Browse content similar to 23/12/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Welcome to BBC Points West with Sabet Choudhury and Alex Lovell Our | :00:07. | :00:11. | |
main story tonight ` putting the brakes on the christmas getaway | :00:12. | :00:15. | |
Delays on the roads and disruption across the West. Problems on the | :00:16. | :00:18. | |
railways and planes as well ` as heavy rain and strong winds batter | :00:19. | :00:22. | |
the region. We'll bring you the latest on the bad weather. Fears of | :00:23. | :00:34. | |
flooding and grow. Also on tonight's programme: The growing number of | :00:35. | :00:42. | |
cannabis farms in the West. Why is this region such a hotspot? The | :00:43. | :00:45. | |
Bristol pensioner conned out of thousands of pounds by a friend But | :00:46. | :00:48. | |
rescued by the kindness of strangers. And not left to be lonely | :00:49. | :00:52. | |
this Christmas, the Somerset seven year old inviting everyone to help | :00:53. | :01:01. | |
the elderly. I think that every child should have an elderly friend. | :01:02. | :01:11. | |
Good evening. Strong winds and heavy rain are disrupting thousands of | :01:12. | :01:14. | |
people's holiday plans tonight, on one of the busiest travel days of | :01:15. | :01:21. | |
the year. As people try to get home for Christmas, rail passengers have | :01:22. | :01:24. | |
faced long delays and standing water is making driving treacherous. 00 | :01:25. | :01:27. | |
people in Somerset are also without power. Alice Bouverie reports. We | :01:28. | :01:41. | |
are sorry to announce... The Christmas getaway is turning into a | :01:42. | :01:46. | |
Christmas delay`away. About half the trains we saw at Bristol Temple | :01:47. | :01:49. | |
Meads this afternoon were late. It's been a frustrating time for people | :01:50. | :01:59. | |
travelling. Awful! Absolutely awful. I have got to get back to | :02:00. | :02:02. | |
Nottingham, and I have mist my connections. So, I have to get to | :02:03. | :02:09. | |
Birmingham to find a way home. We might be here for a while and it | :02:10. | :02:13. | |
looks like my train has disappeared off the list, and I do not know | :02:14. | :02:17. | |
where it is gone. It is frustrating but it is Christmas so we put up | :02:18. | :02:21. | |
with it. It's mainly because of the winds. They're gusting up to 70 | :02:22. | :02:25. | |
miles an hour which means Network Rail has imposed speed restrictions | :02:26. | :02:28. | |
on trains. The railway line near Taunton was briefly closed because | :02:29. | :02:31. | |
of flooding. And from five o'clock this evening First Great Western | :02:32. | :02:34. | |
reduced services to and from London to one an hour. We are really lucky | :02:35. | :02:42. | |
because this day, in most years it is the most busiest in the year | :02:43. | :02:48. | |
Because of where Christmas falls this year, most people have | :02:49. | :02:51. | |
travelled at the weekend. The trains are certainly still busy. Taking the | :02:52. | :02:57. | |
car rather than the train has been little easier. There's standing | :02:58. | :03:01. | |
water on many roads as the drains struggle to cope. The rain even | :03:02. | :03:04. | |
forced the closure of one lane of the M5 between Taunton and | :03:05. | :03:07. | |
Wellington for a while. Planes have been affected too. At Bristol | :03:08. | :03:10. | |
Airport, ten flights have been cancelled and another nine diverted. | :03:11. | :03:17. | |
The emergency services across the West have been at full stretch | :03:18. | :03:19. | |
throughout the day. Gloucestershire police had 350 phone calls this | :03:20. | :03:23. | |
morning due to incidents related to the weather. Somerset fire and | :03:24. | :03:27. | |
rescue had 60 calls, including one to Bridgwater, where a roof had | :03:28. | :03:33. | |
become unsafe. Elsewhere in the county, trees were brought down | :03:34. | :03:36. | |
trees, blocking roads. The storm is now moving north. But river levels | :03:37. | :03:40. | |
are rising. And tonight, there are several flood warnings in place | :03:41. | :03:48. | |
Well, the bad weather has meant there have been problems on the | :03:49. | :03:50. | |
