Browse content similar to 29/08/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Good evening and welcome to Wales Today, live from the Olympic Park. | :00:04. | :00:07. | |
The start of the Paralympic Games is just hours away. They've trained | :00:07. | :00:12. | |
for years and now it's time to compete. As many fulfill a dream to | :00:12. | :00:16. | |
be here, there's been a cash boost hoping to ensure success for years | :00:16. | :00:26. | |
:00:26. | :00:29. | ||
to come. It is a dream come true. If you aspire to something and it | :00:29. | :00:31. | |
specifically happens in your own country, that is something most | :00:32. | :00:35. | |
athletes never get to experience. Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, who won | :00:35. | :00:38. | |
11 gold medals, helps carry the flame on its final journey to the | :00:38. | :00:46. | |
Olympic Park. Four years ago, Welsh athletes won 14 medals for the | :00:46. | :00:51. | |
British team. 10 of them were gold. But can they win more this time | :00:51. | :01:01. | |
:01:01. | :01:05. | ||
Good evening. Also tonight: Protests to save the special care | :01:05. | :01:08. | |
baby unit at Withybush Hospital. A consultant warns closure could | :01:08. | :01:12. | |
spell the end of the children's ward too. | :01:13. | :01:15. | |
And this video shows Phoebe's terrible pain as her joints | :01:15. | :01:25. | |
:01:25. | :01:26. | ||
dislocate. Now, her fight for Good evening and welcome to Wales | :01:26. | :01:32. | |
Today, live from the Olympic Park. Just a few weeks ago, British | :01:32. | :01:37. | |
Olympians celebrated their best ever Games here. But there are new | :01:37. | :01:42. | |
residents in the park tonight. It's the turn of our Paralympic athletes | :01:42. | :01:47. | |
to take centre stage. The opening ceremony is just two hours away and | :01:47. | :01:57. | |
:01:57. | :02:03. | ||
tomorrow, 11 days of sporting action will get underway. There are | :02:03. | :02:06. | |
38 Welsh members of the British Team and there are high | :02:06. | :02:16. | |
expectations. In Beijing, Welsh athletes won 14 medals, 10 of them | :02:16. | :02:18. | |
gold. Today, there was an announcement of an extra �20,000 a | :02:19. | :02:25. | |
year to help disability sports across Wales. Tomos Dafydd reports. | :02:25. | :02:29. | |
The flame on its final journey. 11 time gold medalist, Baroness Tanni | :02:29. | :02:38. | |
Grey-Thompson had the honour of carrying it in Central London. | :02:38. | :02:42. | |
signals the start of the games and it's important for the athletes to | :02:42. | :02:45. | |
know that the flame is coming closer and closer. A lot of the | :02:45. | :02:49. | |
athletes want to get on with it now and start competing but the | :02:49. | :02:53. | |
ceremony and everything leading up to it is an important part of the | :02:53. | :03:00. | |
excitement. At the park, organisers say they're ready. The Olympic | :03:00. | :03:08. | |
rings are gone, replaced by the agitos, the Paralympic symbol. | :03:08. | :03:11. | |
There have been rehearsing for the opening ceremony all week but soon | :03:11. | :03:16. | |
it will be time for the athletes to take centre stage and they can | :03:16. | :03:21. | |
expect great support with more than 2.5 million tickets sold so far. | :03:21. | :03:24. | |
But that shouldn't phase this woman. For sprinter Tracey Hinton, who's | :03:24. | :03:27. | |
blind, it's her sixth Games. 20 years after her debut appearance in | :03:27. | :03:35. | |
Barcelona, she's been named the women's athletics captain. I won | :03:35. | :03:41. | |
two silvers and a bronze there and in 2000 in Sydney I won two bronze | :03:41. | :03:46. | |
and silver. I did really well and I also have European and world medals | :03:46. | :03:52. | |
as well. And hopes for this time around? Hopefully a medal. I don't | :03:52. | :03:56. | |
know what colour yet but I will do my best. But getting on to the | :03:56. | :03:59. | |
podium takes hours of training and a lot of money and the cash | :03:59. | :04:02. | |
available to nurture talent has increased massively over the last | :04:02. | :04:05. | |
14 years. In 1998, the body charged with developing disabled athletes | :04:05. | :04:10. | |
