08/01/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

goodbye from me. On BBC One we now join the BBC's news teams where

trees have been arriving in this weekend they want volunteers with

spades to come to bury them. Work is being carried out to try to

clear a heritage train line which has been blocked since Christmas due

to a landslip. The South Devon Railway lost out on lucrative trade

over the holiday, and is now facing large bills, after mud and trees

came crashing down on the line near Staverton. Our South Devon reporter

John Ayers has more. This is what is left of the line for the landslip

happened before Christmas. Water soaked through the growing above the

line and pressure built up, sending trees and mud crashing onto the

line. Work is taking place to try to clear it. Two more trees will have

to come down because they are now unsafe and they will fall down if we

don't chop them down. Once we have got rid of all the timber we can

then start digging away at them at which has swamped the railway line.

The railway is insured against landslides and lost business but

there are still heavy excesses. There is always the cost of putting

everything right and one thing and another, time taken dealing with

this when we could be dealing with something else. Of all the places we

have where we keep a careful eye on what is happening, this is the last

place we expected this to occur. The trees and not have to be removed,

and the ground underneath need shoring up. There is a huge amount

of work to be carried out here between Buckfastleigh and Stirton at

the railway is adamant it will be open in time on February 15.

A scheme has been launched to reach isolated older people and help them

access local facilities. Age UK Plymouth's valuing lives project

uses a befriending service to encourage lonely people to meet

others. It was launched by celebrities Lee Mead and Nigel

Havers. Jenny Walrond was there. A rather oversized knife from the

stage, along with two panto starts launching today's project. Valuing

life enables people to access their committee, `` community. People that

are isolated and lonely at home who may not have seen people for a long

time will be befriended on a weekly basis. Someone will come around and

chat and take them out and help them to a bus or to access different

services, or perhaps they can come into our local centres. It has

already moved people `` helps people like Perl, who was planning to move

home. A volunteer helped her to a club. It is the satisfaction of

knowing I am helping someone change their life and a lot of them have a

lot of life experience, so for me it is inspirational to hear their

stories. I think it is important they realise having a mum of a

certain age you need to get out and about and not be stuck at home,

otherwise I think you start to budget and it's a bad thing, so this

is an important service. My two nouns, who aren't here any more,

they came here in the last years of their lives, so it is a great place

to come and be together. Age UK Plymouth already has 22 volunteers

and it is hoped it will attract others.

The Cornwall sailor Sir Ben Ainslie is to compete in the 20`14 Extreme

Sailing Series. It's a global event, taking place in eight different

venues around the world. Ainslie will sail in a 40`foot multi`hull,

as Spotlight's Dave Gibbins reports. Sir Benes Lee has proved he is the

most formidable sailor in the world. His exploits helping team USA win

the America's Cup last year. It showed he can handle the biggest and

the fastest yacht on the planet. While at the London boat show, a 36

rolled, who learned his trade in Cornwall and was brought up in

Truro, announced another challenge. This one with the extreme series for

a 40 foot multihulls, as opposed to the 73rd votes he claimed in San

Francisco Bay last September. It is a different type of racing, short

courses and close to the shore so it is good for the spectators, and we

do a lot of races, so I guess it is a high impact type of racing. We

also have some Olympic team`mates with me, so a good team and we are

very much looking forward to getting back out and racing again. After

sailing around by yourself it is quite refreshing to go sailing with

a bigger team, so all of last year sailing in different boats with

different croak, so I am looking forward to being part of this one.

Singapore will host the first of the eight stages in their break, with

Cardiff hosting the UK leg in August.

Cornwall's historic Jamaica Inn has gone on sale because the couple

who've run it for the past 40 years are planning to retire. The pub at

Bolventor, was immortalised in a novel by Daphne du Maurier and is on

the market for ?2 million. It was built in 1750 and it's thought

smugglers used it to hide their contraband.

It's taken two years, and a lot of conversations. Devon folk musician

Seth Lakeman's latest project has involved him talking to some of the

South West's colourful characters and turning their personal stories

into songs. From tales of Bal`Maidens, young women who worked

in the tin mines of Cornwall, to accounts of the Tolpuddle Martyrs

from Dorset, and memories of the last surviving witness of the

ill`fated Operation Tiger at Slapton in Devon, the result is a new

collection of songs entitled Word Of Mouth. BBC Radio Devon's John Govier

met up with Seth on a cold, wet and windy Dartmoor to find out more.

Seth, you have been taking inspiration from the moors since you

started? I have, yes. Past a sinking bridge, the surging

river... I was born and bred here on Dartmoor and I have always taken it

as an inspiration for the work I do. This is the start of one of the

first way markers, the crosses that marked a medieval track all the way

across the murder. `` the murder. That definitely inspired the chorus

markings down. There is a cross he must find...