roads with some difficult driving conditions. Sarah Rice from the RAC | :03:51. | :03:57. | |
joins us from their tower on the motorway interchange at Almondsbury. | :03:58. | :04:00. | |
Sarah, how bad have things been today? You are absolutely right it | :04:01. | :04:10. | |
is incredibly difficult and challenging conditions still. This | :04:11. | :04:17. | |
morning, we saw the worst of it with strong winds. Having said that, | :04:18. | :04:27. | |
motorists have coped admirably well. We have seen a little less traffic | :04:28. | :04:32. | |
on the roads as people replan their journeys. People are heeding the | :04:33. | :04:38. | |
driving advice that is given, planning routes and giving | :04:39. | :04:42. | |
themselves lots of times, as well as adjusting their driving for the | :04:43. | :04:48. | |
weather. Are you bracing yourself for tomorrow? We are expecting to | :04:49. | :04:54. | |
see more traffic on the roads tomorrow. I think the better weather | :04:55. | :05:00. | |
conditions that are forecast will benefit motorists. People will, | :05:01. | :05:06. | |
clearly, still be getting their last`minute Christmas shopping and | :05:07. | :05:12. | |
going to see family and friends but we are seeing little `` fewer | :05:13. | :05:26. | |
incidents on the roads. Clearly it's been a very difficult day for | :05:27. | :05:30. | |
many people. Jemma ` It seems to have been raining constantly since | :05:31. | :05:36. | |
this morning. Indeed. It was a strong high`pressure system from the | :05:37. | :05:40. | |
Atlantic. If we take a look at the radar picture that came in from 7am | :05:41. | :05:44. | |
this morning, you can see fragments of the system but as the day | :05:45. | :05:49. | |
progressed, the flashes of colour their, they indicate the heavy | :05:50. | :05:55. | |
bursts. There was a respite around 5pm, but for the bulk of the day, it | :05:56. | :06:00. | |
was really coming down. There is that fragmentation at the end of the | :06:01. | :06:04. | |
day but do not be fooled, there is more to come tonight. It has been an | :06:05. | :06:10. | |
unusually deep low. There is still more to come. It has been | :06:11. | :06:15. | |
torrential. We will hear from you later. It's been revealed that | :06:16. | :06:20. | |
police in the West have found almost two cannabis farms every day in the | :06:21. | :06:23. | |
last four years. The highest number was found in the Avon and Somerset | :06:24. | :06:27. | |
police area. It's a hotspot and the force ranks as one of the top five | :06:28. | :06:31. | |
in the country for the number found. Dickon Hooper reports. There are | :06:32. | :06:38. | |
five rooms in total... In a quiet house in a normal Bristol street, | :06:39. | :06:42. | |
this is what police found. More than a thousand cannabis plants ` big | :06:43. | :06:49. | |
business for those involved. This is major organised crime and they are | :06:50. | :07:00. | |
doing this. We have recovered this from the house, and that does not | :07:01. | :07:03. | |
include what they have already produced and sold on, which is two | :07:04. | :07:09. | |
or three crops. Anyone growing more than 25 plants faces up to five | :07:10. | :07:12. | |
years in prison. And the force here has a dedicated team targeting the | :07:13. | :07:16. | |
farms. In the last four years they've raided almost two and a half | :07:17. | :07:19. | |
thousand ` in Gloucestershire just a few hundred, with a focus on the | :07:20. | :07:24. | |
Forest of Dean. In Wiltshire, police say cannabis production is not a | :07:25. | :07:27. | |
major issue or a priority ` reflected in the number of raids. | :07:28. | :07:32. | |
say cannabis production is not a major issue or a priority For some | :07:33. | :07:34. | |
though, this is all just sound and fury. | :07:35. | :07:35. | |
major issue or a priority For some though, this Police resources they | :07:36. | :07:38. | |
say, could be better used with a different approach altogether. We | :07:39. | :07:47. | |
have done the same with heroin and cocaine. It is a demand led | :07:48. | :07:57. | |
commodity markets, and that is given away to organise criminals. The | :07:58. | :08:01. | |
obvious solution is to bring it under the control of the government. | :08:02. | :08:06. | |
