:00:12. > :00:15.Hello, welcome to bbc Channel Islands news. The headlines: It's
:00:15. > :00:17.taken decades but finally plans are laid to improve mental health care
:00:17. > :00:23.in Guernsey. Also, soldiering on - Jersey's Territorial Army in need
:00:23. > :00:33.of new recruits. And forget your sprouts, carrots and coli - meet
:00:33. > :00:40.
:00:41. > :00:45.the Channel Islanders dishing up People who suffer from mental
:00:45. > :00:48.health problems in Guernsey could soon have much better facilities.
:00:48. > :00:50.After decades of trying, the island's Health & Social Services
:00:50. > :00:57.Department has submitted plans for a new multi million pound mental
:00:57. > :00:59.health facility. Mike Wilkins reports.
:00:59. > :01:04.Most people who suffer from acute mental health problems in Guernsey
:01:04. > :01:08.tend to end up here, the Castel Hospital. It's been described by
:01:08. > :01:10.health bosses as barely human rights compliant. And after almost
:01:11. > :01:20.two decades of failed attempts, plans have now been submitted to
:01:21. > :01:22.
:01:22. > :01:27.relocate mental health services to another site. Things could change
:01:27. > :01:33.hits soon, the buildings behind me could all be demolished to make way
:01:33. > :01:40.for a new �26 million a mental health facility. We will be
:01:40. > :01:45.providing individual single rooms, on sweet, improved privacy and
:01:45. > :01:52.dignity, easier for staff to work and easier for us to keep clean and
:01:52. > :01:58.maintain and heat and light. Much of the previous hospital we have
:01:58. > :02:01.emptied in the first phase. The facilities were very outdated.
:02:01. > :02:04.So if he gets his way it'll mean mental health services will all be
:02:04. > :02:07.located here. But the finish line is still someway off. The project
:02:08. > :02:10.still needs planning permission before it'll then go out to tender.
:02:11. > :02:18.And finally it'll need final approval from the States at the end
:02:18. > :02:22.of next year. Unemployment has again risen to
:02:22. > :02:27.record levels in Jersey. Last month 1,530 people were registered as
:02:27. > :02:30.seeking work. The number of long term unemployed has nearly doubled
:02:31. > :02:39.in the last year. Recruitment agencies say jobs are still
:02:39. > :02:44.available but employers are being more choosey about who they employ.
:02:44. > :02:49.This year there have been vacancies but companies are taking time to
:02:49. > :02:53.choose the right candidate. In the heyday of jeers the if someone
:02:53. > :02:58.Picts -- ticked 80% of the boxes, they would get the job but now a
:02:58. > :03:03.company will wait until they tick every box, they will not rush into
:03:03. > :03:07.taking anybody on. The skills that has to be perfect so it is taking
:03:07. > :03:10.longer and the company will step back if they cannot find the right
:03:10. > :03:13.person because they are confident somebody will appear soon.
:03:13. > :03:15.Plans for a new abattoir in Guernsey have been approved. The
:03:15. > :03:18.existing slaughterhouse in St Peter Port will close after planning
:03:18. > :03:22.permission was granted for a new facility next to the existing
:03:22. > :03:25.cattle carcass incinerator at Longue Hougue. If the States agree
:03:25. > :03:30.to the proposal, the new building should be in operation by the end
:03:30. > :03:33.of next year. Shopkeepers in the Channel Islands
:03:33. > :03:36.say spending has been slower this Christmas than in previous years
:03:36. > :03:42.They're blaming the bad weather earlier this month and at the end
:03:42. > :03:45.of November but they do expect the trend to change today and tomorrow.
:03:45. > :03:49.Town centre bosses in Jersey say islanders tend to leave it to the
:03:49. > :03:58.last minute to do their Christmas shopping. They're hoping to claw
:03:58. > :04:04.back any lost revenue. I have looked at the figures and
:04:04. > :04:06.120,000 people have gone through town already. A quarter of a
:04:06. > :04:12.million foot fault for the first time in a long time. It will be
:04:12. > :04:22.very strong and late. Jersey is always late, we leave it to the
:04:22. > :04:26.
:04:26. > :04:29.last moment. We are great people for waiting.
:04:29. > :04:31.More part time soldiers are needed for Jersey's Territorial Army unit.
:04:31. > :04:34.Nationally the TA are under strength by twenty thousand men and
:04:34. > :04:37.women and a new recruitment campaign will begin in the new year.
:04:37. > :04:40.It'll highlight that the training and experience volunteers gain can
:04:40. > :04:43.help them in their civilian careers. Emma Chambers has been to meet some
:04:43. > :04:47.of Jerseys part time soldiers to find out why they have joined up.
:04:47. > :04:52.Loyalty, team work, community spirit, giving something back and
:04:52. > :04:57.proving to myself I can do things. I will go away from this and when I
:04:57. > :05:03.come back I will hopefully learn a new trade and get paid as well.
:05:03. > :05:08.Something to do on the weekends. Gets you out and fitter. And the
:05:08. > :05:10.friends you make our friends for life. It is brilliant. Just some of
:05:10. > :05:14.the reasons these people have joined the Jersey Field Squadron.
:05:14. > :05:24.But as the latest recruits learn the skills of a TA soldier - the
:05:24. > :05:27.force want more people to follow in their footsteps. It offers so much
:05:27. > :05:32.to an individual in terms of personal development, and physical
:05:32. > :05:37.development. In this time of economic climate, it is an
:05:37. > :05:41.opportunity to enhance the CV and make them more employable. And as a
:05:41. > :05:48.volunteer you can do this alongside your job but you can also learn a
:05:48. > :05:56.new trade through it. You name it, you can do it in the TA. You can
:05:56. > :06:02.get your driving licence and become a pilot operator, crane operator.
