:00:11. > :00:14.A proposed second stage of the high-speed rail link is announced.
:00:14. > :00:19.Critics argue it has an economic and environmental cost. The Prime
:00:19. > :00:23.Minister says the line will help spread wealth. I think it's vital
:00:23. > :00:27.for Britain if we are going to succeed in the global race. Other
:00:27. > :00:32.countries have high-speed rail networks. We need them too. Brazil
:00:32. > :00:35.announces three days of mourning for more than 230 people who died
:00:36. > :00:41.in a nightclub fire. Long-term loans for energy improvements - is
:00:41. > :00:47.the green scheme a good deal for consumers? A baby is blown into the
:00:47. > :00:55.sea off Somerset. We talk to the dock master who dived into freezing
:00:55. > :01:02.waters to save him. There was a woman Neiling down, saying "that's
:01:02. > :01:08.my baby." I saw the buggy was upside down and jumped in. And it
:01:08. > :01:17.is a truth - truly acknowledged that one of our favourite novels is
:01:17. > :01:20.200 years old today. We mark the A teenager's stabbed to death in
:01:20. > :01:23.central London. Witnesses say he was heard screaming for his life.
:01:23. > :01:33.And we look at the rising number of councils using private companies to
:01:33. > :01:45.
:01:46. > :01:49.Good afternoon. Welcome to the BBC News at 1pm. Details of the next
:01:49. > :01:53.stage of the high-speed rail line have been revealed by the
:01:53. > :02:02.Government. The first phase links London and Birmingham. Then the
:02:02. > :02:07.line will split in two, one branch to Manchester t other to Leeds.
:02:07. > :02:11.Critics say the route will damage the environment. Our transport
:02:11. > :02:15.correspondent joins us now from Leeds railway station.
:02:15. > :02:21.I suspect that quite a lot of the commuters who are getting on trains
:02:21. > :02:26.behind me this morning will be retired by the time the first HS2
:02:26. > :02:29.station leaves. It is a hugely expensive project. It has faced a
:02:29. > :02:32.great deal of opposition. There were remers that the Government
:02:32. > :02:36.would ditch the whole thing -- rumours that the Government would
:02:36. > :02:40.ditch the whole thing. Today it is at the heart of its plans to grow
:02:40. > :02:47.the economy. It may just be a very fast train
:02:47. > :02:50.line, but the Government says HS2 will transform the country,
:02:50. > :02:55.shrinking journey times between the biggest cities, sometimes by half.
:02:55. > :02:58.Fast trains to speed up a sluggish economy. I think it's vital for
:02:58. > :03:03.Britain if we're going to succeed in the global race. Other countries
:03:03. > :03:07.have got high-speed rail networks. We need them too. For Britain,
:03:07. > :03:11.there's a particular benefit of linking up our major cities with
:03:11. > :03:16.high-speed rail. Today, we've had the route - north of Birmingham.
:03:16. > :03:20.One branch heads to Manchester, the airport and the city centre. The
:03:20. > :03:24.other heads east, Derby and Nottingham will have to share a new
:03:24. > :03:30.hub station, a few miles south of the cities. Then on to Sheffield,
:03:30. > :03:36.again not the city centre, but Meadowhall, five miles out of town.
:03:36. > :03:43.Finally, to a brand new station in the middle of Leeds. Here in the
:03:43. > :03:47.city, Stephanie is meeting the boss of a big technology firm. Her
:03:47. > :03:53.company helps young people get workplacements. She is convinced
:03:53. > :03:57.HS2 will spread wealth to the rekpwons. -- regions. It is me, as
:03:57. > :04:01.the business owner, who has to do the travelling. Connective times
:04:01. > :04:07.are poor between north and south. It takes a long time to get down
:04:07. > :04:10.south. It takes a long time for people in the south to visit us in
:04:10. > :04:15.the north. With shorter travel times we would be able to do so
:04:15. > :04:19.much more business. Critics rubbish claims that a very fast train line
:04:19. > :04:23.can transform the economy and say there are far better ways of
:04:23. > :04:28.spending the money. It's going to cost �34 billion to start with.