At Police know dismantling these farms is just a short`term solution. | :08:07. | :08:09. | |
But their number is increasing and cannabis the most widely used | :08:10. | :08:12. | |
illegal drug. So targeting its production remains a priority. | :08:13. | :08:26. | |
There's been a huge Christmas present for campaigners trying to | :08:27. | :08:28. | |
re`open an arts centre in Gloucestershire. A mystery person | :08:29. | :08:31. | |
has come forward with what's being described as a hugely generous | :08:32. | :08:34. | |
donation in excess of at least half a million pounds. The Axiom closed | :08:35. | :08:38. | |
13 years ago and was put on the market earlier this year. Here's our | :08:39. | :08:41. | |
Gloucestershire reporter, Steve Knibbs. What was a Corn Merchant in | :08:42. | :08:51. | |
1899 became the Axiom Arts Centre in the 1980's. But it closed in 20 0 | :08:52. | :08:54. | |
following a police fraud investigation. Now, two local | :08:55. | :08:56. | |
benefactors, who were Axiom customers, say they'll buy it for | :08:57. | :09:10. | |
campaigners. We have been realistic about what needs to be done to | :09:11. | :09:14. | |
sustain a building like this in the current economic climate. The first | :09:15. | :09:20. | |
thing that gets cut is arts, music and culture when it comes to | :09:21. | :09:25. | |
government spending. We are aware of that and the success will lie with | :09:26. | :09:29. | |
people who have supported the project. As these recent photos from | :09:30. | :09:34. | |
inside show, there is a lot of work to do, as John Redfearn knows. He | :09:35. | :09:37. | |
reopened the Axiom 20 years ago You have two have strong aims, strong | :09:38. | :09:41. | |
vision and strong leadership, as well as control of the various fact | :09:42. | :09:45. | |
is that are involved in the structure of the arts centre. You | :09:46. | :09:50. | |
have lots of departments, including the theatre, the workshops, and the | :09:51. | :09:57. | |
cinema. The council sold the Axiom in 2000 because it wasn't | :09:58. | :09:59. | |
commercially viable. The chief executive welcomes today's news but | :10:00. | :10:02. | |
warns the risks of making the Axiom sustainable haven't gone away. Will | :10:03. | :10:11. | |
The Axiom be able to make a profit? Obviously, the council found it | :10:12. | :10:15. | |
difficult and that is why we closed it 13 years ago. Maybe things have | :10:16. | :10:20. | |
changed, I do not know. The benefactors will need deep pockets. | :10:21. | :10:26. | |
I understand the asking price is ?500,000. Add to that, the cost of | :10:27. | :10:32. | |
refurbishment and restoration. This could be an early Christmas present | :10:33. | :10:39. | |
for those who have campaigned to see The Axiom reopen in the town. | :10:40. | :10:45. | |
There're just two sleeps to go now till the big day! And to get you in | :10:46. | :10:49. | |
the festive spirit, we've got some very special Christmas music. | :10:50. | :10:59. | |
# It is the most wonderful time of the year! | :11:00. | :11:16. | |
# It is the most wonderful time of the year! | :11:17. | :11:28. | |
# It is the happiest season of all. # With holiday greetings and happy | :11:29. | :11:39. | |
meetings, it is the happiest season of all! You will have to wait for | :11:40. | :11:52. | |
the rest of that but it is gorgeous, is it not? Amazing. Christmas was | :11:53. | :11:57. | |
looking bleak for a Bristol pensioner, who was defrauded by a | :11:58. | :12:01. | |
trusted friend. But now his faith in human nature has been restored after | :12:02. | :12:04. | |
neighbours rallied round and dropped off a Christmas card ` containing | :12:05. | :12:09. | |
?100,000. Zoe Gough reports. Norman Cornish says he's always happy to | :12:10. | :12:12. | |
help a friend. But when his life`savings of ?6,000 were taken by | :12:13. | :12:15. | |
a neighbour, he says he lost all trust in others. Karen Whittaker | :12:16. | :12:22. | |
offered to help Norman with his shopping after his wife died. It was | :12:23. | :12:29. | |
only when his bank got in touch he realised she was helping herself to | :12:30. | :12:40. | |
his cash. She cleared my bank out. Even the overdraft was gone as well, | :12:41. | :12:50. | |