in Wales had a budget of just �30,000. Fast forward 10 years to | :04:10. | :04:13. | |
the successes of Beijing and that figure increased to more than | :04:13. | :04:19. | |
�970,000. And over the next year, Sport Wales are allocating more | :04:19. | :04:26. | |
than �1 million to help develop disabled athletes. Rachel Morris | :04:26. | :04:29. | |
was a gold medalist in Beijing and was heading to London 2012 to | :04:29. | :04:32. | |
defend her title. But a car accident while training has | :04:32. | :04:34. | |
hindered her chances. However, she's still thrilled to be | :04:34. | :04:43. | |
competing. It is a bit of a cliche but it is a dream come true. If you | :04:43. | :04:48. | |
are aspiring to something and it happens in your own country, that | :04:48. | :04:54. | |
is something most athletes ever gets -- get to experience. | :04:54. | :04:58. | |
making sure the athletes look good on the big stage is Barbara Oakley | :04:58. | :05:01. | |
from Merthyr. She's been asked by the Australian team to tweak their | :05:01. | :05:08. | |
uniforms and training kit so they look their best. I feel awesome. It | :05:08. | :05:16. | |
is immense. I have loved it. I am very proud and privileged that they | :05:16. | :05:26. | |
:05:26. | :05:27. | ||
asked us to do it. We are only a little shop. The Games have changed | :05:27. | :05:30. | |
a lot since the early days and one of the first Paralympic competitors | :05:30. | :05:34. | |
was Ron Davies from Aberaeron. Injured in a motorbike accident, he | :05:34. | :05:40. | |
then competed for Southport Hospital's basketball team in 1952. | :05:40. | :05:50. | |
:05:50. | :05:55. | ||
Back then, it wasn't all about the winning. We had it all worked out | :05:55. | :05:59. | |
because the quicker we got knocked out, the more time we had in the | :05:59. | :06:04. | |
pub. The class of 2012 are waiting to compete and London is ready to | :06:04. | :06:06. | |
welcome the world's Paralympians. John Morgan is Executive Director | :06:06. | :06:09. | |
of Disability Sport Wales. You've been here soaking up the atmosphere | :06:09. | :06:12. | |
and you've just come from the Welcome Meeting. What's the | :06:12. | :06:20. | |
feeling? Are we on for the most successful Paralympics ever? It is | :06:20. | :06:24. | |
just incredible down there. The general public is moving around and | :06:24. | :06:28. | |
everybody is having a good time. The athletes are very focused and | :06:28. | :06:34. | |
excited. The general consensus is that everybody feels that the | :06:34. | :06:39. | |
Paralympics is coming home tonight. Tell us about this cash injection | :06:39. | :06:49. | |
:06:49. | :06:50. | ||
today. How long will that be spent? It is welcome news. People are our | :06:50. | :06:54. | |
biggest priority and this money will be invested in coaching | :06:54. | :06:58. | |
programmes. A lot of it will be invested in our Academy programme. | :06:58. | :07:04. | |
A lot of the athletes have had so much support from these coaches | :07:04. | :07:12. | |
that we really have to prioritise where we put that funding. Are you | :07:12. | :07:16. | |
hoping that people watching at home will be inspired? Absolutely. I | :07:16. | :07:20. | |
think they will be amazed by the sporting action. If people have | :07:20. | :07:26. | |
never seen Paralympics bought, they will be blown away. If the Olympics | :07:26. | :07:30. | |
was going to inspire a generation of sport, I think we can do that | :07:30. | :07:34. | |
but I think the Paralympics will inspire change in the way that | :07:34. | :07:44. | |
:07:44. | :07:44. | ||
society thinks and feels about his ability. -- about disability. | :07:44. | :07:52. | |
do you think the Paralympians will deal with the pressure? We are | :07:52. | :07:56. | |
hoping they are going to come into the sporting arenas and step up to | :07:56. | :08:00. | |
the plate and deliver. I just want everybody to get behind them | :08:00. | :08:03. | |
because if they can use the energy from the crowd, I think we can do | :08:03. | :08:09. | |
really well. The organisers of London 2012 say | :08:09. | :08:12. | |
they want to inspire a generation to take up sport and exercise. | :08:12. | :08:15. | |
That's badly needed, according to a Welsh Health Survey that says one | :08:15. | :08:18. | |