:04:28. > :04:32.There'll be additional problems with linking infrastructure,
:04:32. > :04:39.regeneration schemes. It will add billions more to the cost. It could
:04:39. > :04:45.end up costing the average household �,000. It is high speed
:04:45. > :04:51.and highly controversial. The first HS2 train will not depart for
:04:51. > :04:56.another 13 years. There's another key question here, isn't there? How
:04:56. > :04:59.much are the tickets going to cost? What will it be like for
:04:59. > :05:04.passengers? The Government say it will be in line with the rest of
:05:04. > :05:08.the railways. There are people who doubt that. The UK has a high-speed
:05:08. > :05:12.line from Kent into London. Tickets on that line average around 20%
:05:12. > :05:20.more than the other trains in that service. The likelihood is we'll
:05:20. > :05:24.pay more to use these trains. Thank you. Let's get more reaction to the
:05:25. > :05:28.plans from our correspondent in birch moor.
:05:28. > :05:32.The picture here in this village is mirrored across the country, as
:05:32. > :05:37.people try and work out exactly where the proposed route is going
:05:38. > :05:41.and the impact it will have on their lives. Here, the M42 motorway
:05:41. > :05:45.will move closer to the village during construction as a temporary
:05:46. > :05:50.measure. That is causing real concern. Plenty of people are
:05:50. > :05:54.looking at maps, trying to work out the impact on their lives. Let's
:05:54. > :05:59.bring in Angela who lives here. The Government is talking about the
:05:59. > :06:03.economic benefit of this, but here, there's a concern about the
:06:03. > :06:05.environmental cost. There is. The Government's economic benefits are
:06:05. > :06:09.far from certain really. The environmental cost and the
:06:09. > :06:13.community impact will be huge right up and down the line. Communities
:06:13. > :06:18.will be living with years and years of building work, uncertainty for
:06:18. > :06:22.families of any age, young people, older people. They may find
:06:22. > :06:26.themselves at a time they may want to move. This is something that
:06:26. > :06:32.will make problems for people. The environmental impacts are huge also
:06:32. > :06:36.in terms of land use, food security, water security and things like that.
:06:36. > :06:40.There are lots of things. Thank you very much. The concern
:06:40. > :06:44.here is although these plans will not come to fruition for many years,
:06:44. > :06:48.they will hang over the next generation.
:06:48. > :06:51.Thank you. We will cross to Westminster now and get some
:06:51. > :06:56.political reaction from our correspondent there. David Cameron
:06:56. > :07:00.talking about this second stage being an engine for growth. How
:07:00. > :07:04.quickly will any economic benefits be seen? It does in the short-term
:07:04. > :07:08.provide the Government with a handy shield to rebut all the criticism
:07:08. > :07:12.that they are not doing enough to kick-start the economy, not doing
:07:12. > :07:16.enough to invest in big infrastructure projects. Here they
:07:16. > :07:21.have a scheme which will create tens of thousands of jobs. It will
:07:21. > :07:26.regenerate the north, revitalise our transport system and rebalance
:07:26. > :07:30.the economy. The difficulty is it's a slow, slow train coming round the
:07:31. > :07:35.bend - meaning it won't happen any time soon. The first building work
:07:35. > :07:39.will not begin until 2017. It will not be completed until 2032, so the
:07:39. > :07:43.benefits to the economy are down the line. Critics would argue much
:07:43. > :07:48.better to spend the money now rather than getting capital
:07:48. > :07:52.projects up and running today. critics include the MPs who don't
:07:52. > :07:56.want the rail line going through their constituencies. Can they
:07:56. > :07:59.delay it further or stop it? sense is, when you look at the
:07:59. > :08:03.balance of forces, you have the Conservative Party broadly in
:08:03. > :08:07.favour, the Labour Party in favour, the Liberal Democrats in favour,
:08:07. > :08:09.the TUC in favour, most of the business community in favour. That
:08:09. > :08:16.small group of predominantly Conservative MPs are probably not
:08:16. > :08:20.going to be able to stop it. The key danger for the project maybe
:08:20. > :08:24.it's very long Geoffty. Who is to say a future Government may not
:08:24. > :08:28.decide it has different priorities, different spending commitments. Who
:08:28. > :08:34.is to say technology itself may not change so much that expanding train
:08:34. > :08:38.travel might not be seen as such a good idea in 20 years' time. Thank
:08:38. > :08:43.you. You can find more detail on the
:08:43. > :08:51.preferred route of phase two of that high-speed rail route, plus
:08:51. > :08:55.maps and background on the BBC News website.