?500. Norman is well known in his Henbury street and his neighbours | :12:51. | :12:53. | |
regularly drop by. But one visitor gave him quite a shock when she left | :12:54. | :13:05. | |
a Christmas card filled with ?1 000. It restored his confidence in people | :13:06. | :13:14. | |
and respect for people. That is all Norman has ever done. He has always | :13:15. | :13:18. | |
thought of other people and he is very friendly, we love him to bits. | :13:19. | :13:22. | |
The card gave little clue as to the identity of those responsible. But | :13:23. | :13:25. | |
Norman would like to thank each and every one of them for transforming | :13:26. | :13:30. | |
his Christmas. I feel a lot better now. I am going to enjoy Christmas. | :13:31. | :13:40. | |
I will have a few drinks with my son. Although Karen Whittaker | :13:41. | :13:44. | |
admitted her crime in court, Norman says she has yet to apologise. | :13:45. | :13:47. | |
Thanks to the kindness of his other neighbours, his trust is being | :13:48. | :13:58. | |
slowly rebuilt. It is, according to the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, a | :13:59. | :14:01. | |
source of "national shame". He was talking about the hundreds of | :14:02. | :14:04. | |
thousands of people in England who say they are chronically lonely ` | :14:05. | :14:07. | |
something which is felt even more keenly at Christmas. Well, it was | :14:08. | :14:12. | |
hearing that story which spurred on one seven year old from Somerset to | :14:13. | :14:15. | |
get a letter published in her local paper, a letter which led to a whole | :14:16. | :14:19. | |
new friendship. Sarah`Jane Bungay takes up the story. Hello! It is the | :14:20. | :14:31. | |
warmest of welcomes. But Sonya and the Rowntree family have only known | :14:32. | :14:38. | |
each other a couple of months.. It began when seven year old Lana saw a | :14:39. | :14:43. | |
news report on lonlieness. Soon pen was put to paper. She said she had a | :14:44. | :14:54. | |
happy family and did any old people want to be her friend, she said I | :14:55. | :15:01. | |
was very moved. This was a girl and her family where, basically, they | :15:02. | :15:07. | |
were interested in someone like me, who was elderly, and yes, elderly at | :15:08. | :15:14. | |
times. Now there is a friendship which embraces the 66 year age gap. | :15:15. | :15:26. | |
I think every child should have an elderly friend. She is like a really | :15:27. | :15:35. | |
nice, gentle lady. She likes it because I come round and I am a bit | :15:36. | :15:41. | |
younger. In Yatton, Sonya isn't facing a lonely 2014. Instead it'll | :15:42. | :15:46. | |
be one filled with making new memories with new friends. Although | :15:47. | :15:51. | |
I have not got children, I love it. I love the noise and I love the fact | :15:52. | :15:57. | |
we have great fun, and I do feel that the family I have met, | :15:58. | :16:06. | |
certainly, have made my life richer. She should be very proud of herself, | :16:07. | :16:12. | |
that is lovely. Lovely. While many of us are looking forward to a bit | :16:13. | :16:16. | |
of time off over Christmas, the region's footballers are getting | :16:17. | :16:18. | |
busier. Alistair Durden and Geoff Twentyman are going to have a look | :16:19. | :16:22. | |
at the fixtures for us. Ali is outside the Radio Bristol studios | :16:23. | :16:30. | |
right now. We are here at BBC Radio Bristol. Jeff is doing his show at | :16:31. | :16:34. | |
the moment. Good evening, Jeff. Thank you for having us. It is great | :16:35. | :16:42. | |
to have you. Christmas is a big`time for footballers. Discipline and self | :16:43. | :16:48. | |
control. Yes, you have to forget what is going on around you. It is | :16:49. | :16:52. | |
quite difficult with the family eating and drinking around you. They | :16:53. | :16:58. | |
do not want sympathy, though. They have got to be totally professional. | :16:59. | :17:02. | |
We are going to have a look at our teams. Yeovil. Where are their | :17:03. | :17:13. | |
points coming from over Christmas? They won 3`0 recently at Watford. | :17:14. | :17:17. | |
Their manager is a motivator and they can get a result. They will get | :17:18. | :17:26. | |