in three of us in Wales don't do any exercise. Health guidelines say | :08:18. | :08:22. | |
we should do 30 minutes of exercise at least five times every week to | :08:22. | :08:25. | |
help prevent and manage a range of chronic illnesses. But not enough | :08:25. | :08:28. | |
of us are doing it and the situation hasn't improved since the | :08:28. | :08:38. | |
:08:38. | :08:38. | ||
previous survey 10 years ago. It could make a real difference to | :08:38. | :08:42. | |
our health and how we feel that a third of us in Wales never do any | :08:42. | :08:47. | |
exercise, let alone go to the gym. The Welsh Health Survey which | :08:47. | :08:53. | |
gather information between 2003 and 2010 showed that more than a third | :08:53. | :08:56. | |
of women don't take any exercise and the picture for men is not much | :08:56. | :08:59. | |
better. Health guidelines say we need to be doing 30 minutes of | :08:59. | :09:03. | |
exercise five times a week. Less than a quarter of women meet that | :09:03. | :09:11. | |
target and only 30 % of men. know that exercises related to a | :09:11. | :09:21. | |
:09:21. | :09:22. | ||
whole host of illnesses like heart disease and stroke. Diabetes has | :09:22. | :09:27. | |
been rising consistently for quite a long time. The survey compares | :09:27. | :09:30. | |
different parts of Wales. He Glynneath Port Talbot are the least | :09:30. | :09:36. | |
active. Here, more than four in 10 people fail to do any exercise. We | :09:36. | :09:45. | |
asked people how active they were this afternoon. Sometimes when I | :09:45. | :09:52. | |
walk, it kills me. The prices of the gyms are too expensive. I do a | :09:52. | :10:02. | |
:10:02. | :10:05. | ||
bit but not a great deal. There is no way to go here. Critics say the | :10:05. | :10:08. | |
Welsh Government's public health strategy needs to change, | :10:08. | :10:11. | |
especially as rates of activity have not changed over the last 10 | :10:11. | :10:16. | |
years. The Government says the figures are not unique to Wales but | :10:16. | :10:21. | |
they do admit the scale of the problem they face. A big part of | :10:21. | :10:24. | |
this strategy is to encourage more teenage girls to take part in sport | :10:24. | :10:29. | |
and exercise. Developing habits young which they then hope will | :10:29. | :10:35. | |
last into adult had. 14-year-old -- this 14-year-old there's gymnastics | :10:35. | :10:40. | |
six times a week at a club in Cardiff. Sport is a big part of a | :10:40. | :10:48. | |
life. Just staying fit and having fun and eating healthy. I like | :10:48. | :10:55. | |
being with my friends. Sometimes I feel I'm too tired. Most of my | :10:55. | :11:00. | |
friends do athletics and some do dance. The Olympic Games and now | :11:00. | :11:04. | |
the Paralympics have certainly provided a great shop window for | :11:04. | :11:14. | |
:11:14. | :11:14. | ||
the benefits of sport. It is hoped that more people will get active | :11:14. | :11:20. | |
across the country and result in better health in the years to come. | :11:20. | :11:24. | |
The Paralympics were the brainchild of a German doctor. Later, we'll be | :11:24. | :11:27. | |
hearing from the nurse who worked alongside him during the Second | :11:27. | :11:30. | |
World War. Plenty more from us here at the Olympic Park a little later | :11:30. | :11:34. | |
in the programme. Now, Lucy Owen has the rest of the day's news from | :11:34. | :11:36. | |
across Wales. A consultant at Withybush Hospital | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
has spoken out, warning that losing the special care baby unit there | :11:39. | :11:43. | |
could lead to the end of the children's ward there too. Around | :11:43. | :11:46. | |
70 people held a protest outside today against changes which are | :11:46. | :11:50. | |
part of a planned reorganisation of health care across West Wales. | :11:50. | :11:53. | |
Hywel Dda Health Board says the unit doesn't meet national | :11:53. | :11:55. | |
standards and centralising the service at Carmarthen would improve | :11:55. | :12:02. | |
the service overall. Caroline Evans reports. | :12:02. | :12:05. | |
There was plenty of support for the protesters from passing motorists, | :12:05. | :12:07. | |