:08:56. > :09:02.The Brazilian Government has declared three days of mourning for
:09:02. > :09:06.more than 230 people killed in a fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria.
:09:06. > :09:10.Most who died were university students. In the last few moments,
:09:10. > :09:16.police in Brazil have arrested one of the nightclub's owners and two
:09:16. > :09:21.members of the band who were playing when the fire broke out.
:09:21. > :09:24.Some of these coffins will be taken away for burial. For the families
:09:24. > :09:28.of the survivors of the terrible nightclub fire, pastors have come
:09:28. > :09:33.to help with the mourning process. Their last chance to say goodbye
:09:33. > :09:38.and the relatives stick closely together. TRANSLATION: I feel a lot
:09:38. > :09:42.of sadness because I lost my son in this tragedy. He was 27 years old.
:09:42. > :09:46.He was full of life and full of health. Families spent the night
:09:46. > :09:51.saying goodbye to their loved ones here in this make-shift morgue.
:09:51. > :09:56.These are painful moments for the whole city. Identifying the bodies
:09:56. > :10:02.was the first step and the process of mourning will continue.
:10:02. > :10:08.The Kiss nightclub was packed with party goer early Sunday morning.
:10:08. > :10:12.Officials say a flare set off by the band lit the blaze. Thick smoke
:10:12. > :10:15.filled the club and people rushed for the one exit open. Survivors
:10:15. > :10:19.remember the terror and desperation inside. I was dancing with my
:10:19. > :10:24.friends and the music stopped. My friend pushed me and started to
:10:24. > :10:28.shout, "Run, run." People were running and stepping on each other.
:10:29. > :10:33.The sense of shock only deepens here. Investigations into what went
:10:33. > :10:37.wrong are beginning to take shape. Questions remain about whether the
:10:37. > :10:41.club was up-to-date on fire safety measures. As the names of the
:10:41. > :10:45.victims are remembered, and the memorials co-ordinated,
:10:45. > :10:49.celebrations across Brazil marking the 500 days until the World Cup
:10:49. > :10:53.have been postponed. The negligence here in Santa Maria highlights
:10:53. > :11:00.concerns about Brazil's infrastructure as it prepares to
:11:00. > :11:04.host the world. Householders are to be offered
:11:04. > :11:08.long-term loans to help make their homes more energy efficient. The
:11:08. > :11:13.Government's green deal means insulation or other energy-saving
:11:13. > :11:16.improvements are covered by the loan which is repaid, with interest,
:11:16. > :11:20.through savings to energy bills. Campaigners warn it does not go far
:11:20. > :11:25.enough. We have some of the worst housing
:11:25. > :11:29.stock in Europe, which means we spend more than we need to heating
:11:29. > :11:33.our homes. The Government believes up to 14 million properties could
:11:33. > :11:37.benefit from energy-efficiency measures such as loft insulation.