something over Christmas. Swindon's home form is keeping them in the | :17:27. | :17:36. | |
League One playoff hunt. Eight winds from 11 at the County Ground. | :17:37. | :17:39. | |
Another good one on Saturday against Coventry, but they're finding it | :17:40. | :17:45. | |
tough away. Tough games away at Brentford and Bradford as well. It | :17:46. | :17:48. | |
is symptomatic of having a young side. They need a better mindset. | :17:49. | :17:57. | |
That is some trouble that they need to sort out. Bristol City won't be | :17:58. | :18:02. | |
sorry to see the back of 2013, looking at their Christmas fixtures | :18:03. | :18:06. | |
they've got to take advantage of two home games. I am not great on | :18:07. | :18:23. | |
statistics but in 2013, Bristol City 17 league matches. That tells you | :18:24. | :18:26. | |
what it is all about. Things must improve. Two home games give them | :18:27. | :18:32. | |
the chance to do so. Great for Louis Carey to equal the club's appearance | :18:33. | :18:36. | |
record on Saturday. Today he was putting in another appearance, | :18:37. | :18:38. | |
playing Santa on the children's ward at Frenchay hospital. In this | :18:39. | :18:42. | |
situation, does he have a bigger role to play now, do you think? | :18:43. | :18:51. | |
Absolutely. He is still fit. He has not played many games lately. He | :18:52. | :18:56. | |
still has the fitness and extra energy in his tanks so I think he | :18:57. | :19:01. | |
will play a significant part. It depends what Steve Cotterell does in | :19:02. | :19:11. | |
the January window. 646 will be the magic number, the new record. | :19:12. | :19:15. | |
Celebrations, at the moment, are on hold. Four years in charge for Mark | :19:16. | :19:31. | |
Yates ` impressive how he keeps rebuilding that team. They're | :19:32. | :19:33. | |
heading into their Christmas fixtures on a ten match unbeaten | :19:34. | :19:36. | |
run, an impressive win at Fleetwood at the weekend ` one of the | :19:37. | :19:39. | |
promotion favourites. I have a soft spot for Cheltenham. Historically, | :19:40. | :19:42. | |
they have always been near the top, and they have not made it. I sense | :19:43. | :19:46. | |
that they could be getting it on schedule. Bristol Rovers? Picking | :19:47. | :19:56. | |
up? John Ward was brave. Great stuff, thank you for having us here. | :19:57. | :20:01. | |
All the football will be covered on local radio over the festive period. | :20:02. | :20:10. | |
Thank you. Now, I don't know how many people you'll have round for | :20:11. | :20:14. | |
Christmas dinner or how big your turkey will be. But spare a thought | :20:15. | :20:21. | |
for Anita Simmons who'll be cooking a 42 pound bird. The biggest family | :20:22. | :20:25. | |
turkey dinner in the Points West area? Well maybe..... Clinton Rogers | :20:26. | :20:31. | |
has been along to the family's home in Kingston Seymour in North | :20:32. | :20:34. | |
Somerset to see how preparations are going. Now that is one fact words, | :20:35. | :20:44. | |
but it has a lot of mouths to feed. `` big bird. A ?42 turkey will take | :20:45. | :20:53. | |
at least ten and a half hours to cook. Will that fit in the oven I | :20:54. | :21:01. | |
have no idea! I have not thought about it! What will you do if it | :21:02. | :21:10. | |
does not? Well, I suppose... We could have a barbecue! Somehow, I do | :21:11. | :21:16. | |
not think it will be barbecue weather. They are already preparing | :21:17. | :21:25. | |
the vegetables. Half a hundredweight of potatoes, about 50 carats and | :21:26. | :21:29. | |
more brussels than you can count. Enough to make a young girl cry | :21:30. | :21:35. | |
There will be for generations of the family and a few friends around the | :21:36. | :21:40. | |
table on Christmas Day. For this great grandmother, this one is easy. | :21:41. | :21:47. | |
Olive, who is 84, cooked in her own home for pensioners in the village. | :21:48. | :21:54. | |
I have got a table that sits 20 You do that in your own home? Yes. In | :21:55. | :22:01. | |
honour of this story, I wore this tide. However, Anita pointed out | :22:02. | :22:09. | |
that I am wearing geese! It is the thought that counts. Here it is 42 | :22:10. | :22:17. | |