but perhaps more importantly for them, a leading consultant who | :12:07. | :12:10. | |
works here came out to back their view that the changes will | :12:10. | :12:20. | |
:12:20. | :12:23. | ||
disadvantage people living around Haverfordwest. It increases the | :12:23. | :12:29. | |
travelling time for people from here. The children's ward links in | :12:29. | :12:33. | |
with special care for staffing so if we lose special care, we lose | :12:33. | :12:37. | |
the children's ward as well. this stage, no decisions have been | :12:37. | :12:39. | |
made. The health board is consulting and asking the public | :12:39. | :12:42. | |
for views. But today it said none of its current special baby care | :12:42. | :12:46. | |
units are up to national standards and changes are needed if it's to | :12:46. | :12:49. | |
provide a higher level of service. But people here today said what's | :12:49. | :12:58. | |
vital is to keep a service that they believe already saves lives. | :12:58. | :13:02. | |
If you have to travel five minutes to the theatre to have a section, | :13:02. | :13:06. | |
generally speaking, everything is OK. If you have to travel 45 | :13:06. | :13:10. | |
minutes, things are not OK. health board's preferred option is | :13:10. | :13:13. | |
to site a new unit at Glangwili in Camarthen. But another option it's | :13:13. | :13:17. | |
looking at is to close the unit at Glangwili and put a new unit at | :13:17. | :13:19. | |
Withybush. Ruth Jones, Paul Williams, and their daughter spent | :13:19. | :13:24. | |
weeks at the special baby care unit here. For them, having a service | :13:24. | :13:34. | |
:13:34. | :13:35. | ||
near to their home was vital. were going into the hospital twice | :13:35. | :13:41. | |
a day most days. We have other children to look after so it was | :13:41. | :13:44. | |
really important to be close enough to be able to travel there every | :13:44. | :13:48. | |
day. The health board says it will not compromise the safety of babies | :13:48. | :13:51. | |
and if the changes go ahead Withybush would retain the ability | :13:51. | :13:54. | |
to stabilise and transfer mothers and babies. But that's not good | :13:55. | :14:00. | |
enough for the protesters, who are planning to march on the Senedd. | :14:00. | :14:02. | |
There were some violent summer storms today, which saw two people | :14:03. | :14:05. | |
injured after their homes were struck by lightning. Several houses | :14:05. | :14:10. | |
in the Pontprennau area of Cardiff were affected. In one house, the | :14:10. | :14:12. | |
bolt travelled from a rooftop aerial before exploding in the | :14:12. | :14:15. | |
lounge, setting curtains alight. Another man had a shock after | :14:15. | :14:25. | |
touching a television the moment the lightning struck. It just | :14:25. | :14:31. | |
electrocuted me and I was in shock. I fell on the floor and I was dazed | :14:31. | :14:37. | |
for five to 10 minutes. My right arm was very numb from the incident. | :14:37. | :14:40. | |
A car components company which moved to Wrexham from Welshpool | :14:40. | :14:43. | |
last Christmas after landing a �12 million order from Vauxhall has | :14:43. | :14:46. | |
gone into administration. 18 jobs are to go at Cobra, but the | :14:46. | :14:49. | |
administrators are trying to find a buyer and save the jobs of the | :14:49. | :14:54. | |
other 120 people who work there. A man from Powys has told a court | :14:54. | :14:57. | |
he believed it was safe to overtake, seconds before a crash in which | :14:57. | :15:00. | |
four members of the same family died. 24-year-old Gordon Dyche | :15:00. | :15:03. | |
collided with a car which rolled into a reservoir near Llanidloes in | :15:03. | :15:07. | |
April last year. He denies causing the deaths and says they were a | :15:07. | :15:17. | |
:15:17. | :15:17. | ||
tragic accident. Chris Dearden reports. | :15:17. | :15:21. | |
A family man who knew the road well and who was driving safely. That | :15:22. | :15:26. | |
was how Gordon Dyche hoped the jury would see him. He is accused of | :15:26. | :15:30. | |
causing an accident which killed four people from Pontypridd. Only | :15:30. | :15:36. | |
the driver, Denise Griffith, managed to escape from the car. Her | :15:36. | :15:40. | |
husband died as did their two foster sons. Her mother was also | :15:40. | :15:45. | |