:11:37. > :11:42.Now it has a big idea on how to make this happen. This is how the
:11:42. > :11:46.green deal works. First, your home is assessed to see if it would
:11:46. > :11:51.benefit from energy-efficiency improvements A green deal provider
:11:51. > :11:55.draws up a loan to pay for those improvements, but only if the plan
:11:55. > :12:00.meets the so-called golden rule, that the loan repayments are never
:12:00. > :12:04.more than the savings achieved on your Energy Bill. Everyone is going
:12:04. > :12:08.to be able to make sensible energy- efficiency improvements. Everything
:12:08. > :12:12.from a new heating system, boiler, heating, could even be a new front
:12:12. > :12:17.door and they will be able to pay for that through the savings they
:12:17. > :12:21.make. That gets attached to the Energy Bill at their home. Critics
:12:21. > :12:24.say the green deal is too complicated, that there's little
:12:24. > :12:29.awareness about this flagship policy. The loan stays with your
:12:29. > :12:34.property. Could that deter a future buyer? And you will pay interest on
:12:34. > :12:44.the loan too of around 8%. How do you know if that's really value for
:12:44. > :12:44.
:12:44. > :12:47.money? There are lots of ifs, buts and maybes. It may be complicated
:12:47. > :12:52.for people. It remains to be seen whether this scheme will take off,
:12:52. > :12:55.as the Government hopes. Some campaigners warn that the poorest
:12:55. > :12:58.households which need to cut their bills may not be credit-worthy
:12:58. > :13:03.enough to join the scheme. The Government insists that the
:13:03. > :13:09.majority of households will benefit and that the scheme will create
:13:09. > :13:13.thousands of jobs and help cut our carbon emissions too. The former
:13:13. > :13:19.Cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce will stand
:13:19. > :13:23.trial next Monday over claims she took speeding points for him so he
:13:23. > :13:27.could avoid prosecution. Remind us of what has happened today in this
:13:27. > :13:33.case? What happened this morning was that Chris Huhne was formally
:13:33. > :13:37.arraigned. That means the charge was put to him on a previous
:13:37. > :13:42.occasion his former wife has pleaded not guilty. This morning
:13:42. > :13:49.the charge was put to Chris Huhne. It was put to him that between 13th
:13:49. > :13:57.March, 2003 and 21st May, 2003, with spwebt to pervert the course
:13:57. > :14:00.of public -- intent to pervert the course of publish justice, he
:14:00. > :14:05.falsely informed the police that Vicky Pryce had been the driver of
:14:05. > :14:11.the car in question in order to avoid the penalty points. To that,
:14:11. > :14:15.Chris Huhne replied, "Not guilty." The trial of both Mr Huhne and Miss
:14:15. > :14:22.Price will take place at this court n a week's time, on Monday next
:14:22. > :14:26.week, the 4th February. Thank you. A dock master has described how he
:14:26. > :14:31.dived into freezing waters to rescue a six-month-old boy after
:14:31. > :14:36.his buggy was blown over the edge of a quay by strong winds. The baby,
:14:36. > :14:40.who was strapped in, was swept into the water as his mother walked
:14:40. > :14:45.along Watchet Harbour in Somerset. Let's join our correspondent. The
:14:45. > :14:50.tide is out now, but it was about halfway up that wall, the harbour
:14:50. > :14:55.wall, when this mother was pushing her baby in his buggy along the
:14:55. > :15:01.wall there. There was a freak gust of wind. The buggy was blown into
:15:01. > :15:06.the water. The baby was head first in that water up to 1 minutes. He
:15:06. > :15:16.survived. He is -- up to 10 minutes. He survived. He is doing well after
:15:16. > :15:19.
:15:19. > :15:26.Sam was blown into the harbour in his buggy and spent up to ten
:15:26. > :15:31.minutes under the cold muddy water. Response of everyone was pretty
:15:31. > :15:35.amazing. They don't get much better than that. Everyone is talking
:15:35. > :15:45.about a remarkable rescue, but that is one remarkable little boy. What
:15:45. > :15:51.is he like that son of yours? brilliant. This is the man they are
:15:51. > :15:54.calling a hero here. The dock master, when he heard Sam's mum
:15:54. > :16:01.screaming, the 63-year-old grandfather jumped straight into
:16:01. > :16:05.the water, 20 feet below. To start with, Sam was unresponsive, but
:16:05. > :16:10.after first-aid he suddenly showed signs of life. I saw a little bit
:16:10. > :16:16.of breath, a few bubbles and I thought he's all right. He is alive.
