25/07/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

"The very centre of our family," the daughter of a couple killed

in a plane crash speaks of her loss at their inquest.

The father of murdered Guernsey woman Sarah Groves fears Indian

The pendulum has swung slightly away from him and towards other people.

And I am alive from Glasgow on the latest on how our athletes are

getting on at the Commonwealth Games.

"The life and soul of any gathering," and,

Tributes paid today to the couple who died when their plane ditched in

An inquest into the deaths of Carl and Kathryn Whitely from Derbyshire

The deputy viscount said it was a tragic accident and that

Mr Whitely was an experienced and responsible pilot.

It was an emotional day for Carl and Kathryn Whitely's family.

Their two daughters had made the trip to Jersey to hear exactly

The couple died when their Cessna plane ditched into the sea

off Jersey's coast on their approach to Jersey airport.

And the deputy viscount today broadly

agreed with an earlier air accident investigation that the pilot

Mr Whitely had become disorientated in thick fog, and it was in trying

One of the Whitelys daughters wept as the evidence was heard here

The family didn't want to speak on camera saying they hadn't

learned anything new, but they told me they were grateful

to Jersey's authorities for their help in the investigation.

In a statement, their daughter Sarah described the family as close,

living just a few hundred yards from each other in Derbyshire.

She said Carl and Kathryn were "the life and soul of any gathering" and

The deputy viscount Advocate Mark Harris said it was

Advocate Harris also praised the search and rescue operation that day

which included Jersey's coastguard and lifeboats, as well as a French

helicopter, a Royal Navy warship and a passenger ferry which were in

A comfort amid personal tragedy for their family, but a timely reminder

The father of a young woman from Guernsey who was murdered in India

says he now isn't certain if the man accused of killing her is guilty.

Sarah Groves was stabbed to death whilst staying on a houseboat

A Dutchman has gone on trial but, once again,

Sarah's father Vic spoke to Mike Wilkins about his concerns.

The man accused of murdering Sarah Groves from Guernsey.

For over a year, this Dutchman, Richard De Witt, has been

But Sarah's father told me today that he's now uncertain whether

It is clear that the police didn't go beyond arresting a very

convenient suspect. Nothing I am saying here says De Witt didn't

commit that crime. Because I couldn't be that categoric. But what

has happened is that the pendulum has swung all through this year,

possibly the beginning at the back end of last year, slightly away from

him and towards other people. Despite the slow progress in court,

there has been other developments. Recently, the Groves family has

received assistance from the States Sarah's father is also due to meet

Foreign Office officials in a few weeks time

as he battles to find out more and I am not sympathising with the guy.

I can't reiterate too much, he will be the guilty party, but I won't be

happy of the verdict was passed next week, I won't be happy we have had

justice. I won't be happy that the perpetrator of that crime was

definitely the guy behind bars. As challenging as it is, the family

is determined to keep the pressure They are now appealing

for anyone who has stayed on this houseboat and met the owners to come

forward as their own private The former

Jersey Senator Stuart Syvret has been ordered to pay the States

Treasurer legal costs of ?68,000. The costs relate to

a 2011 conviction for data protection offences, and

a failed attempt to sue the States. Mr Syvret said the ruling

by Jersey's Royal Court was likely to bankrupt him,

and claimed it was an attempt to prevent him standing in October's

general election as bankrupt As Jersey's economy grows,

the States should consider raising taxes or cutting services

if it wants to reduce its deficit. The Fiscal Policy Panel's advice

comes a week after the new budget revealed a shortfall

of over ?30 million between the money the government is spending

and the revenue it receives. The Panel says that keeping taxes

down and allowing such a budget deficit IS fine while

the island recovers from recession. You're watching the BBC

in the Channel Islands. Later in Spotlight with Justin

and Natalie, maritime history on display as

classic vessels gather for a rally. New personal bests,

Island records smashed It's been another busy day

of competition for our athletes at day two of the

Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Guernsey and Jersey have sent

their largest teams ever to We've sent Edward Sault

and he's been busy too. Thank you, Clare,

and welcome to another sunny I'm in my shirt sleeves by the banks

of the Clyde, that is how warm it is.

In squash, Guernsey's Chris Simpson beat Ryan Cuskelly

of Australia 3`1 to make it through to the quarter finals tomorrow.

He'll play world champion Nick Matthew in that match.