killed when the car plunged into the reservoir. Today, Gordon Dyche | :15:45. | :15:50. | |
told the jury he was driving behind two other cars to was Llyn Clywedog | :15:50. | :15:55. | |
in Powys. He said it was safe to overtake and he didn't see Denise | :15:55. | :15:59. | |
Griffith's car indicating to turn into a lay-by. He said he braked | :15:59. | :16:04. | |
but it was too late. He said he felt useless as he watched the roof | :16:04. | :16:09. | |
of the car disappear under the water. But the prosecution | :16:09. | :16:12. | |
barrister asked Gordon Dyche why he had said to a paramedic at the | :16:12. | :16:17. | |
scene, I should not have done it. I was late for work. It is my fault. | :16:17. | :16:22. | |
Gordon Dyche said he was in shock and broke down in tears as he told | :16:22. | :16:27. | |
the court it was a tragic accident he won't forget for a long time. | :16:27. | :16:34. | |
Denise Griffith was in court today to hear the evidence. Both will | :16:34. | :16:38. | |
return tomorrow when the jury is due to consider its verdict. | :16:38. | :16:41. | |
Still to come in Wales Today: More farmers look to tighten security | :16:41. | :16:51. | |
:16:51. | :16:58. | ||
using CCTV after a big rise in the theft of quad bikes, fuel and tools. | :16:58. | :17:02. | |
Last week, we brought you the story of a teenager from Flintshire with | :17:02. | :17:04. | |
a rare condition which causes her joints to repeatedly dislocate. | :17:04. | :17:07. | |
Phoebe Bruce from Hawarden had been fighting for funding to get | :17:07. | :17:10. | |
specialist treatment in London. The 17-year-old has now been told she | :17:10. | :17:14. | |
will get the money. It had been in doubt as she lived in Wales and not | :17:14. | :17:16. | |
England. Matthew Richards reports. This family video shows just how | :17:16. | :17:20. | |
painful Phoebe's condition can be. She has a severe form of Elhers | :17:21. | :17:23. | |
Danlos Syndrome, or EDS, which causes her joints, usually her | :17:23. | :17:28. | |
shoulder and elbow, to dislocate up to 18 times a day. It affects one | :17:28. | :17:32. | |
in 5,000 people. Compounding the agony was a question mark over | :17:32. | :17:35. | |
whether she was entitled to funding for a private medical assessment in | :17:35. | :17:44. | |
London. She has been caused -- caught in limbo. She lives in Wales | :17:44. | :17:47. | |
but is close to the border and all of the treatment has been in | :17:47. | :17:51. | |
Cheshire. Now she needs more specialist treatment in England, it | :17:51. | :17:55. | |
had been thought she could miss out on funding, until now. The Welsh | :17:55. | :17:57. | |
Health Specialised Services Committee has approved �9,000 | :17:57. | :17:59. | |
towards Phoebe's treatment. She heard the news yesterday just | :17:59. | :18:06. | |
before another dislocation saw her back in A&E. I was out with my | :18:06. | :18:12. | |
friends when I found out. I had to wait a few minutes for it to sink | :18:12. | :18:16. | |
in. It was the best news I have heard in ages. We are one step | :18:16. | :18:21. | |
closer to where we want to be and where we need to be. Her family say | :18:21. | :18:24. | |
this is expensive treatment and much more money will be needed | :18:24. | :18:28. | |
through fundraising but it's an important first step. This money | :18:28. | :18:38. | |
:18:38. | :18:39. | ||
means she can be monitored 24 hours a day. If there are ways around it | :18:39. | :18:43. | |
without having an operation, it would be fantastic. Whether Phoebe | :18:43. | :18:46. | |
needs surgery or physiotherapy to help ease her condition, she's now | :18:46. | :18:48. | |
much closer to getting the help she desparately needs. | :18:48. | :18:51. | |
The Farmers Union of Wales says it's seen an "alarming" rise in | :18:51. | :18:54. | |
rural crime across South East Wales. Within the last month, 21 breeding | :18:54. | :18:57. | |
sheep were stolen from a farm in Usk and figures from a leading | :18:57. | :19:00. | |
insurance firm show a 30% rise in thefts across Wales last year. | :19:00. | :19:09. | |
Jordan Davies has more. Steve Powell is a farmer in | :19:09. | :19:14. | |
Caerphilly and does not take any chances any more. He locks his quad | :19:14. | :19:17. | |