:16:16. > :16:21.Brilliant. A little miracle. Then I come out of the way. The coastguard
:16:22. > :16:25.were here and the ambulance. Everyone keeps saying you are a
:16:25. > :16:30.hero, it is everyone. The helicopter pilot, imagine, they
:16:30. > :16:35.landed a helicopter, and it is brilliant. Then that is over into
:16:35. > :16:39.the hospital, in a couple of minutes. It is brilliant. Everyone,
:16:39. > :16:45.everything gelled together. It is a good result, the little baby is
:16:45. > :16:51.doing fine, he is in hospital. Mum and dad are all right. Yeah, it is
:16:51. > :16:55.good news. It is something positive. A thank you hug from Sam's dad for
:16:55. > :16:59.another person who came to the rescue. The woman who gave his baby
:16:59. > :17:06.the kiss of life. I have never had to use it in real life, so it is,
:17:06. > :17:09.it is a bit of a shock when you do, but it kind, it comes naturally.
:17:09. > :17:16.Despite spending so long under water, little Sam is said to be
:17:16. > :17:20.doing well in hospital this afternoon. I tell you what it is
:17:20. > :17:24.still windy here, this lunchtime, it is wet, it is cold and miserable
:17:24. > :17:31.but I don't think there is a single person in this community who
:17:31. > :17:38.doesn't have a very big smile of relief upon their face. Thank you.
:17:38. > :17:41.Let us look at the time. Our top story. The proposed second stage of
:17:41. > :17:50.the high steed rail link is announced from Birmingham to
:17:50. > :17:56.Manchester and Leeds. And coming up, some history, generally the 28th, a
:17:56. > :18:01.novel was delivered to Jane Austen, we are of course celebrating here,
:18:01. > :18:05.there is an anniversary cake for it. The 200th anniversary of Pride and
:18:05. > :18:08.Prejudice. Later, the Metropolitan Police faces a potential legal
:18:08. > :18:13.challenge over the increasing number of Tasers in the hands of
:18:13. > :18:23.officers and is this a photograph or a drawing? We speak to the man
:18:23. > :18:28.
:18:28. > :18:32.Three months ago, Hurricane Sandy swept through the Caribbean, and up
:18:32. > :18:36.the east coast of America, leaving a trail of destruction, at least
:18:36. > :18:42.130 people were killed in the USA alone, as buildings were raised to
:18:42. > :18:45.the ground, streets and tunnels flooded and thousands forced frir
:18:45. > :18:53.homes. We have been back to New Jersey to see what progress, if any,
:18:53. > :18:57.has been made in rebuilding the homes and lives. This is autoly
:18:57. > :19:04.beach, and Connie with two friend have finally plucked up courage to
:19:04. > :19:09.come back to see what happened to her home, of 50 years. It is not
:19:09. > :19:13.praetty sight Come and stand here. Because it is terrible, isn't it.