Jersey's badminton team were beaten 5`0 by England

The defeat means the island must defeat

Jersey's team includes three previous England players.

Elsewhere, it was a disappointing morning

for the Channel Islands in the 10m pistol and rifle shooting events.

Jersey's Nikki Holmes missed out on a place in the finals

as did David Turner and Guernsey girls Tara Leneh and Nikki Trebert.

In swimming, Island records have been falling in the pool.

Guernsey's Courtney Butcher swam 27.48 in the 50m Freestyle

Guernsey's men's 4x100 freestyle relay team couldn't progress past

the heats but broke the previous island record

But good news for Jersey's Ian Black,

he's through to the semi`finals of the hundred metre breaststroke.

He broke his personal best and set an island record with

a time of one minute, four point four three seconds.

Every time you break it, it is such an amazing feeling. It is good. This

is what we train for every day. You don't come here for a little paddle.

You get into it. While the swimmers kept cool

in the pool, the lawn bowlers played in the full

sunshine at the Kelvingrove centre. In the last hour, Guernsey Men's

Triples team lost against Jersey, Jersey?s women 4's team were

in action against another group Under the hot Glasgow sunshine,

Jersey were competing for a place in the quarterfinals. The women's falls

at the Cook Island as competitors. Jersey started today's match

confident and took a lead after five ends. But the relaxed approach from

the Cook Islands change the game around. Although Jersey played some

closely placed shot 's, there were also some frustrating ones. The Cook

Islands Bowles kept getting close to the jack. In the end, Jersey lost

seven points to 12. You've got to do the best on the day and sometimes it

goes for you, sometimes it doesn't. This morning, against the Cook

Islands, it didn't go quite right for us. Yes, they slowed us down, we

are used to a quicker pace of bowling. They slowed the game right

down, which got us out of our usual rhythm. The Jersey women's fours

hope to regain their rhythm as they need one more wind over the next two

matches in the group stage in the hope to secure a place in the

quarterfinals. Plenty to watch out for on the BBC

this weekend. In less than two hours you can see

how Jersey's Ian Black gets on in the men's 100m breast stroke

semifinal. Tomorrow, Guernsey's Chris Simpson

will be competing in the squash quarterfinals and on Sunday

the action starts in athletics. Zane Duquemin will be throwing

in the Shot put qualifiers so watch And of course BBC Radio Guernsey

and BBC Radio Jersey will keep you From sport to music,

and Jersey singer Nerina Pallot is back in the Island for a show

at the Opera House tomorrow. She's been nominated for Brit

and Ivor Novello awards in the past and this year she's

releasing an EP, or a mini album, Luckily, she found time

for a chat with me earlier, in her Nerina, singer`songwriter,

guitarist, pianist, and a mother. A busy lady. Why is it so important to

do these homecoming gigs? It is a chance for a holiday, obviously, but

there's nothing better than the thrill of coming back to the place

where you grew up and I love the Opera house. It is just my favourite

venue in the world. I used to stand on the stage as a kid, and it was

always there in the back of my mind that I would do my own show. For

children in Jersey, is there enough access to premises and teachers and

instruments to get into music? I think it is really easy in Jersey

and it is very well funded in schools, not as private teachers.

When I was growing up, at least, everybody had the opportunity to

learn an instrument, probably two, and there were choirs with the

Jersey youth Orchestra, and we would get the National Theatre visiting,

it was very vibrant, and the standard of teaching is excellent. I

was very lucky. Would you advise your own son to get into music as a

career? That is such a difficult question! I cannot say no, but it is

tough, and you have to grow as thick as a rhinoceros, but it's

the thing I love. Which The waves are very small, but they

pick up in the second half of the weekend. The reason for that is the

breeze on Sunday. Cream the temperatures back down to 21 or 22.

Next week, fine weather, north`westerly wind direction with

temperatures back where they should be at this time of year.