pounds. It is the biggest Christmas turkey in the Points West area. . | :22:18. | :22:26. | |
LSU no differently. `` unless. I am watching the e`mails carefully. Now | :22:27. | :22:34. | |
let's get the weather. Thank you. What a way to kick off the Christmas | :22:35. | :22:39. | |
week. A deep area of low pressure from the Atlantic. It has spread in | :22:40. | :22:44. | |
and it will spread in over the rest of the night. It clears away | :22:45. | :22:48. | |
tomorrow, and the Christmas period is relatively settled until the end | :22:49. | :22:54. | |
of the week when we do it all again. This is the radar picture from this | :22:55. | :23:01. | |
morning. Some strong winds, touching 60 mph in much of the region. | :23:02. | :23:07. | |
Weather warning still in force for the wind and rain. The winds have | :23:08. | :23:15. | |
almost touch 60 mph in our patch. `` touched 60 mph. Tomorrow morning | :23:16. | :23:23. | |
could be problematic but things calm down for Christmas Eve. Some heavy | :23:24. | :23:28. | |
showers to follow but Atacama picture than Monday's story. `` a | :23:29. | :23:37. | |
calmer picture. Another half an inch of rain tomorrow and we could see | :23:38. | :23:42. | |
trees down. 20 of standing water and spray to take is into Christmas eve | :23:43. | :23:48. | |
morning. Christmas Eve is brighter after that. Heavy and blustery | :23:49. | :23:51. | |
showers, some wintry on certain levels. In between that, we see | :23:52. | :24:01. | |
bright and sunny weather. Under heavy showers, we see further | :24:02. | :24:06. | |
saturation. Chillier tomorrow with temperatures between six and eight | :24:07. | :24:10. | |
Celsius. A bit of a breeze and it feels more wintry. Tomorrow night, | :24:11. | :24:15. | |
those showers persist. Wintry weather on higher ground. Christmas | :24:16. | :24:20. | |
Day, and Boxing Day, broadly similar to Christmas eve. Dry and bright, | :24:21. | :24:29. | |
showers persisting. On Friday. Wet weather comes back with another low | :24:30. | :24:34. | |
from the South West. We end the week where we started. The Christmas week | :24:35. | :24:46. | |
should be more settled. Thank you. Now time for today's Advent | :24:47. | :24:55. | |
calendar. Thank you to Charles Kinsey who sent us this stunning | :24:56. | :24:58. | |
image of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. A big thank you to him, and | :24:59. | :25:02. | |
everyone else who's taken the time to send in these wonderful winter | :25:03. | :25:05. | |
scenes. Well, that's about it from us on our last long programme until | :25:06. | :25:09. | |
January second. Of course we'll have bulletins between now and then. And | :25:10. | :25:12. | |
listen to your local radio station for all the latest on the weather | :25:13. | :25:16. | |
over the next few days. But now as promised, we leave you with some | :25:17. | :25:20. | |
special festive music from the Great Western Chorus. They're a Barber | :25:21. | :25:26. | |
Shop choir featuring more than 0 unaccompanied male voices ` and | :25:27. | :25:29. | |
they've won the British Association of Barbershop Singers' Championships | :25:30. | :25:31. | |
a record eight times. Have a very Happy Christmas. | :25:32. | :25:34. | |
a record eight times. Have a very # Bells are ringing, children are | :25:35. | :25:39. | |
singing. # Christmas time is here. | :25:40. | :25:52. | |
# Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas. | :25:53. | :26:15. | |
# Let your heart be like. # From now on, our troubles will be | :26:16. | :26:19. | |
out of sight. # Have yourself a Merry Little | :26:20. | :26:22. | |
Christmas. # Make the Yuletide Gay. | :26:23. | :26:31. | |
# From now on, our troubles will be miles away. | :26:32. | :26:38. | |
# Here we are as in olden days. # Happy golden days of yore. | :26:39. | :26:44. | |
# Faithful friends who are dear to us. | :26:45. | :26:48. | |
# Gather near to us once more. # From now on, we all will be | :26:49. | :27:07. | |
together. # If the fates allow, Hank is | :27:08. | :27:16. | |
shining star upon the highest Bal. # And have yourself a Merry Little | :27:17. | :27:22. | |
Christmas now. | :27:23. | :27:36. |