:19:13. > :19:18.Yes. The front porch is gone. That is why the roof fell down, because
:19:18. > :19:22.the porch went. A lot of people had flood insurance. I didn't keep it,
:19:22. > :19:27.because you stay here this long, you never have a problem. So you
:19:27. > :19:35.weren't insured? No, not for a flood. I have home uners that
:19:35. > :19:40.doesn't pay, but I don't have flood. This is, it is like unbelievable. I
:19:40. > :19:44.have never been in a disaster like this. It is hard to find the words
:19:44. > :19:49.to debin to describe the scale of the destruction, round here. This
:19:49. > :19:54.house behind me is at an angle of almost 30 degrees up to the sky. It
:19:54. > :20:00.almost looks comic. This one has completely collapsed. If we just
:20:00. > :20:04.come round a bit, you will see that when the house collapsed, somehow,
:20:04. > :20:11.just here, there was an old army jeep, it has flipped over on its
:20:11. > :20:17.back, and it has come to rest underneath the house. The beach has
:20:17. > :20:22.7,000 homes, 7,000 were doorpbld destroyed. Three months on, this
:20:22. > :20:26.town is still closed to residents. I met the police chief, who took me
:20:26. > :20:31.on a tour. You and I go back to our bed at night. These people haven't
:20:31. > :20:37.been here in three months. Can we go down here, chief? So this was a
:20:37. > :20:44.road? Yes, this was a road. This is a private beach community, and
:20:44. > :20:49.every house will come down. A new - - and New Jersey won't be the same
:20:49. > :20:53.until families can return to these famous but broken and buckled rides.
:20:53. > :20:57.Can you put a cost on the loss? Well, you know, there they are
:20:57. > :21:02.still assessing that, it is going to be something in the tens of
:21:02. > :21:07.million, but there is no... Tens of millions just here? Yes, just here.
:21:07. > :21:11.Just here on this property. You know, it, very important for us to
:21:11. > :21:15.rebuild, and to have something going for the summer, as far as job,
:21:15. > :21:19.the economy and the life blood of the town for the summer season.
:21:19. > :21:22.the aim is this place should re- open for tourism at the end of May.
:21:23. > :21:32.But looking at what needs to be done, you would probably bet the
:21:32. > :21:36.seagulls will still have this beach to themselves. French-led troops in
:21:36. > :21:39.the western country of Mali have taken control of the airport,
:21:39. > :21:41.outside the city of Timbuktu as they continue their offensive
:21:41. > :21:48.against Islamist rebels. The militants are said to have started
:21:48. > :21:51.the flee the city itself, and reportedly set fire to a library.
:21:51. > :22:00.Meanwhile, African Union leaders are gathering in Ethiopia to
:22:00. > :22:04.discuss sending more troops to Mali. Pictures from the front line of the
:22:04. > :22:10.French-led advance across the desert last night to seize the
:22:10. > :22:15.airport, outside the fabled outpost of Timbuktu. French forces in the
:22:15. > :22:20.lead, with Malian troops with them. No resistance from the Islamist
:22:20. > :22:25.fighters, but they tworn look out for mines, and booby-traps.
:22:25. > :22:28.TRANSLATION: The minute can use any strategy to try and strike us. So
:22:28. > :22:35.we expect everything. We are trying to secure our presence as much as
:22:35. > :22:39.possible. By daylight, destruction wrought by the departing militants
:22:39. > :22:45.was visible. But with the airport secure, the next military objective
:22:45. > :22:51.is Timbuktu itself. The legendary City is an ancient trading post in
:22:51. > :22:56.the middle of the Sahara. When the Islamist rebels seized it last year,
:22:56. > :22:59.they demolished some of the ancient shrines and monuments which they
:22:59. > :23:03.considered unIslamic. Reports suggest they may have burned
:23:03. > :23:10.further buildings and manuscripts as they withdrew. But whether they
:23:10. > :23:15.have really melted away into the desert was still hidden in the
:23:15. > :23:20.city's Labyrinth of alleyways isn't clear. In already liberated towns
:23:20. > :23:25.further south in Mali residents are jubilant. This was Gao. Secured by
:23:25. > :23:30.French and Malian troops at the weekend. This was a province south
:23:30. > :23:37.of Timbuktu, where they are erasing the symbols of the Islamic rule,