Have a nice weekend. That is how the news and weather is looking at this

time. We will be back at 10:25pm with updates from the Commonwealth

Games, and I am back on Monday evening with even more sport from

Glasgow. And hopefully a bit of news chucked in there as well. Have a

good weekend. Coming up next, going for gold at

the Commonwealth Games, plus, how this ancient design has provided the

inspiration for a brand`new garden. And joined me in Sutton Harbour on

what has been a glorious day. We have always seen the glorious return

of some of our wartime fleet. It's a big night

for two south`west athletes at 19`year`old Ben Proud from Plymouth

is favourite to win gold in the 50m butterfly and Exeter's

Liam Tancock attempts to retain Spotlight's Dave Gibbins has more

on that, along with the rest of Ben Proud goes into this evening's

50m butterfly final with the fastest

qualifying time under his belt. He even took one`hundredth of

a second off his previous time when So on his debut in the Commonwealth

games, Proud is looking good for a gold

medal, thanks to all the hard work We have just been practising,

getting the final details, a lot of international racing to try

and get me to the sort of events so Coming from nowhere to finish second

in the 100m backstroke The reigning Commonwealth champion

has been suffering from injury but is still eyeing up a medal

in tonight's final. Yes, I feel pretty good,

not too bad. Not had the best season,

but it is not about what you do, Plymouth Leander's Jamila Lunkuse

was unlucky not to have qualified The Ugandan won her heat this

morning, but her time was beaten by her rivals in other heats,

so she misses out. Torquay lawn bowler Sophie Tolchard

is in top form as she's helping England progress through the early

rounds in the women's fours. They have already accounted for

Canada and are confident of reaching And in our late news at 10:25, we'll

be getting reaction to Ben Proud and Ben goes just after seven

and again at 9:25pm Next week, Dave will be in Glasgow

to bring us the latest news on south`west competitors

in the Commonwealth Games. Exciting, isn't it, plenty to keep

an eye on. One of the south`west's oldest

houses is giving visitors But as BBC Radio Cornwall's James

Churchfield has been finding out, the design at Trerice in Cornwall

demanded a fresh take Every year, 65,000 people make

their way to The National Trust property of Trerice, near Newquay,

to enjoy this Tudor building. Part of that attraction is this

magnificent plasterwork from 1570. But now, those intricate mouldings

have provided the inspiration for a new way to enjoy

the historic attraction. Staff have been busy for months

transforming part of the grounds into an Elizabethan

style knot garden, and it has been a real challenge,

with so little known about how We did archaeological surveys,

we did some digs, geophysical surveys, like Time Team,

and that sort of thing. It didn't give us many more clues,

to be honest, site in the end we We found the end the best thing to

work was the ceilings, with these geometric shapes,

which was a great idea, and it works perfectly, because that is how

knock gardens were laid out then. works perfectly, because that is how

knot gardens were laid out then. But to lay it out is quite

a challenge, because it has to be absolutely right, otherwise it looks

awkward and ugly. The 25`metre`square design includes

lavender, roses and oregano, And while the hot, dry summer

is taking its toll, it shouldn't We did plant it all at

the right time, that is the secret, planted in the winter and early

spring to get it established before They are a bit stressed

because it has been over hot, but as soon as we get a couple of cooler

days, they will pick up again. And even

before it officially opened, the garden attracted many more

visitors to the beautiful blooms. It looks like this year's honey

harvest will be lavender flavoured. Very neat and tidy, that garden. Not

like mine at all, it is just full of weeds.

James is a blade, after his breakfast show. `` a plate.

Boats dating back more than 100 years in some cases are gathering

in Plymouth for an annual celebration of maritime history.

Some of the fleet in the Sutton Harbour Classic Boat Rally

Simon Clemison is live in Plymouth tonight.

A very good evening to you, Justin and Natalie. St Tropez, Monaco? No,

this is Plymouth, just take a look at it tonight. We could be abroad.

One of the boats in the rally just arriving now, other people sitting

enjoying themselves late into the evening and it couldn't have felt

more like some today. People have been diving in to the pools to cool

off, they have been gathering on the quayside, grabbing an ice cream,

heading on to the merry`go`round which is just coming to a halt, but

these are the real stars of the show. They look like ordinary yachts

but they come with quite a bit of history.

There are no more human links with the First World War and memories of

the second are ever more scarce, but some who were there in Britain's

darkest hours live on. Built in Plymouth in 1938, this is where some

of the last allies climbed aboard as they were rescued from Dunkirk. The

pleasure craft conscripted by the Navy had come alongside the pier

because the water was so full of sunken vessels. We didn't see the

troops coming aboard, but this boat did. Yes, this was a family pleasure

boat that went to Dunkirk, did its war service, came back and did more

and then went back to being a family pleasure boat. Back to being the

pleasure craft it was always intended to be. That is right. While

some of the war fleet have enjoyed a happy retirement, others merely went

to rack and ruin. In the First World War, this great vessel survived

attacks by four German torpedo boats but nearly didn't survive the

decades since. Respect is not reserved solely for the people who

fought in the Armed Forces. This owner has been lovingly working away

a restoration project. When we first took the boat on, nobody mentioned

the First World War. This has developed since we had the vessel.