bike and valuable power tools in a shipping container after being | :19:17. | :19:25. | |
targeted by thieves. This one got stolen and it had not been here 48 | :19:25. | :19:31. | |
hours. They must have pushed it out of the art and took it down the | :19:31. | :19:39. | |
road. It was hidden in a neighbour's Wood. What effect does | :19:40. | :19:47. | |
it have on a working farm? It is a constant worry at night. A car | :19:47. | :19:50. | |
pulls up outside and you are looking down the road to see what | :19:50. | :19:57. | |
is happening. We work enough hours as it is. A growing number of farms | :19:57. | :20:01. | |
are being preyed upon by organised gangs looking for open gates and | :20:01. | :20:07. | |
equipment. Vehicles, while at and metal top of the list but | :20:07. | :20:14. | |
agricultural unions are becoming concerned about some thieves | :20:14. | :20:17. | |
understanding local knowledge when it comes to stealing livestock. | :20:17. | :20:22. | |
Recently, 21 sheep were taken from a farm in Essex. According to the | :20:22. | :20:29. | |
insurance firm, rural theft total �2.3 million in Wales last year | :20:29. | :20:33. | |
compared to one per and �7 million the before. That is a rise of | :20:33. | :20:39. | |
nearly 33 %. Combating rural crime is becoming big business. This firm | :20:39. | :20:43. | |
selling trackers, sensors and alarms tours the country with its | :20:44. | :20:50. | |
products. Diesel, quad bikes, machinery, they are all valuable | :20:50. | :20:55. | |
and they are easy things to get your hands on. Farmers are fighting | :20:55. | :20:59. | |
back and police are specifically targeting this kind of crime. But | :20:59. | :21:04. | |
while prices remain high for metal, fuel and chemicals, rural crime | :21:04. | :21:08. | |
will continue to bite hard working farms. | :21:08. | :21:10. | |
Football and uncapped Crystal Palace midfielder Jonathan Williams | :21:10. | :21:13. | |
has been selected in the Wales squad for next month's World Cup | :21:13. | :21:15. | |
qualifiers against Belgium and Serbia. West Ham defender James | :21:15. | :21:18. | |
Collins returns after missing the last game but Joe Ledley and David | :21:18. | :21:21. | |
Vaughan miss out through injury as Wales prepare to play Belgium a | :21:21. | :21:24. | |
week on Friday in Chris Coleman's first competitive match in charge. | :21:24. | :21:27. | |
Swansea City continued their perfect start to the season with a | :21:27. | :21:30. | |
3-1 victory over Preston in the second round of the Capital One Cup. | :21:30. | :21:33. | |
Striker Danny Graham put the Swans in front, before two goals from | :21:33. | :21:36. | |
Luke Moore settled the tie. Swansea manager Michael Laudrup gave debuts | :21:36. | :21:42. | |
to record signing Ki Sung Yeung and also Kyle Bartley. | :21:42. | :21:46. | |
Well, that's it from me. Let's head back to Claire now, as we countdown | :21:46. | :21:56. | |
:21:56. | :21:57. | ||
to the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. | :21:57. | :22:01. | |
The parties getting busy as people get ready for the opening ceremony. | :22:01. | :22:05. | |
-- the park is getting busy. I don't know how much you know | :22:05. | :22:07. | |
about the Paralympics. They were the brainchild of German doctor, | :22:07. | :22:10. | |
Ludwig Guttman. He helped treat servicemen injured during the | :22:10. | :22:13. | |
Second World War and believed sport could help the men rebuild their | :22:13. | :22:15. | |
lives. Peggy Richards from Swansea was a nurse who worked alongside | :22:15. | :22:25. | |
:22:25. | :22:27. | ||
him. She's been telling us about those early years. | :22:27. | :22:33. | |
At Stoke Mandeville, a spinal injury does not stop you joining in. | :22:33. | :22:39. | |
To coincide with the opening day of the London Olympics, the Stoke | :22:40. | :22:43. | |
Mandeville Hospital played host to the International wheelchair Games. | :22:43. | :22:47. | |
It was the precursor to what we now know as the Paralympics. Although | :22:47. | :22:53. | |
she did not know it at that time, a young nurse was witnessing history. | :22:53. | :22:57. | |
She had left her home in County Wexford to become a nurse at Stoke | :22:57. | :23:05. | |