So this new album is not all about Dartmoor. You have found the net a

bit wider. Yes, I been reaching out, talking to people all over the South

West. I have been two pubs, on the street and into churches, and it is

a way of preserving people's stories and their voices. They are modern

day stories but they take us back in history. Yes, like Reg Hannaford,

the last surviving witness of exercise Tiger, who kindly gave me

an interview that was very powerful, and a very powerful story. Let's go

and see him. Hi, Reg. This is John. Please to meet you, John. Reg, what

is it like to know your story is now captured in one of Seth's songs? I

was quite shocked, I suppose. `` quite chuffed. You can hear that

Tiger when he moves... The first we knew about it was when fishermen

were here and Mellor `` American military police were asking them if

they had seen bodies in the sea. I was only a lad and it is embedded in

me forever. Now it will evolve in a song as well. Yes, very nice.

Now, last year Devon and Cornwall police decided to start breeding

their very own canine recruits and in June, the first litter was born.

Since then, the seven puppies who make up the A litter have been put

through a gruelling selection process. Yes, we're following their

training right through to the passing out parade. Well, now, hot

on their heels is the B litter, and Spotlight's Andrea Ormsby couldn't

resist an invitation to meet the latest police dog recruits. We're

all starving. Lunch is served and there are eight hungry mouths to

feed. Hungry and noisy. Here we go. Nice and orderly. This is the litter

born in November, this second wave of canine recruits bred by and for

Devon and Cornwall police. We insist each pup has its own bold to eat

from, so we don't get a situation where the bigger pups are pushing

the smaller pups away, and we introduce mincemeat, which they

love, into the food bill why the eating to let them get used to a

human hand being around their food bill, and they don't think humans

are trying to take their food away from them. After lunch, time for

exercise with their mum Molly. She is the second serving police dog to

build is `` to breed a letter. I don't remember much about the last

few weeks, it is time consuming, but I still feel that is the best way to

get the most out of your dogs. Of course not all forces can breed them

at home. This police handler's dog retires next year so there is here

to find his replacement. He is excited and so is his family. They

are looking forward to it. Quite daunted but really looking forward

to it. The puppies will soon be handed over to their walkers who

will put them through as many different experiences as possible.

Some will be taken on a boat. The litter is ready to take land and sea

by storm. They are so cute. Hard to believe

they will soon be huge. They grow very quickly. Spring is on its way

because Rita has e`mailed us to say the daffodils are up in her garden.

But there is more rain to come. the daffodils are up in her garden.

But there is Some mild temperatures but a long wait to go of winter yet.

Tomorrow we have some slightly calmer conditions. We will have

showers through the day but some sunshine, starting to feel a little

cooler through the day but for tonight, we still have a weather

warning from the Met Office for further downpours of heavy rain

across the south`west. This is the radar from earlier. That main area

of rain moved through quickly but it was followed by heavy rain which is

making its way across the region at the moment so heavy downpours still

to come tonight. You can see this cloud moving up from the south`west

with some clearer skies behind it but another area of cloud set to

head our way by Friday. For now we have this low pressure moving away

as we do through tonight, so for tomorrow a few showers but I think

some sunshine as well, clearer skies through the afternoon. Just a

temporary ridge of high pressure so by the time we get to Friday this

weather front has swept in from the west, not earning too much heavy

rain but more wet weather to end the week, winds increasing by Friday

evening. For the moment we still have this area of heavy downpours to

clear, the risk of thunder at times. Later tonight, still cloudy, just a

few light showers in the early hours of tomorrow and also the winds

increase especially along the south coast, gusty winds here by first

thing tomorrow, but minimum temperature is still quite mild for

the time of year, down to around five or six degrees at their lowest

inland. Tomorrow morning some cloud and showery rain to clear away to

the East, followed by decent spells of sunshine tomorrow afternoon.

Still a few showers on that breeze but some brighter weather tomorrow

as well, with the wind is perhaps easing off as we head to the end of

the day tomorrow, but temperatures again during the day up to nine or

10 degrees, perhaps feeling a little cooler in that breeze. For the Isles

of Scilly team might catch some showers tomorrow but also some sunny

spells and moderate to fresh winds. For the surfers are, about four to

six foot waves around the coast but generally choppy and messy

conditions, and the coastal waters forecast how the wind from the west

or north West, backing south`westerly with some showers out

at sea, so moderate or good visibility through today. We

continue `` throughout the day. Sunshine and showers on Friday, a

dry start that we see some rain arriving from the West. On Saturday

we will have sunshine but it will feel cooler, and on Sunday more wet

and windy weather arrives. Not quite spring, then. That is all the news

and weather this evening. I will be back at 10:25pm.