We found out that little boat sank a German destroyer, it is amazing. I

hate seeing things wasted. The Heritage in this country is so rich,

but it is wasted. Not here, there is heritage mooring in every birth.

Wartime vessels are joined by 17 others from the South West and

beyond, each with its own story of survival.

We have had a few very good years with a lot of interesting boats. And

the reputation of the event has grown, it is a wonderful apathy here

for an event. The boats are right at the heart of the city. And success

means there will be more newcomers enjoying the show this weekend.

Those who served their country in the most difficult of times are

catching the eye and finding glory once again.

It really has been a very busy day down here and there does seem to be

a growing appetite for the restoration of these boats and given

the sort of evening here you can spend on them, it is easy to see

why. Thank you, Simon, and on an evening

like this, there is no better place to be than down by the water. David,

lots going on this weekend, lots of visitors heading here for the

holidays. How is the weather shaping up?

They won't be disappointed. Temperatures won't be so high, which

won't be such a bad thing, it has been unbearably hot for a lot of us

in the night`time, but I'm going to start with Scotland and have a look

at the weather for a lot of us in the night`time, but I'm going to

start with Scotland and have a look at see an outbreak of rain with low

pressure bringing unsettled conditions, and cooler as we head

into Sunday. The marathon is on Sunday, back then to 17 or 18, which

will be appreciated by the runners. Back to us, we do have fine weather

to look forward to. Slightly cooler with more of a breeze developing and

mainly dry. There will be some sunshine, not the wall`to`wall blue

skies we have seen recently, and it is not completely dry, but there is

the lump of cloud approaching Ireland and western Scotland and

buried amongst that Lott is a cold weather front. It will do just that,

introduce slightly colder conditions as it drops down. Towards Ireland

and the north of Wales by the end of tomorrow but overnight for us, it

creeps in and by Sunday, it has moved through to the eastern side of

England, introducing frigid conditions and a bit more on the way

of cloud and a breeze, certainly helping things along. I mention

showers, there aren't many compared to the big showers we saw

yesterday. There are some dotted around here and there and there

could well be a few more overnight. The once moving through Bristol

tonight may well travel further west and fizzle out as they do so, so

largely dry overnight, a lot of clear skies and another very warm

night for most of us, 16 or 17 degrees. It is the night`time

temperatures people are suffering with. Overnight Saturday and into

Sunday, we will notice a drop in those temperatures. Tomorrow,

another lovely day, more cloud coming in from the West and the

north`west. That is the change. There is the small possibility of a

shower turning up late in the day, but much of the day is fine and dry.

More clout than we have seen recently and just a little bit

cooler, it shouldn't go overboard `` cloud. Along the coast of Devon and

Cornwall, more cloud and with a breeze from the north`west, it will

feel fresher. That is the focus of the Isles of Scilly, sunny spells

and clouding over but remaining dry and a much more comfortable

temperature of 20 degrees. Onto the times of high water...

For our surfers, there is a bit more of a wave. See temperatures between

18 and 19 degrees, I don't remember many summers when we have had that

for our sea temperature. I have looked at the temperatures all

through the week, inland temperatures, and they have been 25

degrees or above pretty much all of this week. I can't remember a week

in July when we have had consistently high temperatures like

that. It is cooler along the coastline, this is the coastal

waters forecast. Perhaps increasing later in the day, generally fair

with good visibility out at sea but still bad haze around. It went clear

until the cold front goes through. It may introduce a shower overnight

into Sunday, then we look at the temperatures, 20, 20 1 degrees on

Sunday. That is 70 in Fahrenheit. Next week, the chance of some

showers around on Monday, not everywhere but a few dotted around

which will help clear the air and again, similar temperatures. Tuesday

is fine day with a similar temperature. Next week is mainly dry

apart from a few showers, but for all of us, and much more comfortable

temperature, about where they should be at this time of year. Have a nice

weekend. Thank you, I for 1am looking forward

to cooler temperatures. That will be fantastic.

Just a little bit. We will leave you tonight with a gorgeous shot of the

south of France... No, it is the Barbican. Good night.