mainly
:12:12. > :12:21.
:12:21. > :12:27.fair, with good visibility. These The forecast for Friday is very
:12:27. > :12:33.much the same story. Cloud in the morning. The sunshine will come out
:12:33. > :12:37.and give temperatures of 19 or possibly 20 degrees. A risk of a
:12:37. > :12:47.few showers late on Saturday, and Shell was macro more widespread on