Mandeville. After the Second World War, there was a need for nurses in | :23:05. | :23:15. | |
:23:15. | :23:18. | ||
Britain. I went to Stoke Mandeville. New patients came in with fractured | :23:18. | :23:23. | |
next or people paralysed from the waist down. The spinal injuries | :23:23. | :23:30. | |
unit at Stoke Mandeville was run by a Jewish refugee called Ludwig | :23:30. | :23:37. | |
Guttman. His methods were inspiring but uncompromising. He was very | :23:37. | :23:43. | |
nice. He was very straight. If he didn't like something, he would | :23:43. | :23:50. | |
tell you. Some would want to go home and some were not allowed to | :23:50. | :23:55. | |
go home because they were not well enough. If they were disobedient, | :23:55. | :24:00. | |
they would -- he would give them a lecture. He was quite strict that | :24:00. | :24:07. | |
way. He believed that sport could transform the lives of his patience | :24:07. | :24:11. | |
and began to stage activities on the hospital grounds. During the | :24:11. | :24:16. | |
1950s, these international competitions became known as the | :24:16. | :24:24. | |
Stoke Mandeville Games. Some would try and walk and collapse on the | :24:24. | :24:31. | |
floor. You had to be very careful. I remember the crowds and people | :24:31. | :24:38. | |
being happy. I was very happy there. After her time at Stoke Mandeville, | :24:39. | :24:42. | |
she relocated to South Wales where she has lived ever since but she is | :24:42. | :24:47. | |
proud of her work at that hospital which is now recognised as the | :24:47. | :24:51. | |
spiritual home of the Paralympic movement. | :24:51. | :24:53. | |
Well, the action starts tomorrow and there could be medal success | :24:53. | :24:57. | |
for Welsh competitors on the first day. Let me take you through who | :24:57. | :25:00. | |
we're watching tomorrow. Beijing gold medalist Nyree Kindred is in | :25:00. | :25:03. | |
the pool. She goes in the 100 metres backstroke heats between | :25:03. | :25:07. | |
9:30am and 10:00am, with the aim of securing a place in the final and a | :25:07. | :25:15. | |
chance of a medal at 5:30pm tomorrow evening. And one of our | :25:15. | :25:18. | |
best medal hopes starts his first ever Paralympics tomorrow. | :25:18. | :25:20. | |
Paracyclist Mark Colbourne from Tredegar is in the kilo sprint | :25:20. | :25:27. | |
finals between 2:00pm and 4:00pm at the Velodrome. | :25:27. | :25:32. | |
It's been a grey day here in East London. Let's get the weather back | :25:32. | :25:42. | |
:25:42. | :25:52. | ||
Moody is a good word of describing the weather. But the weather is | :25:52. | :25:56. | |
improving as we go into tomorrow. At the moment, the yellow warning | :25:56. | :26:00. | |
is still in place for those heavy showers. This is the radar from | :26:00. | :26:06. | |
earlier showing the extent of the rain. Behind it, we had these heavy | :26:06. | :26:09. | |
downpours and at the moment, we have some really heavy downpours | :26:09. | :26:14. | |
across parts of the West. They will make their way inland as we go | :26:14. | :26:22. | |
through tonight. A lot of cloud for all of us. Quite gusty conditions. | :26:22. | :26:26. | |
A bit of a chilly start tomorrow morning and a few showers but most | :26:26. | :26:31. | |
of us getting away with a dry morning. By the afternoon, it will | :26:31. | :26:36. | |
become drier for all of us with bright spells for everybody. Top | :26:36. | :26:41. | |
temperatures, a disappointing 14 degrees in Gwynedd. Tomorrow night, | :26:41. | :26:46. | |
a much better end to the day for all of us. Some lovely sunshine. | :26:46. | :26:50. | |
Clear skies and under those clear skies, the temperatures will do | :26:50. | :26:59. | |
away into single figures. -- but a way. High pressure will continue to | :26:59. | :27:05. | |
build over the next few days. Hopefully that will settle things | :27:05. | :27:09. | |
down. Friday is looking dry with some sunshine. Much better weather | :27:09. | :27:19. | |
:27:19. | :27:25. | ||
Just over an hour to go until the start of the Paralympics. The flame | :27:25. | :27:30. | |
is making its way into the Olympic Stadium. | :27:30. | :27:34. | |
These Games are already breaking new ground. It's set to be the most | :27:34. | :27:36. |