:06:02. > :06:06.We do combat engineering and you can get civilian qualifications.
:06:06. > :06:16.The drills are not the only skill you'll learn, been part of a team
:06:16. > :06:19.is just as valuable. There are plans for an international beach
:06:19. > :06:21.polo event in Jersey next year Organisers want to run the event on
:06:22. > :06:24.St Brelade's Bay in September. It'll require special permission as
:06:25. > :06:26.horse-riding on Jersey's beaches is banned in the day during the summer
:06:26. > :06:31.months. Prisoners in Guernsey have been
:06:31. > :06:36.getting into the festive spirit. Inmates at Les Nicolles Prison
:06:36. > :06:39.attended a Christmas carol service this week. The Salvation Army Band
:06:39. > :06:43.performed in the Sports Hall alongside the Choir "Festeva".
:06:43. > :06:47.You're watching the BBC in the Channel Islands. Later in Spotlight
:06:47. > :06:49.with Natalie and Simon We've got a treat for you - the Military Wives
:06:49. > :06:59.join us with another festive offering at the end of the
:06:59. > :07:08.
:07:08. > :07:10.Stayed tuned for that and we have the forecasters well. Brussels
:07:10. > :07:12.sprouts, roasted parsnips, perhaps a few carrots. The standard
:07:12. > :07:17.vegetables you can expect to accompany your Christmas dinner.
:07:17. > :07:19.But how about something a little more unusual? Well one family in
:07:19. > :07:24.Guernsey have been growing something that meets that
:07:24. > :07:29.description as Penny Elderfield found out.
:07:29. > :07:33.This may look like a fairly average greenhouse but there is something
:07:33. > :07:38.very ought lurking in between the vines. A horticultural experiment
:07:38. > :07:46.that happened to work out. Producing this very unusual and
:07:46. > :07:50.long vegetable. They are from Sri Lanka and I bought some seeds in
:07:50. > :07:56.April and planted them. I did not know if the we grow or not because
:07:56. > :08:01.Sri Lanka is a lot hotter than us but they like it here. No one I
:08:01. > :08:11.know has ever seen them before. They are very curious. When they
:08:11. > :08:11.
:08:11. > :08:16.are tiny like this one, you put it in curry or beef casserole. When
:08:16. > :08:21.they get bigger like this one, you can treat them like a marriage,
:08:21. > :08:26.dice them and stuff them. It is not the sort of thing you stumble
:08:26. > :08:33.across on a store but looking at the size of it, it is easy to see
:08:33. > :08:41.why. Looks fab, doesn't it? The local panto season is getting into
:08:41. > :08:45.full swing. Hello, chuckles. I am the Lord Chamberlain. It is my job
:08:45. > :08:50.to welcome everybody to the kingdom. We are having a party. To celebrate
:08:50. > :08:53.the christening of the Princess. Everybody is invited. Fantastic.
:08:53. > :08:56.Boxing Day sees the opening of Sleeping Beauty at Jersey's opera
:08:56. > :08:59.house, it stars amongst others are BBC radio Jersey presenters Matthew
:08:59. > :09:02.Price, Roger Bara and Sarah Palmer. King Arthur has already opened at
:09:02. > :09:12.Beau Sejour in Guernsey and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland starts at
:09:12. > :09:12.
:09:12. > :09:16.Jersey's art centre in January. But all will have plenty of family fun.
:09:16. > :09:20.It is very traditional but we have everything, the fairy-tale
:09:20. > :09:26.Christmas -- Princess for the girls and the fighting in Dragon for the
:09:26. > :09:31.boys. The jokes for the grown-ups as well. There's a lot of audience
:09:31. > :09:38.participation. If they want to sit back and enjoy it they can but
:09:38. > :09:41.joined in, there will be suites for everybody and there's always a good
:09:41. > :09:46.opportunity for a good his at the party.
:09:46. > :09:49.All the fun of Christmas. I will not start my thighs. What is the
:09:49. > :09:55.Christmas would be going to be like?
:09:55. > :10:04.Hello, the only white thing is the cloud. It is looking relatively
:10:04. > :10:09.The weather front is clearing away, there are showers and wind. Still
:10:09. > :10:14.relatively cool. By tomorrow, high pressure building in so it settles
:10:14. > :10:19.a little bit. A weather front in the North bringing more cloud and
:10:19. > :10:24.rain by the end of the day it might. On Christmas Day, generally dry,
:10:24. > :10:30.settled with high pressure in charge. Tonight, clear skies around,
:10:30. > :10:36.one or two showers, a brisk north- westerly. Temperatures overnight
:10:36. > :10:40.down to around six Celsius. First thing some right, some sunshine
:10:40. > :10:45.around at first, brighter than the first half of the day, cloud moving
:10:45. > :10:52.in tomorrow afternoon. A few showery outbreaks of rain but
:10:52. > :10:59.mainly dry. Temperatures up to 10 or 11 Celsius. The wind becomes
:10:59. > :11:04.more south-westerly. The wind will become from the south or south-west.
:11:04. > :11:14.A few isolated showers but mainly good visibility. The times of high
:11:14. > :11:27.
:11:27. > :11:33.Not many clean weeks. For Christmas, some sunshine first thing tomorrow,
:11:33. > :11:40.it will cloud over. Christmas Day looks generally cloudy but quite
:11:40. > :11:43.mild with the south-westerly. Highs of 11. Boxing Day, still wind but
:11:43. > :11:53.the cloud will break up for some sunshine. Have a nice Christmas.
:11:53. > :11:58.