:23:37. > :23:42.slogans on the walls and T-shirts. In the capital, refugees from
:23:42. > :23:46.Timbuktu are also celebrating, but they are worried about the longer
:23:46. > :23:51.term. Thousands more African troops are due to arrive soon, to help
:23:51. > :23:55.keep a grip on this fragile country, but securing towns is one thing,
:23:55. > :24:03.making sure that militants hiding in the desert no longer pose a
:24:03. > :24:06.threat will be much more difficult. It was a book that Jane Austen
:24:06. > :24:11.described as her own darling child. Now Pride and Prejudice is 200
:24:11. > :24:14.years old. The past decade has seen an explosion in sequels and spin-
:24:14. > :24:20.offs and the book itself still sells tens of thousands of copies
:24:20. > :24:27.every year in the UK alone. Our arts correspondent is at the
:24:27. > :24:33.author's last home in Chawton. Let me conjure a scene for you. Jane
:24:33. > :24:37.Austen is, Isabel is playing the role. 1813, she was sitting
:24:37. > :24:40.awaiting delivery of a book. This actually is her writing table,
:24:41. > :24:46.isn't it. And she was awaiting Pride and Prejudice. This was the
:24:46. > :24:54.beginning. Loved by readers across the world, inspired by that
:24:54. > :24:56.Cinderella story of Lizzie Bennett and Mr Darcy. It is a truth
:24:56. > :25:02.universally acknowledged that a single pan in possession of a good
:25:02. > :25:10.fortune must be in want of a wife. From the first words you know you
:25:10. > :25:15.are in the company of a woman of wit. And the music, the clothes,
:25:15. > :25:19.and the cake were a sell wration today, of Jane Austen's best-loved
:25:19. > :25:23.novel, Pride and Prejudice. 200 years ago, the first copy was
:25:23. > :25:29.delivered here, and to mark the anniversary other novelists have
:25:29. > :25:33.been reworking the plots of Jane Austen to honour this great of
:25:33. > :25:36.English literature. It is a much greater novel than the film
:25:36. > :25:40.versions have allowed it to be. They are delightful. There is no
:25:40. > :25:46.question about it. They have been lovely. All of them, in various
:25:46. > :25:54.ways, but they haven't quite done the novel justice, because it is a
:25:54. > :25:58.much bigger, deeper, more serious, more important novel than the movie
:25:58. > :26:03.versions have allowed it to be. This is jaust's own writing table.
:26:03. > :26:09.It began here, she took delivery of pridge prij 200 years ago. And it
:26:09. > :26:13.has inspired not just readers, but writers. Dozens have had that go
:26:13. > :26:22.themselves, with Lizzie Ben nit and of course Mr Darcy. -- Pride and
:26:22. > :26:30.By why Pride and Prejudice in particular? One writer has written
:26:30. > :26:35.a book using the couple feels its appeal is a fantasy with deep roots.
:26:35. > :26:39.Mr Darcy! I suppose it is because it is such a happy book. It is a
:26:39. > :26:45.love story perfectly told. There is a perfection about Pride and
:26:45. > :26:51.Prejudice. Of course, the plot is iconic. This is, of course, the
:26:51. > :26:55.Cinderella story and a story that must go right back to the
:26:55. > :27:02.beginnings of story telling, which has had a powerful hold on the
:27:02. > :27:08.human imagination. And so 200 years on the house where Jane Austen
:27:08. > :27:14.lived is once again abuzz with excitement that can only be
:27:14. > :27:21.provoked by the likes of MIss Benn nit and Mr Darcy. And one of the
:27:21. > :27:27.inspirations that took that on was Lost in Austen a series that cast
:27:27. > :27:30.je mime ma who had to go back to the time of Pride and Prejudice and
:27:30. > :27:36.caused havoc. You have experienced a little bit of the idea of then
:27:36. > :27:39.and now, I mean, what was it like? I mean you are wearing the outfit,
:27:39. > :27:44.do you find yourself yearning to go back? I think everyone when they
:27:44. > :27:49.read it, which is part of the reason it is so popular, we look
:27:49. > :27:54.wistfully and romanticly at the life then, the slow pace and men
:27:54. > :27:58.are polite, and, but the reality of that is very different. As a woman
:27:58. > :28:03.my character discovered of course you have no choice there, marriage,
:28:03. > :28:09.if you didn't make a good marriage, you were in a lot of trouble.
:28:09. > :28:14.was destitution. Yes. But wearing the outfit, do you think any of
:28:14. > :28:18.that elegance came off? I don't think it did in my case! I tried. I
:28:18. > :28:23.did find that I realised exactly how poorly I held myself, as soon
:28:23. > :28:27.as I put the costumes on. I had terrible backache, my headless
:28:27. > :28:31.friend is very elegant. They are good for posture. They are. That is
:28:31. > :28:38.one thing to take away from it. You have to remember this is where the
:28:38. > :28:42.first reading took place, miss Ben was being read to but she had no
:28:42. > :28:46.idea Jane Austen was the author. She kept it a secret. Thank you.
:28:46. > :28:49.Let us get a look at the weather. It was snow last week. Looks like
:28:49. > :28:52.It was snow last week. Looks like it is rain for this week. All we
:28:52. > :28:55.have done is swap one set of problems for another. You are right.
:28:55. > :28:59.The weather has changed. Problems all the same. Last week it was snow,
:28:59. > :29:03.it was cold, temperatures have come up. They will stay higher than last
:29:03. > :29:07.week throughout this week, but it is rain, strong wind, the winds are
:29:07. > :29:11.going to cause problems, but it is the rain causing the flooding. 47
:29:11. > :29:15.flood warnings in force, that number may well go up. Another area
:29:15. > :29:19.of rain has been moving in from the west so far today, that later will
:29:19. > :29:25.reach those parts in the east that have stayed dry. It is not just
:29:25. > :29:30.rain w the arrows here, the strong wind, gusting to 50mph or so,
:29:30. > :29:35.exposed coast on the south and west. In Northern Ireland the really
:29:35. > :29:42.heavy bursts are going to ease. The rain will track North East wards in
:29:42. > :29:46.Scotland. Some particularly heavy bursts of rain affecting northern
:29:46. > :29:49.England and North Wales so that rain will get to North East England
:29:49. > :29:54.and patchy outbreaks in parts of the midland, East Anglia and the
:29:54. > :30:00.south-east, but it will be more persistent this evening. The gusty
:30:00. > :30:05.wind on the south coast and further outbreaks of rain. Here those
:30:05. > :30:10.south-west facing hills, we are most concerned about the flood risk
:30:10. > :30:14.as the rainfall totals will mount. Tonight, the rain will clear away
:30:14. > :30:19.for manyen, you will notice to the south the rain stays with us. And
:30:19. > :30:25.it goes north later in the night. Still pretty breezy, mild though,
:30:25. > :30:28.although wet toward southern areas. Still maybe a touch of frost in the
:30:28. > :30:34.far North East. It takes us on to tomorrow and we do it all again.
:30:34. > :30:39.That means more rain spilling north and east, with strong wind. The
:30:39. > :30:44.triangles here ind caught an amber warning for some places, where we
:30:44. > :30:49.are concerned about rainfall totals. We could see 50 millimetres or so
:30:50. > :30:55.in the worst affected areas. Particularly mild for some of us,
:30:55. > :30:59.round 13 or 14 grease. How the weather feels will pale into
:30:59. > :31:05.comparison if you have flood problems. Now on Tuesday night,
:31:05. > :31:14.while it is still raining for some, the concern further north switches
:31:14. > :31:18.to wind as low pressure tracks to Scotland -- Scotland. It could
:31:18. > :31:22.cause travel problems. Blustery for the rest of the week. Maybe more
:31:22. > :31:27.rain in the south on Friday. More details on line. Different weather,
:31:27. > :31:31.different problem, but problems all the same. Thank you. Now let us
:31:31. > :31:36.bring you a reminder of the top story before we go. The proposed